The Columbus journal., 1906-05-02

Wild cat banking, greenbackism, bi
metalism and financial panics to pre-
sumo to stand asa Sound money" par
ty and bid for the votes of bankers j
certainly the limit of political auda
city.
PASSING OF THE WESTERN CAT
TLEMEN.
The death knell has already sound
ed. Branching" in the old sense O
that term will soon be . thing of thu
past. The sand hills of western Ne
braska will be converted into pastures
for dairy COWS snd the small railroad
towns marked now by the ranch store
and the shipping yards will be con
|spicuous for creameries and large
general stores.
Instead of the cattleman who has
lived that easy life, watching his
steers fatten on the succulent buffalo
grass and his calves grow sleek at the
sides of their mothers-instead of this
easy-going ranchman will come the
man with the hoe and the milk pail.
The small fertile valleys of the sand
hills will be cultivated and they will
will produce the alfalfa and kafir
corn and barley and wheat and sweet
corn and turnips and potatoes, while
the. dairy COW will Craze the sand
hills and transform the riches of those
barren wastes into golden cream which
will be sold to maintain hundreds of
happy homes where now is nothing
but desolatiOn.
This transformation will not come
in a day nor will it come asa sole
result of the Kinkaid act which gives
q free homestead of $40 acres to
every settler. But it will come
through a combination of individual
and government benevo-
lence and Is . result of the natural
changes in the country. As q matter
of fact all of the best land has long
been taken in the country under the
act. Hay for winter food is
essential to the successful
Of cattle. The cattleman
knowing this better than anyone else
long ago acquired nearly all the
hay land depending upon
The free government hill land for
grazing. At first fences were built
only around the hay land. That was
The day Of the open range. Then
came the small cattlemen and their
war with the big cattlemen. Finally
peace came. Both contestants re-
NAMED on the field of battle. Divi-
lion fences were built between them.
he bounds being fixed by those stan
lards of rough western justice which
ire generally right.
On this peaceful plan the cattle in
developed to its present con-
With the security of fences
,ame the fire-guard which saved the
yrass and covered the sandy knobs
With sod. The same condition
brought the registered cattle and
covered the sand hills with the best
bred cattle to be found in any coun-
in the world. Just at this stage
zones the order to remove the fence
rom government land. The direct
'esdlt ofthe an~ti-fencing order is be-
to be seen. The smaller
will have to herd his cattle
N the open range, reduce his herd or
cave the country. The larger ranch
men, like Richards and Comstock are
more men to ride the range
md for a while their large herds will
intact. But the large as well
IS the small ranchman, and the gov
eminent itself will have to change
heir plans to meet the economic con
Of the country, and it is in that
that will be seer the passing
If the cattle baron and the establish
nent of valuable homes On the so
;alled Nebraska desert.
The change would have come with
,ut the sudden enforcement of the
laws. 1t would have come
because people are land-mad, and be-
:ause the unlawful fence and the fire
guard in 3he sand hills have made
hat land worth having.
1t is unfortunate that q leasing law
10 supplement the Kinkaid homestead
act did not pass last winter, for such
law would have aided the small
in adjusting themselves to