Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-06
INCLOSINGPUBLICLAND
SENATOR WARREN'S VIEWS ON
MR.. HIrcHCoCK's ORDER.
Declares He is Not Personally Al
fected-Reply to the Meyen-
dorff Charges.

Senator Warren was asked yesterday for
his views regarding the recent order of
the Secretary OF the Interior, on approval
of the President, amending IN original cir
cular which PROVIDE for notifying those
who had unlawful Enclosures of public land
before proceeding to court trial or destruc-
ton of fences. the new order to become eff
fective on April 1. Senator Warren said:
such an order has been expected for
nearly. or quite, year past, and its CT
feet will simply be to hasten the progress
of the work heretofore going on in remov-
ing fences from the open public domain,
and to make all fences within the RAILROAD
Immigrant limits conform to the law.
Many years ago Congress granted to GER
tain railroads the alternate sections of
land-in some cases forty and in some
cases eighty miles wide along the rights
or way of those railroads. Later, and from
time to time, these lands were sold by the
railroad companies to individuals and cor
porations, and good proportion fenced.
In fact, many large Enclosures We're erected
before the anti-fencing law was passed.
Under the law one must not incloSe gov
eminent land Nevertheless, a mans right
to fence his own land cannot be questioned.
Hence, every one of the alternate sections
purchase from the railroads may be fenced
by the owners thereof. glance at a
checkerboard will readily reveal to one that
such fencing will make a network of in
closures over a given area of country con-
tlguOuS to the and-grab railroad, and
that very many sections of government
land will thus be inclosed incidentally,
though not unlawfully, since those fencing
use only their own land, making no use of
the governments land. A misunderStand-
ing of this condition has brought to Wash
ington and the department great many
reports, false in fact, though, perhaps, not
Intentionally so; and very nice question
will be raised when the tearing down OF
fences within the railroad land-g linn
its is commenced. Eventually states or
counties may solve the problem in some de-
gree by laying out roads around section
lines. But this could not be done NOW in
a grazing country, it would bankrupt
the commonweal his.
Under President Cleveand's administra-
it is now proposed to be construed after
April L. In Wyoming a special agent of
the Secretary of the Interior. a Mr.. Ed
ward \. Bowers, had a squadron of colored
cavalry detailed for his use in the de-
struction of fences and many Enclosures
were removed, but the fences within the
railroad land-g grant limits were not then
moleSted and the matter of the rights of
the owners was submitted to the courts.
referring to the article printed today in
a Washington newspaper, | may say that
this order in no way affects me personally,
as l do not have, individually an
land illegally inclosed or any unlawful
fence.
LAS to the further allusion to the Meyen-
dorff charges about coal lands, the follow
ing extract from an interview given out by
Interstate Commerce Commissioner Clark.
who Investigated personally these coal land
frauds in the west. would seem to eff
fectually silence such charges and settle
the matter far as l am concerned:
To my mind no clear or definite evil
dence of any kind was given involving any
senator of the United States or other high
officers of the government in any question
able act or expression.
"On December 10 Judge NJ. A. Knapp,
chairman of the interstate commerce COM
mission, said: My belief is that senators
and public officials are not implicated to
any such extent as indicated in publica-
ton today "