HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS. 
 
 - -*«**-»-- 
 
 WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 
 
 EtA-S IDOIbTIE; 3TOK, 
 
 T53IS POOR IMI.A.3sr_ 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE UNION REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE, WASITNGTOIT, D. C. 
 
 No more important act to the poor man, 
 ■whom it was intended exclusively to bene¬ 
 fit, was ever enacted by CcHgres3 than the 
 Homestead Law, which originated with, 
 and was passed by, the votes of the repub¬ 
 lican members ol the Thirty-Seventh Con¬ 
 gress. Enacted during the dark days of 
 the Rebellion, at a time when hundreds and 
 thousands of the laboring men of both sec¬ 
 tions of the country were arrayed in dead¬ 
 ly hostility to each other, it has failed to 
 attract that attention, especially in the 
 Southern communities, which its great im¬ 
 portance demands. 
 
 The result ot the rebellion in the eman¬ 
 cipation of the slaves of the South, the en¬ 
 actments of Congress whereby these for¬ 
 mer bondmen have been made citizens of 
 our great Republic, and the amendment of 
 the original Homestead Act of 1862, so as 
 io confer its benefits on all who may choose 
 
 to avail themselves of the same, irrespec¬ 
 tive of race or color, has greatly increased 
 its importance by opening up a channel 
 through which maybe reached and peima- 
 
 nently benefited a large class of industrious, 
 law-abiding citizens, not contemplated as 
 coming under its benign operations at the 
 time of its adoption. In order, therefore, 
 that this law may become better known and 
 more widely disseminated among that class 
 it is destined to so greatly benefit, it has 
 been thought best to explain its provisions 
 in the form of a simple dialogue, whereir 
 every section and amendment is made sc 
 plain that all may learn how to proceed tc 
 avail themselves of the benificent offer thus 
 proffered by a still more benificent govern¬ 
 ment through the votes of the Representa¬ 
 tives of the great National Republican 
 Party in Congress. 
 
2 
 
 Q. What is the meaning of the Home¬ 
 stead Law ? 
 
 A. It is an Act originally passed by the 
 Republican members of the Thirty-Seventh 
 Congress, afterwards amended by members 
 of the same party May 20th, 1864, and 
 March 21st, 1866, grantinga portion of the 
 Public Lands to actual settlers. 
 
 Q. Who are entitled to its benefits ? 
 
 A. The intention of the framers and sup¬ 
 porters of this law designed it as a benefit 
 to the poor man, but any person who is a 
 citizen of the United States, or who has 
 declared his intention to become such un¬ 
 der the laws of the United States, and who 
 is— 
 
 First—The head of a family, whether 
 male or female ; 
 
 Second—Who has arrived at the age of 
 twenty-one years ; 
 
 Third—Who has served in the army or 
 navy of the United States during actual 
 war, for at least fourteen days, (whether 
 twenty-one years of age or not,) and who 
 has never borne arms against the govern¬ 
 ment of the United States, or given aid 
 and comfort to its enemies, are entitled to 
 its benefits. This last clause, however, 
 has been so amended as to allow those who 
 . were enemies to the government during the 
 late slave-holder’s rebellion to avail them¬ 
 selves of its benefits. 
 
 Q. What amount of land does this law 
 grant to actual settlers ? 
 
 A. One hundred and sixty acres, or a 
 less quantity, of the surveyed public lands 
 of the United States. The land must be 
 in a compact body, and in conformity to 
 the lines of the public surveys, unoccupied 
 and subject to entry under the pre-emption 
 laws, at one dollar and twenty-five cents 
 per acre. What is called double minimum 
 or Railroad Reserved Sections, may be 
 taken at the double minimum rates, that is, 
 eighty acres of two dollar and fifty cent 
 land may be taken in place of the one hun¬ 
 dred and sixty acres at one dollar and twen¬ 
 ty-five cents per acre. 
 
 Q. Can a person secure more than one 
 hundred and sixty acres of these lands ? 
 
 A. No. But any person owning and re¬ 
 siding on land may enter contiguous land, 
 which, with that already owned and occu¬ 
 pied, must not exceed in the aggregate one 
 hundred and sixty acres. 
 
