Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-11-18

| property so long as he does not use II
10 the Injury Of his ncighbor, and only
so long, should be- applied to stocl,men
ny To others. Whenever they use
I their cattle so that they consume their
! neighbours growing crop, whether of
corn or hay or other product, they
ought to he mude to pny the damages
| they cause. The unfrlcndly Legislative
discrimination against the owners OF
real estate in their favor hns lasted far
too long. The owners of real estate
have made silent submission 10 taxa
ton without protection till they, the
stOckmen, have, by long usage, come
TO claim seriously the right of pasture
in their lands, aud TO dispute their
right 10 inclose them; and oil over the
land we hear of the destruction of
their fences. Singilnrly, and perhaps
well enough too, II IL the s,ockmnn,
now become landowner. who Is reap
ing this whirlwlnd, which has been
gathering force for years from the los-
tering influence of our fence lcgisla-
tion.
We are told, on authority not Ia he
doubted that this Trouble of sarh
threatening proportions has, In many
instances. grown directly ont of the
stockmnn's old habit Of appropriatina
n neiglibor'H property without his con
sent, assuming now the phase OF taking
the land itself, instead of the grass II
produces. This wns but one step
further In the same old direction.
Fencing up private ny we'll ~ school
land, without any prctcnse OF Title TO
II, and without ihe owners consent,
would seem, to II mind moi warped by
prejudice, OF the same class Of wrong
doing as taking the grass Which grows
upon II without his consent. We are
told the st0citman NOW become lnnd-
owner, WHO Only a few years ago was
growing rich, Just ms the fenGe-cutlcr
Of to-day wishes 10 do, by taking his
neighbours grass without Ills consent
II still doing the same thing In elect,
by fencing up both land and grass not
his own. IL viii be II great good The
old adngc proves true In this case, TINT
when thieves fall out honest men
net their due.p Yet IL may be too
hnrsh ~ apply sucli terms touIcn who,
in most Of the ailairs OF life, would
scorn To take what j. not tier own.
They have been educated ~ the gov
1 eminent first 10 consider taking grass
! without the owners consent rs riSht
and proper thing, and then they hpye
| the like with land.
When our lnw-inak.rs come 10 con-
slider rights 10 all kinds Of property as
equally sacred, and toextend the same
protection 10 reni estate that ID extend
cd 10 property In chatteis, the remedy
for the evil of fencc'cutting VIII De
easy ana natural.
ii will not lie a sufficient remedy, as
some imagine, simply 20 make fence
cutting felony. The state must
ceaae, by her iaws, 10 train up snst
army OF men In the daily habit OF APP
proprlating That which belongs 70
( others without permission OF the
! owner. 1t II not strange that from
] suel, d school, which Is rs broad ~ the
/ grass land of Texas, MANY nupafrdn
annually become f,ioiis, by simply
( crossing the imaginary line which d.
1 yides the tnklng ~ grass Without per-
: mission from the taking OF yehriihg
/ Ia the saile way.
n tho law were sitch that Hien my
catlIe cal my neighbours grass Wy my
| permlg.iou ard without his ouir'eni,
\ he shall hnvc lien upon them, foi inc
! value Of the grass iii pay iofis, lheh,
| lie lazy requires, uuder bnfh pennIty
n, this. that every man gnal o"nnhe
| Ills stock, either by hsrfing or fencing
| 10 bis own land, and its saiutary 81.
| fect will soon be Opsious In respect 70
the fcnce-cutting malady. Let ~ be