Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1901-08-21
FAlSIfYNG OUR POSITION.

Of the desert land act. The Arr
Gus, as well rs all of the people Of Fer
gus county, will hail the day when the
matter of retaining the arid lands Of
Montana is undertaken by the general
government, but they realize that there
Is a limit even to the ability Of the gov
eminent in this work. owing to the alb
sence of large bodies Of water 10 sup
ply canals, inadequate water sheds and
natural catch basins. That much water
could be saved that now runs To waste
in Fergus county in the early spring no
one will deny. But the saving up of
this water would chiefly benefit those
who have already taken mp land along
our numerous small streams, and they
are largely farmers and small stock
men. Even If the government reclaim
cd but little Of the high bench lands,
where most of the desert land has been
taken up, it would receive a handsome
revenue in rentals from actual settlers,
who fully realize the great benefits of
unfailiug water the year round and cs-
pccially in years of drouth, which are
sure Ia occur. That there are great
stretches Of land upon which watercan
not he placed in large volume, and
hence will not bc ''thickly settled, is
certain.
We need more people and there is
room for more. But Montana could
have ton times the population She has
today and not be "thickly settled
In "a recent article in which the Trib-
unc attempts 20 prove that the AEGrs
Is opposed to irrigation, it says:
Never an opportunity is missed by
the AGous 10 sneer' at the idea Of re-.
claiming the rrid lands of Montana In
It's eyes the idea is absurd and the land
cannot he reclaimed"
The above. ofcourse, is absolutclyun IN
true. oar contention is, and has been,
that there are great areas in this coun-
" and other counties of the state that
cannot be reclaimed by reservoirs or
canals owing TO the topography Of the
country in which they are located, the
elevation and long distance To streams
carrying any considerable body of
water. And we say il would be folly
TO let such lands lie idle. a part Of the
public domain, when they could be
made To- sustain stock and add to the
taxable wealth of the county and state.
In the same article our contemporary
cites several instances where bitches
are being taken out and the lands adj
iaccnt reclaimed, and in all but one
the lands are in valleys-the Gallatin,
the Milk River and the Missouri. No
one would contend that much, if not a
n majority, Of the lands in these val
leys cannot be saved. But there are
millions Of acres that are ''up in the
air" compared with these lands. Our
contemporary cites j. j. Hill, Paris
Gibson and Ex-senator Carter rs hold
ing to the view that Montana will some
day become ''thickly settled" Nodoubt
they believe Montana has room for a
great many more people than she has
and that they are coming. But there
might be a difference of opinion among
the gentlemen named as to what would
constitute a ''thickly settled state.
Even IL Montana is TO be thickly set
tied much of the land already taken up
will have to be divided up into smaller
holdings by purchase, and this can on
ly be done by increasing the product
ivencss of the land by abundance OF
water, hence everybody will be glad
when that day comes. But until il
does come the people here are going to
make the best of the situation. IL is
natural that they should want To live
and prosper.
In this same article the Tribune has
something TO say about the foes of ma
tional irrigation in the country that is
to be benefited most by it," and adds;
They prefer that these vacant acres
shall keep cattle rather than that they
shall keep the same number of men and
women. The cattle pay them a profit
and they cannot see that the men and
women will. OF this class the Fergus
County ARGUS is a fair sample"
The above only displays a loss OF
temper arl a disregard for the truth
because the ARGUS opposes the PROPOSE
tion to repeal the desert land act,
which today is doing as much to make
a home for ''mcn and women" and chill.
drcn as any of our land laws. How
many men are there in Fergus county
who could go out today and take up q
homestead claim of 100 acres and malI,
a comfortable home and living on il.
Could this be done now after agricul
tural lands have been sought after and
taken up for the past twenty years;
We care nothing for the Tribunc'S dirty
ling. The big stock men can take care
of themselves. We want all of the set.
tiers, the farmers, to come who can lino
homes here. but those who are her,
have n right to exist and realize some
thing from what they can produce, ant
at present and for some time to com,
there is more money in cattle, horses
and hogs than wheat, oats, barley ant
vegetables.