The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-02-15
rHg ~pREsipENr ON rAE



The following letter from Presi
dent Roosevelt to Senator Warren
the public range:
The. White House, Washington,
Feb. IL. 1907:
MY Dear senator Warren@In ac-
cordance with our recent conversation
| am very glad to send you this short
statement of my position regarding
government control of the range. l am
fully in accord with your view that
the local control of h range should
be in the hands of the western men
familiar with stock raising, and l be
lieve in full local participation il
the management of the range. OF
course you must not divide the re
sponsibility to a point where you can
hold no one responsible. but co-opera-
ton between the stockmen aid the
government officers is absolutely ne
cessary and essential.
Grazing Fees Small.
The grazing fees should be small,
especially so at first. I am not anx-
ious that the government should get
all revenue from grazing on the pub.
lie range but only enough to pay
for administration and improvement
and any surplus might well go to the
states and territories in which the
fees are collected.
"As soon as a bill for range con-
troll is passed. it goes without say
ing that such control should not be
taken hurriedly. but gradually as
grazing districts can be organized
There is one prime essential in this
policy of range control. The home
ead must be protected in his right
to create a home for his family, and
he must have whatever range rights
are necessary for that purpose.
All Fences Unlawful.
1t is unlawful at present to fence
the public domain All fences unlaw-
fully maintained will have to be taken
down. Unless congress takes action
legalizing reasonable and necessary
fencing through government control
of the range there will be a very SER
iOus loss to stOckmen throughout the
west, whose business IN very many
cases cannot be conducted without
fencing. and this loss will often fall
hardest on the small man.
Il cannot consent to a clause contain
ing for a year, or for any length of
time, the present illegal fencing.
1.-The utmost | will consent to. so
far &C INV nowor axtendS in tba ~ot+ar
OF legislation, is to continue such fenc
es as in my Judgment it is right and
proper for me to continue. My first
care is for the homesteader and the
small stock man. The opposition we
have to our proposal now comes pri-
marily from the big men who Craze
wandering fiocks of sheep and who
do lot promote the real settlement of
the country. These men are the men
whose interests are Numerically hos
tile to those of the homemaers. who
wish to eat out and destroy the coun-
try, where ne desires permaleace; to
live on and when they have thus
ruined the land of the homesteaders
n small stockmen, move elsewhere
to repeate the process of devastation.
Many of the sheepmen who are per-
manent jewellers sympataize with our
movements. Others, unfortunately,
sympathize with their aomadic broth
ers. h ultimate result of whose &C
tons is to destroy the country.
Opposition TO Home Makers.
ut must be distinctly understood
that the OPPOSITION to the proposed
measure for government control is op-
position aimed at the interest of the
home maker. the homesteader. of the
small stockman, of the large stock
man who desires the country shall
become better and not worse. and that
1t is the interests of those who think
that in continuing the present system.
they will be able to monopolize an i'm
proportion of the public domain and
who are quite Indifferent as to wheth-
er in the long run they destroy it.
Sincerely yours.
saTHEODORE ROOSEVELT -