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About The Sanders County Independent-Ledger (Thompson Falls, Mont.) 1918-1959 | View This Issue
The Sanders County Independent-Ledger (Thompson Falls, Mont.), 19 Dec. 1918, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn86075282/1918-12-19/ed-1/seq-3/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
SANDERS COUNTY INDEPENDENT LEDGER SOFT OF UNCLE SARI TO MONTANA; ON FEW YEARS THE STATE'S PERMANENT FUND MILL TOTAL ONE HUN IRED MILAN DOLLARS LEGISLATURE TO - MEET JANUARY 6 \ SOME OF STATE'S MOST CON- STRUCTIVE CITIZENS ARE IN- CLUDED IN PERSONNEL Beth houses Controlled by Republi- cans; the Speakership Contest; Some Legislative Measures Fore- casted; New Laws For the Farmer; Tax Legislation. On January 6, the first Mon- day of the new year, a little more than two ceeks away, th • Six- teenth legislative assembly of Montana will convene for its bi- ennial 60 day session. In De- oembers preceding former 0111 ventage of the law makers, Hel- ena has been full of statesmen and near statesmen, and this month has been an exception to the rule. Scarcely half a dozen members -elect have found their way to Helena. The se- riousness of the Spanish influ- enza epidemic and the disin- clination to travel that has fol- lowed the \flu\ are responsible for this lack of legislative visi- tors to the capital, but from now on they will become more fre- quent participants in the gos- sip that keeps warm the political pot. The personnel of the next assem- bly, which has been decided with the exception of a representative from Lincoln county, where the vote is a tie, and Lewis and Clark county, where a special election is to be held t• elect a state senator because of ' the demise of Senator -elect Frank Miracle, is considered by many who have frequented former sessions, to be of exceptionally high character. Ronald Higgins of Missoula, One of the Five Republican Candidates for the Speakership of the Montana House of Representatives. Mr. Higgins is a Son of Captain Hig- gins, the Founder of Missoula. He 11415 Served Four Terms in the Leg- islature as One of the Representa- tives of His County. He Was Min- ority Leader in the House for the Past Two Sessions. Some of the best known local leaders and some of the state's most con- structive citizens are among the members. It is hard to forecast the charac- ter of legislation that will be pre- sented. Undoubtedly there will be numerous freak measures introduced as always occurs, but that some real constructive legislation is going to be enacted, seems certain. Republicans Control Both houses of the forthcoming session are controlled by the repub- licans with more than a two-thirds vote. Interest centers just now in the fight for the speakership of the house, for which there are six an- nounced candidates: Fred L. Gibson of Park, Ronald Higgins of Missoula, E. H. Cooney of Cascade, O. W. Bel- den of Fergus and C. A. Rasmussen of DItwson. This contest will be set- tled in the caucus of republican mem- bers of the house, which will be held just before the legislature convenes. All the candidates are veteran legis- lators and any one of them would fill the high place to which they as- pire with ability. A committee representing the state bar association will be on hand with some measures governing practice in Montana courts. One of the laws the lawyers will urge will be to simplify the matter of securing new trials or getting into the supreme court on appeal RO as to renuce the cost and eliminate delays. A committee of five lawyers has been busy prepar- ing bills covering the matter. Legislation for the Farmers . A large amount of legislation in the interest of the farmers of Mon- tana is sure to be considered. In practically every agricultural coanty in the state the senators and repre- sentatives have arranged to meet the farmers and learn first hand from them the kind of legislation they need to aid in the development of the agricultural resources of Montana. Among the measures suggested are revision of the herd law, providing tests for gasoline, making it manda- tory for elevators to be equipped to clean grain, providing some needed changes in irrigation laws, weed laws, grain inspection measures, seed loan legislation and reduction in the rates of interest. Taxation Reforms Much time will be given to the con- Only close ptudents of Montana's affairs know that, aside from the federal government, the state is the biggest landlord within Montana's confines. In the course of a few years, thirty or forty, Montana's landed holdings, or the cash for which the lands have been sold, will represent approximately $100,- 000,000, earning annual revenue of between $5,000,000 and $6,000,000. Even now, tvith the fringe hardly worn from our frontier, the state is receiving a magnificent revenue from this source, the interest on $18,000,000, half of which is in- vested in bonds and loans, and the other half earning interest because of the deferred payments on land purchased. Money derived from the sale of state lands cannot be dissipated, but must be invested in interest bearing securities, and the interest goes into a fund for the maintainance of public schools, each county drawing from this fund in proportion to the number of school children within its boun- daries. A group of devoted men is en- titled to the credit of building up and caring for this splendid herit- age' which was the gift of the fed- eral government to Montana with statehood. At the time Montant became a state the federal govern- ment's grant was one -eighteenth of the state's area of public domain, 5275,000 acres, and this, with 668,- 000 acres granted by the govern- ment for the