, 1907-01-08
Telephone Directory.
THE n

1t is now certain that congress must
take action at this session looking to
a leasing system whereby the fences
now maintained on the public domain
may be made to legally enclose the
lands therein or the fences will be re
moved summarily after April 1 next.
The president is positive and emphatic
in this position and has approved the
order of the secretary of the interior
to that effect. On that date the order
will take effect peremptorily, which
means, we presume, that thereafter mt
notice whatever will be given, but chat
the power Of the government will be
used to remove the fences as rapid!
as possible. Following is the lettel OF
the president to the secretary, which
will be read with interest by all those
who have an interest in the y1blic
lands of the state:
In response to your letter, and IN
carrying out what after our converse.
ton together seems to be the best
course, approve the circular you In
tend to issue, with the modification ut
having 1t apply to all cases and Of TAX
ing effect peremptorily April l next
trust that the senators and %represen-
tatives from the great grazing states
will realize that this means that If, as
| believe there should be, there is to
be a modification of the law by which
it would be possible to allow by lease
the temporary Enclosure of portions of
the public domain for grazing purposes
on such conditions as the government
finds compatible with the best inter
ests of the actual settlers, of the small
hom~esteaders, the homemakers-then
that this change of the law must be
made at this session.
Year in, year out. you and | have
been besought by men interested in
stock growing to permit the fences to.
stay up for another six months or an
other year, on the ground of the great
damage certain TO be done by taking
them down. Many of the men making
these requests are entirely honest men,
whose requests it would be in the in
terest of the community to grant were
it legally possible to do SO Though
this, of course. does not apply to some
of those making the requests); but IL
is quite impossible permanently to per
nit such an arrangement. There must
be some adequate provision of law if
there is to be any satisfactory solution
of this problem, and in default of this
provision the present faulty law must
be enforced. You are perfectly at lib
erty to show this letter to any and all
senators whose constituents are chief
ly concerned in this matter"
In Senator Hitchcock's order the in
structions TO all special agents of the |
land office regarding the enforcement
of the law to prohibit the inclosing OF
government lands for private purposes
are amended SC as to read as follows
1T shall be the duty of the speciai
agent, on the receipt OF any charge Of
complaint, or upon information being
acquired by him from N source, that
an unlawful Enclosure is being main
tanned by any person Of persons, asso
citation or corporation, at once to pro
coed to secure sufficient data, including
a description of the lands inclosed
with reasonable certainty, not neces
sarily by metes and bounds-nor b.
governmental Subdivisions of survey
ed lands-buT only that the %inclosur>
may be identified and the person OF
persons guilty of the violation, as near
ly as may be, n by description i
the name cannot, on reasonable in
quiry, be ascertained, and at once t
submit such case, with the data thus
obtained, to the United States attor
ney for prosecution.
1T shall! be the duty of the specia
agent, n he shall be so instructed, t
be alert and ~ylgiiant to detect the eX
istence of unlawful Enclosures in his
district and to proceed in accordance
Herewith as hereinaboye directed. anG
that he is not to construe his duties
as requiring that, before proceeding in
the matter of an unlawful Enclosure
first must be filed with him a formal.
complaint by some person or persons
acquainted with the facts, but it shall
be his duty, rs ~hereinabove stated, to
take the initiative action