ook County Joura
VOL VI.
MIINKV1LLE, CROOK COUNTY, OREGON, FEBRUARY 27, 1002.
NO. 11
Cr
WILUAMSON'SVIEWS
As Expressed Ity Him
Two Years Ago.
Opposed to Loan Law.
The Sumo Bu nu Detrimental to the
Developmont of Our Arid
Lund H-
The following i a copy, from the
Daily Oregunian of Fi-ii. 21, l'JOil,
oi a letter then written by lion, J.
N. Williamson giving I'"1 v'l'w
two year ago upon tho subject of
leasing the public hind of the gov
ernment, Mr. W illtuliifOll Still
maintain the sumo opinion
against any leasing und believes
that thu puhlic (loinaiu should re
main, as it now irt. oien to sottle
ineiit by our present and soon coin
ing immigration. Thu Idler B:uks
for itself ami any el, dm that Mr.
Williamson iH not opposed to the
leasing system is a subterfuge of
those desiring hi defeat for the
nomination of representative in
congress:
I'lciM'.viux, Or., Feb. '20. (To
the F.di or). I discover, 1mm let
ters riHT'.v 'd hero, a Wi lias through
vi ur columns, that our eongio.-i-iii'iti,
in common with congressmen
from other grazing Males, seeks
t: HiriBul trout I), const itm-nt in re
tard to the lu st method of prmed
ur) in leasing ll.o public uoniain.
Agnfabie to this considerate re
tp.B't, I de.dro spiieo in your col
umns for a brief e;;pre,Hioii of
o.llii..i; upon u fi;liici;t oi win m
rect and vital imporuim c to all
wtio are interested in Ihi' welfare of
tregoii-rlhts section of Oligull, in
particular.
1 desire briefly to consider the
effect segregating the public domain
iilio larc Intel and parceling i!
' out to ctviuin individual will have
upon iudii! iric, established and
oiln-rwi-c, in the. s ale ef Oregon
llow wih Fin h u system work in
our stalv?
It is in v humble, yet positive and
uneipiiviical opinion, that any leas
ing stslem tjiat may be devised at
til s time would be premature bv
many veins, to say the least. My
principal reasoiin for such belief
might, for lack of space, be summed
U.i as follows: .
First Such a system would un
doubtedly have a tendency to ar
rest the selllenetlt and develop
ment of Oregon.
Second It would suddenly and
entirely revolutionize the present
system of grazing in this state.
Third Any lcasingsysh in would
have an undoubted Iciidciiey to
ward concentration of land owner
ship into the handa of u few people.
Of other objections, tltcre are
many, but for present purposes,
these three, will sullice.
In regard to the tirst objection
that leasing the public domain
would tend lo cheek Oregon's de
velopment, it must be admitted
that a lease implies a lessee and .a
lessor. One must'be the landlord,
tho other, the rentor. In order to
secure the validity of the contract,
the lessor must guarantee the use
mid benefit accruing from the land
to the lessee. That is, the "ovarii
ment must secure tho renter from
intrusion on the part of any one
else as to tho occupancy of the
land. In other words, any system
of leasing the public domain must
disallow the occupancy of such
lands by the homesteader or home
builder. Any leasing system in
..im.i. plenum iiv i..in ni
guarantee title to tho laml (luring!
tne tenure oi ttio lease is ot no,
avail, anti amounts to notiung ex
cept to cause bitter strife between
the renter and the homesteader.
On tho other hand, when the
government proceeds to lease the
public domain, by that action it!
