Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-08-20
NUMBER 6.


L
Illegally fenced in millions of acres o
the public lands, learn their fate in th
proclamation just issued by Presiden
| Cleveland. Probably it will never b
known exactly how far their rapacit!
has gone, since some of them will prOba
bly, hasten to abandon parts of the terri
tory they have seized, i'm the hope fO
longer retention of the rest. Yet it il
known that their bold trespasses have
| been carried on upon prodigiOus scale
"These stock ranges" said Commits
| sioner McFarland's report, sometimes
| cover several hundred thousand acres
Special agents report that they have
| ridden many miles through single EN-.
closures, anc that the same often con.
tain much fine farming land"
Documents laid before the Committee
on Public Lands in the last Congress
showed that in Colorado alone two
foreign companies had fenced in more
than million acres each of the pub
lie lands. Tn the same State H. H.
to letter of Secretary Teller, had fenc-
ed in 200,0 900 acres each; the Lewesey
Brothers, $50 ,000;' Mcdaniel & Davis,
IS ,O0O E. G. Jane, Vrooman & McFife,
and the Reynolds Cattle Company,
sc, 600 each; J. w. Frank, Routchler &
Lamb, and Beatty Brothers, 10000
each; Carneit 81 Langford, and Chick
Brown & Co., 10000; and SO on with
less rapacious squatters. In Nebraska
the Brighton Ranch occupied 125, 900
acres and the Kennebec from 10000 to
so 900; Coe & Garter had up fifty miles
of fence; J. w. Wilson, forty; J. w.
Bosler, twenty. In Nevada w. Hum
phrey had put up thirty miles of fence
and Nelson & Son twenty-five. In
Kansas great tracts were fenced in. In
Wyoming more than hundred COM
panies had made illegal enclosures
Dakota showed the same reckless tres
passing. and in New Mexico were the
Dubuque, Cimarron, and Renello CON-
panies and others, with very large en-
closures, one of which was declared
during a debate in Congress to be thir-
ty miles square.
Attempting to draw up approximate
statistics of illegal fencings that had
been reported to him, the late Land
Commissioner found them to include
2,800, 900 acres in Colorado, 900, 900 in
New Mexico, 800, 900 in Nebraska, $50
900 in Wyoming, 100000 in Kansas,
5000 in Nevada, and an unknown
acreage in Montana and other Terri
tories.
The seizure of the public lands is not
the only wrong done in these cases.
Armed herdsmen hold these tracts
against the entrance of genuine set
tiers. The pre-emption and homestead
laws, designed to aid citizens, are per-
verted or openly defied by the cattle
companies and their INSCRIPTIONS
agents. The latter seize the pasturage
and leisurely examine the mineral
wealth of the domains they have fenc-
ed in. while even the United States
mail courier has sometims been forced
to go miles away from his accustomed
route, from finding barbed wires
stretched across his path. Homestead
some cases, and have been threatened
with violence or actually shot at for
complaining or cutting en- egress for
themselves through the wires.
Even these acts of open violence do
not complete the offences of the land
grabbers. In many instances they
have sought to gain partial hold on
public lands, in order to avoid sudden
election from them, by a pretended ac-
QUESTION of title. OF necessity these
entries are fraudulent, as the laws
show. The Land Office not long ago
thus referred to this incidental wrong
of the illegal fenclngs:
GA frequent incident to this control of
large bodies of land is the requirement of
title by stock owners to the valleys, water
courses, and other especially valuable lands
within the enclosures, by means of fraudu-
lent or fictitious entries caused to he made
under the redemption, homestead, and
desert land laws"
At last, however, a check to this
career OF trespass, thieving, and fraud.
with it's interruption of public travel,
detention IF the mails, and intimida-
lion of honest settlers, may he expect
ed. The law passed at the last session
Of Congress certainly gives all the ad-
ditionaI facilities demanded for putting
all end to these wrongs. 1t will not
be surprising, however, to discover
that the companies in some cases hold
pretended titles 10 parts of their tracts
the cOnnivance and assistance
of local representatives of the Govern
ment. In such cases it may be found
that the first necessity for the detec-
ton and punishment of the frauds is
the removal of all registers, receivers,
agents, and other Government officers,
whose negligence. incapacity, or cor
ruption has made these great wrongs
possible.-N. Y. Sun.
hC SCCiC Ctai y Vi "dI apt " oC
little more than a figure-head, but
Judge Endicott has already disguished
his occupancy of this place in the Cab
met by introducing most important
reform. For long while political fa-
voritism and social influence have COM
bined to sustain most unjust system,
by which the "soft places" at Wash
iDgton and other desirable points were
given to the men who could bring the
strongest pressure" to bear upon the
Secretary, and they have been permit
ted to retain these choice positions for
many years. Secretary Endicott has
carefully considered this matter, and,
as the most effectual way of putting an
end to the abuse, he has exercised his
power to amend the army regulations
by introducing rule that no officer
shall remain detached from his Com
pany, regiment, or corps longer than
four years, unless assigned to special
duty by the War Department. This
change will be hard on sundrv Orna-
ments of Washington bathrooms, but
it will be heartily welcomed by the far
larger number of officers who have
been denied an equal chance at the
pleasant places in the service. The
President is sustaining the Secretary
in this noIicy of fair play for the army