Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-01

1 q.
have that intimate knowledge of
their people that comes under such
conditions. In those states there is
need of a modification of the land laws
that have worked so we'll in the we'll
watered fertile regions to the east
ward, such as those in which you here
dwell The one object in all our land
laws should always be to favor the
actual settler, the actual home-maker.
who comes to dwell ON the land and
there to bring up his children TO in
herit it after him. The government
should part with its title to the land
only to the actual home-maker-not to
the profit-maker, who does not care to
make a home. The land should be sold
Outright only in quantities sufficient
for decent homes-not in huge areas
to be held for speculative purposes or
used as ranches, where those who do
the actual work are merely tenants or
hired hands. No temporary prosperity
of any class of men could in the slight
est degree atone for failure on our part
to shape the laws so that they may
work for the permanent good of the
lhome-maker.
Need Larger Farms.
This is fundamental, gentlemen, and
is simply carrying out the idea upon
which l dwell in speaking to you of
: your farms here in Iowa. Now in many
states where the rainfall is light it is
a simple absurdity to expect any man
to live, still less to bring up a family,
on 100 acres. Where we are able to
introduce irrigation, the homestead can
be very much less in size-can, for in
| stance, be 40 acres; and there is moth
ing that congress has done during the
past six years more important than the
enactment of the national irrigation
law. But where irrigation is not APP
, plicable and the land can only be used
, for grazing, it may be that you can not
run more than one steer to 10 acres
| and it is not necessary to be much OF
mathematician in order to see that
: where such is the case a homestead OF
! 100 acres will not go far toward the
support of family.
=, IN consequence of this fact, home
steaders do not take up the lands il
: the tracts in question. They are left
open for anybody to Craze upon that
wishes to. The result is that the mer
, who use them moderately and not witt
a view to exhausting their resources
are at the mercy of those who care
: nothing for the future and simply in
tend to skin the land in the present
\ For instance the small sheep farmer
! who has a home and wishes that home
y to pass on to his children improved il
h value will naturally run his flock S,
- that the land will support it, not onl,
, today, but 10 years hence; but a hi:
. absentee sheep owner, who has no HON,
on the land at all, but simply own
huge migratory flocks of sheep, ma!
. well find it to his profit to drive then
over the small sheep farmers rang
and eat it all out. He can then driv
his flOcks on, whereas the small maj
can not. OF course, to permit such
= state of things is not only evil for TIL
small man, but is destructive of tn
best interests of the country. SubstaI
TALLY the same conditions obtain a
regards cattle. The custom has there
fore grown up of fencing great tract
of land without warrant of law.
Object Not Always Selfish.
- THE men who fenced this land wer
:, sometimes rich men, who, by fcncin
=, it, kept out actual settlers and thereb
, worked evil to the country. But i
n many cases, whether they were lars
men or small men, their object wa
# not to keep out actual settlers, but
e protect themselves and their own il
;. duStry by preventing over-grazing
-, the range on the part of reckless stoc
:, owners who had no place in the pc
> manent development of the country an
-, who were indifferent to everything e:
~ cept the profits of the moment. TO pc
- NIT the continuance. of this illegal fen
-, ing inevitably tended to very gray
abuses, and the government has Their
10 fore forced the fencers to take dow
their fences In doing this, we have NJ
g only obeyed and enforced the law, bl
a we have corrected many flagral
J., abuses.
ANCNCi llititSS, We HAVE dloO CSltlSS
m hardship, which, though unavoidable,
%. was exceedingly unwilling to caus
. In some way or other we must provit
~ for the use of the public range und,
of conditions which shall inure primari
~ to the benefit of the actual settlers c
- or near it, and which shall prevent i
-. being wasted. This means that
~ some shape or way the fencing
or pasture land must be permitted und
~ restrictions which will safeguard Il
a., rights of the actual settlers. | desi
=, to act as these actual settlers wish
or have me in this matter. | wish to fiji
or out their needs and desires and thu
bo TO try to put them into effect. b
ic they must take trouble, must look abe;
cd to their own ultimate and real goo
~ must insist upon being really represeI
,ir ed by their public men, if We are
Of have good result. A little while al
| received a very manly and SenSil