Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1907-06-29
AGAINST POLICY OF LEASING.

The land convention which was in
session last week in Denver were not
particularly a revolutionary set. They
did not object as a general thing to the
were largely composed of stock men.
they object to the leasing system and
stand pat on the demand for free range
Ex-Congressman Martin, who attended
the convention as the representative OF
the Business Mems Club of Deadwood,
in an interview with reporter of the
Deadwood Telegram says:
1T was a representative gathering.
Though there we're a great number OF
men there who represented various com
mercial associations, the most of the
delegates were connected with the stock
industry. OF the eight hundred dele
gates clear majority came from the two
states of Colorado and Wyoming. The
sentiment of the convention was one OF
criticism for the land policy of the gov
ernment, and il seemed at the begin
ming that there would be some very rad
ical action taken. The committee on
resolutions, however, was made up of
one member from each of the states in
terested in the public lands. Conse.
quently the resolutions, as finally agreed
upon, are much more moderate in tone
than one would have expected from the
utterances the first day of the conven-
ton.
"The great question of debate in the
convention was the open range. On
this question, of course, there was a diff
ference of opinion between the sheep
men and the cattle men in the meeting
The policy of the government, as has
been announced, has been to put an end
to the free range by leasing the unoccu-
pied public lands to the cattle and sheep
owners. The convention was decidedly
opposed to this. 1t was the general
opinion that any such policy would in
terfere with the occupancy ofthese lands
b1 llOllC5lCdNlCIb anu all NllllS lIaL Up
Grated in that way would not be bene-
fetal to the west. On the other hand it
was held by the advocates of the leasing
policy of the administration that a leas.
ing system could be devised that would
not interfere with homesteading. And
it was on this very point that those op.
posed to the leasing system won out in
the convention and in the resolutions
committee.
"As | said, the large cattle owners
were in favor of the leasing system,
which will permit them to again erect
fences, many ofthem having been forced
to remove them by law. The sheep men
on the other hand stood for the free
range and the convention was with them
on this point, though these lines were
not strictly drawn, and both showed a
disposition to be fair and broad minded
in the discussions.
"The convention was not antiadmin-
istration as has been announced in some
Of the papers. 1t endorsed the general
land policy of the government, the for
est reserves, the irrigation policy, the
leasing of the forest reserves for graz
ing purposes, and only on this one ques.
ton did it take issue with the govern
ment.
"This matter is one of great concern
to our state. The western part of this
state is filling up fast. There are 800
land entries every thirty days in the
Rapid City land office and we certainly
do not want anything that will inter
fere with this progress. Possibly a leas
ing system can be devised which will
not interfere with homesteadng, but it
was the general opinion in the conven-
ton that such could not be the case"