The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-08-02
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 2, 1905.
MR.. GIBSON'S BIG X NJ.
Editor Of the River Press:

by owning a tract of 200 acres OF
land, l occupy a position Inconsistent
with my expressed views regarding the
repeal of our present land laws. For
your own information and that OF the
readers of your excellent paper,:1 beg
to state that I have never claimed that
a man could not with prOpriety buy
from his fellow men land, cattle. sheep,
groceries. etc., in such quantities as
his Judgment might dictate. TO do 90
would be simply absurd. My conten.
ton is now, as it has ever been. that
our national government should not
maintain on its statute books laws by
means of which one individual can &C.
quire a vast area Of public land. 1t
is my belief that lands belonging to
the United States Of America should
be disposed of only to home makers
and in quantities not exceeding one
hundred and sixty acres to each set
tier, and that. as a guarantee of good
faith, the settler should live upon and
cultivate the land five years before OBJ.
tanning a title to it.
The Importance Of preserving the
remaining public lands Of the nation
for home makers becomes more APP
parent as we note the enormous in.
crease of our population from decade
to decade. This view is so fOrcibly
impressing itself, mo- only upon the
executive department of our govern
ment but upon the people of the whole
country, that we may confidently look
for a most radical change in our sys-
TEN of land laws in the near future.
My views of the disposal of the public
lands are expressed in the following
declaration made fifty years ago, and
endorsed by many Of the greatest
statesmen III country has produced,
that: 1.-The public lands of the United
States belong to the people and should
not be sold to individuals nor granted
to corporations, but should be held as
q eacred trust for the benefit Of the
people, and should be granted in linn.
tied quantities free of cost to landless
Settlers
Now one word as to my 200 acre
tract one mile from Great Falls. No
part of this land was acquired by me
directly or indirectly from the govern.
ment, and none of it vas taken under
the desert land act. My purchases,
which extended over a period OF ten
or twelve years, were made from such
men as Robert Vaughn, John 7. Ea-
ton, Geo. f.. Huy and Josephus Ham.
ilton, and high prices were paid for it
because OF its to an impor'
taut center Of population. Your slur
on dry land farming comes too late,
since thousands of people in many
parts of our state are successfully cul'
tiv ating lands where irrigation is no,
possible. Farming by this method ir
the southern part Of Cascade county
has shown an average annual yield o
wheat, during the past fifteen years
of twenty-five bushels to twenty.iv,
bushels to the acre, which is abou
double the yield per acre of North ant
South Dakota wheat fields during tn
same time. Fergus county has als'
shown a great development of agricul
ture by means of its dry land c~ultiva
ton and is in a fair way OF SCORING
an annual yield of fifteen to twent
million bushels of wheat before tn
close Of the present decade, to sa
nothing of oats, barley and alfalfa
For many years past about as niue
wheat has been produced from the III
irrigated table lands of Gallatin cOur
ty as from its famous irrigated va
legs.
Is i. to be wondered at that the pol
ulation Of Montana. at the last censl
was but little more than 24O, 900 wht
such papers as the River Press a,
casting their influence against its sc
Element by sneering at the pOssibil
ties of dry land farming here? If 20
Mr.. Editor, would go over the az,
cultural districts just referred to al
would notice the progress now bell
made in the farming industry Of mort
ern and central Montana, you won
not hereafter be found in the ranks
those whose policy would hold t
state but little in advance of its co
dition thirty years ago.
While my feeble efforts 10 refo,
our land laws and to locate an az
cultural population on the rich Ian
of u state have not met with the a
prevail of some of my fellow either
am content to submit what l ha
spoken and written to the consider
ton of those who will follow me.
PARIS GIBSON
Great Falls, Mont. July p, 1905.
Mr.. Gibson's in%siuuation that
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