docH away with the long-establish-
ed American policy of encouraging
home-building by ilonatuig to each I in Nippon oi my third objection
citizen io much of the public land that any lending system would
iih may be considered necessary for J have un undoubted tendency to
such purpose. Nor can thin effect; ward concentrating ownership of
be avoided bv undertaking to make j land I desire merely tocall atten
exceptioim of certain tract for et-j tion to the fact that it in tb liisto
tlcment by virtue of the judgment j ry of the leasing idea when applied
of any individual. Such a pro-! to priblio land in all nations of
ccdure would simply bo putting it j ancient or modern times, that such
within the power of one person to, a system of disposing of the public
declare what portion of the West I domain results ultimately in vested
shall be developed, and that pur 1 rights. Take each of the measures
tion shall lie devoted to pastoral ! now pending bctore congre-. Ev
purpohes. Upon thin feature ot the! cry one provide for re-leasing the
siihicct. 1 do not believe it to be ,
within the powr of any singular
individual, or set of individimlti, t
penetrate the unknown miliieiently
to declare what portion of the West
is Kusceptiple of settlemept and de-i land. Ife alr-ndy lias tho iudefi
vi lopmcnl into homes, and what j tiite option to lease thejand, which
not. I do not except even the; only required another turn of the
heads id any or all the depart- j cotigreirional wheel to result in ab
nientH of tho present or next sue-, solute ownership. It is hut fair to
eeeding administration. I presume that, as in all wes of this
The future development of our nature, history will repeat itself,
own state of Oregon is a scaled' It occurs to mo to be a much easier
btiok, even to those of us who have i matter not to lay a foundation for
lived here continuum ly and liehold ! mil h an evil than to undertake to
its gradual progress during the; arrebt it when once well along in
past generation. Judging irom the! the stage of development. It is
past, lo say nothing of tlie present! another instance wherein an ounce
trend of the times, who is there, of prevention in preferable to a
what head of a governmental de- pound of cure.
, ailment is there, who has any li-j In conclusion I will slate it as
cense to foretell evun for the brief my Ixdief that this whole supposed
period of 10 year what lands in need of leasing the public domain
Kasterii Oregon, through private
enterprise, will be -ttlcd and con-
vert. d into homes, and what not?; stroving ourselves by destroying
Are we prepared to declare all theithe truss. Our crass, is not ail
remaining public lauds unlit for I gone. Let me ask him who sets ti
other than pastoral purpose, and such ft claim. How is it Unit Hast
proceid upon that basis to sbutoiit ern Oicgoii is carrying its usual
immigration and parcel it out amount of toi k through the pics
among ourselves? 1 think not, jeiit wirit-r in better condition than
and I think many others will be of for t) years, with littie or no arii
the same opinion upm .mature, m, fiv jJ feeding? if tliei;e.s is tie-
tie. lion. j
Mv second objection, that itlt
wouil ciddellly and entirely revo-i
imion:.e llie pre-eiiisy. i in in gruz- as mien iiii-j wen: uiiuou uc i
ing ill tiiis state, is, like ihe liirt, ai the American Indian seems to be
very vilal one. I'nder thv pre-eiiti taken' by some people a ample
"Vstem, we u-e the biwdying h lis,' rea on that we i-hotild be cared fur
valleys and desert binds' i..r win- by tin.' barb-wire process,
ti ring purposes. As summer ad j Do ever i!pic who .ndoise such
iiiiits, ! inme our sp:tt to '.h.'j a tie ory lake as much a. a cui'son
liigiu r alti tidef, whieh abound in ' gl..n. e at existing facts? Jf so, do
the soft, nutritious gias-es, which they not behold us maintaining
produce the proper growth upon ! even moie stock lo thu acre of pub
the young, and the accumulating lie domain than wo did a quarter
oi lic-h upon the mature for mar-i of a century ago? Are they aware
keling purposes. The topography 1 of the fact that there no grows
of Fu'tcrn Oregon is such that, upon our ranges, instead of the
under the present system, we am, large, woody grasses of old, a num
enabled lo carry a very large I her of even more nutritious, yet
amount of slock with a minimum I smaller, variet es of grasses? Do
amount of friction, and, ail the re-! they comprehend what a wonderful
ports of the secretary oi iigr.'cul-j adjunct lo the. range alfalfa culture
tp.ro notwithstanding, will, if let has become? That even among
alone, continue so to do for years come well-watered -districts, where
tu come. I do not believe any bet-
ter scheme can be devised for ntii-
izing the public domain in Kastern ! alialfa culture has more thuncouu
Oregon for years to come, than the! te: balanced the evil dune?
present system, whereby we are en-J There may come a lime in the
aided to contribute- to the aggre- distant future when prudence will
gate wealth of the state our count-! require somedisposi.ionof ihefrag
les herd of cattle, sheep and nientary remains of our public do
horses. Much, at least, are tho main. lUit let us wail until we are
praelieal results which wo have to ! sure that nothing is left but frag-
show for tho present open system
of grazing. '
Suddenly reverse the system. In -
auguratc a barbwire era throughout
I'ji.uern Oregon ; ttirow all our stoes'
into pastures constructed from thiSpumie lamls in J.trg'.i trams .imong
ifiiserablo stuff; shut ih out from ; our.-elvcs. Such action, especially
tho mountain ramies, if may l.eilattbis particular lime, when all
and if anything further can be eyes are turned westward, would, i would accrue are almost incalcula
fliiini'lit. nl' to ln-iti'i- os nlionl. i.nJhvaliv coii.-truction whatever oi i l,lo lmt m-. e u-,.! I -inw!.l..r ivi,:.t
. . ' . . . ' , . .
