Gunnison news-champion., 1908-01-31
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bvsHh NAtVtV0 49,. WIN lgAitHk
part IN settling 1T right
The great hight o~ leasing aud
fussst Reserves heesa Monday Of last
week A committee of seven ON
resolutions appointed by Presi dent
Springer included FIVE leasers and
too ~ho did not believe in 1T, the
letter Senator T.. n. Ammons and
Col b +. Montgomery In the
mesptlme upon the convention floor
The debate was opened by c. h
khoAs~ Of Middle Park and Mr.
Shipyry Of North Park. ELect,on
Il OeDrers IVES hsld John W
SpsiaGsg, Senssor Ammons and Col.
AOet6Oasery ssccess'vely dsclDed
IL psssldeecy. IL wss gives TO J. ID.
Husassd Of Dsaver, The formsr vics
pssssAsnt. Col. ". A. GlllssFsy of
Gsn.ison wss SAsaiaossly elected
vie psesideat for 1905, . dsssrved
hoeos for Ar. Gillsspsy, tAs more
% hscssss entissly ssso~Sht, and .
complimeut TO the Gunnison County
Henk 0rowers' sssocistion.
Al eight O'Clock the committee on
rssnlssions brought in q repor., en-
dossiAG lowest reserves and sll their
sviIs, sad esdor.ias the famous or
isis0Ous Bsrkett leasing bill no~
below congre~s. Senator Ammons
moved 70 ssbssitsts the minority re-
post which scoFsd the leasing bill,
restricted forrest ps~srves TO actual
timber sreas, asked for abolishmept
oi eli lees and for On American form
u government for the reserves. Thsn
shs 6rcworks began. The le.sev
tho~ght they had tn, pot grabbed.
sst ~ the debate prugressed they
losa gvosUd and . fasl whirlwind
spsech by Aanoas in which hs
~ base the iaiquitiss u the ns-
josisy Wpor I'D cslIsd ~poa ~
Delegates ~ psblic spirited citise.s
70 defeat a lessiag measure, swept
The convention off its feet and re-
ssltcd in \ vote of l16 TO ll6, cub
ssitstias tho minority resolutions.
GHnnisons twenty, ,eht delegates
voted twenty three TO five with Son
ator Am,nons Substitute.
The vote was a bitter blow to the
government agents who had worked
tooth and toe nail since juno TO con-
troll the convention. but it Vas in
tarn . great compli ment to the
American spirit which actuated the
delegates, nine -tenths of whom
would personally have found leasing
10 their advantage although we be-
lieve it would seriously check the
development Of our state and in the
end annihilate the small stockmen.
At another time News Champion
will publish tho resolutions adopted
at this epoch making convention.
The American National Livestock
Association, however, was composed
Of men of different clay Here, with
very few exceptions the delegates
were big stockmen. And not only
this. they were big stockmen who
had decided to look to their pocket
books first and the country last. Az
Col. I.ockhart, the chairman of the
resolutions committee stated in pre-
senting his report, they desired to
establish a permanent business up.
on the public lands" That gave
the whole thing away No one OBJ
jects to the stockmen as representa-
tives of a great industry to be given
every safe guard and every advant-
age that is legitimately theirs, but
when they ask permanent bust
ness upon the public lands" it is a.
plain as day that they mean to es,ab-
lish such permanency by a system of
leasing which excludes the home
seeker and which presuppcses the
remaining public land to be valueless
except for grazing. They have &C.
cured the forestry department as as
sistant in their scheme, by the same
methods the lumber trust used,
namely. support of the sentimental
theories which have small applica-
ton in onr mountains. They have
secured the support of the Roose-
welt administration, We believe
through absolute Misrepresentation
Of local conditions. One thing, how
ever, is sure. Although they can
secure in their convention the un-
precedented and seemingly unani-
nous vote of $50 to 81 in favor of
leasing, no such measure can be
slipped by the representatives Of
ALL THE PEOPLE in WasAine-
ton. 1t should b reosfksd also
that l5O of the 3S6 votss wsrs fro0
Tez,s, which doss not oWa foot d
kuvsenment laad sad which was ~