Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-16
OPTION LAND LEASING
What Land Agent Says stOOkmsn Of
Western Nebraska Want.
REMARKABLE CHANGE Of SENTIMENT
Reports show Copious
Rains Throughout state of Ne
braska-Chanses i'm once
of Milwaukee Road.

among thousands Of stockmen in Nebraska.
Colorado. Wyoming and Idaho now is the
question Of leasing the public lands said
G. e. Wantland. who is the general agent
Of the Union Pacific Land company at Den
yer, and who came to Omaha Thursday
morning from there. THE change Of senti-
ment on this question has been something
marvellous in its extent and s~uddenness.
stockmen, and hundreds Of them, who only
yesterday were fighting bitterly every
proposition family contemplating the leas-
ing Of these lands. are now actually ad-
v~ocating such a movement most enthusi-
astically. The only reason why we do not
see the effect Of this change Of sentiment
expressed at Washington is that the legis-
lators there are acting on the wishes Of
their constituents as expressed a year ago.
When they get back home many Of them
VIII find a very different attitude on this
question.
Just now the problem is how to let those
stockmen who are now favorable to the
leasing scheme do so, while the ones who
still hold out may not be affected. For in
stance, in western Nebraska the stockmen
are all won over and are demanding this
method OF handling the ranges. There are
about 10000, 900 acres Of public lands out
there, and the stockmen wish to lease
them. About half Of this territory can-be
irrigated. Now If the western Nebraska
people, whose conditions are different from
the conditions in other states, can agree
upon a fair plan for range control in their
state, to protect their interests from de-
struction, why not allow them to have It?
We think we have this plan now In the
local option scheme. When l proposed this
two years ago 1t met with a storm of pro.
test. Now the stockmen are asking for its
establishment in many places. 1t is a
county local option land leasing plan, which
Is to be applied to any county whenever
the secretary of the interior is satisfied
that a majority of the stockmen in that
county wish it to go into effect" ~
Heavy Rains I'm Nebraska.
Railroad men are beginning to think that
the rainfall in Nebraska will never cease.
Each succeeding day brings In reports of
heavier rains than the day previous and
they are also a little more thoroughly dis
tributed In extensive quantities each day.
The morning report at Burlington head
quarters for the twenty-four hours ending
at 8 o'clock Thursday morning shows three
entire divisions completely blanketed with
a good wetting. From Plattsmouth to
Kearney the two ends of the northern d.
vision, the rain hit everything and fell in
such quantities as 1.34 inches at Grand
Island, LOS inches at Palmer, 1.20 inches at
Burwell and an inch at Erickson and Kear-
ney. The southern division, from Atchison,
Kan, to Blue Hill, was also soaked solidly,
and at Concordia fell 2.14 inches. Out on
the western division it was the same way,
rain from Minden to Lyons, and there was
l.23 inches at Benkleman, 1.12 at McCook
and an inch at Curtis and at Corona. This
covers practically the whole of Nebraska
save for the northwest portion, which lies
along this end of the Wyoming division.
For that division the report states that
there were light rains from Broken Bow to
Sidney, but that there was none in Wyo-
ming. The same story is told in a general
way by the Elkhorn reports, which give a
rain ranging from an inch to an inch and
a half over the entire South Platte country.
Changes in Milwaukee Omces
At the local Office Of the Chicago, Mil
waukee & st. Paul railroad nave Just been
received from the headquarters Of ]. H.
Hiland, traffic manager Of the road, an
nouncemehts of appointments affecting four
railroad men who are we'll known to Omaha
railroaders and who have often made this
city, although none s employed here. j.
7. Conley is made assistant general freight
agent at Minneapolis, to succeed Il. d.
assigned to other duties. Mr.. Con-
ley was at one lime assistant general pas
agent for this road, but has recently
been commercial agent at st. Paul. His
place there is to be taken by Frank e. Otis,
who has been commercial agent at Duluth,
MINI. Charles L. Kennedy succeeds Mr..
Otis at Duluth. All these changes date
from May 15.-Then. dating from May /. o.
F. Waller is made commercial agent at De-
troit, to succeed J. &. Williams. resigned.
Railway Notes and Personals.
E.. F. Serviss. commercial agent Of the
Frisco line, has returned from western
Nebraska
w. H. Melville, northwestern passenger
agent Of the Frisco line, has returned
from Lincoln.
N. F. Brown, travelling passenger agent
Of the Colorado 4 Southern railroad at
is in Omaha.
Michael Dowd, travelling. passenger agent
OF the Northern Steamship company at
Buffalo, IL In Omaha.
j. o. Phillippi, assistant general ss,as { !
agent OF the Missouri Pacific railway. neAl
from Lincoln.
George McNutt. district passenger agent
for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad
Kansas City, is In Omaha.
La NJ. Allen. assistant general passenger
agent of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pc
cifc railroad at Chicago, Is in Omaha.
Two carloads of Italian immigrants,
eighty in all, we're brought into Omaha over
the Illinois Central Thursday morning and
taken out west by the Burlington on No.
8. Half are bound for California, the rest
for Oregon and Washington.
All but a half mile OF the new extension
Of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley
from Deadwood to Lead City Is
now tracked, with the ballasting gang
close behind the rail layers. 1t is expected
that the work viii be finished Saturday,
and that the first train will be run over
the line early next week.
w. A. Deuel., superintendent OF the Colo
RADIO division Of the Union Pacific railway
headquarters at Denver, w. l.. Park,
superintendent OF the Wyoming division
headquarters at Cheyenne. and %. r.
Grimm. general agent at Denver, are In
for a conference with Superintend-
emit Of Transportation Buckingham and
Manage Dickinson.
Promotion involving a m e t. DeErr'
has just come to Ralph DGv ing. w. hes
been stenographer at tks genera afSca |!
Of the Missouri Pacih1 railway "a Ia .
city. He has gone TO take a posttion in [
The Illinois Central ONCE in the mountain
metropolis. His place here has been taaeIs
w. Moore. who has been stenogrSPflrt i
the auditing department at Union Pa
cihc headquarters for some time.
w. II. Mum, chief clerk in the passenger
department. at Fremont. Elkhorn g. Mis-
-. Nalav haaA1NU. - H. I