White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-09-30

That the state of Nevada should
own the public lands within its bor-
ders and in turn sell them 10 bona
iide users in the form of stockmen,
is the opinion of John Yelland, a
pioneer stockman who has given
deep study to the subject during his
residence and activities Of forty
three years.
1.-The day OF homesteaders coming
in and improving these lands is past"
says Mr.. Yelland. Natural condi-
lions are such that they cannot make
it profitable to them. They cannot
obtain the water to irrigate them and
10 expect them to bring the vacant
government lands into cultivation
and productivity in Nevada is out of
the Question.
"These lands are being used by
stockmen, yet in a way hat is I'M
satisfactory to every n concerned
They r government lands which
yield nothing to the state.
"If they could be turned over to
the state and it in turn allowed to
sell them, at least three or four mil
lion acres would be sold at S1.25 an
acre or at some other price that
would be reasonable, and the taxa.
BILE property of the state would be
increased to that extent.
GAS it is now the only color of
right to the use of the land by stock
men is through their title to the wat
ering places for their stock. This
title consists merely of rights granted
by the state engineer to use of the
water, conveying no tit,e to the land.
Stockmen of a particular neighbor-
hood, like Spring valley, respect each
others rights as a mere matter of
courtesy, but outside stockmen. such
as those from Montana, idaho or Utah
can come in at any time and camp
right on our springs, Craze off the
land within their reach and leave us
with nothing. We are taxed for the
Improvements at the springs, but fire.
~cuently are denied the benefit of their
use.
"The only way to get title to the
lands now is to homestead it or scrip
it. Homestcading is out of the ques-
ton for obvious reasons and scrip
ping it is prohibitive. It costs all the
way from four to eight hundred dol
lars for forty acres. When we cannot
make a living on patented land it
may be seen how it would become
prohibitive to have to pay for that
amount of desert lands to gain title
10 the number of springs that each
stock outfit would require.
Take, for instance. the Yelland
ranch, and say l own it, or take the
cases of the Cleveland ranch, Swal-
lows or any others in the valley. Say
they have from four to five thousand
sheep, which are as few as n one
outfit could be expected to run and
make a go of it. There would be no
possibility of running these sheep on
the ranch and finding feed for them.
AS it is they nave to be grazed or
government land surrounding us. Yet
if the state had this land and offered
it at a price that was reasonable and
fair for land of that character, all
Of us would buy and use a lot of the
land adjacent to Il ranches and the
state would receive taxes upon it,
but now it cannot be paved. 1t would
be a large e producer for the
state and the change would tend to
bring to the state a condition of
prosperity that cannot be expected
from the h~omesteader or from any
other mean that 1 can suggest for
utilizing these lands.
"Forty-three years ago when |
came to Spring valley there were
homesteaders and more families !iv.
ing in the valley than there are now
There is no hope of developing the
country and bringing it into a state
of prosperity through them. Our only
hope is through the stockmen, but
they must be given a foundation to
work upon
Mr.. Yelland SAYS the majority of
the springs in eastern Nevada, on
trolling the ranges between them,
are held through water rights grant
ed by the state engineer, though
there are a few where the forty-acre