Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1911-01-12

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other markets or will be compelled
to reduce his price.
The great west is able. when de
veloped, for many years to take care
of the growth of the United States
to furnish food and material for cloth
ing the rapidly increasing city popu'
lations of the east. With the rapid
increase in population in the United
States, it will not be very long be-
fore every acre of land within our
borders available for cultivation and
crop production will be taxed to its
utmost to provide for our own peo-
pie. Even now it has become a diff
cult matter for the American farmers
to raise sufficient foodstuffs of GER
tain varieties to satisfy the national
demand. In the interest of the de-
velopment Of the west, feel that the
proposal to lease the public domain
should meet with refusal. 1t is not
fair to coming generations to stop the
development of the west the settle
ment of the present waste places
and the erection of homes where now
only cattle roam.
while on the subject of leasing of
public lands, | feel it would be well
to call the attention of the conven-
ton to the question of what the
'faddists' term the conservation of
natural resources! Apparently what
these people mean is that the ma
tional resources should be nearly as
possible preserved in their present
form, so that although people of
this generation may suffer and be
retarded in development, those of
some future time may have these
resources for their use and benefit
in undiminished form. Concretely
stated, the proposition is to lease the
public lands and the water powers
belonging to the various. Rocky noun
tain and Pacific coast states and to
permit the public timber to be cut
and manufactured and the coal in
these states to be mined and used
benefcially on the payment of a
royalty only. 1t is a proposition to
stop the growth of the west now and
to keep it in a state of vassalage to
the treasury of the United States
throughout the future.
This program of the conservation
lists is neither wise nor just. The
greatest duty that can confront you
either as individuals or as a nation,
is to provide comfort and happiness
and prosperity for those now living
The fulfillment of this duty is not
with true conservation.
We should not only use natures re-
sources in accomplishing this duty,
but should improve and develop
these resources wherever it is posi-
Bile to do so. There is no reason
why this generation cannot make
proper use of all the natural resources
and then leave to posterity a better
and more productive country than
we now have.
Let us engage in practical conser-
for those now here
as well as for those who are to come. |
Conserve our public lands by favoring
he homeseeker, and our timber by
its cutting and manufac-
.ure. Conserve our coal resources by |
he development of our water powers. |
Let us construct dams for the storage
If otherwise waste water-thus TAX |
ng off the peaks of the floods of our
western rivers, preventing havoc and |
destruction, providing water during
he low water season for the irr1ga-
ion Of our arid lands and the de-
relopment of electric energy. Water
s not diminished by use. Let us
,nly use this and other resources
wisely and there will be an abund
lnce for the future.
81 feel that it would be impossible
o accurately estimate the actual loss
If sheep from the depredations of
coyotes, wild cats and other predatory
lnimals in the United States yearly.
TO give some idea of how great this
oss must be, the experience of my
)wn state of Idaho is told During
he past year the State Of Idaho has
laid a bounty for the destruction Of
$1,000 coyotes and other predatory
lnimals. If it is admitted that eacn
# these animals killed six sheep prior
o being destroyed, it would make a
otal loss Of $4,000 sheep in Idaho
Turing the past year from this source
lione. | do not think any western
iheep man will feel that these fig
Tres are too high. If we allow for
'nly 10 distinctively sheep growing
states in the west, the loss would
mount to half a million sheep and
ambs annually.
Nor is this the only, nor possibly
he greatest loss suffered from the
of wild animals. Game
,irds and game animals, the eggs of {
,irds, domestic fowls and other live
tocks are all preyed en- by the pre-
Iatory beasts. 1t is estimated that
coyotes, wolves, wild cats and other
Wild animals every year kill more /,
,ame than is killed by all the hunt
rs in the United States.
Under the bounty laws at present
n force in a number of the western s
tates, the bounties paid are taxed
ntirely against the livestock in G
ustry. This l feel is a matter which r
hould be remedied. The destruction 9
f these animals is a general benefit '
nd should be accomplished through r
general effort and paid for from q
unds created by general taxation. i
1T is not difficult to find excellent q
for making uniform the law =
roviding for the payment of bounties
n the killing of predatory animals :
IS is now the case, in one state, the
eet of the animal are indications of
IS destruction, in another the scalp
J taken, while in perhaps a third the
all is called for. Because of this p