Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1905-06-22
TO ATTACK LEASES
SHALL sToCkMEE Combine TO
fight Big ONES.
They Have Been Practically Crowd.
Cd orr the Eastern VsShinofoa
RsnoesAsstgnmenfs Of leases
bv Which State Law Is OeCum.
venieo, TO DC Contested.

Olympia, June Ie.-As 8 result Of
the gradual restricting Ct the stock
grazing territory IN Eastern Washing
,on and the crowding out Of the small
~ stock men. the latter have formed 8
com binslon and are contY1 buting
funds IN an effort 70 devise 8 way Of
divestiag the zig stockmen Of some Of
the grazing lands they are low enjoy
ing.
Last week an attorney for the COM
binsslon Of small stockmen spent sew
ersl days in Olympia going over the
leasing records Of the state Land Office,
and as result Of his Researches it is
said that a legal battle Of magnitude
is impending. which will call into
question the legality Of the leases on
immense tracts Of land situated in
nearly all se:tiens Of Eastern Washing
ton. In some parts Of the state stock
men some years ago acquired the rail.
road lands at q small figure. These
lands comprised only the odd mum.
bered sections.
Big Tracts Under renee.
The state selected the even sections
for the educational land grants, and
the state lands we3e then leased TO the
owners Of the railroad lands. In this
way tracts comprising az much as 100
square miles were Placed under fence.
The small stockmen have been free
lsncee until DOW, as q result Of the fur.
Their encroschments Of the big stock.
men, the settling up Of the country,
and the passage Of law by the last
legislature restricting the running at
large Of stock they are having q fight
for their lives.
The point On which the FIRST attack
10 likely 70 be made is the leasing Of
the state lands. The enabling act and
the constitution provide that educs.
tionsl lands shall not be leased in
tracts greater than vne section to any
one person. Under q ruling Of the at
torney general the land Office has per.
mitted assignments from leesees Of
their sections 70 one individual or
company, thus ciYcumventing the law
in the same way that large mill own.
ers have had employees take up claims
of government tim Der and then bought
the claims.
How Leases Are Obtained,
A big stockmsn, desiring to lease
state lands, will have his wife and his
foreman and his foremans wife and
their children and the employees Of the
ranch and bis lawyer and his friends
each bid in section and then later
assign TO him.
The small stockmen have in mind
the contesting Of these assigned leases,
and il they should be successful ne.
only the stock grazing industry Of
Eastern Washington, but wheat grow.
ers and other agricultural pursuits
would be affected, as the same scheme
has been worked in leasing lands in
Eastern Warrington which are suita.
BILE for wheat growing. There are
hundreds Of instances where one man
or company now has under lease,
three, ten, twenty or more sections OF
agricultural lands, and il the comb.
nation of small stockmen is successful
every man who has more than one sec.
ton in his own name will find himself
the possessor Of vsluelees sheet Of
paper. The investigations were con.
Quoted here with attempts at strict
secrecy.