The new era. (Walden, Colo.) 1906-19??, 1907-02-14
And Small Stockmen,
Says President
Roosevelt.
His Attitude Clearly Express
ed In a Letter to Senator
Warren.

While much talking has peen done,
very little in the way of getting at an
amicable understandg has been accom-
lished at the meetings of the western
stockmen, who are in Washington to
assist in the framing of a measure to
control the public grazing lands.
The Burkett amendment to the Agri
cultural appropriation bill, authorizing
the Secretary of Agriculture to district
the unreserved lands and charge an.
collect reasonable fees for grazing, is
under discussion, the cattlemen favoring
the measure, and the sheepmen opposing
t. Following is letter written by
President Roosevelt to Senator Warren,
stating his views in decided terms:
'In accordance with our recent con
versation l am very glad to send you
this short statement of my position re
garding government control of the
range. lam fully in accord with your
views that the local control of the range
should be in the hands of Western men,
familiar with stock raising, and believe
in full local participation in the manage
ment OF tic range OF course you must
not divide the responsibility to a point
where you can hold no one responsible,
but co operation between the stockmen
and government officers is absolutely
essential
1.-THE grazing fees should be small, es-
pecially SO at first. l am not anxious
that the government get new revenue
from. grazing on the public range, but
only enough to pay for administration
and improvement and any surplus might
well go to the states and territories in
which the fees are collected.
LAS soon as a bill for range control is
passed, it goes without saying that such
control should not be taken hurriedly,
but gradually, as grazing districts can
be organized There is one prime essen
tial in this policy of range control-the
homesteader must be protected in his
and he must have whatever range rights
are necessary for that purpose.
ut is unlawful at present to fence the
public domain. All fences unlawfully
maintained will have to be taken down.
Unless congress takes action to legalize
reasonable and necessary fencing thru
government control of the range. there
will be a very serious loss to stockmen
throughout the west, whose business in
many cases cannot be conducted with
out fencing, and this loss will often fall
hardest on the small man.
II cannot consent to clause coutinu-
ing fora year, or any length oi time the
present illegal fencing.
"The utmost will consent to, SO far
rs my power extends in the matter of
legislation, is to continue such fences as
in my judgement it is right and proper
for me to continue. My first care is for
the homesteader and the small stock
man The opposition we have to our
proposal now comes primarily from the
big men who Craze wandering fiocks of
sheep; and who do not promote the real
settlement of the country.
These men are the men whose inter
ests are diametrically hostile to those of
the homemakers, who wish to eat out
and destroy the country where he de-
sires permaDence; to live and who when
they have thus ruined the land of the
homesteader and small stockman, move
elsewhere to repeat the process of devas
tation. Many of the sheepmen who are
permanent dwellers sympathize with
our movement. Others unfortunately
sympathize with their nomadic brothers
the ultimate result of whose actions is to
destroy the country.
."It must be distinctly understood. that
the opposition to the proposed measure
for government control is opposition
aimed at the interest of the homemaker,
the homesteader. of the small stockman,
of the large stockman who desires that
the country shall become better and not
worse and that it is to the interest of
those who think that in continuing the