Year: 1879

the tone of circular letters with which the
country is being flooded, and number of
minor occurrences, give assurance that there
is to be an effort made at the next session OF
Congress to make some radical changes in
the law regulating the taking up of public
lands. and from what we have been able to
CLEAN from various sources on the subject,
these changes are in nOwise calculated to
benefit the masses of our people, or insure the
development and prosperity OF the Terrific
ries The most important Of the contem-
plated changes is the enacting Of law Civ
ing the government the right to rent, lease,
or sell at nominal price large districts of
country for grazing purposes. The pretext
for this change is that there are thousands
of square miles of land in the region of the
Rocky mountains from which the govern
ment is receiving no remuneration, and
which are being used as pasture lands by
the settlers and rapidly making them
wealthy. But the ostensible purpose is to
organize gigangic land steel by which this
vast area may be bought up by Eastern
money sharks and held by them for pastur-
al and speculative purposes, and excluding
the poor from the privilege of free grazing,
free homes and an even show in the great
battle of life with those born to wealth,-a
movement dangerous to the prosperity of the
Great West and detrimental to the best in
terests of the governments tendency to-
wards Capitalization Of power, the creation
of q mOneyOcracy, the reduction OF the poor
of the country to the condition of serfs and
the building UP Of the rich to be money
kings, who will rule and ruin the country.
Such a measure enacted would have the
effect to transform Montana to-day
man: literally poor mans PARADISE
poor mans hell. Its operations would
be similar to that Of the mineral land law Of
1872, which paralyzed placer mining and
gave the country over to capitalists. This
law was enacted under a like pretext,-the
creation of revenue to the government
but iii reality it was in the interest of few
Congressman and their friends who wanted
to locate large districts Of mining land.
Men high in authority, high in the conf
dence of the people, aspirants for great
offices of trust, even the presidency Of the
United States, are to-day interested in large
tracts Of mineral lands located under the
provisions Of this law, which instead OF be-
ing source of revenue to the government
the revenue is cut off, tor the miners are idle
and not a dollar has been paid for them,
and thousands of honest, hard-Working mi
ners, dependent upon these lands for sub
sistence, have been compelled to seek other
fields Of industry and the same will be the
result of the proposed law in regard to the
location of the pasture lands. The agricul-
tural interests of the country will thereby
be paralyzed-a check put to it from
which it can never recover throughout all
time The fame Of the Rocky mountains as
a beef and wool-producing region has spread
tar and wide, and the monied interest OF the
country, which is ever ready to rob honest
industry of its developed resources, looks
with covetous eyes to the boundless west,
and longs to possess it. With this end in
view they viii come before our next Con
gress with every pretext that can be con.
cocted, and the best talent money can EN-.
pIOy LOT y law llat WHt NTtuaily give cover OH
beautiful land into their hands. 1t is inf


nitely to the interest of the government thai


these broad acres OF so-called 'spastara


lands remain as they are to-day, in the hand:
of the government until such time us theyart
taken under the present homestead and pre-
emption laws, by actual settlers. ltis to tht
best interests of the government to encour
age the settlement of these lands by the poor
and encourage them to engage in stool
industry. Instead of thousands Of acres 0
land with one isnlated home the owner o