act i mu into law also anil what
nave you uoner Jiave you pre piettiaiaie. ri iciim, n- w up!ia
served'a single blade of grass? Nojjto me. J. N. Williamson.
for pastured stock will always do-: "lT7sl,Hro.7x;r,ite7
strov more grass, head for head,f
than when not confined. Have you! Nc ' hereby (tiven that the cr.
increased tho output of thu stock;
protiuci,; ,u, villi nine UIIIIIIIIMI-
I......J V i .1:...:..: i.
I .1 . . ' ... I. . . I .. 1
ou nnve snnpiy anii
of stock in Eastern Oregon, as now
vi rn.. iu n.eiini uiraiii.nj linn
conauctjil, with all that implies in
tlio way ot loss to present invest-
ment and future development, und
have inaugurated in its Mead a very
doubtful, hot to sav aamtcrons. sx-
1 eriment, which is sure to fall short
of satisfaction iu the way of either
eu inai. ion nine sun uy anu uiuier tne name oi rr.ouc imkiiis iv
suddenly revolutionized the ttrazinLr'c, u .i.,v .li tv.-.i i.v .....t.,.l
immediate or ultimate results, save
to those people in the Fast who
own barb-wire factories.
ame lamls to the same wiliviuu
als, consequently to their heirs and
assigns the only logical conclu
sion from such a beginning being
the vested rittht of the lessee to the
is based largely upon ah erroneous
impression l. e., that we are ile
triye.l, ii v po our s.ock live ami
- .irive? '1 hat the hills are not cov-
ered villi the same quality of gra 8
the grass may have become some -
what the worse fur the wear, that
nientary remains. When, as jet,
I there are thousands, yes, million;:,!
ioi acres susceptible of being con-i
I verted into homes, 'it is stuely tool
soon to negiii parceling out uie
. , ., .. .-
, uie sign oi tue nines, ne eiiureiy
partnership heretofoie existing lie-j
i.' I. l-ii : 1 I u i-:..i..
, incen i ihiin i.h.iiis sun i. n . iit -,
uiuler the name ol t
: i . . ... , ..... ,
1 n v:,.i t n ....
Cllllseilt. J. 11. Itle rellllllt!. A I1C-I
,.,,. 4 ,.;., a..i u,-m will i- null..,.!.'
, . , ... . . ,. ......
. ., .,, , . , ,, .,.
nees 01 "m1 hnn M b' Mld
irra,,k Wku
.-! Frask E' k'xs Co.
FiiiNEvti.i.ic, Or., Feb. 8, 1902.
THE ELECTRIC ROAD
What the Times-Mountaineer
Has to Say.
Of Great Importance
To the Farmers and Stock Men of
This County-Will Aid De
velopment. Elsewhere in this isfue is pub
lished an extract from an article
that recently appeared in the Prine-
nille Jot'kNAL, nays The Dalitu
Titnes-jMountuinecr, which should
receive careful consideration from
property owners and business men
of The Dalles. Ave refer to the ar
ticle concerning an electric road
from The Dalles to I'rinevillc.
That such a road is practicable is
Iwyond question. A preliminary
survey of a portion of the route
wag made a few years ago by a
company of Dalle people, and was
pronounced by the engineers to be.
feasible for a steam road. The
route surveyed reached well up the
Deschulers river, a sufficient dis
tance to show that tbero is no n
riotis obstruction along the line to
railroad building. And a road
that is feasible for a steam road is
certainly practicable for an electric
road, since it is possible lo operate
the latter on on much greater
grade than the former. A sug
gested by the JoritNAti the power
for operating fueh a line i at itB
very side. After Iec:-hutc8 river
were reached there would be no
,,0Vit,r fr oa tjmt stream
are hundreds, of waterfall that
could l e utilized, und the surplus
power generated at White river is
u.llkient to operate tho road from
hero to Deschutes, provided the
road should go by way of Dufur
and Tygh Valley.
As to the benefits to accrue to
The Dalles and vicinity they scarce
ly require enumeration. Such a
road would make thi a distribut
ing point for the country to the
Mouth for a distil nee of 2110 miles.
