The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-02-07
TEXAS TROUBLES.
ANAccouNr oFTHs FENCE CUTTERS
Ttxas In State Of WarfAre--Laua for Legal Own.
.n Dlar'sardsd-Pablio Sympathy With tho
Poor Man--unsold School Lands OF Texas.
Need OF 4 Hsvised Hcmesstsd Law,

ol pufcnhslnR some cattle ranches, givet
somc interesting information regarding
tho fence cutting and other troubles in thai
State. He says Texas Is just now in the
throes oil sudden transition from non
ownership to ownership Of land. Large
tracts Of land, valued at about ten cents az
acre two years ago, are now worth 50 ar
acre and upward, and the owners, non
owners and doubtful owners have all los
their Wits over this auctuation. The iacl
that cattle.raising on free pasturage pay
an immense proft-ayeraging perhaps l(
percent-and that the same business or
leased or purchased ground also pays
handsome dividend to the capital hal
but recently been established; privat,
cattle.raisers have crowded into the State
establishing Themselves on the free pos
turages; syndicates OF capitalists and non
residents have leased and purchased lands
and they and private purchasers are stretch
inH lines OF wire fencing across the country
inclosing not only their own land but ais,
all unclaimed land in tho same districts
the area Of agriculture Is spreading, result
Ing often in conflicts between grazers ant
tillen; public opinion ia 80 strongly in favo
Of the poor man or the squatter that law
for the protection OF the legal claimant ar,
IN most cases imperative. ,J4.f4I
~. LIZA sNoLpERlNd WARFARE.
The result Of all this is that the greater
portion Of the State is in condition o
chronic hostility-a smoldering warfare
between the various land. claimants ant
settlers which shows itself in fence-cuttipp
cowboy battles, and other acts Of lawless
ness which the authorities are powerless L
prevent An article in the New York Su,
defending tue fence-cutters OF Texas, ar
gued that by the homestead law the publ,
lands were reserved for actual settlers; tia
the wire-tencing, nonresident capitalists
were crowding out these settlers, and that
therefore, the fence-cutting was quite
justifiable, But as Texas has no Homestead
law nor anything coresponding-that is, {
law limiting the settler to fixed amour,
OF land-it is evident that the writer re-
ierred to the neighboring State Of New
Mexico. 1o = ~ :,
: There is q bill at present before the
Texas Legislature to prohibit the sale q
school lands except in tracts of 16O acres tc
actual settlers only. The upsold gcboo
lands cover about sc, DOC, 900 acres. Last yeal
about 100000 acres Of school lands were
sold by public auction, bringing an aver.
age Of & j per acre, the terms being
thirty years time and s percent interest
A great deal OF the lands were alse leased
at four and seven-tenths cents per acre, the
terms OF the lease being that the Lessee
hold the lands until sold, or, at least, until
the expiration Of five years.
THE LANDS SHOULD BE GRADED.
The proposed homestead law will be 9
failure, unless some attempt is made to
grade the lands. The greater portion Of
the lands can never be fit for agriculture
and for settler to begin grazing on 16(
acres would be the hight Of absurdity. A
law providing for grazing homesteads Of
5000 to 5000 acres, as we'll as for agricul.
tural homesteads, is what the State re-.
qulres. There are about 100000 cattle in
the State at present, about hall, OF which
are grazed on free pasturage. There il
sufficient grazing to support double thai
number without any crowding if the land
were all taken up and fenced under some
legitimate system Of Ownership. There
will be no free grazing lands left untaken
in Texas inside Of five years. A law Just
passed illustrates the way illegal fence-erec.
ton has been carried IN and how lightly
it is looked upon by the authorities. This
law provides fine Of so cents per acre
lor all land illegally enclosed, with the pro.
ylso that the illegal settler thereon shall
have six months in which he may ACQUIRE
legal title to the land; failing in this the
penalty shall then be in f,rce against him,
The same law provides the extreme pun.
ishment for fence cutting at five years i'm.
prisonment. The time is past for cattle
raisers to so to Texas for free pasturage,
ss, even did they succeed in gaining foot.
ing, it would only. be a short time until
they would be obliged either to obtain a
legal title or vacate the State. q rs
A national convention OF cattle-raisers
has been called for November next, the
result Of which will be the compilation oil
statistics regarding the public and private
agricultural and grazing areas in every Ter
ritory, State and county in the West, with
other general and authentic information az
to their actual condition. H..