Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-01-28


turc became alarmed anu tvoH 81, ma
III the market Then do not tell me
the people would not tease W. ~, y,
these lands until they were V.e ta ".
do SO. When they hau pulun ',,,, y,
them in large quantities they we,o a ~ n,.
at the last session OF the iVSlsla.u'T
a clanor that the entire schooi l"uu
WAS being bought M 10y synuicatvs, ny
cattle kings, as they are oe' p,i,
mated by the senator ~
travis, and they, were Nv.
nou iced, although they hnu pur,,
chased and paid for them, US ianu Nv
thieves aud land specuiatorsi anu so
.-rnxious were baN',t to buy ana pay lor
them, so anxious were thcy 70 'un.
sumo their own grass insteau OF tha.
belonging To the school iuhu, they
were charged with committing lr"u'
In purchasing more than the Jaw per
mitted them TO purchase; ana IL Jaw
was passed at the last session on INC
legislature organizing n commission 70
Investigate the sales, and whenever i'll
their opinion II was In the interest oi
the state TO do 80, to institute SUITS
apajnst persons who had purchased
these lands in larger quantities tnah
". permitted by the act under whith
they were placed upon the market,
and to recover them back for the school
fund. So eager were the peopla 10 own
their own land to raise and feed their
. ,ttle their own grass. that they even
violated the law in purchasing agIgal-
er quantity than was permitted. lhe
truth IL, That in the opinion OF sena-
tors who are now denouhcing. ifee
grass, they We're being purchased TOO
/ randy, they were going too iasti aud
! lhey were amOng the first IN lhis
! body 20 rush through measure iakins
! them OFT the market, to iush
through this body u bill suspendiug
| the further sale OF them ana YET,
! when they had placed il beyond the
poSer of The people To purchase these
/ ianus, they stand here and denounce
them for communists for not doing so,
| Tn to The second day Of this month
| the lands could neither be bought nor
leased. and yet il is boldly asserted
| that the stocSmen of Texas Will neith-
er buy nor lease; but IL il an assertion
without proof: an assertion in the
very teeth OF the law which has NTH
erto prevented and prohibited them
from doing so. 1t certainly does MOI
become us 10 say that the people VIII
not lease and will not buy them unless
forced to do so, until we have given
them a fair opportunity under IA Just
and impartial law to either lease or buy
them. II has been stated by senators
In favor of this bill, and in fact by all
of the senators on both sides of this
question, that the great pastures which
"a "a a.
was one of the causes OF fence.cuttlng,
was one of the grievances of when
this class of law-breakvrs complain. is
that true? IL that one of the causes
that has produced all of this dlstur-
bance in the state? Is 1t not, in fact,
the main cause, and II so, Will II re-
move that cause il the lands ARE placed
upon the market for lease
in unlimited quantities? Under
the operation of this bill they
would be compelled either TO sacrifice
their stock or TO lease large bodies of
land. Ii they are forced to lease these
lands, and some Of them are able to
lease MS many as three, four or five
counties, will they not lease IL and
fence in larger pastures than those ala
ready fenced, and will not the griev-
ances then be greater than ever? If
these lands are placed upon the market
for lease in unlimited quantities, will
not The whole of Western Texas be
Ienced into n few large pastures9 If
the people clamor against the pastures
we already have, will it not add fuel
to the flame, will not they complain
still more if whole counties are To be
fenced up under the operation of this
force bill?n IL that the way to re
move the cause of fence-cutting?
But the great necessity for
| the passage of this bill
according TO the preamble is for the
! support and maintenance of the pub
lie free school. must say that tins is
| the first time in the history of legisla-
| ton i'll this state when | have found
! the senator from Travis and the sena-
tor from Collin upon the side of public
| schools. Last session when IL was
! proposed to submit "A constitutional
amendment by which the legislature
could levy tax sufficient to support
the public free schools for six months
In the year, both of these senators
voIed mo" and the senator
from Collin In his argument in oppo.
sitiOn to free schools said then, as he
has said to-day, that the state had as
much right 10 tax him TO clothe the
children Of other people rs they had Ia
tax him To educate them. Now the
proposition is by leasing these lands to
raise II revenue of twelve hundred
thou and dollars. | can show the sen
ator from Travis strip of country be
tween ForC Worth and I'll Paso alonl
the line of the Texas X Pacific railway
some sixty or seYenty-tive miles IL
width by one hundred and fifty IL
length, of white sand hills, withou
grass and without water. eau ais,
take him To the counties of III paso
. Prcsidio and Pecos, and show him a
least oEe-third of the school lands tina
are fifty, and one hundred miles from
wat,r and would thank him t. inform
me how this vast domain liz to b
leased at four per acre. But III
had water, II IL was placed upon tn
7 market, II would, no doubt, be leased
and soon he fenced In; perhaps On
whole OF lei Paso county would i
turned Into great pasture, 50 larg
that man would require IL locomotiy
. aud a railroad to go through IL. An
: yet, they propose 10 force people [
! lease and fence In these lands MS
: remedy ior ience'cutting. | say fore
them 10 fence, because II you one
. lease 1t to large stocknien In guam title
/, suiI,eieht TO Craze larg
4 herds of cattle they wi
0 fence IL In order TO have the benefit 4
I heir lenses. am opposed to the bill
a because II revolutlonizes the policy /.
;. The state from It's earliest existence /
y the present day, because II revolution
i ICES the habits and customs of our nee
i pie by which they have been governe
! ana under which they have prospere,
: AS no other people have. IL IL no
4 only revolutionary In ita ohm a,,.,