Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1901-08-28
PuNCIuREp BY EAcIs.

PUNClUktD br tACIS.
In an able article replying to one
which recently appeared in the Great
Falls Tribune the River Press takes
some ofthe shot air" out Of Senator Glib
sons contention that the public domain
is fast being gobbled up by capitalists
under the desert land act thereby es.
t%ablishing a land monopoly. After
using Mr.. Gibson's illustration TO show
the benefits of the desert land act 10
the people of California the River Press
turns its attention to the situation in
this state and by facts and figures dis
proves the statements of the latter.
rhe Press says:
The alarmists who contend that home
builders are being shut out of Montana
by a land monopoly created under the
operation of the desert act, are fright
ened at a spccter Of their own immagi-
nation. There is no such monopoly as
they describe. and while IL is undoubt-
cdly true that frauds have been com.
mittcd under the desert act and other
land laws, that is not sufficient reason
for their repeal. II the Tribune and
Mr.. Gibson will look the situation
squarely in the face, we think they will
find that the danger of land monopoly
under the desert act is not so serious as
feared. Here are some facts which do
not support the land monopoly theory:
Choteau county, according to the fed
raj land office authorities, has an area
of about $500. 600, acres, and Of this
amount only lG9,l75 acres were assessed
TO private individuals last year. State
land selections in the county have a to-
tai area Of 2Oj, 29J acres, and the school
sections in round numbers include some
55O.oDu acres.
Teton county has an area of about
I i.3GG.5O0 acres of what are described as
agricultural and grazing lands, of
which isl.sG5 acres were assessed last
year. State land selections in the
county amount to about $1,000 acres.
Valley county with IN area of some
s,l5o,0oO acres, has only i,SSG acres
monopolized by stockmen and others,
according TO the tax rolls of last year.
Fergus c%ounty's area is estimated at
5,15O,0OO acres, of which G32,i07 acres
have been decided To- settlers and others,
a part of this amount being railroad
lands. State land selectionsin Fergus
county comprise about si,sGG acres.
Now, by putting these official data
together, it can be easily ascertained
how much land has been gobbled up by
monopolists in the counties of Choteau,
Teton, Valley and Fergus during the
past twenty-five or thirty years. The
total area of these four counties is near
ly IS. 800, 900 acres, of which amount
only gsl, 233 acres have been acquired
by honest settlers, land thieves and
Others since white men first came
to Montana. The land fraud alarmists
and desert act repealers should submit
this statement of facts when presenting
their theories. and ask an intelligent
public To take an unprecedented view of
the situation.
Let it be said right here, however,
that we certainly have a land monopo-
list sin our midst" and his name is the
State of Montana. In the four counties
to which reference is made in the fore
going data, selections have been made
by the state land department to the
amount of some 326, 800 acres, and the
total area of school lands in the same
localities is about l,500,0 900 acres. In
the counties of Choteau, Teton, Valley
and Fergus we find lands owned by the
state to the amount of some 1885 600
while the area owned by private indi-
viduals or corporations amounts to but
gsl 900 acres. With these data at hand
it is not difficult to locate the land mo-
nopolist who drives away home build.
ers from these parts.