Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-03-29
TIMELY TOPICS.

ranches. They said that a sub-trop-
ical climate Is good enough in its way
but they have had too much of 1t and
want to see some snow once In
while. To them the glow OF golden
orange is no more lustrous than the
eye of dead goat, and they are back
to the cornhelds again.
Word comes from Mexico that
Thomas Pridemore. formerly one OF
the best known cowboys in the West.
and manager of the FL Captain Land
e. Cattle company in New Mexico, has
been arrested for conspiracy to en-
bezzle 1873 head Of cattle from that
company. 1t is claimed that he sold
1873 head of cattle to Morris g. Bly,
ems, and made returns to his company
for only thousand head. Morris Il
Bivens have been arrested charged
with being parties to the embezzle-
ment.
The modus operandi for acquiring
homestead these days is not the Sim
quarter of Gentry ago. Good land Is
becoming so scarce that the people
will not stand for much monkey bnsi-
ness in the acquiring OF homestead
1t is estimated that at least 20 per
cent of those who take nomesteads
relinquish their claims before proving
mp. Ten per cent of the entries are
contested. The average homesteader
can not turn his back on his claim
these days without danger OF con-
test. The time Is soon coming when
the chief work at the land Offices will
he proving up. Entries on an extens-
i've scale will soon cease as the gov
| ernment will he out of land. On all
the great plains of western Kansas,
for example, only 100000 acres of pub
lie land still remain open for home
steading.
For several years the railroad influ-
ence In Congress has been trying to
repeal the timber and stone act and
had succeeded In getting bill before
the committee on public lands in the
| present session. Last week the com
mittee tabled the whole matter by n
vote of seven to four. Chairman
would not report his bin favorably,
sought an adverse report upon 1t for
the purpose of getting the bill on the
house calendar where 1t could be
| called up and acted upon notwithstand-
ing the report against II. The west
ern members thought the most effect
| i've way of defeating the bill would
| be to table 1t in committee. The sen
ate committee on public lands will de
vote its next meetings TO considera-
ton of the Hansbrough timber and
stone repeal bill A substitute bill
has been prepared by suD-commit.
tee and 1t is believed that this will be
reported to the senate.
| With all our boosted greatness MS
| a nation we are certainly little weak
| in the slaves when 1t comes to the
consideration of the labor bugbear.
| Take for instance the case of Uncle
| Sans struggle to construct great re-
| clamation works in the Rocky noun
| tain region. 1t is an open secret that
the hardest problems with which the
| service now has to deal are those of
| labor and material. Hardly plant
in the country is able to supply the
iron and steel wanted for use in irri-
cation works as rapidly as the con-
tractors need it. Contractors also are
hampered by dearth of competent
workmen. If this labor menace is to
shake its CORY locks at us for all time
10 come how long must we daily with
| a maudlin sentimentality before we
throw down the bars to admit Chi
nese coolies in hordeJ.
Efforts VIII be made to have the
government cease gathering statistics
| for the benefit of the gamblers on
Wall street. The cotton statistics
gathered by the agricultural depart
ment ostensibly for the benefit of
farmers are sought more strenuously
by the representatives of New York
bucket shops than by any other class
| Of people. A minute after the figures
are given out they are on every ticker
OF the country and spectators every
where are eagerly scanning the tape.
Cotton on the exchanges bounds up
or says downward, according to the
number OF estimated bales produced
| or ginned. 1t would seem that the
mere fact that the most interested
persons are the gamblers would be
sufficient to convince the authorities
that the Information is more for them
than the farmers. This will come like
pulling teeth for the dirty old poliii
clans at the head OF the department,
for they have all along stood by the
gamblers and have thought no more
of the farmers interests than for a
cup Of burro's milk.
Some observers OF nature have
come to the conclusion that the inter.
ior heat OF the earth advances toward
the surface at the close of the winter
In obedience to some natural law not
perfectly understood. To them the
rising of the sap in the trees and the
swpllinp pf the huds 10 /, pott,a -