Williams news., 1911-05-27
SUPREME COURT UPHELD
 GRAZING REGULATIONS


 ,isions handed down by the su- oreme court on May 1, concerning he right of the government to con- .rol grazing on the national forests Ire of great interest to western people, and especially to the west ern stockmen. The right of the to control it's own lands within the various states and terri tories is so clearly defined that 1t is regarded by Secretary Wilson as esta blishing absolutely the position these lands occupy under the law q am very sure," said Secretary Wilson, "that the stockmen of the west, as we'll as the western people generally, will accept this decision of the supreme court at it's full worth and that the controversy which has heretofore existed regard: ing the right to use the grazing lands within the various national forests without permit from the department of agriculture will be brought to an end.
 "The two cases decided were the so-called Light case, which orlgl- mated in Colorado, and the case of the United States against Grimaud, Caraious, and Inda, three Califor- nia stockmen. In the Light case one of the. principal issues joined was on the question whether the fence laws of the state might be complied with in order that the United States might sustain action for trespass on the national forests The California case concerned the question whether violation of the national forest regulations is pun ishable as a crime.
 Light is Colorado stockman who, in 1906, turned his cattle loose on public land adjacent to the Holy Cross national forest in such way that they would naturally drift upon national forest lands Mir. Light refused to take any steps to prevent this and also refused to take out grazing permit. It was maintained by Light's-lawyer that inasmuch as the laws of Colorado do not allow private person any remedy against owners of stock which stray upon his land unless the land is fenced, the government | is without redress. An injunction was secured from the district cour requiring MT. Light so to handle bis stock as to prevent them iron trespasing upon the national forest MT. Light, however, refused to dC this and, with the backing of othe stockmen of his state and, eventu ally, of the state of Colorado itself which made special appropriation for the purpose, carried the case ul to the supreme court for final de cision.
 "In the effort to establish the con tention that the government wa
 wrong, not only the validity of tn grazing regulations. but the con
 stitutionality of the entire nationa
 forest policy was challenged ol
 every ground which the counse
 representing the stock interest
 and the state were able to raise
 The fact that their contention
 were, one after the other, set asid by clear.cut statements of the laI
 is a matter of extreme satisfaction
 to me. I nevertheless believe tha
 the stockmen who have so vigor
 ously contested the government position will feel that they hay
 been fairly dealt with both by tn
 department and the courts.
 "In the second case, known a
 the Grimaud case, the contention
 of the stockmen was that the act (
 congress under which the secretar of agriculture is authorized to mak
 regulations for the national forestI
 was unconstitutiona in so far as
 delegated to the secretary of ae
 riculture the power to make rule ], and regulations and made viols