The Ontario Argus. (Ontario, Or.) 1???-1947, 1917-05-03

ECON
y..... . audS have been
open . than half a cen
tury, of Oregon, and
not Oh. .Jt. mas occupied
such I.. u grants for rail
road CON military roads
which .... INTO the hands of
men wed the ldrN thNl
the j, profit was L"
hold generations have
IctarG of the state Tor
many So.
III. . policies of these
cOmpa, hou the present
owners OIL. road grants cane
into u..... .. lands. Unlike their
prcdccu- ave taken steps To dcvCI
Opc th... aud to dispose of them to
actual ,.ti'. During the past few years
these companies, especially the Orcgll-
Wcstcm Colonization company, has sold
thousands upon thousands uf acrcS,has spent
vast sums in advertising the fertility ct tcl
soil and the possibilities of the state for
home making. This was that for which the
grant was made.
Likewise the Eastern Oregon Land COM
panv has developed its holdings and nu%,
has n large crew of mCu engaged IN the work
Of classifying all the lands appraiSing thcir
values with the ultimate object of being ahlcI
to sell the land and accurately telling tGcI
prospective purchaser ull about H.
While these two companies. have thus
started the work their example has mot been
followed by some of the other large owners.
such nS the Southern Pacific railway and the
Pacific Live Stock company. Thcl" was n
difference ju conditions regarding the huld-,
inys of the" companies While large l"r-
tion of the Orcgou-C Caliiolna grant owned
by the Southern Pacific was timber land and
not suitable at once for farming, never the
less the supreme Court has affirmed the de-
cision of the lower court and sustained the
vail dity of the Chambcrlai-FclriS law de-,
crccing that the cumpanv'S equity in the
land never did exceed $50 per acre and that
now the land has reverted to the government
and is open for settlement.
With the Pacific Live Stock company,
which OWNS great sections of land in llarncy
and Malhcur counties the problem Is OF am
other nature. The company secured IT'S hold
inyS, according to {! b. Mcconnell IN the
uaImcv County Tribune. through devious
methods connected with the government
swamp act and by purchase from cntrymcn,
many of whom. il is said never saw the llal-
ncy Valley.
The most impressive feature the cN-
pose of the policy of the Pacific Live Stock
company contained i'm as revealed i'm MIR, Me-
Comncll's statement is the copy of letter.
from j. d. Farrell President of the o. W. Il. .
& y. company, wherein he describes an IN
trrNicw with the acting head of the i, l.. =.
COMPANY. This interview revealed the fact
thnt the Z. l.. :. company intends To- hold its
land intact, has mo- desire 10 sell 10 settlers,
deems the entry of railroads To- the territory
adjacent To it's holdings menace rather than
a benefit In view of that facet the reason
ablucSs of Nh, Farrell and his associates
determination not to continue work on the
railroad they then had projected from On
tario thru to Bend must hc granted.
Oregon has long Jagged behind her sis
ter states i'm development. Without rcallZ-
inc all the facts the public has been prone To
blame the railroads, but the correspondence
revealed by Mr. Mcconnell compcllS the be-
lief that the cause must be sought else
where for Mr. Faucll's letter clearly mdi-
Gated the determination of the company to
proceed if it could he assured that the terri
tory would be developed So that in future
the land would dcNclopc the traffic of which
il was and is capable and thus Justify the
expense of building road,