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Show FERRIS BILL flOW A LAW RUSIIOF SETTLERS DUE NEW LAW OPENS UP 640-AGRE STOCK RAISING HOMESTEADS On December 20, President Wilson signed the Ferris Bill open- ing UP (140-acre homesteads for stock raising and grazing purposes. It is accounted of great importance to the western states. The bill passed the House a year ago, and the Senate on the clos- ing day of the last session of Congress, and final agreement was reached between conferees last week. Representative Ferris, of Oklahoma, its author, lias said that a considerable part of the 300,000,000 acres of public lands in the west and the 375,000,000 acres In Alaska could be utilized for Stock raising under the law. Thus, he said, thousands of homeless citizens would be able to gain homes. The law raises the homestead unit from a maximum of 320 acres to 640 on arid, semiarid, non-irri- gable and non-timbered public land. Improvements of $1.25 per acre must be made by the homesteader. The bill was strongly endorsed by the interior department, which informed Congress that it would result, in having the number of cat- tie In the west "greater than during the most prosperous days of the cattle kings." In an interview upon the subject of the new homestead law, Miss G. P. Holmes, the efficient secretary of the Delta Land & Water Company and kindred corporations, stated that "the new law will mean much toward to-ward the settlement of the vast acreage acre-age of Uncle Sam's domain. The excellent public grazing lands, such as those adjacent to Milford in Beaver Bea-ver county will be taken up and fenced fenc-ed and otherwise improved and made taxable property. It will mean that dairymen and ranchers under irrigation irriga-tion projects will, by homesteading nearby tracts, have ample wild pasturage pas-turage for small bunches of sheep as well as their own dairy herds and other stock for a considerable portion por-tion of the year." Local people are already considering taking up homesteads home-steads under the new law. Land Commissioner Bert Nichols when interviewed, had not received official notification of the working of the new law. Mr. Nichols declared however that he thought many would take advantage of the law early next spring to secure stock range for their herds as the rapid inroads being made upon ranges by dry farming interests is cutting down the available avail-able free range pasturage for the large bands of sheep and cattle of the west. A number of individuals may form a corporation or partnership in the stock business and by homesteading adjacent grazing land hold larger tracts under fence for their stock. |
