Show LAND REVIEW of the commissioner of the general land office recommendation that the preemption and limber culture laws should be repealed reason why the annual report of the commis lioner ol of the general land office is in the hands bands ol of the printer and will be given to toe atu B public in a few days like several of his bis predecessors in office mr air recommends legislation for the prevention of frauds in relation iod to the acquirement of title to public lands and expresses in no ascertain language the opinion that the pre culture desert land and homestead laws so far as re lates to the commutation clause should be repealed or cr greatly modified and that the public domain should be devoted exclusively to the use and benefit of persons who in good faith desir deal eithe rethe same for actual homes an enormous array of testimony is introduced tending to show that the laws above mentioned admit of the perpetration of frauds are detrimental to the settlement of the country god and operate to defeat the beet beat Inte interests of the government Hovern ment which demand that the lands shall be actually occupied by bona me fide citizens and settlers owning their homes the repeal of the preemption pre emption desert land and commutation clause of the homestead laws is advocated because they afford opportunities aninies by which unscrupulous speculators with the aid of conscienceless confederates used as dummy settlers are enabled to acquire title to vast areas of land to be held for sale at advanced prices or to be leased to families who by reason of their greed are prevented from securing homes of their own they tend to the erection in this country of a landlord and tenant system similar to those of some european countries inconsistent with the principles oi our government and to build up a landed aristocracy the timber culture law is denounced noun ced not because title to land Is frequently fraudulently secured under the same but because it operates to reserve the lands from settlement for a period of years without any e equivalent alval to the government and ana with but little cok coat to the timber eo an of 01 acres costs but a small puni pain as fee and commissions nothing is required of the entry inan for one year then he must areat five acres of the land at a trifling cost during daring the next year he be must cultivate the five acres already broken and break another five acres the next year he be is required to plant five acres to timber aad cultivate vate the other five the next he be must plant the second five acres to timber thus at a trifling expense the party may tor for four years exercise complete control of a quarter section of land without violating or evading toe the law and sell a his entry for a good round sum the tee increase in value rendering the privilege of entering the land very valuable the registers and receivers of nearly all of the district land offices in letters to the commissioner concur in the opinion that the majority of 0 public land frauds are perpetrated under the laws named it Is almost certain that the commissioners ners gregort report with its convincing testimony w I 1 secure at the next session ot of congress it i not at this a repeal of the preemption and timber culture and at least a modification of 0 the desert land laws HENRY HEMBY N COPP |