The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1923-11-28
Claim Department is Entirely off
The Track on Starting
Point to Commercialize
L. &. DILLINGHAM; TO MAKE
THE cATTLEMEN'S FIGHT
Resolutions Denounce the Entire Plan
as Un-Amercan, Unnecessary, Un-
precederted and EmphaticalIy &
economically Wrong in Principal.

c. e. Rachford, chief of grains
Bureau OF Forestry, Department o
Agriculture, Washington, D. c., ha.
held two meetings in Idaho, and i:
holding similar meetings in Other
states, to discuss with the stockgrow
ers the plan to COMMERCTALIZF
GRAZING OF FOREST RESERVES
The Idaho meetings were held in Pc
catello and Boise the fore part of this
month. One cattle man and one sheer
man from each of the following for
ests in Idaho were accredited dele
gates at these meetings: Minidoka
Teton, Caribou, Cache, Targhee, wy
oming, Bridger Boise, Challis, Lemhi
Payette Gal4uca. Sawtooth and Weis.
er National Forests.
At both meetings Mr.. Rachford In
| formed the stockmen that he was or
| dered 70 make a survey of grazing
conditions and prices on Forest Re
serve lands in comparison with the
prices charged on privately owned
lands, state leased lands and railroad
lands. Two years were spent by
Forest officials on this work. His
department then proceeded to show,
by figures thus gathered, that it. would
take an increase of from 80 Fer cent
TO as high as 100 per cent on cattle,
end from 70 per cent to 80 per cent
on sheep to bring the forest grazing
receipts per head up to what his in
vestigations showed was being paid
h-- cfn nm a7f IN
other lands.
Now. it is within the power of the
Secretary of Agriculture to raise or
lower Forest reserve gazing fees
This Department goes before congress
for appropriations to carry on the
work of the department.
The last appropriation for the Blu
reau of Forestry was s7,000.000.00.
This. with grazing fees collected,
which were s2.O0O,o00.O0 in excess of
the cost of administration of grazing,
together with receipts from timber
operations, is wha the Bureau func-
lions on. If congress shows a dispo-
sition to cut the appropriation, then
the department will want to get the
money it is accustomed to from 9th
OF THE WEST.
1t is evident that the Department
of Agriculture proposes to put this
100 per cent increase on grazing into
tffect or it would not have spent two
years in arming itself to do so. 1t
is also eV ident that in order to head
of the move the livestock industry
of he must take its best rain
Ell mo and collect information and
arm themselves with all the facts from
the livestock standpoint and prepare
for battle before the department and
before the Agricultural Appropriation
Committee.
At the Boise meeting officers of the
Idaho State Cattle and Horse Grow
ers Association and of the Idaho Wool
Growers were in attendance, and it
was voted by the delegates to have
the presidents of the two associations
appoint man from each organiza-
ton to go at once to Ogden and in
vesticato the records which the Of
ficials comparisons were made and
take from the records such informa-
ton as would be valuable for the fight
against the proposed advances. and
TO continue research work as rapidly
as POSSIBLE in order to prepare when
he time arrives to lay the stockmen's
case before Congress and the Depart
nent OF Agriculture.
President Nesbitt of the Cattle AS
sociation, after conference with
;tockmen, appointed Les Dillingham;,
secretary to this task.
The resolutions which were adopt
I'd at the Pocatello and Utah meetings
md indorsed at the Boise meeting are
IS fellows:
Pocatello resolution: eve, your !
committee appointed to draw up res
buttons relative to the proposed In
reas ed rates in grazing fees on the
caribou Cache. Targhee, Minidoka,
Teton. Wyoming and Bridger Nation
Il forests, beg leave to submit the
1--WE consider the plan of CONNER
ializing the grazing of the national
orests as unwise, unjust, uncalled for
nd injurious to the livestock indus
ry.
an our opinion. this idea is based
n wholly inadequate and erroneous
onception of the relations OF the i've
took industry to the country as
7hole and of the grazing resources OF
he national forest, to livestock pro
uction in the western states, and
ct is entirely unprecedented IN
and contrary to the policies
( our government.
eve call attention to the fact that F;
razing upon the national forests now I
reduces q revenue to the federal !