Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-09-06

should have no more benefit frem the law
than he who is worth thousands. But Il
has always been so In this country-it is thu
demagogue howl, the poor man, the poo
man. All, il they would only say the lazy
| man, the trifing man, the ignorant, don't
care-a-cuss man with vote; then, sir
there are showers Of 'em. Men, ignorant
| careless, lazy, with untold wealth of health
and strength, are stuck about in all the val
leys and upon all the bill sides of this State
as thick as leaves on Vallambrosa. 1t takes
little to live on in this country, and faith
the most of 'em live on that little, with a
| little cabin stuck under the foot of a hill.
so that the north wind won't blow
the mud out of the cracks, with a mis-
cradle old COW that has hollow-hown
every spring, two or three pigs whose tails
have dropped of from inanition, nine cats,
fourteen hounds, eight live dogs, twenty.
| six pups of mixter, one bed of straw,
three pullets, marry chair, four stoves with
only two legs among em. one fry pan, one
skillet with the handle off and hole in the
bottom, half bushel meal, one small piece
of meat, twenty-five cents worth of coffee,
| no book of any kind, no newspaper, no
horse-are fine stalwart man, and maybe
three or four girls possessing health and
strength enough, if properly applied, to
make five fortunes in as many years did
they but quit being poor. And listen,
here comes along by our legislator who has
got all these five votes (and expects to
get 'em again and compel me to build
five hundred dollar fence to keep his mis-
cradle old COW and runty pigs out of my
corn field. You'll excuse me, but l can't
help from saying, On cooni One of your
correspondents says that no man VIII o
would run on the ano feuceu side eohld get.
elected to any Office. There he is right,
because ignorance and prejudice is the rule
aud thrift and thought the exception. But
thrift and thought will conquer at last,
though it may take years to do it; and be-
cause man that would run for an Office on
that issue would be beaten, is no sign that
he is wrong. Again he says, What would
we do with the lines of other States sur
rounding us? My dear sir, cur Legisla-
ture don't make laws to govern
other States. Again he says that
the woods would grow up like the chappa-
raj of Mexico. say it would not. 1t
takes the climate and constant rains of
Mexico to make its ehapparal. That of
Tennessee won't do it. Besides that's Door
argument of his, as the chapparal of Next
CO is caused by the cattle browsing the
young bushes. If let alone, the natural
fruit tree would soon overcome the chap
paral. There is no chapparal in the West
Indian Islands. There is an immense
tract of country on the top of Cumberland
Mountains, with not more than one COW to
the square mile. There is no chapparal there
There are thousands ofacres of wasted lands
in this State that could be easily redeemed if
the cattle were kept from them few years
and they were allowed to grow up in tim
Der. Another says: If we have no fences
how would we drive cattle to market? Sir,
we don't drive cattle to market nowadays.
Railroads and steamboats, take them for us
The poor man says: If we have no fences
what would become of my old COW and lit
tie runty pigs? I'll tell you. You would
have TO quit laying around loose, and de-
pending on old Brindle and coon skins for
a living, and go to work, and pretty soon
your old COW would below with joy, and
your pigs kick up their heels and squeal
with delight, ---..
One says, why don't the rich divide their
farms and sell to the poor? Because the
poor man is too internally lazy to work
and pay for it, and be don't feel like
fling a bill in Chancsry to get
his abused land back again.
You let man that has a large tract
of land come across a thrifty, industrious
man, and you will see how quick he will
sell him land, on his own time, too. In
fact the large farmers are anxious to sell a
part of their lands, but they want to sell it
to the right sort of msn-one that has
some industry and pride about him, and
from whom they will get their pay.
From your paper Of date, is this:
The people of Ohio are petitioning the Leg
islature to devise some method by which
the remaining forest of the State may be
saved. Fifty years ago Ohio was covered
with vast forests, but now 1t is bare Of even
the necessary timber for fencing. What a
sumner to ye fence men. In fifty years
the vast forest of great State wasted abso-
lutely wasted, an amount of damage done
that it will take hundreds of years to re-
pair. And look here again. The people Of
California, ever alive to the future, have
passed the no fence, law in a good many
counties and this legislature will certainly
make it general. [Charles Woodruff in
Hdrper's Mdgazlne.) Gentlemen, what do
you think of that California, bran new
State with her vast mountains OF pine and
her huge trees ahead of old Tennessee.
Conceivable up from your Rip Van Wrinkle
sleep, shake off the barnacles of past ages
and step up with Young America, if you
don't, Young America will leave you and
go where things are moving ahead.
Mr.. Editor, it is curious to me how any
man could read the statistics published in
regard to the cost of fencing and its policy
as compared to the value of stock and be
in favor of this absurd fence Law. Old
Gen. G., of Port Hudson, during the war
caught the itch, and had it a good long
while, the doctor one day proposed to give
him something that would cure it. No, said
the General, I've got used to it and rather
like it. That | suppose is the way with
fence men.
There is another curious argument one
of your correspondents makes; that is when
the roads are bad, wagons would turn off
the roads and run on his fields, etc. Well,
sir, quit splitting rails, and work and ditch
and grade your roads. There are many
things to be said yet on this question, and
l will try t. answer the arguments of the
fence men To the best of my ability, though
beg them not to say anything more about
the poor man. And l will say this much
for the no fence men, that we intend to
slight it out on this line" for we think we
ara RIGHT No FENCE