Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1897-02-25
A ONE-sIDED
hon. James Fergus and an Old Timer Discuss
Conditions.

Aoh 49, w
been? You are badly bent but
otherwise look well.
~Fergus-Yes, / know you and am
glad to meet you again. / am as well
as an old invalid n his eighty-fourth
year who has done SO much hard
work could expect to be. Where
are you going?
o. Tt heard you stockmen kept
open house and being tired of pros
pecting thought / would take a play
spell and come down and talk
old times with you.
F.-An right, glad you came.
About the open house, it is this way:
our stock Craze on the public land,
John. James and George come along
and say, 1--WE are three of the seventy
million that own this grass and we
want to board out our share of the
rent" but they generally board out
all that belongs to their relations
before they leave and as some OF the
stockmen don't live on the range and
pay nothing, a few OF us have to pay
too much.
o. TT see you are still doing
hard work.
F.-Yes, it takes eight per cent OF
our gross income to pay our taxes.
Our horses run us in debt, sheep
raising doesn't pay, SO we are depend
ent on what cattle the hard winters,
wolves, Indians, rustlers and half
breeds leave us, to pay and board
our men, keep open house, pay our
taxes and all other expenses and it
takes all the rustling N hard work
all of us can do to- keep us out OF
debt.
o. T.-Your taxes must be very
high and l see no cause for it; we got
along just as well in the early sixties
without taxes, legislatures or sc
many officials. How much are your
taxes per capita in your county?
F.-About twelve dollars and
fifty cents, which is said to be the
highest of any country in the world
except possibly Cuba.
o. T.-You astonish me. Have
you no remedy, no method of cur
failing them?
Yes, reducing all fees n sal
aries, state and county one-half, en-
cept jury and witness fees; reduce
the number of state offices by conn
bining two or three in one, doing
away with deputies, state and
county-where they are not abso-
lutely necessary; having the legisla-
ture meet every four years in place
of every two; limit sessions to thirty
days and reduce the members of the
lower house and the attaches OF
both houses one-half. We would
have fewer but just rs good laws
and have them just as well executed
at less than half the expense. Better
include the lawyers and doctors in
this fifty per cent reduction, for they
too ook too much on the general
public ar their prey and the poor
rancher generally gets the worts o.
it.
O. THAT is a sweeping reform
/ wish you was in the Legislature
now.
FL am too old and could do lit
tie if i was there and younger
What can one man do against 1
majority of a Legislature when many
of them are interested and surrounded
by an interested lobby.
o. ibid you make a good legis
lator when there?
F.-What a question! No sir
That is not my forte but l did no
steal.
o. T.-Do you pretend to say tina
legislators stole.
F.-Well, some OF them carried oi
all the public property they could
such as statutes, all kinds of paper
envelopes, ink, etc. You may notcal
it stealing, l do.
o.. TT understand nearly a
your county officials are now q
have been sheep wne
F.-Yes, when wool was invent.
cents a pound we lived high. Whe
the duty was taken off we began t
think that $1,000 u year with ''stor
clothes" in u comfortable office. wit
short hours, was far better tina
$50 a month, SO, as we had alway
been good about getting all tn
grass in sight for our sheep, w
thought by putting up our mos
popular men first we could make il
and did, but the first lot-none
whom probably earned $1,000
year before in their lives, think 500
too good a thing to let go, so onl
talk Of shopping offices at next ele'
ton, of course which leaves the res
Of us out. MANS inhumanity I
man.
o. T.-Don't you think we hay
too many laws?
F.-Yes sir. This is the evil {
legislation, law making and otiie
holding. American citizens al
herded in like droves of sheep; bette
do away with 80 much law maxim
and SO much death-bed irepentant
and live better lives, have fewer sir
to repent of, set better examples
our children, make cur houses I'll
most pleasant place to them on I'll
face of the earth. III every man an
woman lives a good life we will ha,
good nation, a good people. Ten
perance laws do not always sto
drinking or anti-gambling laws sto
gambling. American people al
easier led than driven; better stal
good libraries, get up good lecture
and do every thing we can to elevat
the human race out of its preseI