The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-01-31


,aSture he needs for nominal price.
eastern Texas, with its large agricul- |
urai population, will not feel exist
ing conditions disturbed by this bill.
l. The bill requires every man IN
Texas to have somewhere in the coun-
y, where he turns his stock loose, ten
acres of unfenced land for each ami
mai kept on the range; provided, that
each head of a family* shall be entitled
to turn loose twenty five head, eXcluS-
i've Of colts and calves, under a year
old, even if he has no land. 1t also
provides that stock owner, having
sufficient land, shall not be punished
II his cattle drift in winter to another
county, II he drives them back at the
usual time in the spring.
z. 1t prohibits man from hereafter |
fencing in a tract of land in the int
rior of his pasture. which he does not |
own, or from continuing such fence |
If already built, unless he fences in |
the small tract to itself, or arrangeS |
with the owner. If the owner of the |
small tract lives on it inside of that |
large pasture, the bill gives him right |
to turn loose on that pasture one ami
NAL for every ten acres of ground he
owns, and which is not enclosed by an
interior fence; and such use of the
pasture discharges the penalty on the
large pasture man for its enclosure.
1t gives the man thus fenced in, If he
occupies his land, right of way over
the lines of interior surveys, and
lDgreSs and egress through gates to
public roads.
3. 1t prohibits any pasture man
from turning stock loose on the out
side range, unless he owns in the
county, OuSide his pasture, ten acres
for every animal so turned loose.
4. 1t prohibits every man who has
defrauded the State by leasing or buy
ing a school section as dry land, from
fencing it up, if it has permanent
water on it, which was not made by
tanks. Under its provisions, no man
can enclose school section, unless he
pays rent for it, or owns it.
D. SiXmOnths are given for the cattle
men to buy or lease their lands and pre-
pare to cease their depredationS. If, for
| want OF time to rent in the regular way
school lands, by July next, and the
stockman is embarrassed, all he has to
DO, will be to deposit with the State
Treasurer four cents per acre per
annum, for designated school lands
where his cattlea are located, which will
relieve him from punishment until he
can lease regularly. To ease the fears
OF those who say here that the bill will
double the land values of the state,
they may incorporate an amendment
which viii relieve any Stockman from
punishment who will deposit with the
State Treasurer, for the benefit Of the
owner four cents per acre for railroad
or private land unOccupied. 1t it is
worth more, the owner can sue him;
that deposit will only relieve him from
thepenalty. 1t also provides that, if the
owner Of the land cannot be found, or
is nonresident, like deposit may be
made with the State Treasurer for the
benefit Of the real owner, either by the
man who wants the lease, or by one
who has the land already enclosed, and
that such deposit will avoid the pen
atty. An amendment is also ready
which will prohibit prosecution of
one owning over twenty-five cattle,
and less than fifty, until ten days after
notice is given to comply with the law
ZED COUNTIES.
It is easy to understand that in set
tied counties the law will enforce it.
self. Those who secure sufficient pas
turage in such county will, from self
interest, prosecute the wandering
herdsman who invades their range to
desolate it; for all, knowing the adj
vantage of not oVerstOcking the
range, will see that each owner has
rented enough grass. And can you
not also see that when we have set
tied the road problem this system will
contribute to the safety of the pas
tuTe men who own their own land
for when there is enough grass out
side for all there will be no tempta.
ton to destroy and invade the pasture
PENALTIES OF THE BILL.
For violating any of the provisions
of the bill the penalty is $500 or the
penitentiary for two years, or both
fine and penitentiarY, and fine of 81
in addition for every head of cattle
unlaWfully turned loose over 100
This is necessary to force individuals
and corporations, who now fatten On
school lands 100000 cattle, to observe
the law. They can rent at 40 cents
under the act, enough grass to feed a
beef year, and will not run the
gauntlet for the penitentiary when
the pocket nerve is also threatened
The destruction of fence is punish.
able also as felony by Imprisonment
in the penitentiary. And, sir, let ms
say to those who fear that this meas
ure would sacrifice the small rancI
man, that an amendment is already
prepared by me, which will suffer nc
leases of school land beyond a limited
amount, until after May next, and
which gives preference to small stock.
men who will swear that their cattle
are located in the counties where the
land applied for is situated. Thus the
small StOckmen would be protected
and all of US may see that, to al
classes, it is perfectly just, and will
not place the small herds at the mercy
Of the cattle kings. The objection
that it will ruin the stock interest, Is
too frivolous for serious answer
Under this bill. the raising of beef
on school pasturage would cost In
fCUf years but one dollar and sixty
cents; but the policy would relieve
the farming people of the State of a
burthen of over 81 100000 school taxes
Cattle investments would still, as
shown by Senator Chesley yesterday, be
the safest and most profitable in Texas
What more can be asked? All the
small sCOckman has to do would be to
go to the treasury and deposit foul
cents an acre for the school sections
ne wants, if there is no time to lease
the land regularly, and thus he avoids
the penalty. If the stock of other
people in the county roam over his
land, he knows that each one repre-
sents ten acres of land somewhere in
the county, and that his own steer
representing the same amount, is per-
haps grazing somewhere else. The
rights of all in the range are equal
lied, and a step will be taken forward
in the right direction to stop strife.
But who can estimate the result to
social order, when. by law, we have
once forced these nomadic herdsmen
to local habitations and stop strife
communistic hell which their wander
ing life breeds? No longer would the
humble hester look with fear to the
armed horsemen around bis cabin, or
suffer from their invading herds, or
see the grass around his home tram
pied and consumed by the stock emp
tied in summer from the enclosures of
these modern kings, only to return to
their fat patrician pastures in winter.
1t will be seen that the county is
made the unit of regulation; and
some amendments may be needed to
protect from prosecution those located
near county line. If other amend
meuts are needed, supply them, or