 Q. What steps should be taken to secure 
 the benefits of this law ? 
 
 A. An applicant for the benefits of the 
 Homestead Law is required to file with the 
 Register of the United States local Land 
 
 Office, for the District in which he desire3 
 to locate lands, his application as follows : 
 
 (Form A.) 
 
 II 0 M E S T FAD. 
 
 Application ]_ j Land Office at -, 
 
 No.—, j j -186 .' 
 
 I,-, of-, do hereby apply to 
 
 enter, under the provisions of the Act of 
 Congress approved May 20th, 1862, enti¬ 
 tled “ An Act to secure Homesteads to ac¬ 
 tual settlers on the public domain, ” the 
 
 -section-in Township - 
 
 of range-, containing-acres. 
 
 [In pre-emption cases the following should 
 be added : 
 
 “ Having filed my pre-emption declara¬ 
 tion thereon on-day of-, 186 .”] 
 
 (Signature of Applicant. 
 
 On filing such application the Register 
 of the Land Office will issue to you the fol 
 lowing certificate : 
 
 (Form B.) 
 
 HOMESTEAD. 
 
 Certificate ) J Land Office at -, 
 
 No.—, j j — : -186 . 
 
 I,-, Register of the Land Office, 
 
 do certify hereby that the above application 
 is for surveyed lands of the class which the 
 applicant is legally entitled to enter under 
 the Homestead Act of May 20th, 1862, 
 and that thero is no prior, valid, adverse 
 
 right to the same.-, 
 
 Register. 
 
 There are one or two other blank forms 
 necessary, which I will proceed to give you 
 as follows: 
 
 (Form C.) 
 
 HO M E S T E A D . 
 
 Land Office at -, { 
 
 -186 . ) 
 
 I,-, of-, having filed my ap¬ 
 plication No.-, for an entry under the 
 
 provisions of an Act of Congress, approv¬ 
 ed May 20th, 1862, entitled “An Act to 
 secure Homesteads fo actual settlers on the 
 public domain, ” do solemnly swear, that 
 [Here state whether you are the head of a 
 family, or over twenty-one years of age ; 
 whether a citizen of the United States, or 
 have filed your declaration of intention 
 of becoming such ; or, if under twenty- 
 one years of age, that you have serv¬ 
 ed not less than fourteen days in the 
 
army or navy ; that said Application No. 
 
 -is made for your exclusive benefit; 
 
 and that said entry is made for the purpose 
 of actual settlement and cultivation, and 
 not, directly or indirectly, for the use or 
 benefit of any other person or persons 
 whomsoever.] 
 
 Sworn to and subscribed, this --day 
 
 of ——, 186 , before 
 
 ————— 1 
 
 (Register or Receiver,) of the Land Office. 
 
 (Form D.) 
 
 HOMESTEAD. 
 
 Receiver’s Receipt,) f Application 
 No —, j ( No.—. 
 
 Receiver's Office at -, ) 
 
 ~ -186. J 
 
 Received of-the sum of- 
 
 dollars and-cents, being the amount 
 
 of fee, and one-half the compensation of 
 
 Register and Receiver, for entry of- 
 
 section, -in Township- of range 
 
 -, under the Act of Congress entitled 
 
 * An Act to secure Homesteads to actual 
 settlers on the public domain. ” 
 
 -, Receiver. 
 
 Q. How long must one reside on this 
 land before receiving a title or deed to it 
 from the government? 
 
 A. Five years settlement and cultivation 
 is required by the law ; but if the settler 
 so desire, he may, after settlement and cul¬ 
 tivation of the tract as entered above, prove 
 such settlement by disinterested witnesses 
 to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of 
 the General Land Office, when he will have 
 the right to pay for the same, instead of 
 waiting five years for his title as provided 
 in the law. 
 
 Q. To whom is this money paid ? 
 
 A. It is paid to the Receiver of the Land 
 Office of the District in which the land is 
 located. Upon its payment the Receiver 
 will issue to you the following certificate : 
 
 Certificate 1 f Application 
 
 No.—, } [ No.—. 
 