maintenance of the higher institutions of learning, makes a grand total of 5,945,000 acres. Wisdom of Joseph K. Toole Governor Joseph K. Toole was territorial delegate at the time of Montana's admission. At his in- stance congress incorporated in the enabling act a provision which pro- hibited Montana from selling any of this land for less than $10 an acre. This provision seemed a handicap at the time and for many years after its enactment, during which period other states having similar grants were selling their holding at $125 per -acre. But af- ter the passing of a score of years the wisdom of the provision be- came apparent, as over a million acres have been sold at from $15 to $17 per acre, and the price of the land sold each year averages higher than the price of the pre- ceeding year. Governor Toole's vision of the agricultural future of the state, and his action in fixing a minimum price on the land saved for Montana a king's ransom. The state has been very fortunate in all her servants who have had to do with the. administration of the affairs of the land department. The greatest of care has been exercised in the location and the appraise - sideration of taxation reforms and the report of the state tax commis- sion, which has been filed with the governor for reference to the legis- lature. This commission has sug- gested several reforms and the crea- tion of a permanent tax commission with real authority over taxation. The legislation for the various schools composing the University 9f Montana will be brought to the a - sembly's consideration through th annual report of the chancellor and the board of education, which has adopted a budget and made recom- mendations for extensions and im- provements. Undoubtedly a strong effort will be made to have another normal school established in eastern Mon- tana. Terry, Lewistown, Livingston and Billings are contenders for such an institution if one is established. It Is understood that there will be no university lobby. Several members favor providing for changes in the courses of study in the public schools so as to in- clude more subjects covering every day life and problems. A bill provid- ing for a vocational school for girls will also be introduced. Fish and Game Legislation The modification of the fish and game laws of the state, which was accomplished at the last session, places them in good shape and it is not thought there will be much such legislation except to make some amendments which the experience of the past year show necessary. Among some of the other measures which have been suggested are high- way improvement laws, changes in the marriage license statutes, limit- ing the rates of interest, state insur- ance of public buildings and in bon l- ing public officials, amendments to the compensation act, elimination of foreign languages In public school courses and some measures affect- ing municipalities and public im- provements. , Prohibition Legislation Undoubtedly some measures will be passed to assure strict enforce- ment of the prohibition laws sod it a is tind stood that the prohibition forces .repreparing.to urge tne pas- sage o Jaw that will make the plate absolutely bone dry and preveni. the sale of even near beer. Another measure which has been euggeeted is a bill for an act t9 give public officials authority to coy He- cate liquor when it is found. Hon. Charles A. Whipple, who has b elan in charge of the state's vast land interests under three governors and has done much to develop Its value. ment of lands, all of which has con- tributed to the value of the state's holdings. In particular a great deal of credit is due Charles A. Whipple, who has served as state land agent under three governorg and has 'been in charge of the field work of the land department ever since it became apparent that the state had something in its lands which were worth taking care of and conserving. Mr. Whipple has taken a great deal of pride in his work, and his long experience has made his services invaluable. A Wise Provision. Until 1909 intending purchasers could buy of the state any land which had been appraised, but never for less than $10 an acre.. In 1908 Governor Edwin L. Norris appointed a commission, consisting of 'Judge Lew L. Callaway, Dave Hilger and Rudolph von Tobel, and charged them with the formulation of a law for the better handling of the state lands. The report of this commission, with a few minor changes, was enacted into legisla- tion by, the legislature of 1909. Perhaps the most beneficial fea- ture of this new law was the pro- vision that all lands should be sold only at public auction, at the court house of the county in which the lands were located, and after the lands to be sold had been advertis- ed in the county newspapers for four weeks preceeding the sale. It became apparent in 1909-10 that because of the immense with- drawals of public domain by the federal government for national forest reserves, that many thous- and of acres which woulCI, fall to the state as school sections 16 and 36 provided those areas were sur- veyed, would probably be withheld from the revenue producing class for the benefit of Montana's schools indefinitely as the settled policy of the forest reserve department was to maintain these mountainous areas intact without surveying them. Business foresight therefore ar- gued that some arrangement should be made whereby Montana could relinquish to the national govern- ment these widely separated moun- tain sections in the forest reserves and select in place thereof equal acreage of desirable agricultural and timber lands in surveyed areas. These selected lands would without doubt -be of greater value to Montana, bring