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Show URGES NEEDS OF PUBLIC DOMAIN Immediate Legislation Is Imperative, Im-perative, Says the President. Presi-dent. ASKS NEW LAWS FOR ALASKA Rule Governing Acquisition of Arid or Seml-Arld Lands Should B Modified Commission on Cost of Living. Washington, Feb. 2. A special message mes-sage on the work of the Interior department de-partment and other matters was reud to Congress today. To the Senate and 1 louse of Representatives: Repre-sentatives: There Is no branch of the Federal Jurisdiction which calls more Imperatively Impera-tively for Immediate legislation thnn that which concerns the public domain, do-main, and especially the part of that domain which is In Alaska. Th progress under the reclamation Bet has made clear the defects of Its limitations, which should be remedied. The rules governing the acquisition of homesteads, of land that Is not arid or seml-arld, are not well adapted to. the perfecting of title to land made arable by government reclamation work. I concur with the Secretary of the Interior In bis recommendation that, after entry Is made upon land btdng reclaimed, actual occupation as a homestead of the same bo not required re-quired until two jears after entry, but lh1t cultivation of the stung sfcajl tS reifuired, and Tliat the prTkent provision pro-vision under which tbo land Is to be paid for In ten annual Installments hull bo so modified n to fitlnw 8 pat-! pat-! r - - -f" r - "- ent Issue for the land at the end of five years' cultivation and thre years' occupation Vlth a rt-servatlon, of, n government lion for the amount of the unpaid purchase money. This leniency to the reclamation home'-stender home'-stender will relieve hlrn from occupation occupa-tion at a time when the condition of th lnnd makes It most burdensome and difficult, and at the end of flvo years will furnish him with a title upon which he can borrow money and continue the Improvement of bis holding. hold-ing. I also concur In th recommendation recommenda-tion of the Secretary of the Interior that all of our public domain should be classified and that each class should be disposed of or administered In the manner most appropriate to that particular class. |