| OCR Text |
Show 642 HISTORY OF PUBLIC LAND LAW DEVELOPMENT banned homestead entries on land that might be suitable for reservoirs or for irrigation once ditches, canals, and diversion dams had been built, and ordered withheld final entries and patents on arid lands. Powell and the Geological Survey, under great pressure from members of Congress who disliked its elaborate mapping procedures, made considerable progress by 1889; some 150 reservoir sites were chosen and 30 million acres of arid lands capable of irrigation were selected for withdrawal. But Powell's careful scientific surveys were altogether too slow for Congressmen from the West who blamed him for the fact that virtually all settlement and land entries had been brought to a halt until the Geological Survey could complete its task and that would take years. Advocates of western development no matter what the cost joined together to halt the surveys and reopen the lands to entry.18 In 1890 both Houses got thoroughly tied up in procedural matters over efforts to amend the rider of 1888 by a second rider. After many disagreements the two Houses agreed to a virtual repeal of the 1888 rider except for the reservation of reservoir sites suggested by the Geological Survey, and after safeguarding all rights of persons who had entered desert land between 1888 and 1890. For the future, the amount of land any individual could gain under any and all laws was limited to 320 acres. What is important is the restoration of the withdrawn lands to entry until their reclamation could be planned.19 18 Wallace Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian. John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West (Boston, 1954), p. 313; A. Hunter Dupree, Science in the Federal Government. A History of Policies and Activities to 1940 (Cambridge, Mass., 1957), pp. 232 ff.; Everett W. Sterling, "The Powell Irrigation Survey, 1888-1893," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, XXVII (December 1940), 421-34. 19 The History of the Sundry Civil Appropriation bill of 1890 may be followed over many pages in the Cong. Record, 51st Cong., 1st sess., as aided by the detailed index. It was in the General Revision Act of March 3, 1891, that Congress tried to write into law requirements that might minimize thereafter the misuse to which the Desert Land Act of 1877 had been put. Other parts of the revision, providing for the repeal of the Timber Culture and Preemption Acts, received more attention from Congress and there is little helpful discussion about the arid lands in the debates. Persons filing entries were, after 1891, required to show their plans for irrigating the land, including the canals and ditches projected and the source of water; they were required to expend $1 per acre in each of the first 3 years upon construction of irrigation works and on leveling the land; they were permitted to associate together in planning the construction but must affirm that they were not making the entries for others, corporate or individual; the acreage that could be entered was reduced from 640 to 320; entrymen were required to be residents of the state in which they were filing; they were allowed 4 years in which to prove up and pay their dollar an acre but might complete their obligations and take title earlier. Finally, the measure was extended to apply to Colorado.20 The Desert Land Act was of minor importance compared to the various Homestead Acts. Under the latter 1,622,107 persons gained ownership of 270,216,874 acres; the number of original entries and the acreage entered would be almost twice as much. Under the Desert Land Act 164,756 people filed entries for 33,960,929 acres and 57,259 of these entries for 10,601,334 acres were carried to patent. Both homestead and desert land entries have continued to be made, as shown by the fact that in 1966, 249 final homestead entries and 178 final desert land entries were approved. Only 34 percent of the desert land entries were carried to patent. But to the western states with semi- 10 26 Stat. 1096-97. |
