despite the anti-fencing law, the richards brothers fenced in vast acreage with barbed wire. deforest richards controlled about a half million acres and bartlett richards had nearly 300 miles of fencing on government lands (in effect securing another half million acres) by 1899. his nebraska land and feeding co. had fenced in an area equivalent to four times the state of rhode island by 1902. jarvis richards fenced in colorado acreage in addition to helping his brothers with their operations. bartlett richards noted to fellow cattlemen in february 1902 that over 6 million acres of federal land had been fenced and 350,000 head of cattle were fattening behind those fences, and estimated the land and cattle were worth about $18 million. richards proposed to legalize these takings by having congress pass a lease bill. however, president theodore roosevelt (either despite or because of his experience as a cattleman) vetoed it.