Rocky Ford enterprise., 1907-06-14
q IN q e X
s " a p 8
BY
q. HIT

5 Snaps O. H'7 !
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The Rocky Ford Board Of Trade
has been skirmishing all week for ave
good men and true to send ~ dele.
gates to the coming Land Convention
In Denver next week. There will be
something doing when that eonven.
ton gets rightly convened. Briefly
stated the situation 10 that President
Roosevelt wants to save some OF
this country for the people who live
In Il. and handful of fellows who
have their hands on the big end OF
II want the old economic policy. by
which they came into possession of
so much, to continue until they have
cinched the rest Of Il. Any propo-
sition to lease the Earth. on common
terms that make il possible for every
body to use a share OF il at equal cost
with everybody else Is policy that
the fellow who wants to own the
earth and charge other people for the
privilege OF living on it is opposed
TO.
OF course the coming land eonven.
ton doesn't look like that kind OF q
convention on the surface. Many OF
the delegates who are sent to II will
not know where they arc at" most
OF the time. For il is the business OF
the fellows who are antagonizing the
Presidents forest reserve and graz
ing land roiicy to make the eonven-
tion believe the development OF the
country is jeopardizrd by that policy.
The large cattle interests of the
country are being "siceed on" to
Roosevelt, under the impression that
their opportunity to Craze cattle on
the public domain Is going to be ta-
ken away. But behind these cattle
men arc the timber limits monopolist.
the railroad land subsidy man and the
coal and ore mine grabbcr. who sees
in a proposition to lease the publ:
domain and regulate the development
OF the nations sources OF subsistence
a sad blow to the manufacture OF
millionaires.
II will be about the easiest thing
in the world for the 6xers OF shis
Land Convention program to confuse
the issue, in the speech making. and
leave the delegates in a haze as' what
RESOLUTIONS" they ought to support
and which not. II will look like n
dreadful lack OF patriotism. not to
say state treason to do anything
that would seem to prevent \ man
from getting a homestead or a pre-
cmption claim in this new west. And
so Il would. Blu, the thing the anti
administration forces want Is q con-
tinuanee Of that good old policy
which enables them to put red
homcstcaders and dummy" pre-
emptionists on hundreds of quarter
sections and then deed them over to
themselves. Our homestead and pre-
cmption laws arc part OF wcll-inien.
toned policy to provide every man
born upon or immigratinR to orr
great continental area with q spot he
could call his own-his share OF the
bountcous earth which Is his common
birthright. But the largest effect
OF Il has been to. produce land pi-
rates and tramp immigrants, who
coilusion. have filled our country with
petty land gamblers. and filed the
u. s. senate with millionaire monop-
olis,s and corruptionists. That Is the
simple and painful truth about one
OF the bcs, inscntioncd laws probably
that ever was put on any statute
book. And the Rocky Ford delegates
will do well not to let those Ian!
Convention manipuiators throw anv
sentimental dust in their eyes when
they get to Denver.
There Is nothing that need prevent
the continued development of Colora-
do. or any part Of the great west. in
a proposition to lease the Earth in
stead of selling /, outright to the
fellow with the capital, or the "pro.
noting" talent. or the political pull y
with which to buy il up cheap an!
charge the other fellow for the priv
ilcgc of living on il. Development
is not retarded by the man with
brains and muscle having the sam.
chance Of access to the raw mater
ials of wealth as the man with brains
and capital. A lease NAV be made
just as certain a guarantee of the re.
ward 20 actual labor and of actual
capital as a title deed. We have an
ancient and supcrstitious notion OF
course that this is not true. And tn :
Land Convention managers will tr1de
upon that notion with the delegates.
1t is rather strange that this notion
persists in face of the fac. that som .
OF the most costly improvements in
the world stand on leased land; IN
spite Of the fact the percentage OF
leaschold farmers is now enormous.
and yearly growing. Only the l:!se
is from someone who got title-deed.
descended from the government, in
stead of getting the lease direct from
the nation and being citizeii-sharef
in the government rent fund that his
lease rate provides. II is strange
what fascination an idea has for a
man when 1t comes to him like the
cross in his eye and the wart on his
nosc-by hcredity.
Prof. Taylor. of Wisconsin State
University. has been lately furnishing
some statistics to his school which