in immediate revenue, and be easier to adminis- ter, while the federal government would profit by the 'exchange through having entire control of the forest areas that comprise the watersheds of all the important streams in our state. Such an arrangement was enter- ed into between Governor Norris, acting for Montana, and Hon. James Wilson, secretary of agricul- ture, for the federal government, during the latter part of 1910. The state board of land commission'ers authorized ale extladiture of $25- 000 to take care of the state's ex- pense in cruising the land it pro- posed to relinquish or acquire, and the nationartfIngress appropriated • e a similar amount to pay the federal end of this expense. A working agreement was entered into be- tween the forestry service, repre- sented by F. A. Silcox, district for- ester and State Land Agent whip- ple, representing the state land de- partment. A Second Legacy. During Governor Stewart's first term in office, in the seasons of 1913-14, field „examinations were made in both the areas to be relin- quished and the areas to be select- ed in lieu thereof. These examina- tions resulted in the acquisition by the state of 106,306 acres of choice timber land, of which about 40,000 acres were on Swan river, and 65,- 000 acres on the Whitefish and Stillwater rivers, together with 360,000 acres of good agricultural land, picked in the fertile counties of the state, the larger blocks of which . were located in Sheridan, Valley, Chouteau, Fergus, Custer and Carter counties. Anyone familiar with land conditions in Montana will appre- ciate that this was a wonderfully advantageous arrangement, as the lands selected by the state were worth about $8,000,000, while the lands relinquished were worth less than one-fourth that sum, except for the purpose of holding the sea- son's snows in order to make cer- tain the continued flow of water in the many streams heading in these mountainous districts. It is worth mentioning that when this big work was completed only $34,000 of the joint $50,0120 fund had been expend- ed. Montana's bill of, expense in the making of a trade which netted the state something like $6,000,000 was therefore only about $17,000. Sharp Increase in Values. It is interesting to note that the increase in all lines has been very marked, as is shown by the fact that in 1901 receipts for the state land office were $293,335, while in 1918 the receipts were $1,828,712; the total received for land rentals in 1901 was $171,668, while the 1918 total from the same source was $439,169. In 1901 the 57.212 school cHildren in the state drew $105,842, or $1.85 per capita into the school treasuries, while in 1917 $810,991 went into the school treas- uries when there were 147,453 school children and the per capita distribution was $5.50, showing that land values are moving forward even. at a mote rapid rate than the increase in the school population. The work of the state -land office and the expense of operations, has been greatly increased by the in- auguration of the farm loan law, by which the state funds are loaned to farmers on approved farm se- curity. This law was enacted in 1917. Since it went into effect a total of 2,150 applications for loans have reached the department. coming from every coonty,in the state, in an aggregate amount of over $5,000,000. In the fall of 1917, after our people had become more or less familiar with the laws ap- plications to the number of 1 305 were examined, and loans to' the amount of $739,700 were recall - mended. During ,the first 11 months in 1918, 1,304 applications have been examined and loans rec- ommended on the same to the amount of $2,719,600. Of the 450 applications not yet finally passed upon, most of them are incomplete through failure of applicants to submit abstracts of title, or be- cause of some slight defect in title on abstracts already submitted. There are about 100 applications for loans on land, the titles to which have been approved by the attor- ney general, and which have been passed on to the field appraisers for examination. For Farm Development. This law permitting of the loan- ing of the permanent school fund to farmers was an exceptionally wise piece of legislation. In future years, when many more millions come into the permanent fund through the sale of school land, this will constitute an immense revolv- ing fund, available to assist in de- veloping the agriculture of the state on a tremendous scale, at a ralt. — Of interest that is very attrac- tive to the agriculturists, and will save them large sums of money. In the course of thirty or forty years there should be in this fund, ac- cording to the estimate of those close in touch with the situation, $100,000,000, all of which will be available for agricultural loans. In the wonderful prosperity that is to come to Montana during the next five years our agricultural de- velopment will be very rapid, and state lands which have been selling at from $16 to $20 per acre will un- doubtedly bring from $35 to $40 per acre. The state has under lease, in 1917, 3,258,516. acres, which brought in a rental of $454,373, or an average of something over 13 cents per acre. - FREIGHT TARIFF AGAINST MONTANA COMMERCIAL INTFIRESTS OF THE STATE FILE PROTEST IN MEETING Growth of the State Will Be Serious- ly Hampered During Reconstruc- tion Period Unless There is a Re- duction in Rates Proposed by Gov- ernment Railroad Management. Practically every commercial or- ganization in Montana was represent- ed at a conference held in Helena re- cently to formulate an emphatic pro- test against the proposed increase in freight rates and classifications which if put into effect, would give Montana the peak