 Land Office at -, 1 
 
 ‘-186 . J 
 
 It is hereby certified, That, pursuant to 
 the provisions of the Act of Congress ap¬ 
 proved May 20th, 1862, entitled An Act 
 to secure Homesteads to actual settlers on 
 
 the public domain, ”-has made 
 
 payment in full for-of section , 
 
 in township-, of range -, contain¬ 
 ing -acres. 
 
 Now, therefore, be it known, That on 
 presentation of this certificate to the Com¬ 
 
 missioner of the General Land Office, the 
 
 said-shall be entitled to a patent 
 
 for the tract of land above described. 
 
 -, Receiver. 
 
 Q. What is a patent? 
 
 A. A patent is the deed issued by the 
 (government through the Commission'er cf 
 the General Land Office, vffiose office is in 
 Washington City, and who has charge of 
 all the lands belonging to the government 
 of the United States. 
 
 Q. Is it necessary to go to Washington 
 to secure this patent or deed ? 
 
 A. Not .at all. It will be sent by mail 
 to the Register of the Land Office in the 
 District in which your land is located, or 
 to your own address if you so desire it, af¬ 
 ter having paid the necessary fees. 
 
 Q. Does the government make no charge 
 whatever for the land, or for the trouble 
 and expense of conveying it to settlers ? 
 
 A. Yes, a small sum. The fee required 
 to be paid on a Homestead entry is ten dol¬ 
 lars for the use of the government, and one 
 per cent, commissions to each of the offi¬ 
 cers—the Register and the Receiver—on 
 the value of the land, at $1,25 or $2,50 per 
 acre, as the case may be. For instance, 
 one huudre’d and sixty acres of land, at 
 $1,25 per acre, is $200. One per cent on 
 this amount is $2,00, and as the Register 
 and Receiver are to receive $2,00 each, it 
 makes your land cost, with the $10 paid 
 for the use of the government, $14. To 
 be added to this, however, is $4,00 more, 
 $2,00 to the Register and $2,00 to the Re¬ 
 ceiver, for the cost in issuing the patent, 
 making the total cost of the one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land but $18,00. 
 
 The following tabular forms will perhaps 
 give you a clearer idea of the fees necessary 
 to be paid in the different States in which pub¬ 
 lic lands may be secured under the Home¬ 
 stead Law. For homestead entries on sur¬ 
 veyed lands in Michigan, Wiscousin, Iowa, 
 Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska and 
 Dakota, fees are to be paid according to the 
 following table: 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Price per acre. 
 
 Commissions. 
 
 Fees. 
 
 'S ® 
 
 2 G 
 
 ~ O 
 
 © g 
 
 n s 
 
 Payable 
 when 
 entry is 
 made. 
 
 Payable 
 on issue of 
 Patent 
 
 Payable 
 when 
 entry is 
 made. 
 
 160*1 25 
 
 $4 03 
 
 $6 00 
 
 $10 00 
 
 $18 00 
 
 80 
 
 1 25 
 
 2 00 
 
 3 00 
 
 5 00 
 
 9 00 
 
 40 
 
 1 25 
 
 1 00 
 
 1 50 
 
 5 00 
 
 7 00 
 
 80 
 
 2 50 
 
 4 00 
 
 6 00 
 
 10 00 
 
 18 CO 
 
 40, 2 50 
 
 2 00 
 
 3 00 
 
 5 00 
 
 9 00 
 
 In the Pacific States and other political di 
 visons, viz : On surveyed lands in California 
 
4 
 
 * 
 
 Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, 
 and Washington, and in Arizona, Idaho, 
 and Montana, where subdivisional surveys 
 shall have been made in the three last-men¬ 
 tioned Territories the commission and fees 
 are to be paid according to the following 
 table : 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Price pea aero. 
 
 Coumissioxs. 
 
 Fszs. 
 
 _ 
 
 1 
 
 Total Poes and 
 
 Commissions. 
 
 • 
 
 Payable 
 when 
 entry is 
 made. 
 
 Payable 
 on issue of 
 Patent. 
 
 Payable 
 when 
 entry is 
 made. 
 
