Arizona republican., 1919-04-05
HOMESTEADERS' PUNT IF VIE w
 LAND LEASING |

 has passed the stage or argument and voting so that the fate of that measure rests solely with the courts, the subject has been by no means disposed Of. If the act passed by the late legislature should be sustained, efforts will De made for it's repeal or amendment. 1T it should finally fail, other leglslaton for the amendment of the existing land laws will be attempted.
 Mir E. O'B. Mann. secretary of the Fucker Canyon, has prepared state ment embodying the protests when the homesteaders made against the land lease bill, house bill No. 60, ana sug- gesting amendments to the present law to remedy the existing situation.
 Introducing this matter, MT. Mann said:
 Now, unlike the eastern states. the farmers in this state are dependent not solely on titled crops (except1ng the irrigated districts), but on raising I livestock to consume the home-raised | forage crops, and if the farmer cannot 1 buy or lease land within handling dis tance of his homestead, he cannot raise the livestock, and facing failure, he may as well pull up stakes, throw Tn 1 his lot with the nomadic drifter, the already toO-numerous renter, or, for- saking husbandry. join the ranks of the wage earner in the city, becoming consumer instead of a producer; az gravating the very condition that all far sighted men, such as Secretary Lane, are striving their utmost to avoid
 Tt is both an indisputable and un- fortunate fact that the majority of the cattle industry of Arizona have adopt ed the ruinouS policy of turning their cattle out to winter storms as best they may. or succumb to the grazing short age in the spring, while the farmer, on the other hand, feeds and saves. thus doubling the carrying capacity of the | range.
 Let us preface the issue by the fol- lowing axiom: Tt is better for the pub lie welfare that 10 men shall own and operate grazing units of 200 head apiece, rather than one man own and operate one of 2,000 head, by virtue of the fact that 10 families will help to build up roads, schools, churches, homes. and a general community life which is necessarily lacking in a coun- try composed of isolated ranches. Il. The proposed term limit of 20 years is too long, the present one Of Q years being correct, and Land Com missioner Moeur's statement that he would issue no 20-year leases (whlist duly appreciated) is entirely beside the issue, because in passing our laws we cannot take into consideration tenure of office of any one man.
 "2. Section 30, as amended, provides that leases shall be granted in accord T. , ance with the provisions of the public land code, and section 97 of this code on page 26, chapter ). of second specla sessions, 1915, specifically provides that lessors shall have a preferential right to release the lands, and this section 37 is not repealed by the pres ent act.
 "These existing leases cover the best grazing land, much of which IS suscep- tible of agriculture, and is by these means forever held away from the mar who can make the best use of it, i. e. the homesteader.
 "3 The one great, overshadowine injustice in the operation of the present law is the leasing of large bodies o1 state lands by the cattle interests un- der dummy leases, and this is in nc wise remedied under the present act. Special attention is called to tho fact that these already existing dummy leases. being made in the form Of contract by the state, not only can. bu must be renewed on demand under th'
 
 ing the original lease was itself legal n because the state cannot abrogate ; ,, contract any more than a private indi t vidual.
 e These leases should themselves b. V set aside as contrary to the nome : leaders preferential right.
 fl. All state lands should be classi s fled into three grades.
 f Glass A-Consisting of the bes
 grazing land, partially susceptible o
 agriculture; lowest rental 5c per acre
 purchase price $500 per acre. Limit t T. one individual, 160 acres of agricultu 7, ral land or one section of grazing lana II Glass B-Consisting of averag
 grazing land, rental Sc, purchase $o.et limit two sections.
 Glass C-Poorer grade grazing lan6 IL Pc rental. s2.00 purchase; limit fiv T sections to one individual.
 e Any person owning or occupying . United States homestead ought to hay
 a preferential right to lease the re
 spective unit limits in each class with
 in three miles of his home (not onl -the adjoining land) by reason of tn
 fact that many homesteaders are al
 ready entirely surrounded by othe - homesteaders or leased land, and sue preferential right should become or erative at each recurring expiration ( L all leases.
 Tt must be clearly borne in min
 that the limits aforementioned nut
 be multiplied by 4. plus 1, by reaso a of the fact that a man can lease. k class c, for example, sections and bt m 3 sections, likewise his wife can do u ,- same, and the homestead of 1 sectie ,- will give them 21 sections in all. l. 13.440 acres.
 V These, we believe, cover the saliel 1A points at issue and when worked O