The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1901-02-12
FARMERS VS. LoGGERs.
Ftzpatrick's Bill Was Killed and Then
Resurrected.

to float a SaWlOg by dams that will
not permit the passage of logs con-
sumed the time of the house commit
tee of the whole, Thursday, says the
Helena Record.
Once the bill was killed for the
committee voted toIstrike out the en-
acting clause. But the house voted not
to adopt the reportSof the committee
of the whole and the Fitzpatrick bill
had new lease of life.
The debate began when Newton of
Gallatin moved that the enacting
clause be stricken out
I'VE have use for the streams Of
Montana" said he, ip advocating the
motion, for irrigation manufacturing
and mining purposes. If this bill
were to become law it would Grip
pie the farming industry, prevent the
use of the water of streams for the
manufacturing we expect to have in
the state in the future and would seri-
iously impair the interests of min
ing
Mclntire championed the bill.
My county he said, lis the larg-
est timber county In the state. A
man owns piece of land through
which runs stream suitable for
floating logs. Above this mans prop
erty are extensive timber lands The
owner of the land desires to force the
owners of the timber to sell it to him
at his own price and they refuse. He
says to them You shall not float your
logs through my land Just such a
condition exists in my county and that
is what the bill is for to enable those
men to get their product to market"
Mr.. McIntire offered a substitute
for the motion pending that the bill
be amended to provide that it should
not impair any rights acquired to the
passage of the act which, he said, he
thought would remove the opposition
to the bill
Myers made his maiden appearance
on the floor in debate, taking the op-
poste horn of the dilemma
You can take your saw mills to the
timber" said he, "but you can't take
the farm to the water. In my judg-
ment nothing you could enact would
be so harmful to the interests of the
state as this BILL
Conner of Ravalli took the same
position.
You will find that the man who
will suffer if this bill is passed." he
said, will be the man with the hoe"
Dixon said he thought the McIntire
amendment removed the objection to
the bill. He said it was well known
fact that men acquired land at the
mouth of a stream flowing from a
gulch and refuse to allow the men
up the gulch engaged in the timber
business to float their logs out.
The bill is not worth the paper it is
written on said Myer. 1T is impossi-
BILE under the present law to prevent
a man from floating logs down a
stream"
Speaker Corbett took the side of the
farmer.
I'VE are told of the magnitude of
the timber interests in this state"
said he, "but will say to you it is only
transltory. Cut the timber from the
sides of your beautiful canyons and
your lumber business is gone, while
the farming industry mas been
the mainstay of the world since the
time of Abraham. The bill looks to me
as if it had been written in the
office of the lumber company.
Speaking of the law, Mr.. Corbett
said that no man can be stopped from
floating logs in stream large enough
to carry them and that the man with
the dam must look out for himself.
THE bill is not fair and it is not
needed" he concluded
Patterson offered a further amend.
ment to provide that no right acquir.
ed subsequent to the passage of the
act should be impaired by it.
Il had not intended to refer to it,
said Mr. McIntire, "but | deem it wise
at this time to do so. We have in
our county big corporation which
owns land at the mouth of a stream
on which there are immense timber
lands above them. They want to buy
that timber at their own price and
have told the owners of it, you will
have to sell it to us for $3.50 a thous
and or you shall not float your logs t.
market. 1t was to cure this condition
that the bill was prepared"
The chair finally ruled that propos
ed amendments were not in order
while motion to strike out the en-
acting clause was pending. Though
all the debate had been permitted on
them, the question had not been