The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-07-05
WEDNESDAY. JULY j. 1905.
THE RANGE LEASING PROBLEM.

Some Of those who formerly looked
upon the proposition Of leasing por'
tions of the public domain as a scheme
that would benefit only the large stock
men, are now taking a different view
Of the matter. They fiud that lands
suitable only for grazing purposes are
being overstocked, and unless some
restriction is exercised by the federal
government vast areas Of the public
domain will be denuded OF vegetation
and become barren wastes. The Vel.
lows:oue Journal, in discussing the
leasing problem, says:
This paper has steadfastly opposed
the leasing Of the public domain when.
ever that question has come up for
discussion in the past ten or fifteen
years, and it is so opposed now. new.
ertheless it looks as if that position
might be intelligently changed to one
Of modified support of the leasing
proposition. The difficulty has al.
way CCCA ~ hNCP tllC "llOlC SIlOOI-
ing-match' from being put under
lease: to reserve to the real settler the
land that should be his. though he de-
layed year after year TO come after it.
We have always held to the idea that
the destiny Of the whole country was
settlement and cultiv alton wherever it
could be practiced, and it is fair to
say that this proposition was not spe-
officially combatted by the proponents
OF leasing for they were always will
ing to %stipulate that the lands should
be classified and only that portion OF
the domain unfit for agriculture or es-
pecially fitted for range stock.growing
should be offered for leasing.
But then, here was the trouble. Who
was competent to fairly and intelli
gently make this classification: Who
indeed! and it was the belief that if it
ever came to this point the whole ex-
tended area of public domain would
be "bunched in" as ''nothiug but
range country" and settlement with its
consequent growth of towns aud In
crease OF conveniences, checked short
of. That this would be the indubita.
bic result Of shutting out immigration,
no n will question. II We do not
grow as We live, we 60 backward. and
the community that has started to ret.
rograde, II 1t cannot by q sharp effort
check this movement, is speedily de.
serted, hence the opposition to leasing,
based upon the natural struggle for
life and the few other things the con.
stitution guarantees us.
But such broad questions as these
generally settle themselves by the evo-
luton OF the times and it looks to this
paper very much as II In q few years
The range stock.growers will be per.
nay, even solicited, TO take
under lease all that portion of the pub.
lie domain that the great irrigating
enterprises are leaving outside OF their
beneficial influences, for in our opiu-
the classification, heretofore SO
hopeless a task, will be practically
accomplished by the completion of
these irrigation enterprises whose ex-
terror reaches of reclamation and cul.
tivation will mark the lines beyond
which it will not pay a man to under.
take the task OF winning out from the
soil. To these exterior reaches will
then come not only the large range
grower who will seek to lease by the
thousand acres but the so called gran.
who will try a little dry.
farming in conjunction with a little
ock.raising. and eve he will actu.
ally need some hundreds of acres that
he canuot get elsewhere, for as cult.
walton of the irrigated areas is inten-
sitied the holdings are going to be
reduced and without doubt the $50
acre homestead" that is now talked of
as the probable government allotment
when the Grow reserv alton is opened,
will be found forty acres too much.
Then will the livestock methods OF
the central western states obtain here.
These farmers of irrigated farms will
all be feeders of stock, and their stock
will not come into competition with
the range growers, who with more
safely guarded If not increased range
facilities. will find better days for the
old business, for no one is foolish
enough to deny that there are large
tracts OF land in this and other arid
states that are fit only for the range,
but for this day We must wait until the
spread of the irrigation movement has
made it quite plain what and where
these tracts are.