The Grit-advocate., 1905-12-29
THE GRAZING FEE
PRESIDENT WOULD SAVE RE.
SERVES FOR ACTUAL RESI-
DENTS.
FAVOR SMALL STOCKMAN
Answer to Protest Of Colorado Cattle.
men UphoIds Secretary Wilson's
Reaulations-Wouid Help the
Home Makers.


Washington. President Roosevelt,
In letter addressed to Secretary Will
son Of the Department of Agriculture
on the subject of fees for grazing
horses and cattle in the national for.
est reserves. upholds the secretary In
the regulations formulated by him and
which will become effective January l,
1906. whereby certain rules are laid
down for the granting Of grazing per-
mits.
The communication is the result of
protest seEt to the President by cat
tlemen from one of the western states,
and is based on a report by Secretary
Wilson, to whom the protest was re-
ferred. The letter of the President fol-
lows:
"My Dear Mr.. Secretary have re.
ceived your letter of December Goth. l
cordially approve of the policy you are
carrying on. Your effort is to keep
the grazing lands In the forest reserves
for the use OF the stockmen and espe-
cially the small stockmen who actu-
ally live in the neighborhood of the re-
serves.
"To prevent the waste and destruc-
tion of the reserves and to keep them
SO that they can be permanently used
by the stockmen no less than by the
public you have to spend certain
amount of money. Part of this money
is to be obtained by charging small
fee for each head of stock pastured on
the reserve. Less than third of the
actual value Of the grazing is at pres
ent charged and it is Of course per-
fectly obvious that the man who pas
lures his stock should pay something
for the preservation of that pasture.
He gets all the benefit Of the pasture
and he pays for it's use but small
fraction Of the value that it is to him;
and this money is in reality returned to
him, because 1t is used in keeping the
forest reserve permanently available
for use. You this year make a special
reduction by which the ranchmen pay
but half rates. This is in accordance
with the steady policy of your depart
ment as regards the western lands,
which is to favor in every way the act
ual settler, the actual home maker. the
man who himself tills the soil or him
self rears and cares for his small herd
Of cattle. In granting grazing permits
you give preference first to the
small nearby owners: after that to all
regular occupants of the reserve range,
and finally to the owners Of transient
stock.
This is exactly as it should be. The
small nearby owners are the home
steaders, the men who are making
homes for themselves by the labor OF
their hands, the men who have entered
to possess the land and to bring up
their children thereon. The other reg
ular occupants of the reserve range,
that is, the larger ranch owners, are
only entitled to come after the smaller
men. If after these have been admit
ted there still remains an ample pas
turage, then the owners of transient
stock, the men who drive the tramp
herds or tramp flOckS hither and
thither, should be admitted. These
men have no permanent abode, do but
very little to build up the land, and are
not to be favored at the expense of the
regular occupants, large or small. This
system prevents the grass from being
eaten out by the herds or fiocks of
non-residents, for only enough cattle
and sheep are admitted upon the re.
serves to fatten upon the pasturage,
without damaging it. In other words,
under the policy you have adopted the
forest reserves are to be used as the
most potent influences in favor Of the
actual home maker, of the man with a
few dozen or few score head of cattle
which he has gathered by his own in
dustry and is himself caring for. This
Is the kind of man upon whom the
foundation of our citizenship rests and
1t is eminently proper to favor him in
every way"