 1G0 
 
 $1 25 
 
 $0 00 
 
 §6 00 
 
 $10 00 
 
 $22 00 
 
 80 
 
 1 25 
 
 3 00 
 
 3 00 
 
 5 00 
 
 11 CO 
 
 ’ 40 
 
 1 25 
 
 1 50 
 
 1 50 
 
 5 00 
 
 8 00 
 
 80 
 
 2 50 
 
 6 00 
 
 6 00 
 
 10 00 
 
 22 00 
 
 40 
 
 2 50 
 
 3 00 . 
 
 3 00 
 
 5 00 
 
 11 00 
 
 SOUTHERN LAND STATES. 
 
 m 
 
 <L 
 
 O 
 
 < 
 
 Price per acre. 
 
 CoMMISHO’S. 
 
 Fees. 
 
 4-* 
 
 o 
 
 EH 
 
 Payable 
 at date of 
 ..gentry. 
 
 Payable 
 when en¬ 
 try is con¬ 
 summated 
 
 Payable 
 when 
 patent is¬ 
 sues. 
 
 so 
 
 $1 25 
 
 $2 00 
 
 $2 00 
 
 $5 00 
 
 $9 00 
 
 40 
 
 1 25 
 
 1 00 
 
 1 00 
 
 5 00 
 
 7 00 
 
 40 
 
 2 20 
 
 2 00 
 
 2 00 
 
 5 00 
 
 9 00 
 
 Q. In cases where settlers are indebted, 
 after securing a title, can claimants come 
 forward,, procure judgment, and take pos¬ 
 session of your land ? 
 
 A. No. A wise provision of this law 
 protects the homestead thus secured from all 
 debts contracted prior to the issue of the 
 patent. 
 
 Q. Did I understand you to say that it 
 required a five years’ residence on, and cul¬ 
 tivation of these lands to secure a pat¬ 
 ent ? 
 
 A. Yes, unless paid for under the 8tli sec¬ 
 tion of the act as above explained. An aban¬ 
 donment for more than six months within 
 the five years residence required is cause of 
 forfeiture. 
 
 Q. in case of the death of the settler, 
 can the land be disposed of? 
 
 A. Yes; it may be sold for the benefit 
 of the infant heirs, but for no dlher purpose. 
 Where but one parent dies, the heirs may 
 continue the settlementand cultivation, and 
 obtain title upon requisite proof at the 
 proper time. Pre-emptions upon surveyed 
 $1.25 lands may be transmuted into home¬ 
 steads if no other rights shall have inter¬ 
 vened. 
 
 Q. What is a pre-emption right? 
 
 A. It is a preference right to purchase 
 the tract of public land upon which the 
 claimant resides and has made improve¬ 
 ments, at the minimum price of $1.25 or 
 
 $2.50 per acre, as the case may be ; and it 
 carries the right to transmute the claim into 
 a homestead, upon due proof of settlement 
 and cultivation. Pre-emptions may be made 
 upon surveyed or unsurveyed lands. 
 
 Q. In casc^ of the abandonment of a 
 Homestead, can a settler make a second en- 
 try ? » 
 
 A. No. As the law allows but one home¬ 
 stead privilege, a settler relinquishing or 
 ! abandoning his claim cahnot thereafter make 
 ' a second entry. Where an individual has 
 ' made settlementon a surveyed tract and tiled 
 his pre-emption declaration therefor, he may 
 change his filing into Homestead, as I have 
 just stated; yet such change is inadmissible 
 where an adverse right has intervened, but 
 in such cases the settler has the privilege of 
 perfecting his title under the pre-emption 
 laws. 
 
 Q. Is it necessary to visit the Land Of¬ 
 fices in order to transact the business re¬ 
 quired to locate lands under the Homestead 
 law ? 
 
 A. Not always. Persons residing at a dis¬ 
 tance from the Land Office may make appli¬ 
 cation before the Clerk of the County Court 
 in which he or she resides, and transmit the 
 same, with the necessary fees, to the Reg¬ 
 ister and Receiver, in which case the same 
 forms will be used, only making the neces¬ 
 sary alterations as to the officer before whom 
 tho affidavit and application arc made. Pro¬ 
 vision is also made for those engaged in the 
 military or naval service of the United 
 States. Such persons may enter land un¬ 
 der the Homestead Act by duly authorized 
 agents or attorneys. The necessary affida¬ 
 vits and applications, as well as the power 
 of attorney, must he verified before the im¬ 
 mediate commanding officer. The time 
 which ho remains in the service will be 
 counted as residence upon, .and occupancy 
 of the land ; but, upon leaving the service, 
 ho must, within a reasonable time, repair to 
 the land and remain upon nnd cultivate the 
 same in good faith, or his claim will become 
 forfeited. 
 