load of transportation costs of the country. The state railroad commission was represented. Delegates present were unanimous in asserting that if these increasgs become effective the growth the state would normally enjoy during the re- construction period would be serious- ly hampered, and that now, if ever, Montana needs everything In the way of encouragement toward the devel- opment of its vast resources. The Montana Freight Rate asso- ciation was formally organized and an executive committee was named as follows: Warden Is Head 0. S. Warden, Great Falls, chair- man; John Roach, Butte; D. D. Rich- ardn, Missoula: L. T. Cramer, Hel- ena, and F. E. Kiel, Billings. This committee was empowered to appoint sub -committees as necessary to carry on the business of the association. It was made clear at the sleeting that this association has not been formed to fight the administration or those in charge of the railroads, but for the purpose of seeing that every resident of Montana, consumer, job- ber, shipper and retailer, *eta fair and equal treatment as relate' ll to the adjoining states and the country as a whole The proposals of the com- mittee in charge of the freight rates for this section seem to the business men of Montana to be unreasonable compared to the states adjoining and to the rates which have been In force in this territory. STATE TO TRADE LANDS WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT A readjustment of lands, whereby the forest service and the state of Mgntana will exchange tracts scatter- ed throughout the state, to the bene- fit of both, is being concluded by he district headquarters of the forestry service at Missoula. Final arrange- ments are pending the arrival of a proclamation issued by President Wilson to authorize the transaction. Through this trade. thO forest ser- vice will obtain 106,000 acres of tim- ber land, distributed in small pieces In and near national forests, which have been the prhperty of the state and under Bs ArisdictIon. In return the forest service transfers to the state two large tracts of land, located in the Swan river valley and in the north end of the Blackfoot valley, near Missoula, and another near Whitefish. in the Hlackfeet forest The exchange will eliminate diffi- culties of administration,. ARTHUR WIERICK, FLYER, IS FOUND MONTANA AVIATOR SHOT DOWN BEHIND THE GERMAN LINES, RELEASED FROM PRISON War Department at' First Reportedl That He Was Seen to Crash and Friends Thought He Was Killed; Lateen Report Indicates That He Is Safe. bleat. Arthur M. Wierick, the Lewistown aviator, reported as killed in air combat during the last few days of the war, is gate and has Just been released from a Gernum hospital, according to a telegram received from L. 0. Evans from Chicago. An earlie r reported indicated his death. On the afternoon of October 31, just eleven days be- fore the signing of the Annie- tice, he was seen to fall and crash behind the enemy trenches. The supposition was that he was killed. Lieut. Arthur Wierick, young Montana aviator who has been With the American flying corps in France for mix months, has been missing since a late date in October. He has not been re- ported as being in any of the German prison camps and his friends are alarmed as to his fate. Lieut. Wierick is a son of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Wierick, who are well known in Montana. His father is a banker, who was lo- cated Drat in Helena and after- wards went to Butte where he was in charge of the Finn Na- tional bank as cashier for more than tweirty years. LieuL Arthur M. Wierick, Montana Aviator, Reported Killed. but Who Has Just Been Released From Ho/s- pited. Mrs. WierIck, a forceful, clever wo- man, was prominent in club life and woman's work in the state for many years. She served on the state prison welfare board until about a year ago, when Mr. Wierick returned and re- moved with his family to Los An- geles. Young Wierick, who had grown to manhood In Butte, was connected with the First gational bank of Lew- istown at the time that America de- cided to cast her lot with the allies. He immediately made application for a cadetship in the reserve officers' training corps, and after finishing was sent to an aviation camp, grad- uating in time to be sent to France early in the conflict. His proficiency SIR a flyer was such that he was do- ing air fighting months before Ameri- ca got into the air game to any ex- tent. He was a young man of ex- ceptional promise and if he has made the great sacrifice, as seems probable, It means that another heroic young Montanan has offered up his life on the altar of liberty. • MONTANAN FLIES FROM WACO TO KANSAS CITY Douglass Christie, a Montana youth who is a cadet at one of the army training camps for aviators in Texas, made a big mark for himself the other day when he piloted his machine from Waco, Texas. in KAMPALA City in nix hours and 45 minutes, flying time. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. .1. W. Christie of Hel- ena. The distance. from Waco to Kansas City. is 700 miles as the airplane flies. By rail t it is near- er 1,000. , Young Christie for some time past has been in charge of the mignalmen'm section of Rich field. Not long ago he made a flight from Hallam to Waco. • distance of 100 miles, in one hour. He was piloting • slow machine on that flight but was able to make the distance, flying at an alti- tude of 15,000 feet, because he had the wind at his back, Field Marshal von Mackensen, on his return to Berlin from Ruman- ia. had in his possession $17.1160,- 000 In gold and currency, loot or Rumania. and soldiers of the revolt- , utionary goveretnent compelled biota to give up everything • 1
