The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-06-13
ROOFING OUT THE LAND HOG.

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With evident approval Of the Reclamation
Record, issued by the Department of the Inter-
ior, reports in it's April issue:
The land hog in England these days is sure
ly up against it. Local authorities have been
given authority to enter upon any lands not be-
ing used for the growing of foodstuffs and let
plots at a normal rent or free in certain cases
to persons who were willing to work it.
Then the Reclamation Record produces fig
ures showing that this measure has brought
into use $4,000 acres that would otherwise
have remained idle, upon which crops have been
grown to the value Of SIS, 0OO, 900. After which
it asks:
Who will be the first statesman in Congress
to interest himself in working out a law to per-
init a similar development of the unused lands
in and about our cities?
We respectfully call the attention of the Re-
clamation Record to Congressman Robert r.
Crosser, of Ohio, who introduced a bill long
ago, which, if passed, would not only have per-
mitted a similar development Of unused lands,
but would have stimulated much more. Mr..
Crosser's bill provided Tor raising of $2,OOO,-
100000 revenue by a tax on land values. That
would have made it improbable to hold land out
OF use that should be devoted to growing of
crops or any other useful purpose. It would
not only have put an end to all danger Of a
food shortage, but would have stimulated build
ing and thus solved the housing difficulty which
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wherever creation of war industries has brought
in extra workers.
But Congress preferred to increase postage
rates, to put a tax on the spread of intelligence,
to add to the burdens of the travelling public,
to tax theatre-goers, telephone and telegraph
users and to lay heavy additional burdens on
industry. Mr.. Crosser was left to make his
fight almost alone. His bill still slumbers in q
pigeon hole of the Ways and Means Commit
tee. When will the Department Of the Interior
begin to interest inself sufficiently in this meas
ure to help enactment of a law to permit devel-
oprnent of unused lands in and about our cities
and elsewhere? ..
The Grand Forks Herald of the 18th inst.
characterizes John Steen as being "a safe man"
Safe for whom? Why, the bunch of ~disgruntled
politicians and office-seekers who were instru-
mental in bringing him out for governor, Of
course. Safe" for two years Of political pap.
TIL fact that in the neighborhood of six thous-
and people gathered in Stems home county
last Friday to listen to Governor Frazier is the
best of evidence that the great majority Of the
people of that county are satisfied that Frazier
is the really safe" man to vote for for gov
ernor-and they are going to do it, too.
Congressman Baer of the First North
Dakota district is pleading for unity. The .
Grand Forks Herald agrees and hopes the =
voters will be a unit. In leaving. Baer at
honest. Paul Dispatch.
And it is in the cards that the poor old Her
aid will have it's hopes for it's pains, as was the
case once before when Baer landed the plum
with more votes than both of his opponents
combined-both townsmen of the grandmother
ly old Herald, be it remembered.
Several of the antileague newspapers appear
to be working overtime in attempting to prove
that Townley is guilty of having called j. G.
Ingle and others of his ilk, harsh names at that
now famous Bismarck conference" After a
careful review of this exparte evidence as ad-
duced to date, we are inclined to the opinion
that the accused had his facts we'll in hand,
and also that he had ample warrant for going
much further afield along the same line had
he have thought it worth while to have done
so.
This story of a Yankee boy comes from
France: He was lying out in the No Mans
Land with a bullet in one leg. Twice after he
lay there he was hit by the Germans. When the
third shot struck him, he raised himself pain
fully to his knees and, shaking his fists in the
direction of the boches, shouted: "Shoot some
one else, you fools, I'm not the whole damned
American army"
THE KID HAS CON
The Kid has gone to the Colors
And we don't know what to say;
The Kid we have loved and cuddled
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