Arizona republican., 1914-02-16
PROFESSOR TH0RNBER OF I. .0FA.
 0N THE LEVER GRAZING BILL
Address by Botanis of University of Arizona at Amer
 lean National Live Stock Association Convention in support of Proposition for Federal Control of the Public Ranges of the West

Nii' ioil cil llit Pi dNllCdl dpIJllCd- ton of the Lever Grazing Bill to the western and southwestern graz ing ranges:
 MT. President and Members of the American National Live Stock As soeiation-My studies with grazing plants on the grazing ranges has brought me in close contact with the stockman. I have the greatest sym pathy for him and his business. I'm not a stOckmen, but gentlemen, I'll fight for a Stockman every time, and I'll trust to his being right My in- terest in grazing plants led me to Investigate other phases of the graz ing problem, thanks to this American National Live Stock Association I have come to appreciate to the depths of my heart some of the fundamental principles which this grazing problem of the western prairies. hills and mountains. underlies. Stockmen of the west have been asking for some kind of range administration for up- wards of thirteen years, or ever since I have known them. Unfortu- nately they could not agree in the beginning upon a measure that would work good for all concerned. The little stockman was afraid of the big stOckman, and the big stockman was afraid of the dry farmer and, I guess, the sheepman was afraid of everybody. We ought to congratulate ourselves today that we are united in our efforts, and that we are con- mitted to a definite policy That policy is intelligent range admins tration. I need not tell you that for more than twenty years the carrying capacity of the western grazing ranges has been decreasing 1 know that considerable areas of the better class of these lands have been homestead ed and brought under cultivation. In the aggregate. these cultivated lands carry as much stock now along with the production of some agricultural crops. as they did in their uncultivat- ed state so that the decrease in beef cattle in the United States has been due to range deterioration, and not to the selection of homestead lands as some have thought.
 
 taken place mainly during the last ten years. while population has ever been on the increase. I seldom quote statistics because they are tedious and are apt to be misleading, but I cannot refrain from mentioning some here. The proportion of beef cattle to population in this country in 1890 was S4 per cent, and 1910, it was T5 per cent. At this rate can any of yOn here tell me what it will be in 1920? Since 1910. population has in creased faster. and the ratio of de- crease in beef cattle has been greater. In the last seven years. the value of cattle in the United States, notwith- standing their decrease in numbers. has increased s129, 100000. and the export of meat products has fallen from $72. .000,000 to almost nothing. It is easy from this to see why the price of beef has been going up. You don't have to be political economist to find that out.
 Gentlemen, we have here in a con densed form the situation of the country as relates to it's beef supply. Bad as your lot has been on the open range. and I appreciate some thing of your difficulties, the lot of the consumer is worse today. and it may be worse yet in three or five years. This decrease in the number of beef cattle in the country has got to be stopped. It's matter of national importance Instead of decrease there must be an actual in crease in the number of beef cattle and this increase must keep pace with the increase in population. I am not now speaking of meat supplies for foreign markets. I have in mind home consumption only. You know various wouldbe philosophers come forward from time to time with sug- gestions that we substitute for beef, horse flesh. goat flesh, poultry, fish and even peas and beans, but not any one of these nor all of them com bined can take the place of beef as a staple food We must have beef, Now what is the simplest and most reasonable solution of this prob lem? I answer, grow more beef, and grow it on these western ranges There isn't any other place to grow it, and besides there isn't a thing that we can do half so well. l re- gard this as the only possible solu- tiOn of the scarcity of beef. Think of the absurdity of a great <agricul- tural nation like this one, in the prime of it's youth calling upon Aus tralia and Argentina for it's meat supplies. I said to you last year at Phoenix that the western grazing ranges were the pastures of the na- tion, and we must make them so.
 Now with high prices for meat and this shortage of beef staring us in the face le. us look for just moment at the awful condition which confronts the stockman today with free and unrestricted grazing He cannot fence. part of the public do- main. No, no, that is criminal, He is ont allowed to count upon his grazing resources one month in ad- vance. That is bad business manage ment due to our governments negi- gence. If he stacks up feed on the public domain, for famine period, develops additional water supplies, improves the quality of his herds, eradicates poisonous weeds, seeks to improve the carrying capacity of the land, or tries to prevent erosion or cutting and, overgrazing, he does so at his own expense, and his neigh bors may derive as much benefit from this work as he, without shar-