Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1902-12-12
PERVERTED LAND LAWS.
All Possible Area Should Be Held for Home
builder.

builder.
Few subjects of more Importance
have been taken up by the Congress
in recent years than the inauguration
of the system OF nationally aided irri
CATION for the arid regions of the fal
West. A good beginning therein ha,
been made. Now that this policy 81
National irrigation has been adopted
the need of thorough and scientific
forest protection will grow more rapid
ly than ever throughout the public
land States.
Legislation should be provided fol-
the protection Of the game, and the
wild creatures generally, on the fore 81
reserves. The senseless slaughter oil
game, which can by judicions protec.
ton be permanently preserved on our
national reserves for the people as a
whole, should be stopped at once. II
is, for instance, a serious count against
our national good sense to permit the
present practice of butchering off such
stately and beautiful creature as the
elk for its antlers or tnsks.
So far as they are available for agri-
culture, and to whatever extent they
may be reclaimed under the national
irrigation law, the remaining public
lands should be held rigidly for the
home builder, the settler who lives on
his land, and for no one else. In their
actual use, the desert-land law, the
timber and stone law, and the com.
mutation clause of the homestead law
have been so perverted from the inten-
ton with which they were enacted as
to permit the acquisition Of large areas
OF the public domain for other than
actual settlers and the consequent
prevention of settlement. Moreover,
the approaching exhaustion of the
public ranges has OF late led to much
discussion as to the best manner oil
using these public lmde in the West
which are suitable chiefly or only for
grazing. The sound and steady devel.
opment Of the West depends upon the
building up of homes therein. Much
of our prosperity as a Nation has been
due to the operation of the homestead
law. On the other hand, we should
recognize the fact that in the grazing
region the man who corresponds ia
the homesteader may be unable to set.
tie permanently if only allowed to
use the same amount OF pasture land
that his brother. the homesteader, is
allowed to use of arabic land. One
hundred and sixty acres of fairly rich
and well-watered coil, or . much
smaller amount OF irrigated land, may
keep family in plenty. whereas NO
one could get living from 100 acres
of dry pasture land capable of support.
ing at the outside only one head oil
cattle to every ten acres. In the past,
great tracts OF the public domain have
been fenced in by persons having nc
title thereto, in direct defiance of the
law forbidding the maintenance OF
construction of any such unlawful
Enclosure OF public land. For various
reasons there has been little interior.
ference with such Enclosures in the
past, but ample notice has now been
given the trespassers, and all the re-
sources at the command Of the Gov
eminent will hereafter be used to put
. stop to such trespassing.
In view of the capital importance oil
these matters, I commend them to the
earnest consideration of the Congress
and if the Congress finds difficulty il
dealing with them from lack Of thor
ough knowledge OF the subject.
recommend that provision be made fol
a commission of experts specially 4
investigate and report upon the com
plicated questions involved.