The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-07-19
INVESTOR FINDS
HIS LAND TAKEN
BY DEFENSE ACT
Iowa Man, Here To I'm
prove Lands, Finds It
Seized-Quits State

Bismarck, N. D., July 1e.-Coming
to, Burleigh county with a roll Of
$4,000 which he intended to invest
in converting O. section and half
of land which he owns south OF
Menoken into model stock farm,
w. T. Haynes, prosperous Tama, Ia,
farmer, is returning home in disgust,
with his roll intact, after finding
that the North Dakota Council Of
defense, he states. had parcelled out
his ranch among neighboring farm
ers.
"I received no notice of any kind
from the council Of defense or any
other source" said Mr.. Haynes to-
day. when I drove out to my
place yesterday and found a, whole
section of my fine grazing land
plowed up I couldn't believe my
eyes. Someone has confused his
locatNon,' said to myself, thinking
that a neighbor had piowed my land,
by mistake. soon found, however,
that there was no mistake about it,
and the men who had seized my
property with consent Of the state
council Of defense we're quite inso-
lent about it. was informed that
not only would the QUE section be
cropped, but that my neighbors
were going to cut the hay from the
land which had not been plowed. I
was advised that had nothing to
say about 1t. ... g.. "
Had Offer of Lease
1.-THE very day I left home I re-
ceived g. letter from Randall Ross
Boyd of Menoken stating that he
and Julius Dorman of Bismarck ana
Ed Dueppler Of Menoken wanted to
leo 3D. 81, I. -
$S5 the quarter. I had tried leasing
my. land for haying purposes in 9TH
er years and had never been able to
collect the rental. 1 come from a
section OF the country where they.
have learned that you can't. take
stuff away from the land year after
yeGr without impairing Its fertility.
and, as intended to run cattle and
sheep on this tract, wasn't anxious
to have the hay cut from it. I was
willing that my neighbors use 1t as
a range for their livestock, ais they
have been, doing for years. Immedi-
ately after getting Mr.. Boyd's letter,
left for Bismarck, and you can.
imagine my surprise when I found
that these gentlemen had everything
already fixed up with the council
Of defense, had part Of my land in
flax and had paroelled the. hay on
the remainder out among them
selves, without any respect TO my
rights. i
"The flax on the section that is
broken will not make a bushel to
the acre. have always known the
land was no good for wheat, but that
1t was ideal for grazing. L have
farmed in, Iowa for fifty years. We.
tried raising wheat there for years
until we found we couldn't make it
60. Then we turned to cattle and
sheep, and now we are well off, and
our land is worth $3.50 an acre and
better. L wanted to give my boys
the benefit of my experience by
starting them right here, and I had
planned to spend $4,000 in. improv-
Ing this place and making 1t an ideal
stock ranch. This would have been
done a year ago but for the fact
that one of my sons became i'll and
couldn't make the change at the
time.
Through With State. -
NOW I have only small patch
left for grazing while the rest OF
my place is a weed patch. If there
was any sense or reason to 1t I
wouldn't care, but they have simply
best pieces OF .grasing land in the
best pieces OF grazing land in the
state without benefiting a soul. II
am through with North Dakota. I
will not invest another cent in any
state which stands for such laws. 4
can make a. good living in lowe, and
live under a reasonable and demo-
cratic form OF government, Just be-
fore came out here marketed
four carloads OF cattle that brought
me $4,000. My boys would have had
an opportunity to do as well in
North Dakota, but after this expert
ence don't want any member of
my family to have anything to do
with the state"