PtJBLIC LANDS COMMISSION. 7 



been preserved for the use of the people are withdrawn from such 

 use, and the development of the country is retarded until the corpora- 

 tions which own the timber see fit to cut it. The bona fide settler who 

 comes into a country, the timber resources of which have thus been 

 absorbed, may be very seriously hampered by his inability to secure 

 timber except from a foreign corporation. All of the timber land 

 has often passed beyond his reach, and the development of his farm 

 may be retarded and his expenses greatly increased because he can no 

 longer obtain the necessary supplies of fuel, rails, posts, and lumber. 



As in the case of other laws, instances of the beneficial operation 

 of this act may be cited, but when it is considered from the point of 

 view of the general interest of the public it becomes obvious that 

 this law should be repealed. 



SALE or TIMBER ON THE PTJBLIC LANDS. 



Necessity for the enactment of a law authorizing the sale of timber 

 on nonreserve public land is becoming more evident, and the recom- 

 mendations made in the preceding report of this Commission are 

 reiterated. For the best use of the public lands it is absolutely 

 essential to hold public tim>ber for sale when needed and in quanti- 

 ties necessitated by the continuous growth of prevailing industries. 

 Provision .should also be made for a limited free-use right by miners 

 and actual settlers. 



COMMUTATION CLAUSE OF THE HOMESTEAD ACT, 



In the preceding report a statement was made that our investiga- 

 tions respecting the operations of the commutation clause of the 

 homestead law were still in progress. We were not at that time pre- 

 pared to recommend its repeal. Investigations carried on during 

 the past year have convinced us that prompt action should be taken 

 in this direction and that, in the interest of settlement, the commu- 

 tation clause should be greatly modified. 



A careful examination of the districts where the commutation 

 clause is put to the most use shows that there has been a rapid increase 

 of the use of this expedient, for passing public lands into the hands 

 of corporations or large landowners. The object of the homestead 

 law was primarily to give to each citizen, the head of a family, an 

 amount of land up to 160 acres, agricultural in character, so that 

 . homes would be created in the wilderness. The commutation clause, 

 added at a later date, was undoubtedly intended to assist the honest 

 settler, but like many other well-intended acts its original intent has 

 been gradually perverted until now it is apparent that a great part 

 of all commuted homesteads remain uninhabited. In other words, 

 under the commutation clause the number of patents furnishes no 

 index to the number of new homes. 



To prove this statement it is only necessary to drive through a 

 country where the commutation clause has been largely applied. 

 Field after field is passed without a sign of permanent habitation or 

 improvement other than fences. The homestead shanties of the 

 commuters may be seen in various degrees of dilapidation, but they 

 show no evidence of genuine occupation. They have never been in 

 any sense homes. 



