Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-05-02
TO SAVE RANGES.
Bill to Lease Lands in Small Tracts
aid Keep Out Corporations.
OVERCOME STRONG OBJECTION.

Although there is an e%xplicable de-
sire on the part of nearly every sena.
tor and representative in Washington
to sidestep any legislation that will
settle the question of privileges of
stock aisers on the public domain the
problem seem certain to come up for
disposal at an early day. says a dis
patch from Washington, of April 80. to
the Denver News.
The president has extended the time
for the removal of illegal fences until
July l. At that time he states they
must come down.
Delegations from the ranges of the
west have been besieging the commit
tee IN public lands in the senate and
house with demands for some kinds of
legislation allowing grazing privileges.
They assert that conditions on the
range are not what they used to be,
and that if it is proposed to let the
grazing interests take care of them
selves as they have in the past. there
is going to be much confusion. The
bills providing for the leasing of the
public lands at present before congress
are satisfactory to few of the law
makers. In fact, the mere mention of
a leasing law in the halls of congress
io ouil'itht W blihS Out tht Ire vi
nearly every senator and representa-
tive on whose ear it strikes.
Lease the public lands and you will
be giving away the rights of home
stead settlers and small cattle owners
to large corporations, who will use
every acre." has been the slogan.
Ask ten congressman you meet for a
solution of the difficulty, and from
nine of them the answer invariably is:
II am in favor of no law that deals
with the leasing of public lands, or
Let the cattlemel take care of them.
selves, as they did before"
Congressman Lacey, of Iowa, intro
duced a bill today which he hopes will
solve the problem of preserving the
grass on the public domain and to all
land-holding stock raisers the privilege
they have been seeking. True. his bill
is a leasing bill. and this may win for
it the odium of those who long ago
formed the opinion of all leasing bills,
and who refuse to be converted. In
this case, however, it is the corpora
tions, instead of the small holders, that
Mr.. Lacey proposes to crowd out. Inc
bill expressly provides that no corpora.
ton shall be given leases on the public
lands. The preamble of the bill is as
follows:
THE purpose of the bill is to give
the homestead settlers and freeholders
the opportunity in the arid region to
improve. use and protect the grass
upon the public domain in the vicinity
of their holdings, so as to prevent the
further deterioration and the monopo-
lization of the range by owners of
large herds of live stock"
Mr.. Lacey stated today that he has
long been convinced that something
must be done to protect the grass on
the range and that a leasing law was
the only thing that would do it. In
order to meet the objections of those
who said a leasing privilege would
only work to the benefit of the large
corporation and crowd out the small
holder, he has framed the bill express
ly in the interest of small holders. The
corporations with their cattle must
the past or they must hire the leasers
to feed their cattle for them.
The main provision of the bill is as
follows:
All lands not capable of irrigation
may be leased for grazing purposes,
subject to the right of homestead, min
eral and other lawful entry laws. The
leases are to run for five years. A
lessee must be a landholder. He WIN
be allowed to lease not more than 1920
acres. He may fence the leased lands.
mere will be six classes of land to be
leased at l, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 cents per
acre, according to location and value
for grazing purposes. The bill puts
no hindrance on grazing on the unoc-
cupied public lands. Corporations and
non-landholders can occupy them as
they have done in the past, of course
observing the law concerning the cree
ton of fences.
Congressman Lacey is enthusiastic
over the prospects of the new bill, and
says it will meet every objection that
has beer offered to a leasing PROPOSE
ton. 1t was presented to the house
public lands committee this morning
and was freely commented upon
though very few fixed opinions were
expressed.