Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1905-10-21
A BONA FIDE SETTLER.
The Forest Reserve Policy Has Worked
Hardship in His Case.
Wallace Idaho, Oct. Is, 10

Wallace Idaho, Oct. ID, 1905.
Editor Press. In order to justify our
claims for certain lands and to expose
some of the gross injustice to which
some of us claimants are subjected in
last Sundays SpokesmanReview by the
government inspectors, | will exercise
some of my rights as an American cit
izen to repudiate some of their asser-
tions.
In the first place, every American
citizen, as such, is supposed to have the
right to claim piece of land on the I'M
surveyed public domain, either for
homestead, if suitable, or for stone and
timber, if more valuable for such. 1t
is on these established rights that we
have taken up claims. Would not every
citizen do the same if opportunity was
to present itself?
cannot see why the government did
not withdraw the land three years ago,
or warn people not to take up claims if
it had decided not to throw it open for
any settlement. In that case some of
us would not have expended small sums
of money, undergone hardships and lost
valuable time. Certainly it is not the
rich man who viii live over there and
build summer residences. 1t remains
for the poor to build cabins and spend
their spare time and money to acquire
the land they have located
Last March the government withdrew
these lands for prospective forest re-
serve and a score of government inspec-
tors have since been over these lands
and drawn such Grass conclusions as to
claim that only one or two of all the
claimants had lived partly on their
claims and all the rest of those who are
located in township At north, range 4
east, had never lived on them.
For my part have lived weeks at a
time on my claim and if necessary could
prove it by people who have no interest
over there. l did not only go out for a
hunting and fishing trip, but have actu-
ally cultivated and lived on my claim
part of these three summers. am not
in financial condition to take hunting
trips every few weeks, nor can build
a summer residence over there. have
done all this under the greatest financial
embarrassment, as | am not in a robust
state of health. having been badly Grip
pied in the mines some years ago, and
am not able to stand any kind of work
as good as the average man. But there
seems to be no one speaking up for US
simply because the government inspec-
tors hold us all up in the same light.
would like to know what they expect
of settlers before they are allowed to
file, and if the government places the
same restrictions on everybody. Be-
sides cannot understand why the fill
ings of one Grotto, in township 46, sec
ton 6, and one. Harry Dittman, town
ship as, section so, were allowed while
some Of as know well that they located
only about sixteen months ago and since
the survey, that they had but half the
improvements at time for fling on the
18th of July, as some of us had who
were rejected with mare suitable land
for cultivation than they have, espec-
tally as the government inspectors have
been over the land and know that they
are also in the proposed forest reserve.
This is strange indeed. Should there be
any exceptions made?
The report from the inspectors that
our improvements are worth only from
six to ten dollars indicates to me that a
poor fellow who wants to do something
for himself, can't stand an equal show.
We know very well that the grown
timber will be cut down anyway, even
in forest reserve, but Under restric-
tons, and the lumber companies will
get it direct. Now why couldn't the
government put" the same restriction
when not under forest reserve?
The result is the lumber companies
gets the timber direct and will not have
to'hother with any poor claimant.
Yours truly,
EMIL KRAIIsE