, 1900-01-15
WARMING IT OVER.

A petition has been circulated and
extensively signed at Casper against
state ownership Of lands. the petition
ers holding that it is not in accord
with public policy nor to the best in
terests Of the people to have leased
lands through state ownership. 1t is
set forth that large tracts are leased to
big companies and that small ranch
men are frozen out.
The petition in question is doubtless
part II parcel Of a scheme to bring
the and grab scare to the front in the
coming campaign. Every election
since 1892 it has been the policy of the
democratic party to trot out the old
ghost and dance him about the state
till everybody was tired.
The allegations made in the petit
ton circulated at Casper are not true.
1t has not been the practice of the state
land board to lease large tracts to big
corporations. OF the large number of
leases made in Albany county a year
ago, the largest tract, $40 acres, was
leased to c.. H. Hutton. The state
board is now about to select and lease
almost 100, 900 acres, and this will be
they are given the preference. OF
course the order in which applications
are made must be taken into consider
alton.
There is no question but that the
leasing system is the best that has as
yet been evolved by any of the west
ern states. In this way stockmen can
be given possession Of lands and the
war between cattlemen and sheepmen
over the open range is at an end. AT
the same time, those who have hither-
to been inclined to live a nomadic life,
driving their fiocks and herds from
one partof the stateto another and con-
trihuting almost nothing to the support
of the government, are compelled to
seek a location and secure title to
lands. This very fact is is caus-
ing the opposition to the leasing sys-
TEN. In the past men like John E,
CSUOIus nave StCuleu Il SbNtp "a5Shi q
dog and a Mexican and have establish,
ed themselves upon the public domain,
contributing Just as little as possible
toward the support of government. II
is not their sympathy for the small
ranchman which is moving them now
but their hope to again walk into Office
on a lane howl.
But the people Of Natrona county OF
the state at large need ave no fear OF
the national government ceding the
public lands to the states in the neal
future, however desirable 1t may be fol
the people Of the states to have them
do so. There is no measure OF thi:
nature before congress and 1t not like
ly that one will be presented.
John E. Osborne has always opposed
state ownership of lands, for the rea'
son that it has suited his private and
political ends to do so, but the people
have little regard for the Rawlins
Esau.
In a recent letter to the editor OF the
Rawlins Republican, Mr.. Mondell dis
cusses his question as follows:
"A general leasing law, I am salts
fled, would not be satisfactory to the
people OF Wyoming, but I have intro
duced my bill allowing the states to
lease a limited amount Of the public
lands because I feel the necessity Of Sc
curing a fund with which to help sup
port the public schools and to aid in
building storage reservoirs. I fear that
it will be a good long time before we
secure a considerable appropriation
from the government for the building
OF storage reservoirs, II we ever do so.