Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1902-04-16
The QUESTION OF
DRIFT FENCES
Interviews With Secretary Of the Interior {.
A. Hitchcock and Land Commissioner
Binger Hermann Throw More Light
on the Topic.
DRIFT FENCES MUST ALL Be
REMOVED AND THAT At ONCE

has been no resembling of the orders to
remove fences from the public domain, p"
said the secretary of the interior, land
neither has there beer aLT order calling
upon special agents tho land office to
do more than they have been ordered to
do in tho past"
Secretary Hitchcock was speaking Of
the law .equring stockmen to remove
fences from lands to which they had no
title. the enforcement of which Is max
ing such stir among large cattle own
ers in the westa at the present time. Mr.
Hitchcock denied that the time Tor the
removal of such fences had been eAtend'
ed 60 days, and he also denied that there
was any intention of the government to
extend it for one year, as has been re-
ported in the west.
ga special concession was made to q
large cattle company in southeastern
New MeXlco,' said Secretary Hitchcock,
''and it was allowed to maintain what
fences it had erected on public lands
until June This was by special recon-
mendaton of the president, to whom
the company represented that the re-
moval of the fences at the present time
would entail on them great loss and in
convenience by the mixing of herds, as
they were planning to make big sale
of cattle in June, and it would be almost
impossible to separate the saleable cat
tie from the rest at that time If the
fences were removed. This order APP
piled to no other part of the country
than that occupied by this particular
company
CLAIMS POLICY UNCHANGED.
When questioned as to an apparently
new policy adopted by the department,
namely, the removal of all fences on
public grazing lands instead of those
complained of by small cattle owners,
Secretary Hitchcock asserted that the
department had maintained the same
policy continuously and its aim had been
to observe the law and cause all lands
to be kept open. He said the special
agents were always under orders to this
effect, and if they had overlooked lands
not complained of they were doing so
without the sanction Of the department.
"There has been absolutely no move
or change of policy in the department.
SAID the secretary. "The fencing ques-
ton is the same now as it has been since
the law was passed forbiddin" the in
tdossiYe Of prh'ia ! ;estin eaacs ,he de-
partment is, as usual. reporting such
parties as refuse to remove fences ille-
gally erected to the department of JUS
tice that they may be acted upon through
the courts.
Binger Hermann, commissioner OF the
general land Office was q t"fle more
committal than the secretary of the in
terror, and he admitted that while the
special agents of the interior Depart
ment were always under orders to have
fences removed from public grazing
lands, they had but very recently been
stirred up about it and remindcd what
their full duty was. Mr. Herman ad-
mitted that the land Office had been in
cined to be somewhat lenient In the
past, but it was now the intention to
proceed against everybody and cause
the removal of all illegal fences, both
those complained of and those not. Mr..
Hermann said:
"Within the last few weeks a large
number of stock raisers in the west have
complied with the orders of special
agents to remove otstructing fences.
InTCo uuHuTeu anu lOl " -uHlo ouuHuo
have been notified to remove fences and
60 days have passed without their com
plying. They have been reported to
the attorney generals department.
Some eight or nine of such parties have
been convicted. Several score of cases
are pending at the present time"
DESTROYED BY GOVERNMENT.
Commissioner Hermann cited the case
of large cattle company in Oregon
which refused to remove it's fences from
public lands. The case was fought
through several courts and finally won
by the government. The company still
persisted in maintaining its fences,
whereupon the government hired men
and had the fences destroyed. Stone
walls were pulled down, wires were cut
to bits and posts were pulled up and
strewn over the plains.
Petitions from stock growing associa-
tions in the west have been forwarded
to Washington asking the president to
stay the interior departments order UNI
til pending legislation on grazing inter-
ests can be settled. 1t is not altogether
unlikely that the president will comply, |
Judging from his leniency in the New
Mexico case,
Bills providing for the leasing of pub
lie lands to stockmen will be considered
by the senate and house committees on
public lands within few days. Both
committees are awaiting the opinion of
the secretary of the interior on the
measure.