The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-05-02
AFTER The
PASTURES
The Administration Has a
Plan That May Satisfy
All Interests.
Story Of the "Cattle Graz
ers'' VS.. the Home
steaders.

81 ID . . l
steaders.
IRON, The journal Buream, Room, 20, Post
Building, Washington.
Washington, May 2.-As a result of an
extended conference between the presi-
dent, the secretary of the interior and the
commissioner general of the land Office, it
is believed that some arrangement will
be made whereby the law of 1885 prohibit
ing the occupation of public lands for
grazing purposes will be freely vindicated,
the cattlemen reasonably satisfied and
protection afforded the small farmer. y"
How the arrangement will be made, the
administration is not yet ready to an
nounce, but it is explained that when the
cattlemen realize that the secretary of
war can send troops to enforce the law
as has been done in one case on the In
dian reservation, they will withdraw their
cattle and remove the illegal fences.
Secretary Hitchcock says that the presi-
dent has authority to proceed without the
action OF congress.
In this connection it is interesting to
| examine the reports Secretary Hitchcock
has sent congress against the sage of a
| bill now before Senator t1aEsbrough's
| committee on public lands, seeking TO de-
| fine the terms and the number of years
| for which public lands can be leased to
cattlemen.
Many grazing bills are pending in
| each house, their main purpose being to
protect the catt!emen against the en-
croachn2ents of the homesteaders. AS is
we'll known. the Roosevelt administra-
4 ,tion is strongly committed to the home
stead idea. It favors national irrigation
chiefly because it will cover the seni-arid
i Wit = 20,
the interests of the whole people will be
1 best subserved by getting farmers on
the lands now held by the government
and the Indians. Acre for acre, Secretary
/ Hitchcock says the !western farms will
send five head of cattle to market to one
now sent from the immense grazing
/ strips
4 The president has become quite agrees
sive in his attitude and his stand for the
farmer against the cattle baron promises
/ o5deyelop even more interesting features
q than the War@against the beef trust. The
opjeet$of5 the effort to dissolve the beef
a trust is to- prevent extoftion, while the
q controversy between the cattle barons
Hand the farmerss which the former have
sTrTe eipi ted by their grazing bills involves
Il the fESure beef sIpp1y of Che country. The
stpossi bility of sthes cattle supply being cor
a nered by assoeiA tions acting on the COM
q tnunity e interest plan presents an ISSUE
4 ton han the one Attorney General Knox
5 ar I,istric Ettprney Bethea are raising
q in the fedef al court of Chicago.
Counts sionefAlfermann. OF the genera
land Office, says that if the pending graz
! ing bill becomes law it will make subject
81 to entry all the vacant public lands il
y Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho
: Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico. North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ore
3 gon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington ant
J, Wyoming, an area embracing 525, 200, 00t
4 acres. sg
q The leases will run for ten years will
privilege of renewal for ten years NOR
at an annual rental of cents an acre
which is less than . per cent on tn
value Of the land at its lowest appraisa
of s1.25 per acre. This rental goes int
: the general regulation fund.
Secret aFyI4it chcocks report is a scath
ing criticism Of this grazing bill. Hi
: the discretion of the secretary, but throw
the entire Public domain open to leases
except the mineral lands and lands tina
q have been homesteaded. The land ma
7. be proper for disposition under the home
: stead or desert land act or may I
- choice agricultural land, but the bi
. makes no exception and leaves every
n thing open to capture by the cattle be
it rons. 1t is recited that the governme1
u last year disposed of 1872 $50 acres
land under the desert claims act, r.
ceiving therefor $1144,s64. None of tn
If revenue would be available under the pr
posed grazing act.
. The secretary cites the fact that la
st year 81, 55S persons began or complete
s. homestead proceedings in the stat
to named above. There were 1854 origin
" homestead entries, involving 1874 2
Up acres, and 27,904 final homestead entire
y, involving 4, 1876, 900 acres. 1t is argued tn
in the enactment of the proposed grazing Ia
IN would tie up this land for from ten
r twenty years, adepriving homesteaders
ay their rights. The present activity
So northwestern farm lands makes this poi
Ut worth consideration.
is Bnt the most interesting feature of n
ed Hitchcock's criticism IS the illustrate
E of the manner by which, under the teri
ay of .sfhe proposed bill, the cattle baro
re- could secure a complete monopoly OF pu
li6 lands, not only to the exclusion
the honest eaders, but also to the exc
sior of settlers already on lands who
titles have not been perfected ~
couId be accomplished under the provisl
giving preferences to leasers. In conc
sion Mr.. Hitchcock says:
IN ~ am confident this bill, if enacted il
-, law. will work lncaiculaple injury to
ICE majority of people of the western stat
ian will retard the development of the put
av. domain impose additional privatlon VI
tho hardy pioneer, compel the small ST.
owner and settler to pay tribute and r.
ces tai to the syndicate owner or be DRY
vas from the open fields; will encourage
~ eraat landed monopoly upon the vac
IL domain which should pc Tree 70 az,
ere engender feeling OF nostllley anu
ons equality among those who should
lay friends and equals,
ed Cases of illegal Fencing.
,iIe Commissioner Hermann tells me TO-
INC that there have been forty-seven &C
,nt nlaints from South Dakota and torty-1
mo from Montana of illegal fencing on
ye5 mart of the cattle barons. IS. None q
car come thus far from North Dakota,
pa- though numerous fences are built in t
APP state. ;,
for 'sUnder present conditions said
Hermann, 'sthe cattlemen abrogate
tirely the homestead laws in the graz
states. The Dakotas would nave m N
thousands more citizens to day II
eattlenen had not illegally monopol1
Ex- the public lands
RooseveIt's Point OF view.
dent This long explanation is necessary
the order that 0 ur n a readers may q
ar president Roosevelt's pointEof view
the fine cattle situation, and may underst
nenJ why he is becoming SO active IN a
sN crusade. He would fill the public Ian
anto the Dakotas and other western sta
gov. with prosperous small farmers and 81
here nsTfhe cattle monopoly. Every city
war daring on this large territory, IT
,eral 4 eIairned ought to indorse his policy I