Weston weekly leader. [volume] (Weston, Umatilla County, Or.) 1878-189?, 1880-09-25
NO FENCE LAW, In FACT.

EDS. LEADER in Your valuable paper of
Sept. 4th 1880, we gave the outlines of . pro-
po~ed 20 fence law. aud by your permission
we ROW propose to state something of what
We &iailn would be the practical working of
that law. Suppose that law to be in force
and the requisite assent of the majority of the
legal voters given, for the law to take effect
in the territory described. We then propose
to organize a corporation under the general
lava Of this State, and sell stock in limited
quantities to any persons who desire to pur.
chase this stock to be made paying invest
ment. Then survey the boundary line, and
if need be, condemn the land 1t passes over;
that is, compel the owners thereof to take
what the same is worth. Then erect on the
line a Substantial fence and gates; the latter
10 be of ap approved pattern and 50 arranged
tho: tealpster can open aRd close them with.
ert getting off his wagon Or stage, as the case
may he, This h4ing done no cattle, under
the proposed law, will be allowed to run at
large in Tue enclosure SO made and the fence
being erscted according 10 law. all persons
WHO opened n gate and allowed it to remain
"pen until stock conir islride, would be liable
10 an action for the damages. Then the cor
poration would tax all persons who raised any
crop inside the enclosure, except such as was
also raised inside q private enclosure, in pro-
portion to the amount of such crop, so as to
raise sum of money sufficient to pay interest
Oa the stock sold, run the expenses of the cor
pOrsti"n. keep the fence repaired, and pay to
ths stock holders IL profit if desired. This,
the law as it now stands, would allow them
to do. if they had the right to erect the fence.
ieshaps those who look upon the scheme with
iliMrust, think that a person could raise as
much grain as he desired inside the enclosure
and the law would not compel him to contrib
nte to the first cost of the fence and the main
tsinahce of the same. This is a mistake, tn,
iaw makes ample PROVISIONS for any such OBJ
situate chaps. Some may Object that tn
feRce will cost too much, SO lei us what i
ssif cost. Suppose we going To enclose
tract of territory twenty niles square an
tlRt one-half of that la,,d IS to be farmed--thi
is putting the estimate " the farming Ian
very low, for in fact, il few years min
amount of fence will man who owns Ii
acres of land, have to build. or pay for tn
building Of: He will just have to furnish
pay for "a rods Of fence. or less tli'in enoug
to enclose two ncres, and II mall addition {,
gates and expenses Of runriLg the business
the corporation, that i. ALL Those who thin
this ststement to be :oo g"od, may figure ii
mattsr and see if VIC are not correct. Mo-
than this, il the amount cultivated shonld e
coed oHeihalf of the land enclosed, the cxpen
would even be less than above stated.
The contract Of building this fence could
let by the corporation, in sceti"ns say of O,
mile, TO the lowest bidder, and the man wi
did not waRt TO r!y for his part of the fenc
e"lJd bpil< u section aud let the corporate,
LAY llsn tl,e l.slance. over aud Above ii
amount which He had to build, There is
nan in Cmatilla county who claims u r;lpc
however poor he may he, sho could not
"ne of the two things, zig: haild "a rods
fence "r pay the corporation for h.iiiding
fJ hun. This pr position no one cap dispu
than we say why do those hesitate, for who
bsSeht the matter is exclusively Intended:
One Of the brightest ideas Incorporated
this whole scheme is this; it leaves every IN
Perfectly free to act as he individually pleas
At all times II he does not want to have a
thing TO do with the corporation he need n
il be has tried the plan of raising crops o
aide his own fence and d5es not like it, he