Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-06-05
THE GAZETTE FORT WORTH. TEXAS I THURSDAY, JuNE5
"A FREE GRASS FARMER
Tells How the State Was Settled When
the School Lands We're Free to ALI.

| ENperleuCe teachSs thS We"' w WV
of all things, and when questions
which concern the mass of the people
come bt fore state on nation, the
people look for guidance from those
| whose lives have been spent In the
study and pursuit of those things from
which the questions spring. So 1t Is in
Texas, whose growth and prosperity
have been the establishment of all
modern civilization, and whose broad
expanse of territory is ready to receive
millions yet to come within her bor-
ders.
Armed with the knowledge that,
| in the time when a grave political
| question has presented itself for she
consideration of the people. the masses
| will listen to the voice of age, wisdom
and experience, with ears that would
be deaf to the persuasions of untried
men, a GAZETTE representative solic-
| tied the views of one who has seen
| Texas, as the home of the red man
transformed into the gardens of civil
cation and the seat Of powerful
commerce.
POWELL COLE OF CLAY COUNTY
Is representative of that class of men
| who opened up the avenues of Civili-
cation which have made Texas what
she is to-day. Upon his iron frame Is
stamped the marks of frontier life, and
his hair and beard are frosted by the
effect of years that have been spent on
the borders of civilization in Texas,
where he came in 1910 and turned his
small flock upon the commons of
! Wood county. Since then, he says, he
has seen the line of agriculture creep
slowly towards the setting sun; the
homes of the small farmers year by
year occupy the prairies to the west,
while their
CATTLE RoANED AT WILL,
on the beautiful rrairies surrounding
their dwellings, in country where
the commons were free to all who
would come and turn their ilocks on
the plains.
"fell me something about your
early experience in the Lone Star
state" said the scribe soon after meet
ing Mr.. Cole during his visit to this
city yesterday.
~ came TO Texas in 1919, settled in
Wood county, and commenced the
life of farmer. | stayed there several
years and moved to Hunt county, on
the South Sulphur river; from there l
went back east to Tyler, and then after
several years went to Cooke county,
and settled on the Red river. When
| came to Wood county / was told ]
could not raise any grain in that coun-
try, but the first year | cleared and
planted fifteen acres in corn and
raised fifty bushels to the acre. / was
very successful rs years went on and
in 1877 went to Clay connty, where
the people said: oh, you can't raise
anything here;;' but l have never
failed yet, and Clay county,
in my judgment, is as good &
farming country as any in Texas
Every body in my county knows that
make fine crops.n
"Will you tell me what was the
chief cause of your coming to Texas p
at was because / had heard the
: commons of Texas We're free fer all
and found it was so. AT that time
there were no such thing as hero
law, or lease law. Everybody who
= came was welcome to turn his cattl,
1 upon the commons, and they came by
: the thousands to grow rich upon tn,
free grass on the prairies.'
"Since you have seen Texas expand
s ing and growing for thirty-five year
, will you tell me If you think it woul
be the powerful commonwealth it
to-day IL the lease system had beef
n vos :, thea"
o mo, sir; emphatically no, Tn
lease system would have tie
IA up the lands with thousand
N OF acres in each pasture, an
~ actual settlers would not have dare
to come and settle inside of pastur,
with fences all around them, owne
+ by
POWERFUL CATTLE COMPANIES,
who would have used every means
g prevent immigration into their pa
lures. say IL would have been in
possible to settle Texas as it is tc-da
IN under the lease system. have watcht
and followed the tide of immigratic
in this state have seen the line
w rainfall extending further and furth
at west as the farmer titled the soil at
edge, but had these pioneers been C
of by large pastures, owned or leas
Is. by syndicates who had no interest
e,s the settlement of the state, and wi
nj would have tried to monopOliZe 4
Nd entire cattle interests of the state, II
nd tide of immigration and populeti
,g would never have, reached where il
ale SoHiC WIN hpA ~ ihto u hui
inclosed pasture and fence IN tn
stock in their small Enclosures, VIII
for miles and miles about them Is
T.. pasture owned and controlled by IN
re ut enmity with them.n
" what class of men will be M
~ benefited by the lease system of d
~ posing of the public school lands, a
a. do you think an actual settler w
. ,,;I wants home, will buy and settle
an side of large leased pasture?'
"The lease system will benefit [
> syndicates and heavy cattle owne
They can lease whole counties aud
mr. time could control the cattle interest
the entire state. The system Is n
rect blow Mt the middle and small G
,ely tiemen and the farmer. In my COZ
luc- ty the farmers are indignant; they .
y that this leasing of the public lal
must be repealed, and urge that uni
e. 1t Is changed, the border evil of a,
culture In this state will remain VIII
With 1t Is, II not recede. In other West,
rug states the immigrant can find free 81
for his cattle, and to those states
the tide be turned"
"You speak of the feeling in v
sit county: has the question of free ri
Ia or herd law caused much discuss
w" In that secti0n?"
cter- "The discussion il all on one s