Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-06-05
What Free Grass Means.

tue SCHOOL luuu vi ttNhS thhli tV iop'NN VI
property which brings IL n revenue OF s2,oDo,-
900 n year, II ansheavy taxes on all 9TH
er classes to make up to the school fund the
revenue OF which IL Is robbed by free grass
for the bencnt of the stock men Waco
| Examiner.
If the Examiner were rs fair as 1t
comedies THE GAZETTE to be, that pa
per would not garble the statements Of
The GAZETTE. What THE GAZETTE
said was, that 'these lands shall re-
main until occupied by actual settlers)
rent free to EVERY MAN" There
| Is quite difference between
saying trent free to stockmc,p and
rent free to cucry man." but 1t suits
the purpose of the Examiner TO mis-
take the utterances OF THE GAZETTE,
as it suits the purpose Of every preju-
diced man to pervert the motives of
those who are advocating free grass or
public commons. That cause must
be weak, indeed, which depends upon
misrepresentation for its sustenance-
and this is the hope of The GAZETTE,
for no cause can live thus sustained.
Why is the proposition "infamous?n
If infamous now, why was not free
grass infamous when it was declared
that Mcl4ennan county was unfit for
agriculturean when, despite this decla-
ration, farmers pushed on and into the
then grazing region and, while their
small herds grew fat and multiplied
on free grass, built up their homes and
improved their farms until to-day Nc
Lehman is known as one of the best
farming counties in Texas, and until
the products of It's fertile farms have
made the best built city in Texas? If
free grass was not infamous in McLen-
nan county why should itbe denounced
as infamous in Erath, Comanche, Cal
lahan, Taylor, Wichita, Wilbarger,
Wise, Baylor, Young, Mitchell and
other Northwest Texas counties? Is
the man with the hoe in McBennan 50
utterly selfish that he, who grew rich
on free grass, would deny its aid to the
poor man who would settle up the va
cant prairies of the Northwest?
The Examiner pirates Of the con-
stitutior. VIII that paper please
point to the authority in the constitu-
ton for the leasing Of Texas lands?
VIII it prove by the sayings and ac-
lions of the fathers of the republic and
| ,,,l,n
state laws in the past that it1was ever
intended to make of Texas or any part
of Texas great cattle pasture; or has
the sale of land to actual settlers only
and public commons been the rule of
action?
The Examiner, unwittingly, no
doubt, (for the organs of the land syn
dicates and pasture princes are not yet
ready for that phase of the lease sys-
tenn, discloses the natural tendency
of leasing public lands when il SAYS
that free grass "would trample upon
the constitution which declares that
no mans property shall be taken for
private purposes" That all large
landed proprietorships are in favor OF
the lease system is self.evident. Once
; 6rmiy establish the ease principle,
: and land syndicates could go to the
! legislature and say: "You protect
. public, why not private lands?" II
would be, from the lease mans stand
4 pont, just demand-and one which
j the legislature could not deny, anG
4 thus would the farmer who aided il
4 fastening lease law on the West pu
v "A herd law on the East The price o
j public lands regulates that of privat,
r lands, and the higher the lease pric,
i fixed by the land board the more mel
: would be compelled to pay for the u.s.
Z of pirate lands. And this demant
!. for protection to private lands woul,
d result in n herd law for the settled ant
= lease law, controlled by an india.rub
Der land board, for the unsettled Dor
ton of Texas. 1t is either free gras
= or herd law, and no sophistry cal
= escape the conclusion.
The Examiner says free grass woul,
rob the school fund of property tina
. brings 100000 year. VIII the Eek
At aminer please produce the figures 70
10 that $1,000, 900 a year? BY reducing
- In his mind, the rental to four cent
10 an acre, when the land board says
,g shall be eight and twenty cents. Sena
r. tor Gibbs can only figure out 81 400, 90
CT ,chen the land Is ALI leased, A,
~ torney-Gen. Templeton reports tn
is revenue on lands so far leased at Ssl
q 600 In round figures. Will the T.,
- aminer, will any one, tell the peopl
n. how and when al the lands will b
H. leased? And will they also tell III
IN people If the leasing of 900, 900 acre
40 will not as efiactually deter HON
Il. seekers as though al the land wer
mr. leased:
MS Prejudice against cattlemen, perve,
IN sion Of THE GAzErrE's language an
aspersion OF Its motives may cloud til
public Judgment for season, but Il,
lease system IL doomed. and free graz
- will yet people Northwest Texas a
= II has settled and made rich other sc,
= tiobs of the state.