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Show LAND UNDER HOMESTEAD Washington. Aug 8 For the last year or more public lands in the Western slate; have been designated by the secretar of the Interior as subject to entry under the so-caPed enlarged homestead act or the .120-acro .120-acro homestead act, only (t petition 'Of those who desire to avail them-j them-j selves of the provisions of this law This procedure was an outgrowth of the desire of the department to de.ig nate no lands which were not actually enterable under the law in question In order to accomplish this end the status of each tract had to be Investigated Investi-gated to determine whether it was already entered, was a school section, was Involved In a state selection, or for any othor reason had been taken out of the class of "unappropriated" public lands which alone arc enterable enter-able under this act This search meant that with the meager force available to the department only slow-progress slow-progress could be made m the deslg nation of lands for entry under this after the passace of the act lands had been designated for entry under t in a body without regard to their status, the only questions determined de-termined by the department prior to designation being that the lands were surveyed, unreserved, and nonlrriga-ble. nonlrriga-ble. Under this mode of procedure designations can be made with comparative com-parative rapidity, the availability of the lands for entry being determined bv the applicant when he visits the local laud nffice to file upon his claim After the abandonment of this early procedure the law was extended to applr to North Dakota. Tho rule c.f designation by petition has been followed In that state and the resulting re-sulting delays have proved embarrassing embar-rassing both to the department and to the citizens of North Dakota, as well as to thoso of otner wieiu states. j U the suggestion of Senator Gron-na Gron-na Secretarv Lane has recently decided de-cided to revert to the earlier practice and designate the lands in large bodies after t Is determined that I thev are nonirrigable as required by. the Inw He has accordingly Issued appropriate jnst ructions to the geological geolog-ical survov. which Is charged under the department with the preparation of the lists of lands enterablo under this law. This change will have the effect of greatly expediting the designation desig-nation of lands under this law. Ingan, Aug. 7 Two of the prison era that the sheriff placed on the county poor farm to work made their escape today, despite tho fact that a guard was employed to watch them Some weeks ago three men escaped through the roof of the jail, but were traced down and brought bark They aro youths who were convicted of 1 stealing from the railway companv ' and from a storp at Trenton. |
