San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-12-06

larger stock-men, largely by syf
tenn of mavericking, have, by degrees
eaten up the small stock-men all owe
the country, and as o result, immens'
wealth has come into the hands OF !
few men. The fine markets openet
up in the northwest during the las
few years for our rapidly increasing
surplus stock, have brought large
sums of money into the hands o.
these men, who, as a class, know lit
tie else besides cattle. They, having
as much stock as they can manage
and more money than they know
what to do with, have bought VI
and cleared lands in large quantities
and under a most unfortunate Law
have established a system of pastures
upon the grandest scale to be found
elsewhere upon the earth. From the
Colorado to the Rio Grande, extend
ing from the coast to fifty or more
miles into the interior, is one vast
system Of pastures, fencing land
amounting to millions of acres, very
small portion Of which is owned by
the fence owner. All the water cours-
es from the Guadalupe to the Rio
Grande, are thus fenced up. Whole
neighborhoods, towns and villages,
are fenced in, and deprived of rear
ing few cattle; and in many Of the
towns, the people cannot keep even q
milk COW ON the range. Thus all the
small farmers and poor young men
just starting in life, hoping in time
to rear little stock around them, as
has been the custom Of their fathers,
are cut off and compelled to sell their
little stocks or see them starve at
their doors. Thousands of these
poor, disheartened men would desert
their little homes, almost giving them
away, and again seek the frontier; but
pastures, pastures Stare them in the
face like Banquos ghost at every step.
Your much-boasted Northern capital,
despising our people but envying our
fine prairies and delightful climate
as men of wealth, and large syndi-
Gates, are pouring in upon us, devel-
oping the country,(?) buying up vast
tracts Of land, fencing and stocking
them. Do they come in our interest,
or their own' Let demagogues an
swer.
It is a we'll known fact that Texas
is state watered by only few riv-
ers and creeks, and many of the lat
ter dry up in the summer droughts;
these streams being fenced, give pas
ture men almort entire control of the
vast, unwatered highlands, frequently
separating these by many miles The
poor man on farm in west Texas,
cannot make a living without few
cattle upon free range to help him.
Being pastured in and deprived Of
these, seeing no place to emigrate to,
he is driven to desperation. Self pres
ervation being the first law of nature,
fence cutting becomes the order of
the day. I do not justify it, but de-
plore the causes that have driven
good men mad, and to such extremes,
which must be stopped or it will lead
to violence and blood-shed.
To still further aggravate this evil,
and yet complying with the letter of
the law, these pasture men are every
where resorting to o very ingenious
dodge. They buy or lease at nomi-
nal rent a line Of tracts to put their
fences on, thus running thirty to fifty
miles of fence on large tracts OF
It is true the small farmer
owning few hundred acres of land,
may pasture a certain amount of
stock to the hundred acres actually
owned by him. while he is cut off
from the privilege of large tracts Of
land enclosed by the pasture men, to
which they have no more natural
right than the small farmer, and yet
have acquired quasi legal right. 1t
would take much space TO point out
III the expressions and evils of this
system. The evil to the country of
having the land owned and controlled
1y n few, is absolutely ruinous TO the
pest interests OF the state.
So much for the history, and now
or the law and order side Of the
question / am no advocate of high
n lawism nor communism, but have
,ver been an advocate Of law and or
Ter. That a man has a right 10 fence
MS own land and is entitled to pro
ectiOn in this right, no one win deny
let it is also an established prInci-
BE Of law that the interest Of the
DOor man may often be set aside for
he general good Of the country.
Imong these may be instAnced the
sunday laws. and laws regulating the
ale Of liquors and 10 prohibit gam
hing: also the Z. s. law against h.
les and entailment Of estates.