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Show ' "SQUATTERS" HAY ' HAVE TO FIGHT FOR LANDS AT HllfORD Enlarged Homestead Law Seems Capable of Different Dif-ferent Readings. A a result of difference of opinion among local I'nited States land office officials regarding the matter of prior righti on land in Utah deaignated un der section 6 of the enlarged homestead home-stead act, settlers on lands near Mil-ford Mil-ford have put the natter ap to Com viaaioner Dennett of the general bad office in Washington, D. C. The opinion opin-ion of that official oa the much, argued ar-gued queetioa will mean a great dal to homeeteads, - and if against prior lights will mean all kinds of trouble Snd land contests over homesteads la the district. Near Milford and also aear Modena on the main line of the Halt Lake route the questions of "squatters' righte on enlarged homestead land have been r brought up through eonditiona there. Near both of those towns thousands of acres have been filed on, the homesteaders home-steaders believing they can hold the land by plowing up a part of it and making some improvements. . D. B. Thompson, register of the local land office, ears that he believes the general land office will hold these rights -good, while ('apt. George t. Hair, thief of the field division, says they cannot be good. Captain Hair " savf there 1 iMoTutel.TTiothine 1h' the enlarged - homestead law which provides pro-vides for squatters' rights or prior rights oa the land, and regardless of what has been done In the way of plowing, plow-ing, the matter of who gets the land depends upon who gets to the land office of-fice first on the day of the opening. Others about the land office have other opinions and for each one there seems to be a good reason. , With the matter thus tangled lip the homesteaders have sent letters to Commissioner Com-missioner Dennett and hope to have the matter straightened out by the interpretation inter-pretation of the law, which as it stands now opens the way for arguments of various kinds. ' Dozens of homesteaders have located on land in the township east of Modena which will be opened next Wednesday. The settlers will all be at the land office of-fice and will file their applications, but it ia eertaia that there will be entries by other persons filed oa the same land. Ordinarily that would mean that the entry would be sold to the highest bid der. A settler on the land might not bid an high as a person who had not settled on the land, and in that way the settler would lose. . . . The settlers, however, are going to contend for prior rights. Following the land rnsh which is assured for Wednesday, it is expected there will be scries of lively contests. |