The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-02-27
TROUBLE IN TEXAS.
The Land Question In O New Guiso
.--Landlords and "Nesters."
("Hanson" in Chicago Times

IlecoBHlzlnS tnat these and many other
vendettas had their origin in or were greatly
aggravated by the loose methods of herding,
movement soon set in to fence the pastures,
ana III little while all the large landowners
mad their tracts fenced. Then came the rail-
roads, and those who held under their grants
fenced still larger tracts. Last of all came
the great capitalists, foreign corporations,
and even noblemen, and inclosed pastures as
large as the state of Rhode Island One man
owns fenced tract thirty miles square, 100
square leagues, or SIG, 900 acres Tracts five
OF ten miles square under one fence can
De found almost anywhere, even
near good-sized cities. One corpora
tlon has 2S6 miles of inclosing fence.
am told that foreign corporation has in
the Panhandle region one fence eighty-fve
miles long i'll nearly straight line, but
nave not been able to verify this. OF course
such frightful land monopoly as this is
against public policy, but the fence-cutters
concern themselves but little about that.
They have present and very serious evils to
complain of. Having Travelled through their
territory and seen with my own eyes how
easily small holder may be injured accord
ing TO law, think it fair to give some speci-
call the fence-cutters, have real grievances.
Here is an old settler on half section, who
has driven to the nearest pond or stream in
dry time, for many years. Now comes
capitalist or corporation, buys and fences up
all the land between him and the water His
ranch is simply worthless. He must sell it
for whatever the capitalist is willing to give.
Again and again have the small holders
insisted that they only wanted way
to water; if the state would pro-
vide for roads all would be well.
But there is no law to establish roads across
these plains. In many instances the land
lord would not leave single opening in
line thirty miles long. In the Panhandle
they have even bought the public land in
strips mile wide, such strips extending
around and enclosing vast central square of
public land; they fence the outside and use it
| all Elsewhere they have bought up living
springs and running water, which are
proved to have been of free, public use for
Indian, Mexican, freighter, and rancher for
$40 years-since the expedition of Coronado
in 1911. Where the capitalist has a small
tract say five miles square-his practice is to
Craze his cattle outside on the public lands
course he has as good right to the public
land in law as the small herder, but, in fact,
it drives the latter away. These are but a
few of the evils of large land-ownership in
Texas.
Well, the small holders and heriers bore it
so patiently at first that it seemed they would
submit to anything. They complained, but
the legislature paid no attention. The capt.
talists simply said: ave don't want our
land cut up into little tracts by public roads;
it would double the expense" And it was
not done. Then the fence-cutting began.
Some of ''nesters" announced theft plan to
raise hi on principle, till the legislature
paid some attention to them. 1t never would
listen as long as they We're peaceful But all
experience shows that unlawful methods Of
seeking justice are like the issue Of legal
tender paper, the beginning Of strife, or the
| letting out of water. Anybody can begin it;
| very few indeed can stop it at the right time.
| The small herders raised HI on principle"
| but the product soon got beyond their princi-
| PIES. All the lawleSs elements in which such
| region abounds turned themselves loose;
| every man who had private grudge found
| this good way to crafty it, and it soon ap-
peared there was lots of personal vengeance
left over from the war, the vondettas, the
Mexican troubles, and reconstruction. At
first they cut the wires on the big tracts, only
enough to open way to water; then they
cut on all the big ranches next they Clipped
up the wire and burned the posts, and in lit
tie while squads were out cutting all fences,
even on half-section ranches, and swearing
that none of the pastures should be fenced
they should be publcproperty forever. Fences
were cut within few miles Of San Antonio,
while was there. Towns are terrorzed in
broad day, and to illustrate how far this
thing has gone, mention Brentwood Brown
county, which was invaded by an armed force
of over POO mounted "nestecs." The sheriff
and citizens succeeded in bringing them to
peaceful parley
Conjecture is wearied in the attempt to es-
innate the damage DONE 1t is certainly very
great In thirty counties it is estimated that
at least 5000 miles of fencing has been de-
stroyed. Men from Coleman county tell me
that county suffered most. Brown has also
suffered much. In region something like q
hundred miles square, on the upper middle
Colorado, all improvement is CHI cked; both
parties appear to be waiting on tie action Of
the legislature, and as the haye-nots outvote
the HAYES at least three to one, | am curious
to see how the politicians will treat it. Per-
haps we are on the eve of a new agitation Of
the land tenure. 1t is certainly serious
matter for Texas The action Of her legisla-
ture may give us important light on a new
and embarrassing problem in civic economy.