Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-12
Homes for the BOYS.

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To the Editor OF the Gazette.
Poor men OF Texas, let me tell you
something. Ifyou ever expect to do
something or anything toward Irovid-
ing homes for your little boys and
girls in Texas, now Is your time to
act, and you cannot act too soon. You
can accomplish more with your votes
] now, than you can with your money
twenty years from now or by the time
those little boys and girls will begin
to want homes of their own.
Five years ago the state of Texas had
not only forty acres and a mule for
| each of her sons and daughters, but
six hundred and forty acres and pair
Of mules. but from the way she has
been disposing of her lands for the last
few years, it Is very doubtful
II she were ~ divide
out to-day whether she could
give each of them the proverbial forty
acres of unappropriated lands, to say
nothing about the mule.
Horace Greeley's advice to the young
man to go West and grow up with the
country Is no longer applicable. Too
many young men have acted upon
that advice, and even now their sons
are beginning to ask the same ques-
ton, Where can 90 for cheap home?
and we cannot answer them as Horace
Greeley did his Young MANLY point
ing to the far West-for that country
has long since been gobbled up by the
same system of land piracy that is be-
ing practiced in our own state. Prob
ably Texas Is the most sparsely settled
country now in The United States that
IL susceptible of settlement, and vet
four.fifths of the vast domain is now
Enclosed with barbed wire, but tenant
less. and the other fifth soon will be if
this system of land piracy is allowed to
run on much longer; and then let me
ask you, Where are your sons and
mine going to get cheap homes?
Shall they squat down I'm some
land kings pasture? trow not, but
IL he were to do this, even with the
consent of the owner. imagine the
situation would be anything but agree.
able To either party. | do not blame
the cattlemen or the land grabbers for
taking advantage of the situation that
has been offered to them. That man
is a blockhead or fool who will not
avail himself of any legal opportunity
to make n fortune. The fault lies at
the door of our legislators who first
offered the tempting bait Let us turn
the rascals ont and supply their pl.
with parcel of chool boys who will
show more wisdom while legislating
for the public good. These immense
pastures are trophies of the wise adj
ministration" of the o. a. (old ass
whom the state has honored by plac-
Ing him at the head of her university
to indoctrinate her sons with the same
system Of land piracy. Would not
Balaams ass suit the position equally
IA well or better? Here's where he
got his 800 600 surplus In the states
treasury which has been considered
such master stroke of state craft
when II might ~ well in time have
brought S4OO 100000. That money has
gone already 10 hunt Wards ducks
aud the land with IL, and who Is any
better oil now for II except a few cattle |
kings and land pirates? Immigration
tn the state In search of homes has
nearly ceased, railroad building has
caused halt, and anything like prog
ress Is taking siesia. We are paus.
ing; and what for? Simply because
we have been robbed. Like the man
who went down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, we have fallen among thieves
and very few good Samaritans happen
to be passing this way Just at this
time. All strangers coming to orr
country just at this time happen to be
lIevites. We have recovered sufIi.
GENTLY from our bruises and broken
bones to help ourselves to what Is left.
and the opportunity is now offered us
to do so. Let us rise like men
In the majesty of our might
and redeem ourselves from
the thralldom of cattle kings and land
pirates. Here are cheap homes for
millions yet to be born and who have
better natural right to them than orr
own sons and daughters, and how or
In what way can we better serve orr
DAY and generation than by reseryinp
this rich legacy for them? II Ia NOT
absolutely necessary for Texas to reach
the maximum OF her glory this wear
nor the next year, nor within the nex,
fifty years. The natural increase of
our own oflsprings will in the course
VI human events populate this country
and cover 1t with cities and towns and
lh'erweave II with network of rail-
roads. If the stranger comes within
our gates, and wishes to cast In his
lot with us, let us have a good cheap
nome to offer him, but If the land
pirate. who has no other interest IN
the country than to speculate OIL the
iabors of Others, comes among us Let
us say to him, ~ our Saviour said To n
certain land grabber on a particular
OCCASION: "Get thee behind me
'"'"u' RAMBLER.