Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-06
CATTLE RAlSERS FEEL BLUE
Prospects Of Losing Control Of Rangs Very
DiSOOurAging,
TRIP TO WASHINGTON BRINGS NO RELIEF
Members Of Delegation Tell Of Tn tr
Reception and EFFORTS Made to
Secure Some Sort OF
Concession.

Although they were treated with consid-
crate courtesy by Secretary Hitchcock and
others In Washington II is not with any
very high hope that the Nehraskans who
went TO the capital TO urge the passage OF
the land-leasing bill return 70 thsir homes.
Those who OF were bartlett Richards Of
Ellsworth. o. r. coffey ana e. G. Harris of
Chadron, william Ferdon Of Brownlee, Dan
IIill Of Gordon. G. @. Joy Of Alliance and
A. NJ. Modisett Of Rushville. The last two
are at the Merchants hotel on their return
trip and Mr.. Modisett gives this account OF
the visit:
I'VE went there not as Representatives Of
any organization, but on our own account to
help, II we could, IN securing the passage
Of the bill introduced in the senate by Mil
lard, and also in the house, providing that
the government lease for 2 cents per annum
per acre Its land west Of the hundredth
meridian.
I'm Nebraska are about 10. 900, 900 acres Of
this land which can be good for nothing but
Etock-raising. as demonstrated by repeated
crop failures. From time to time the cattle
men have been fencing this land and now a
principal trouble arises in the governments
announced determination TO have the fences
removed. 1t brings matters to q crisis, al
though the threat has been hanging over us,
1 suppose, for a long time, as the law was
made in 1885.
ITO the secretary Of the interior, Mr..
Hitchcock. we appealed for a stay of ae-
tion until we could get the leasing bill
through congress, but he answered that the
law is on the books and that there Ia moth
ing for him to do but enforce It. He treated
us very we'll, but ! Judge his idea Is to en-.
force IL, although I don't know how soon.
Conferences Were Many.
There were frequent conferences during
the six days that we were there and the
president devoted most Of an afternoon to
consideration Of the matter. We we're res
celved by the senate committee on lands
and by the house committee on the same.
During our conference with the latter we
made q disquieting discovery. We had told
the gentlemen that the land could only be
used for stockraising and that fences were
indispensable in combining the cattle near
the smaller artificial supplies Of water such
as the streams from the windmill when
we said that crops had repeatedly failed a
committeeman asked how seriously this had
affected the growth In the population of
that section. Mr.. Richards could not tell
definitely and a member turned to a census
report that lay on the table. In this II was
revealed that between 1890 and 1900 the
pOpulhtiou Oh NhEtOu8 cOuuLl6h ndo ueCTeaeou
as follows: Cheyenne, from 6,69s to $50;
Keith, from 2,666 to 1851; Sheridan, from
1857 to 6s03S; Sioux. from 2.457 to 2,065;
Dawes. from 9,722 to $3.50; Banner. from
2,435 to LILA. other counties had increased
some, but they were those in which there
are growing owns. / may say also that
this is hardly a criterion Of the adult pop.
~ulatlon, as children are much more npmer-
IS there now than in 1890.
Will Have bad Erect.
1T is our belief that II this law is en-
forced and the fences removed 1t will result
4 in a still greater exodus from thai section,
because 1t will practically drive the smaller
cattle raisers out Of the business They can
not afford to keep their cattle properly
under eye and ombat the increase in steal
ing which must inevitably ensue. There
will be much quarreling. too. and we will
be at a disadvantage In securing loans. az
our security on foot will be so scattered
that we might not be able to show q Ioar
company's agent one-half our holdings IN
the course Of a full days drive. The fine
for fencing the land may be as much az
$1,000, so that our extremity is seric Q. and
1t will probably be a principal to- at the
meeting in Crawford Of the Net to stoci
Growers association, May 13."k