Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1907-01-10
MUST COME DOWN
Secretary Hitchcock Issues an Order
to Destroy All Illegal Fences
on Public Lands.
EFFECTIVE APRIL |, 1907
President Says II Congress Does Not
Provide for Leasing Public
Domain Present Law
Must Be Enforced.

washington, Jan. Spy direction
Of the president Secretary Hitch
cock Friday issued an order to Com
missioner Richards Of the general
land office, at once to notify all spe-
cial agents and receivers and regis
ters of local land offices that the
act Of February rs, 1885. for the sum-
mary destruction Of illegal enclosures
and distractions existing ON public
lands will be rigldly enforced after
April 1, 1907.
Secretary Hltchcock's order has the
approval of President Roosevelt.
Strong pressure has been brought to
permit the fences to remain on public
lands, even in the face of complaints
After the president and Secretary
Hitchcock had conferred regarding the
order, the former sent letter to Mr.
Hitchcock in which he said:
I'm response OF your letter and In
carrying out what after our converse
ton together seems to be the best
course, l approve the circular you In
tend to issue, with the modification OF
having 1t apply to all cases and OF
taking effect peremptorily April !
next. trust that the senators and
representatives from the great graz
ing states will realize that this means
that II, as l believe there should be,
there is to be a modification of the
law by which 1t would be possible to
allow by lease the temporary enclosure
of portions of the public domain for
grazing purposes on such conditions
as the governments finds compatible
with the best interests Of the actual
settlers, Of the small homesteaders,
the home-makers-then that this
change of the law must be made at
this session. Year In and year out,
you and | have been besought by men
interested In stock growing to permit
the fences to stay up for another six
months or another year on the ground
Of the great damage certain to be done
by taking them down. Many Of the
men making these requests aye entire
~ honest men, whose requests 1t would
be in the interest Of the community
to grant were is legally possible to do
80 Though this Of course does not
apply to some of those making the
reQuests); but 1t is quite impossible
permanently to permit such an ar.
rangement. There must be some ade-
Quate provision of law II there is TO
be any satisfactory solution Of this
problem, and in default Of this pro-
vision the present faulty law must be
enforced.
In Secretary Hitchcock's order, the
instructions to all special agents of
the land office regarding the enforce
ment of the law to prohibit the enclos-
Ing Of government lands for private
purposes are amended 80 as to read
as follows:
at shall be the duty of the special
agent, and he shall be so instructed,
to be alert and vigilant to detect the
existence of unlawful enclosures In
his district and to proceed In accord
Rnce Herewith as herinabove directed
and that he is not to construe his du-
lies as requiring, that, before proceed
Ing In the matter Of an unlawful en-
closure, first must be filed with him a
formal complaint by some person or
persons acquainted with the facts, but
Il shall be his duty, as herinabove stat
I'd, to take the initiative.