San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-02-16
TEXAS TOPICS.

The Austin & Northwestern rail
road has now on the ground four loco
motives, fifty fiat cars, twenty-five boz
cars, four passenger cars ana iron ioi
sixty.three miles OF the main line and
sidings.
Mrs. Turner, wife of r. Ii. Turner
district clerk of Bell county, died very
suddenly on the night of February LIST
She was complaining OF neuralgia and
used Wizard oil to ease the pain. She
dropped off to sleep with the bottle IL
her hand, and in her sleep spilled 1t on
the pillow, and the doctor says the
chloroform in the Wizard oil Was The
cause of her death.
Under the terms of the new pur
chase of the st. Louis q San Francisco
and Atlantic 81 Pacific Railways by the
Gould Huntington syndicate, the At
lantic s. Pacific road will be owned by
the Southern Pacific acting with the
Atchison, Topeka q Santa Fe railway,
while the st. Louis IL San Francisco
becomes the sole property OF Gould,
and will act in conjunction with the
Gould Southwestern road, but will give
it's eastern business to the Wabash.
The first dirt I the north east eX'
tension OF the Texas Central road was
thrown at Garret on the LIST OF Februa-
nv under the superintendent OF Cmef
Engineer Cross. The road will cross
the Trinity river at a point one hun.
dred and fifty yards below Trinid'd
Ferry, and will run through Unit.
Grove in Kaufman county, and thence
northeast to Red river. Superintendent
Quinlan has moved his headquarters
from Corsicana to this city, and, will
look after the construction OF the road.
The attorney-generaPs report, made
public February LIST. shows the follow
ing felonies in 1851: Murder, 354;
theft, 2,13O; arson, thirty-two; perjury,
ninety five; rape, forty-six; robbery
eighty; forgery, 121; burglary,2ll; en-
bezzlement, forty-two; other felonies,
1895; total, 4,208; 089 convictions,
against a total of 3,525, convictions in
1880. The encouragement, in reply
to certain railroad companies asking
that suits against them for failing to
meet their annual reports within the
time prescribed by law, says: Il DO
not consider my duty as attorney-gen-
eral extends to more than enforcing
the law as 1 find it in the statute
books"
-Lipe Stock Journal: There was
a time in Texas when the rifle and the
pistol were rendered necessary by the
inroads and depredations OF Indians =
but their are no Indians now, and no
need for men who can not drive cattle
without firearms. The necessities OF
the past produced cowboy who is out
of place in the civilization of the pre-
sent; but the remnant of that past still
fingers to retard the rapid advance
ment of the business to its full measure
of profit. Ranchmen should no longer
make proficiency in handling firearms
the requisite qualifications to employ
ment-as had sometimes been the case
but honesty, industry, and experience
should be the test as to mans fitness
for a cowboys duties. If stockmen would
even go further, and refuse to employ
men who insist upon making walking
arsenals of themselves, the business
would be generally benefited. There is
more disgusting TO business
men than to see cowboys III these times
of peace and safety loaded down with
guns and pistols. There is no need for
this display of firearms, they do not
indicate courage, but cowardice rather,
and it reflects upon business whose
employees can not go among the If fellow
men or about the discharge of their du-
ties without being armed to the teeth.
Such displays are revolving to civilized
people and deter many good men from
engaging in the business. The whole
sale arming of cowboys" is disgrace
70 stock raising, injurious to the bust
ness, provocative of lawlessness' and
crime, and should bs prohibited y the
laws of the State, the rules OF the as /
ISOLATION and by the owners of the /
ranches. !