 Q. At the commencement of our conver¬ 
 sation you spoke of the law being so amended 
 as to ailow those who were enemies of the 
 Government during the late rebellion to avail 
 themselves of its benefits to a certain extent. 
 Will you please explain this? 
 
 A. With pleasure. The Republican party 
 is opposed to monopoly, and especially so 
 in regard to a monopoly of lands. The his¬ 
 tory of our government has shown that in 
 the Southern States, where this system of 
 land monopoly has existed to a much greater 
 extent than in any other section of our 
 
o 
 
 country, it lias greatly retarded the progress, 
 and not only impoverished the limited 
 amount of lands cultivated, but greatly im¬ 
 poverished and oppressed the poorer class 
 of its citizens. 
 
 Q. But why extend its -benefits to those 
 who were so recently in rebellion against 
 its authority ? 
 
 A. Simply because the greater portion of 
 those who composed the rank and file of the 
 late rebel army, were poor men, and hun¬ 
 dreds and thousands of them were forced 
 into the service and made to fight against a 
 Government they never ceased to love and 
 revere. -Here, again, you should be reminded 
 of the fact that the Republican party is a 
 great national party, that it is in no way 
 selfish or vindictive, that it is composed of 
 men who have the best interests of all the 
 people of this great country at heart—men 
 who are anxious to forgive and forget all 
 past offences where sincere repentance is, 
 manifested. They have compared and con¬ 
 trasted the Southern States, with their sys¬ 
 tem of land monopoly and slavery,with those 
 of*the free North, where the land is divided 
 up into small farms; and while they have 
 seen the former every year retrograding, 
 they have witnessed the latter steadily pro¬ 
 gressing in wealth, refinement, civilization, 
 — indeed, everything that tends to make a 
 people bappy, intelligent, and independent. 
 In order to give these poor people of the 
 South an opportunity to break up, as far as 
 in the power of the government to do so, the 
 land monopoly system which has so long-op¬ 
 pressed them, and retarded the progress of 
 their States, it was only necessary to abolish 
 that clause of the act which requires 
 the applicant to swear that ho had 
 never borne arms against the Government 
 of the United States, and to cause it to ap¬ 
 ply to the public lands yet belonging to the 
 Government in the States of Alabama, Mis¬ 
 sissippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. 
 This was done in the Amendatory Act, ap¬ 
 proved March 21,18G6. 
 
 Q. Were any other amendments made in 
 this act which you state was approved March 
 21, 1866? 
 
 ' # 
 
 A. Yes. The first section of this supple¬ 
 mental act restricted entries of public lands 
 in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Lou¬ 
 isiana, xirkansas, and Florida, to not more 
 than a half-quarter section, or 80 acres,when 
 held at $1.25 per acre. Should the tract 
 selected, however, be $2.50 per acre, land 
 only half that quantity, or 40 acres, can be 
 entered according to the fixed principle in 
 
 I the original statute of 1862, the law impos¬ 
 ing this restriction' as to quantity in said 
 States for two years from its passage. Af¬ 
 ter the expiration of that time, however, 
 entries as to quantity will be governed by 
 the provisions of the 1st section of the act 
 of May 20th, 1S66. 
 
 w 
 
 This section further provides that the 
 benefits of the law shall be extended to cit¬ 
 izens of the United States without distinc¬ 
 tion or discrimination as to race or color, 
 and that no mineral lands shall be liable 
 to Homestead entry for settlement, under its 
 provisions. In lieu of the $10 fee required 
 by act of May 20th, 1862, to he paid at the 
 time of entry, the sum of $5 is to be paid at 
 the time of the issue of the patent. The com¬ 
 missions of the Register and Receiver 
 shall be the some as provided for in the acts 
 of May 20th, 1862, and March 21st, 1864, 
 with the exception of the States of Cal¬ 
 ifornia, Oregon, Nevada, andifche Territo¬ 
 ries of Washington, Colarada,. Idaho, New 
 Mexico, and Arizona, where 50 per centum 
 is added to the fee3 of the officers above 
 named. It should be remembered that the 
 fee is reduced to $5 only where the entry 
 shall not embrace more than eighty acres, 
 held at $1.25 per acre ; but where the entry 
 is in excess of that quantity, the usual fee 
 of $10 must be paid. 
 
