Arizona republican., 1913-03-10
PROTEST AGAINST SCRIPTlNG

To the Editor Republican.
 Referring to the matter of applying script to public land open to home
 stead entry, this matter has assumed serious proportions, in so much as large tracts of land in the heart of the best dry farming acres have all ready been taken. The homesteader himself in a number of cases taking advantage of script to add to his holdings and also to take advantage of indefinite time that immediate ownership gives in the matter of establishing home or holding for speculation The people who have come into the San Pedro valley are there to make homes and to have the script blight to contend with. will work hardship in many ways. In the first place, idle, unoccupied land will pay the minimum tax The owners are not interested in roads, schools and such improvements and social conditions as go to make for the good of the state and county. Those in charge of our public lands would do well to deny the homesteader the right to relinquish and apply script. This transgressiOn is largely super induced by agents who see a ch2nce to make an additional commission on those whom they have heretofore To- cated. The law applying to home steads is so plain that side stepping the responsibilities are nothing more or less than avoiding the meaning of the law. In the way of a suggestion. If these lands covered by script are worth the price paid there is no req son why the tax rate should be less per acre. The hOmesteader will be called upon to pay the full value of his Improvements and will of course by reason of such improvements en- nance the value of adjoining lands. The argument has been advanced by some of the script dealers that the working people (meaning these not actually engaged in farming) would be able to, at least hold the land for future developments There is just where the trouble comes in. Hold ing for future developments" which simply means that some time in the future water (fOr these desert home stead entries) from some source will be provided for irrigation By whom or how does not seem to be a ques- l.
 While we appreciate the fact that the Roosevelt dam is a mere beginning of irrigation achievements. that Ari- zona will ultimately accomplish. We also appreciate the fact that home stead holdings. either legitimately or by script. in the arid regions. can only benefit the specuIator as he will gather them in at his price, before .,I
 burden. Very recently the Empire Cattle company. located in Cochise and Santa Cruz counties. acquired through the script process 5000 acres of the choice farming lands in these counties This, together with 5000 acres previously acquired. gives them 5000 acres. In other words the heads Of fifty families or say four to five hundred people, have lost the chance that rightfully belong to them of mak- ing home. We all know that these people cannot afford to hold this land for grazing purposes particularly when the people who have taken hOmeSteads in the immediate vicinity prove up and enhance values This kind of work can only be considered grab for speculative purposes and this applies to the individuals who have scripted from 160 acres up to $40 acres or more. They have no intention of improving it, but it will remain idle in the midst of industry and cause near by settlers a great deal of inconvenience in getting around it. When agents in Los An geles begin to work the script blight in our region and advise