Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-04
PUBLIC LANDS

."The effort of the government to deal
with the public land has been based upon
the same principle as that of the recla-
nation service. The land law system
which was designed to meet thee needs or
the fertile and well watered regions or the
middle west. has largely broken down
when applied to the dryer regions OF the
great plains, the mountains and much OF
the Pacific slope. where farm of l6O
acres is inadequate for self-support. In
these regions the system lent itself 10
fraud. and much land passed out of the
hands of the government without passing
into the hands of the home maker.
1.-The department OF the interior ana
the department of justice Joined In pros
ecuting the offenders against the law;
ard they have accomplished much. while
where the administration of the law has
heen defective 1t has been changed. But
the laws themselves are defective. Three
vears ago a public land commission was
anpointed to scrutinize the law and de-
fects and recommend remedy. Their
examination specifically showed the ex-
istence. of great fraud upon the pubic
domain. and their recommendations for
changes in the law were made with the
design of conserving the natural re-
sources of every part of the public lands
by putting 1t to its best use. Especial
attention was called to the prevention or
settlement by the passage of great areas
Of public land into the hands OF rev
men, and to the enormous waste caused
by unrestricted grazing upon the open
range. The recommendations OF the pup-
Tic lands commission are. sound. for they
are especially in the interest OF the &C.
tual home maker; and where the small
home maker cannot at present utilize the
Lard they provide that the government
shall keep control of it so that 1t may
not be monopolized by few men. Inc
congress has not yet acted upon tnese
recommendations; but they are SO Jus.
and proper, SO essential to our national
welfare. that feel confident. If the
congress will take time to consider them,
that they will ultimately be adopted
Legislation Necessary
''Some such legislation as that pro-
posed is essential in order to preserve
the great stretches of public grazing land
which are unfit for cultivation under
nresent methods and are valuable only
for the forage which they supply. These
stretches amount in all to some OOOOO QUO
acres, and are open to the free grazing
Of cattle, sheep. horses and goats, without
restriction Such system. or rather lack
of system, means that the range is moi
SO much used as wasted by abuse. AS
the west settles the range becomes more
ana more OVerSraheu. huoh " ~ c
be used to advantage unless It is fenced
for fencing is the only way by which TO
keep in check the owners of nomad
fiocks which roam hither and thither
utterly destroying the pastures and leav-
ing a waste behind so that their presence
is incompatible with the presence Of
home makers
"The existing fences are all illegal
Some of them represent the improper
exclusion of actual settlers. actual
home-makers. from territory which is
usurped by great cattle companies.
Some of them represent what is in it,
self proper effort'to use the range-for
those upon the land, and to prevent its
use by nomadie outsiders. All these
fences, those that are hurtful and those
that are beneficial. are alike Illegal and
must come down. But it is an outrage
that the law should necessitate such