 Q. You have spoken of Reserved Rail¬ 
 road lands. Are there not some such in 
 some of the Southern States ? 
 
 A. Yes, there are vast quantities of very 
 valuable lands in some of these States which 
 may be properly classed under this head.— 
 In Mississippi there are 2,612,120 acres; 
 in Alabama, 3,729,120; in Florida, 2,310,- 
 113 ; in Louisiana, 1,577,720 ; in Arkansas, 
 2,880,027. These lands were donated by 
 Congress in 1856, to the States in which they 
 are located, for railroad purposes; but these 
 States having failed to comply with the law, 
 by building railroads within the time stip¬ 
 ulated, (tan years,) the grant has expired 
 by limitation. These vast tracts of lands, 
 therefore, revert to the government. Hon. 
 Geo. W. Julian, Chairman of the Commit¬ 
 tee on Public Lands, in the lower House of 
 Congress, introduced, at the last session, a 
 bill providing.for the retrocession of these 
 lands to the United States. Owing to the. 
 shortness of the session, the bill was not 
 acted upon; but it will no doubt be taken upf 
 and considered the next session, when these 
 valuable lands will be thrown open to Home* 
 stead settlers. 
 
6 
 
 Any desired information in relation to the 
 Public Lands not herein contained, may be 
 obtained by ■writing to the Register and Re¬ 
 ceiver of the Land Office for the district in 
 which the lands are situated. 
 
 The Public Lands are so nearly exhausted 
 m the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, 
 that no desirable locations can be made in 
 those States. 
 
 The quantity of Public Lands subject to 
 entry under the Homestead law in the other 
 States and Territories is about one hundred 
 and forty millions of acres. 
 
 In the five Southern land States the whole 
 of the public domain is expressly reserved 
 for the occupation of the Homestead settler, 
 and is located as follows : 
 
 In Arkansas,. 9,298,012 acres. 
 
 “ Alabama. 6,732,058 “ 
 
 “ Florida.19,379,035 “ 
 
 “ Louisiana. 6.228,102 a 
 
 11 Mississippi. 4,760,736 “ 
 
 Total.46,398,543 acres. 
 
 The United States owns about 900,000,- 
 000 of acres of unsurveyed land, all of 
 which will be free to the Homestead settler 
 as fast as the lines of public surveys are ex¬ 
 tended over it. 
 
 Thus it is seen that the benificent policy 
 
 of the Republican party offers free homes 
 to all our people who may choose to reside 
 upon and cultivate them. 
 
 The 140,000,000 of acres at present open 
 to the Homestead settler, divided into farms 
 of 160 acres each would furnish homes for 
 seven hundred thousand families. Suppos¬ 
 ing each family to average five persons, the 
 free homes now offered to the landless la¬ 
 borers of the nation would accommodate 
 three millions five hundred thousand per¬ 
 sons. 
 
 When, the nine hundred millions of acres 
 of unsurveyed lands shall be added to this 
 munificent concession to the homeless, six 
 millions two hundred and fifty thousand 
 families will each have been offered a home 
 of one hundred and sixty acres. The num¬ 
 ber of families multiplied by five,—the av¬ 
 erage of the family—gives thirty-one mil¬ 
 lions two hundred and fifty thousand per¬ 
 sons; a number nearly equal to the entire 
 population of the United States. There¬ 
 fore, it may with truth be said, the Govern¬ 
 ment, through the benign policy of the Re¬ 
 publican party, offers homes to all its peo* 
 pie. 
 
 PRINTED AT THE GREAT REPUBLIC OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C.