Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1903-12-02
RIDING HIS HOBBY.

Npulof tht uulutH VI mo loiiChldloho
is about the way the public lands ARE
being acquired in great tracts by spec
ulators and cattle companies, instead
OF individual farmers"
1t will strike some people as rather
strange that Mr.. Gibson did not COM
mence his crusade for the preserva-
ton of the agricultural lands of the
state twenty-five years ago, when he
first came to Montana and when
there were plenty Of such lands to be
had. Possibly Mr.. Gibson was after
all the land he could get at that time
and as cheaply as possible. Now, az
ter all of these years of land hunting
and locating he discovers that there
are still great opportunities for set
tiers on agricultural lands. He says:
THE great outrage upon the public
is that these locations have been
made upon the richest farm lands of
northern Montana. all OF which could
be irrigated from the great rivers that
flow out from the Rocky mountains.
Had not these lands been so taken up
for stock-ranging purposes, they
would within the next few years come
to be occupied by thousands of home
makers. on small and prosperous
farms varying from 80 t o 100 acres"
Taking Mr.. Gibson on his own state
ment 1t is clear that he would have
had all of these lands lying idle until
such time as there would have been
a demand for them for agricultural
purposes, so for the past quarter of
a century they would have practically
yielded nothing in the way of evenu
to county, state or nation. And even
now he says these richest" farming
lands could be made so by irriga.
ton from the great rivers that flow
from the Rocky mountains" What
could" be done and what will be
done are two different things. Mr..
Gibson knows that il will be more
than a few years before the great
rivers will be tapped to redeem large
tracts OF Montana lands, and that
there are millions Of acres that can
never be so reclaimed. And even II II
were true, with about all of the land
laws repealed where would the fund
come from to defray the expense ol
these undertakings? The money de
rived from lands as fast as redeemed
would not be sufficient and when Q
direct appropriation from congress 1:
asked for this purpose it would moi
be so easily obtained as was the law
appropriating the money obtained
from the sale of public lands.
Everyone will concede that irriga
ton is a good thing and there is sucl
a thing as running 1t into tn,
ground" There is a great regioI
clamoring for it and the benefits viii
have to be impartially distributed
Some projects will be found practica
BILE, others absolutely chimerical
And even when all of the lands tina
can be redeemed by these great irri
cation schemes are saved. what /!
Mr.. Gibson going to do with the bal
ance? He is opposed to leasing. HI
virtually wants all of the public land
left to revert 10 the aborigines or I,
q period when no land laws existed
There would be no way to get them
as no one would want them for agri
cultural purposes. There is a demand
for a little conservatism in dealing
with the land laws.
1t is true. cattlemen, woolgrower,
and even ranchmen have been com
PEELED TO acquire a good deal of land
Conditions and circumstances requir
ed it. But under changing condition
these holdings will gradually shrinl
and be divided up. They served on,
purpose well and will eventually b,
ensmalled to serve another. Thi
change is gradually but surel,
taking place. IL is a natural evolu
ton. When land becomes too valu
able for roaming herds of cattle an,
sheep and Is susceptible Of agricuI
ture a great portion OF it will be sol,
for that purpose. But the pioneer
OF Montana who took mp land wer
and are from necessity, stockgrower
in a smaller or larger degree. w
want farmers and we are gettini
them. But the early settlement of tn
far west was n far different thin
than the settlement of the Mississippi
valley, The conditions were altogetf
err dissimilar. and are still for tina
matter.
We want a live. energetic class O
{ Farmers. men who will try to rails
the products consumed by the peopl
of the state. We are getting ther
and there is less money being sen
away for such products, but there
still room for great Improvement.