The road ivould pas through
productive country nearly its en
tire distance and would cause much
land that is now K ing idle to be
1 brought under cultivation. Nearly
j all the busine-s that has -been lost
to Tho Dad.is by reason of the
building of the road to Mhaniko
would be regained, since trallic
could be handled more cheaply
over an electric road than one
whose motive power is steam. An
other advanutue to The Dalles
would be, that all the trallic
brought over an electric road would
have to be rehanilled here, that is
, (l.uli.ferri.,i oitiior to the boats orO.
U. ,
N. cars.
A:
stated above the benefits that
I ...
I mjgi,t tWnr in case sueh a raid is!
not built. A route has already
been surveyed from tba O. II. & N.
line up Fifteen-Mile to Dufur und
has been found to be good. Mup
inwi. n steiLm ro:iil were butit on
i , . u-mt 1 he the
-
mo ii " x " wmi.i ..
i , , ,
: Hlllt' 1 llL' products of the country
i between- Deschutes river and the
Cascade mountains, the country i
: f,ui which Tho Dalle now draw
,1, . un. ,t 1 , . ,i,i .
U,e bulk lt8
nut om tl,e r'"lload loluleJ in -
R. i N. oars and would juibs on to
market without stopping here, and
tho trade of that section would
either be kept at home or go to
Portland. In consequence The
Dalle would be cut off from its
most valuable resource. Is it not
therefore to the interest of The
Dalles to become interested in am
electric road from here to Dufur
and on t I'rineville?
Hlgnaf Vicuirjr fnr Mitchell.
Senator Mitchell won a signal
victory with his amendment to the'
sundry civil bill, directing the eec
retary of the treasury to investi
gate ai.d pay the claims of Oregon,
California and Nevada, growing'
out of the equipping of troop dur-
ing the war of the rebellion. This
amendment was at '.ached to the
bill in the senate, and was retained
by the conference committee. Un
der it the state of Oregon will re
ceive something like $340,0J0.
Senator Mitchell offered a joint
resolution proposing an amendment
to the constitution extending the
right of suffrage to women. He-
also presented two memorials of
citizens of Oregon protesting against
the enactment of legislation for
leasing of publie grazing lands.
Culver Culling.
The ball at the hall on the 14th
was one of the swellest affairs of
the season.
Miss Lilly Read has been quite
sick for several days, but we hopt
for her speedy recovery.
Stormy weather is over and to
day is like spring. Farming, hap
begun a.in i.-i full L'.u.t.
J. II. Windnm, accompanied by
his wife, made a business trip to
Trout creek the tirst of the week.
A dance at the hall Feb. 2Sth.
Tickets fifty cents. Basket supper,
come boys and bring your best girl.
Misses Fannie Oborn and Lottie
Armstrong returned rroin the city
of Prinevilie Thursday after sev
eral days visiting with friends at
that place.
John Peck made flying trip d
Prinevilie last Thursday to brims
his city girl out for the dance, but
omeho.v he came home alone hit
jace
wearing a sorrowful expression.
He must have got the cold shoul
der. Don't pine, John, there are
others.
Feb. 17. Cocntry Lad.
From Lamonta.
The duiicH given by Mr. and Mrs.
Will Peck, of Culver. Feb. 11 wa
a success in every respect. The
supper was simply glorious, tho
un s.cexceilent and these combined
with the splendid floor and. best
of floor n.atiagcD etw, tended t
make it tiie very best dance of tho
season. Mr. and Mrs. Peik aio
u.att bless entertaiuers. TieMC vhu
attended iro.o I.aiiionta wen-; Mr.
and Mr?. James ILdiricii, Mr. rind
s.
iitim. .Me.-irs. Aloei t. peaies, r an..
Stroud, Walter Uelfricfi, John Ilel-
! friyh, Jr., Fim-ry Scales, Fran is
! Taylor and lien Ileilrich.
LAMOxr.nx.
Attention I
A ilitmv will be nivni .it the rei
de'iee nl Mr. snd Mm. W. I'eek, &
4'nlr, i n Fi iiley. 1-Vli 2: li.iki t
" ; Mippei, sphaiibil itimr and sl nitric.
Tiekcse .Xj to those hi iosjing UisUn
mid 1 wiilmut. Stahle room iiiiu) Iewl
for 30 head of Imrses ut l.w -r liU.
Kverj biHly iuviieU noil jjeod (tiuo IU-
ured.