The Price of Proving Up on Timber Land
A reader argues that the President’s veto of a relief bill makes it nearly impossible for average settlers to acquire government land without losing everything to travel costs and lawyers.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The president in his recent message vetoing a bill for the relief of settlers clearly shows how little he is acquainted with the manner of acquiring title to government land. By compelling claimants to appear before the local land office, he adds to the purchase price the expense of travel and witnesses, amounting in many cases to an extra $100. The natural consequence is that timber lands in outside districts are often left vacant, giving the speculator a chance to obtain large bodies of it by employing men who are not residents in the vicinity, and who are herded in squads from six to a dozen to the land office to make easy proof. The president by his veto is rather putting a premium on fraudulent entries than preventing them.
“The president by his veto is rather putting a premium on fraudulent entries than preventing them.”
This complaint from 1894 echoes the ongoing struggle in Washington state regarding who controls public land and how bureaucracy often favors monied interests over small-time residents. The 'squads' described recall the history of timber fraud that defined much of the Pacific Northwest's early land development.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.