Gunnison news-champion., 1921-03-25
ROCkWELL'S LETTET
Sincerely yours
{. II. COWAN.

Denver. March 70. 1921.
] am taking Up a few Of the ma igr
balls which have passed the House and
will be before u next week.
First, however, wish 20 say 4 word
regarding the appointment for the
State Land Board which has been the
-0uTce Of 20 much newspaper talk
and the on" political spii: in the Re
publican party thts sssslOn- The Land
HDart Is composed Of three persons,
all appointed by the governor for a
term 0t four years. They have con
troll Df the lands owned By the state,
Including the Ech0U. lands which they
may rent, sell and lease the coal and
other mineral contained thereon. In
fact, they are the states custodian
u these lands and the funds derived
tncrsfrUm. They also have charge %
the school fund Iuycstmeui. In fact
this board D. one Of the most import
ant In point Of responsibility of any
m the state. ] he man whose term
expired January ls1i Is John ? Vi
Wan, republican national comm fte"-
man or Colorado, and nan uf con.
adorable ability both tu political and
nu moss relations. Unfortunately
NT VIVIAN aa! Governor SErlp had
.uwH disagree. mont U-eT uI -rs-
matter. connected wth the board: and
- rgE been certain over since the -e=-
-..n 'lTtnd tina: the governor guId
no. .v--.sr, Mr.. Vivian for this posi-
'..r Hf. -ar right m tho matter,
] na mo-, Er.. bat feel confident that
rH. attack made by certain reporter
pa Nj. VIVIAN are without foundation,
and ! au sure they are without Gov
yruar Sh9Ir.a approval. CrsUraily,
fed that M- Vivian has carried on
the auIs ~ this department con
-clpniI0uay and efficiently. However,
the fact n.man- that Governor Shgup,
for HIr rau reasons, will not reap
pu.n, MT lIIAn TO this position.
&oa t h4pJeHa that the governor
appountmnu, % this position has 10
b. confirmed by the -rnate where Mr.
NiTIan ha- many friends and stands
n tho highest regard. The question
ha- been Could Governor ShOup get
mar fo accept this appointment who
cot. . the confirmation Of the
S,lag- Many names have been
suggested and wh apercd about, but,
none have b.on sent i.ll this We kwhen
the name Of Lieutenant Governor Ste
phan Of Della. who Tor four years
represented Delta and Mesa counties
IN the State Senate, was sent up by the
governor.
Ny position in the matter Of CON
hrmation has been from the begin
ming absolutely neutral 20 far rs sid
ing with Governor Shoup or AT.
Vivian. have regretted the person
al feeling which has brought about
the refusal OF the governor 10 reap
point Mr. Vivian. and | have at all
times stated that ! would not vote TO
confirm any man that ! didn't con
slider would ill the position as well
rs Mr. Vivian has. As the governor
said TO me yesterday, you thought
couldn't find anybody who could do
this. didn't you7 Well / have" Nos
shall Of course vote for the confirm
alton Of George Stephan II his name
gets out Of the committee 10 which i
has been referred and before the
senate. | shall do so for several reas-
Ons. First. Lieut., Governor stephan
for four years represented the same
district in the State Senate that | do
at this time; second, believe him
absolutely qualified to fill the posi-
ton, and third, he Is a Western
Slope man and should be able to
help Us over there aa we have never
have been helped before. For in
stance the school fund can be loaned
out to farmers up TO the sum of
5000 at per cent interest at l-3
appraised value. Practically none of
this money has been loaned out on
the Western Siope-all over here, !
do not criticize the board for this be-
cause | believe the men on the West
ern Slope haven't perhaps needed the
unI have asked fnf. II
However, with a man on the board
who knows the Western Slope values
as Mr.. Stephan does, we should be
much benefited. And too, this board
takes care of the bonds on many of
our school buildings. The Gunnison
High School is at this time
handling it's bonds through this de-
paFtment, and Governor Stephan was
one of the men who made this Normal
school possible when he was in the
Legislature. He will certainly help
all these interests over in our coun-
try. / therefore feel that it would
be to the great advantage of our
Western Slope to have Mr.. Stephan
get this appointment without in any
way casting reflection on the good
work done by Mr.. John Vivian on
this board.
The first bill / wish to discuss is
the Colorado Rangers bill. Two gues-
tions comes to our mind-"Would it
be more economical" and as it neces-
sary?" Speaking for myself.
would answer both questions with a
big YES.
This bill, as passed by the House,
calls for fifty rangers who will be
stationed two or three in a place at
strategtic points about the safe.
They will watch for auto thieves and
bad actors of all kinds. They will
assist sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys
and other officials in time of need
when prompt action is necessary, and
otherwise protect families and prop
erty throughout the state. These men
are all ex-seryice men who receive
good wages-$125.00 a month and
are selected like the Canadian mount
ed police and the Texas Rangers for