Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-05-30

Il
guage Of another: ssI am opposed TO chan
/ ees Ii ali general laws, unless there is !
manifest necessity for them or palpabl'
( advantage to be derived from them" SEE
I no necessity for q stock law III this State
nor any advantage to be derived from it
therefore oppose it. And our Legislators
should reflect long and well ere they make
such radical wholesale change as this Law
would be. Let us be certain we are NOV
Ing IN the right direction before we travel
50 fast. saset us rather bear the ills we
have than az 70 those we know not Of
I am keenly alive to the impoverished
condition Of the people Of Tennessee, but
for the life Of me, can't see how stock
law Is TO prove the panacea for our ills.
All, I'il tell you how the noble old State
may be relieved Of her endorsements
and placed once more on the high road to
prosperity. Give US a few more years of
honest State government, such as we have
had for the last two years. Give the
farmers the benefit Of wise, liberal legisla-
ton, do not hamper them with your prohi-
bition laws, for It Is undoubtedly true
that the world is governed too much.
Let Farmers Clubs be organized in
every neIghborhood, and Agricultural
Fairs be held In every county,
TO stimulate the farmers to emulation. Cir
cul2te such papers as the UNION AND
AMERICAN and Formers Advocate among
them. Let such men as j. B. Killebrew
and DR.. Gordon traverse the State and in
cite them to combined effort, and enc long
the Volunteer State viii be placed In the
condition 80 glowingly depicted by 'tNo
Fence.n
sNo Fence" says he don't care to invest
money In land TO raise pasturage for other
peoples stock, and, by parity Of reason
ing, be might invoke law to prevent other
people from travelling the public highway
across bis land, because, fofsooth, it is his
land and his money is invested in it. He
says: "Let him (the poor fsrmer) take
one half the money he would spend for
fencing In his fifty acres and be could buy
,lead loads OF clover seed and as much fine
stock 80 be would want, aye, and have
something left to buy fertilizers" But,
avast there, my friend, the poorer farmers
Of Tennessee haven't got any money invest
ed In fences. They don't invest anything
In fences but muscle and timber, and that
won't buy clover seed, nor fine stock, nor
fel tilizers. The poor farmer, and his sons,
make and repair his own fences; it costs
them nothing, but their own labor. But,
the clover, rye and grass seeds which it
takes to make pastures, would require an
outlay Of costs which they cannot give,
especially when many Of them have to make
animal payments on their land-upon which
some Of them have just pitched their little
cabins, and opened little clearing.
This measure is urged upon the ground
Of economy; but would it not require al
most as much time, labor and expense to
move your fences, from field TO pasture,
and from pasture TO field sgain-as you
move your pastures-as it now takes to
keep your whole farm enclosed? But
it is said it would save timber; and yet the
farmers of this county burn good rail tim
Der enough in their new grounds, and
in their fire places, and girdle
good rail trees enough-and leave them to
die and rot, every yasF, IS they encroach
upon the forest, to make many thousands
Of rails. And doubt not that this is true
of all the well timbered portions of the
State. Then why do gentleman "strain at
Q gnat and swallow a camelS 81 Let them
stop this wanton waste of timber, and then
proceed In their war against fences.
Why gentlemen, your nc fence law would
not do at all. Pass lido away with
fences-and at night while your are asleep
storms win arise and blow down your pas
ture fences, or fell trees across them "a
thing Of such frequent occurrence in this
country,) and turn your stock loose on
corn fields; and next morning
when you arise from your slumber you
will find, that your stock have !scleaned up"
your corn and wheat flelds-and foundered
themsely es-and this would be worse than
your neighbours stock picking your hickory
buds and oak leaves, and browsing around
your outside briar pstches-the grievance
of which you now complain. And besides
al this, there would be stray stock enough,
and stock enough belonging to negligent
and irresponsible OEners, and insufficient
pasture fences enough To render necessary
that we should keep fences around our
crops anyhow. So we would have law
and burdensOme to many, and
beneficial to none.
There Is another objection to the atoli-
ton of fences to which desire to call the
attention Of its friends. When you remove
your fences nom around your farms, you
remove every obstacle in the way of hum
tiers and others riding through your corn,
NuCdS duu GQDdCCO uCAuS ~ 4OO
leave no obstacle in the way of wagons
turning aside. from lanes and contiguous
roads, when your eyes are not upon them,
to escape mud and shorten distance, and
making hsrd-beaten roads, and cut
ting deep ruts through your
farms. This would be a 'ftrespass" calling
more loudly for redress than any of which
you now complain. "No Fence" gives an
Instance Of what may be done by keeping
up stock. will give you one on the other
side Of the fence. Robt. Dinkins lives in
"No Fences" own neigebOrhood. He is
wholly illiterate. His signature is mark,
for l don't think be knows A fromZ. He
began Life poor man, and when he went
to housekeeping hauled all bis worldly eff
at one load iii little paETyall drawn by one
horse. Bought twelve hundred acres of
land; paid for it mostly with pork-raised
In the woods; kept good fences around his
farm; not just high enough to invite the
depredations of his neighbours stock,
but good fences; his stock ran opt on
bis own and bis neighboF's land, and
his neighbor's stock ran on his lang. So
there wac mutual division Of benefits and
injuries, and when the war came up he had
aInassed large fortune; and that, too, by
legitimate farming and stock raising, and
not by outside speculation; and he has sold
more beef cattle than Mr.. O'Neal's little
son ever saw. This is what can be done
under the fence system. need not say to
SNo Fence, "Hgo thoA snd do hkewise,p fcr
see that be Sis joined TO his idols; let him
alone"
Since writing the above, 1 have seen a
communication in your paper from Il. S.
NJ, of Bedford,county, who, finding himself
unable TO refute my arguments, endeaVors
to diminish their influence by expressing a
doubt as TO whether am farmer or not.
Well, was born on farm. was rear
ed in the corn and tobacco field; 1 have
never followed any other occupation, and
have no other source Of subsistence, Yet,
ifthere are none farmers but those who
think the agricultural millennium will have
come when fences are abolished, then l
must confess that / 'fsint farmer much"
And l viii state further, for the satisfaction
of the incredulous gentleman, that keep
my stock up. II pays me better. But 1