Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-02-18
VOL. 8 No46

being on dry sections of land.
o. Enclosing of the school lands and
private properly in large pastures, to
the exclusion Of the owner and others.
These are among the prominent
evils of the hour; and the bill looks to
the correction of each and every one,
except the defective road law, which
must be corrected by another act.
We have about 30000,0O0 of acres of
school land, nearly all of IL in the Pan.
handle, lying north of the thirty-first
parallel Of the latitude, and west of
the ninety-ninth longitude, in fifty
four unorganized counties. Every
section of that school land has been
surveyed. The public domain is all
gone, and what was oLce public land
now belongs 10 private parties, to cor
porations, and to the children ofTexas.
These school lands are sacred trust,
held by the legislature under the con-
stitution for the education ofour youth
forever. Over all that domain, in those
iifty.four unorgan!zed counties, vast
herds of cattle are grazing on mesquite
grass, winter and summer, enrichiDg
favored class i'm this country, who
enjoy that range free of charge.
Those school lands, leased at cents
per acre, would leave revenue for
free schools of 81 200, 0O0a year;enough,
with other funds on hand, to school
ever child in Texas, white and black,
eight months in the year. without tax
ing the producing classes one dollar
Corporations specializing in land,
the great source OF life, many of whose
stockholders live in Scotland, France
and England rule with the sway oflords
that vast domain gathering wealth
nj lal aud without la Ia
we, the trustees of n territory for chill
dren yet unborn, stand by idly. Was
| not right when said only yesterday,
that Texas, in turning over that coun-
try to the common use of cattle specu-
lators, had made herself the champion
communist of this continent?
How can she punish the fence-cutter
for covetiug his neighbours grass, so
long as she encourages communism by
refusing to punish corporations and
individuals for trespassing on the pas
turage owned by the children of this
state?
The authority of law is never felt in
that Panhandle country, which, with
unorganized counties southwest of IL,
covers u territory larger than New
York. One corporation incloses 7O0,-
600 acres, covering nearly three coun-
ties, and its 800 stockholders are scat
tered in every city from st. Louis to
Paris.
Go with me into that Panhandle
country and explore its mysteries.
There you will find II wire fence said
to be 100 miles long, running east and
west, crossing school lands and the
land of private parties. it Is IA straight
fence to catch drift cattle, and connects
with none other. North OF it, men
who own grass and men who own none,
have divided Off for their use the terri
tory of Texas: and woe to the unlucky
stranger who drives his herds to share
with them the grass. Streams and
dividing ridges form the arbitrary
boundaries of their usurped dominion.
Lines of side.riders pass every day
from North 10 South and fence and
keep the stock of each lord on the ter
ritory claimed by him. Vast pastures,
without regard to ownership of land,
now inclose counties. Passing from
Moheetie to Tascosa, 1870 miles, you are
only out of pasture for twenty-three
miles of the distance.
The Kerr Land and Cattle company
Is said TO have 10000 head of cattle in
a pasture, across which is days jour
Dey. The Franklin Land and Cattle
Is reputed TO have over 10000
head In Gray and Hutchinson coun-
les, while the Mata6or Cattle compa-
ny dominates with stockmen and cat
lie the territory of Crosby, Dickens
and, perhaps, Motley counties. One
firm alone, which purchased over 90
200 head of cattle from the Millet
Bros, and which Is said TO own s., 000,-
100 worth of cattle, has hardly enough
and in Texas for their vast herds TO
,e penned on. Free range men, who
neither own nor lease land, occupy
most of the land from the sand hills to
he North, and from Red river to the
Rio Grande, along the border, except
hat fenced in those immense pastures.
Roaming over unorganized counties
md along the border, from one water
lole to another, they tram
lie under their hoofs
he grass around the humble home of
he pioneer hester, and thus, away
rom law, where power measures right,
here Is no redress.
When is this madness TO cease and
loes not this wholesale use of school
ands by associated capital, and jts
purchase by indirect agencies call as
oudly for an executive recommends
ion to correct 1t, as the evil of the
tatute not giving u lien upon an ami
nal that goes into another mans pas
ure, which his excellency thinks we
hould correct?
Be patient, senators am doing
um for the farmers of this state, and
that stenographer will report my
words, will send II through The land.
am showing the evils that threaten
ocial order before l answer your oh
ections to my remedy. In one county.
hree months ago. three was a pasture
( 100000 acres, built on Gordon of
ections owned by the pasturemen.
he fence was all on their land, but
inside of that pasture there were over
q, 900 acres of land which belonged to
rivate parties and to the school fund.
ot an acre of which was rented to
hem. Near that pasture runs
tream of living water, up which the.
ardy emigrants had pushed their
,ay and built their nests. From that
assure herds OF cattle poured out dur
ny the summer To consume the grass,
round the humble homes, and tread
D mortar the prairie where verdure
rev, only TO return to fine range, on
he inside during winter. Put your
elf In the nester's place-unable to
aise milk COW or beef on your own
md. You look over into the pasture
{ S6ur nelghbor and reflect that he
as appropriated TO his own use the
hoOl land dedicated to your child as
yell as his and would you not curse
u bitterness of heart the partial laws
hat gave YOU no remedyn NV friend