The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-04-01
precepj( / Christianity forgotten, furnish

~ AGAnHT POLICY az STATE
We want no landed arislooraoy In Tera',
Honor aud shame from ~ condition rlse
Act well your pAil-lhrfo All the honor lies
IL tbs sentiment which aotuatea every patriot
Not what no ln, but What h0 H. should
measure tho standard Oi excellence, for
"wOnh makes tho man, and tho want Of II
the fellow Certainly, then, Texas, with
her Goliad, her Alamo and her Aan JaontO,
breathing, uumpel't0ngued, as perpetual u
defiance 10 tyranny ~ Marathon, ThermO'
pyl@ or hnlalns, Harlem, AlkmOor or Icy
don, Bunker I'LL, Saratoga or Yorktown,
cannot afford 10 belle her history by adopt
ing policy forced upon IN oppressed peo-
ple by the ellai0 dynAslies OF tho old world,
N0rdo we desireRor can Wexford, W revive on
tho ahOros Of America, u policy which brings
Ireland to-day M n mendlcAnl NJ our doors,
that Ireland, too, "whOm fierce Dane could
not conquer, and on whose rock'bound ooasl
ambitious Romans feared 10 venture" In
that stricken land about ono out Of every two
thousand inhabitants own the land, aud, con
seQuenily she Is overcast by cloud ~ deep
and dare M tho midnight Of despair and the
earnings Of the peasant How into the po lkela
of tho prince, We do not believe We have
drawn too strong picture, for history In re-
penllng laeli, points with unorrng ilngor 10
tho fact that largo lnnded Interest IN tho
hands Of tho few sproductlyeOf nought but
harm, But II " against the p0llcyol tho State
because tho Slat1 must necessarily thereby
lose heavily We will not belabOr tho prop
ositlon that lands sold In large bodies will not
bring M high price M those sold In smaller
tracts, Tho mere statement carries with II
conviction, IN II h In accord with tho daily
experience Of business transactions But
oven { II should not be 80, 10 change the
present law would occasion Il loss, as we have
before socn,of Just Hooper cent. In the revenue
derived from tho interest on tho Investment,
hut there IL still another aud more potent
reason against tho policy Indicated aud II Ia
this, Within short time tho Texas ~ PA.
cillc rallrond TO NJ Pnso, there 10 meet the
Snn Antonio railroad running up the valley
of tho Rio Grnnde, and tho Central railrond
- EastlNnd, will DO completed. OF neccss-
ty these great enterprises will open up the
country and In doing 80, put much of the
unapproprintod public domain upon tho
market In these sections are some of the
most inviting fields Of enterprise In tho State.
Not only for tllage and pasture, but that
hitherto UNEMPLOYED mineral will unfold "A
nature Of values, TO which Toxas, up 10 this
time has been stranger. Now suppose that
these lands nro for ed upon tho market, We
will have presented tho spectacle of tho most
valuable property Of tho State sacrificed,
whore by boiling on TO them, II will be able
10 mass largo rewards for tho delay In an
enhancement of prices incident TO the de-
velopment produced by competing rail-
ways.
But II may be sNid those lands are value
less except for grazing, and while we deny
the proposition, ne tact, still, admitting II
for tho sake Of argument TO be true,
our answer TO il Is furnished by
the acton of the last Legislature, Hon h,
Il. Lane, of GoliNd senator from the 9th
district, introduced bill which subsequently
became law, whereby parties using Gov
ernment land for pasturage, aro charged II
yearly rental OF twenty-five dollars per sec
ton for each and every section so used, so
that even now they are sources of revenue.
In any view, therefore, TO sell these lands in
any other manner than they have been sold,
would be detrimental 10 the interest of the
State, contrary TO enlightened craftsmanship
and against sound policy,
oRvIATE NECESSITY OF FRONTIER BATrAl-
ION.
The keeping of nm organized military force
upon the frontier has always been and con-
tinues to BIO necessity. Without il thepio
neer would long since have been checked in
his onward march, and with him, the nd
vance of civilization in this favored country
But though the maintenance Of sufficient
force for the purpose indicated has been rec
ognized, still ut each recurring session of tho
Legislature il has met with determined OPP
position, oftentimes trenching closely upon
tho line Of acrimony and bitterness in de-
bate. Those who live in and repre-
sent the older settlements, do not APP
preciate the danger 10 the life and
property of their fe!low-citizens, and hence
do not reaIize the necessity for this expondi-
ture upon the part of tho State. But it Is
nevertheless necessity. Why? Because
of the sparseness of the population, proximi-
ty to the Indians, and on account of the
many desperate characters who are refugees
from justice, not only from this, but from
nearly every State in the Union, who iniest
that country. TO keep up this force costs
the State annually large amount, and It's
continuance can be justified on, y on the
ground of imperative necessity. Its abcli-
ton, not only on account of its cost to the
State, but because the existence of mill
lary force in time of peace is contrary to the
theory of our government and demoralzlng
to the civil power is of the first Importance.
Settling of the frontier will accomplish this,
and since selling our lands in large tracts will
contribute to prevent settlement, for this adj
dilionsl reason the policy of Governor Rob
erts should be opposed.
The importance of this question, / trust,
will excuse the length of it, discussion. The
wise and thoughtful Of the State, many Of
whom have heard on the subject, regard it
as the one that should most enlist the earnest
Ard patriotic consideration of the lawmakers
of Texas.
Reading Notice.