Gunnison news-champion., 1914-03-27
. Or Wadhnetoa Letter O
lMO Ie|aITM m(E HI-
Ten r sTH It usl lcI)l
BY EpWAkD HA0kS

Ey EDUAED KGA0NG
Coneres~msa-ss-ss -ssrer - CssossAs.
Washington. b. C.-Ln1 hessaassaa
os vita import ~ the - = noe -
ing con-.ssered by the hanB ssmmsssss
on p.sbl,e lands. CoaGssumn Uilli.a
kent. Of Cshforusa. 90 Cugressmsa
Harvey Fereusoa. II Nee 0uDsco. 80
the leaders of the opp.isG ess<s. TAe
committee seems 10 - psss0 essuly
divided. with the osi<ir Sasesinr Feegu-
son. and an influential sisasuf seekiug
a compromise which wii ssai.fy bssh
sides.
Kent favors a leasing svsAsm whii<
Ferguson champions she salnlD<d ho0e-
stead Ides.
Get the lsnds out of - hands of
the government and into psuss~sion Of
actual settlers just - sen sps.s,bie, "
says Ferguson. sad he pssaus - ~
most important step IN 49, aD.ctioa .
bill providing for . s1D 60 ssssiaG
homestead.
Kent dsniss shat he . ssuhlg 70 -
essssGe the settler bsst pissb sos -
IsssiaG II TIE pvhsse Aunah pssAisG
the sssivsl Of the hoasAui11D.
Bod u Kent ere PiasAss - bic ~
lewssv end asay pubase - - -
ast - extreme - shs sa-Susustes u
their We've On eoasesvokiaa. Userusea
commssds the ssppsrt q eADe vhs
have bsen insisting sAst - - should
be given IN opportuaity - hseome .
lend Of indspenAset hoas sUasss, cd
not the sbidinG plsce q osss or lees
migratory lesse -holAsss.
COMPROMISE SUGGESTED
Those who ssek . eeapssaiss have
presented msny sassHal psspssitioos
end some Of them sss vsrsAg e very
serious consideration. O~s - these
plans calls for the classiRcetisa Of the
public domain. outside Of sAs fsssst re-
serves. In class A wousd - paesed the
best Of UncIe Sans koldiRGs - be dis
tributed to settlers unasr ~ Ferguson
go scre homestead sct. Cless C would
include the roaGA lsnA vAisA could
never be available for sGriculsupe -
this would he Isessd BY the pedss.l
government, The psocssds 10 be u.s1 u
eoostructiaG rsclsaatisa projects 10 -
west. Glass D wsssld include the lanAs
Of doubtful vslve-not essd enough lss
Class A or yet bod enough for class c.
and these lands would be opened to 81
try under the $40 acre homestead lsw
for two, three or five years and aftss
that would revert to Class C and become
subject to the leasing laws. The WORK
of classification would be done by the
officials of the Interior Department.
As a substitute for the above the fol-
lowing has been suggested: Classify
the lands as in the first proposition and
then change the laws so a settler could
take up either one section of Class A
or two sections of Glass B or four sec
tions of Class c land.
Personally believe the latter promo
sltion comes nearer to meeting Western
conditions than any other plan so far
submitted. 1t should put every acre of
grazing and agricultural land in the
public domain in the hands of settlers
within ten years and would add tremep-
dously to the taxable wealth and indus
trial wealth of the Trans Missouri coun-
try. Unfortunately it is difficult to
make Eastern and Southern members
OF Congress appreciate the economic
value. On the other hand | believe
they could be induced to accept the first
of the compromise proposals and that is
vast improvement over the Kent hill
THE WEST DIVIDED
The West is a house divided against
itself on the conservation problem. and
so long as We cannot unite on a definite
land policy we must be prepared to en-
dure existing ills or agree to compro-
mise, which involves some surrender of
principle by both sides to the discus-
sion. | have always held that wa.
willing to do whatever was necessary 10
protect the public domain from greed of
the monopolist. but that wanted to
see state and nation extend helpine
hand to the man who was seeking in
good faith to establish a genuine home
stead. The majority of men who make
up this administration are of the same
opinion but when we attempt to agree
upon plan to attain our desires We DO
velop marked differences of opinion.
PANAMA TOLLS ISSUE
And now we are told that the pre.;-