The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-11-19

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the railroads and settlement.
8 well as to the climatic characteriS- /
les of the district and the intrinsic
value OF the land with respect to soil
md timber.
WATERED LANDS.
These lands are in great demand
md when they are placed on the mar
let, great care should be taken in
,rder to prevent them from falling in
% the hands of corporations and spec
ilatof5.
This cannot be too we'll guarded, for
every Intrigue and devise will be used
% get hold of them.
If the land board had not withdrawn
them from the market they would all
now be in the hands of spectators.
GRASS.
The grass on the school lands is good |
and valuable, and the turf should be |
protected. Ifnot protected, it will to a |
great extent, be destroyed and the |
country grow up in weeds. When
large stockmen are going to withdraw
from the country, they will overstock
the land in order TO make the most
they can out of it, and destroy the
grass, and this question is of more i'm
portance than the people believe. The
grass on 100000 acres public school
lands at + cents per acre, is worth an
Dually $1.S00,0O0, and this should not
be overlooked.
ACTUAL SETTLERS.
This question has heretofore wreck
ed all land legislation in this state, but
when stripped of Imagination and de-
fusion and looked at in plain, BUSH
ness-like manner, 1t can be solved sat-
isfactorliy.
1t is the argument used by the
free grass advocates, but free grass
will not better the condition or
chances Of the actual settlers. The
lease law can be made so it will give
the actual settler or small stockman.
more protection and benefits than if
the country was turned over to free
grazing, as is more fully shown under
the head of free grass.
ASSESSMENTS.
Not more than half the personal
property in my district has been as
sessed, and l take it to be the same in
other districts. In many cases, large
stock owners have escaped taxation
entirely. Some OF the assessors i'm
formed me that il their tax rolls were
increased 50 per cent. that it would
not then be too high. 1t seems to me
that the tax laws as they now are
places the heaviest burden on the
farmer or small property holder, be-
cause all he possesses is
well known and can be
found, while the scheming
corporation and wealthy capitalist
through the aid of each other mans
age to keep their propertG in such
shape at rendering time that it escapes
taxation. The assessor must take the
oath Of the property owner and it is
easy for the nonresident corporation
to find plant agent or manager that
will carry out the will and wishes OF
the concern, and when this is done
the country suffers. The honest man
pays taxes on all he has but the cor
porations and wealthy companies (and
they are numerOuS only pay Oh part
of what they have. Laws to remedy
this are badly needed. The morgan
lied counties should be divided into
assessor and collectors districts and
assessors and collectors appointed fol
each, and if this is done ever one hun
dred thousand dollars more revenue
from that section will be annually
paid into the treasury. This is a
nuch needed measure.
EREE GRtss.-
If tH5l pues.. :, ;a1Ids Sere'decia red 70
be free range it is my opinion that
| wealthy companies and corporations
would purchase sufficient cattle to
consume all the grass, and that they
would pool their issues and harrasS
and annoy the small stockmen and
actual settler until they would sell
out and leave the country. There
are many ways of using up the small
man without quarreling with him.
| The employees of the large stockmen
can separate the calves from the COWS,
scatter The cattle and ruin him. Free
grass should be no longer tolerated
and the people should dismiss it from
their minds and enact a lease and sale
law that will give equal rights and
protection to all
CORPORATIONS.
The school Iands are Tor the most
part graZed on by corporations, more
than half of these corporations.
are owned by non-residents Of this
state. TIE men of small means have
no equal show with these powerful
artificial bodies whose agents only
are seen. Their presence overawes
and intimidates the unprotected i'm
! migrant, that invades the territory they
occupy. 1t seems to me that the poll
icy of the state which permits live
stock corporations, is injurious to the
development of the country. The
question is simply this. Which is the
better for the state to have, her school
lands settled and made more valuable
by the small stock-farmer and agricul
turist, or per nit them to be used to
the exclusion Of settlers and their
cattle, enriching the stockholders who
never see the state and have no other
interest in it?
These corporations have stretched
wire felces around millions of acres
of the school land. without authority
Of law and il the face of the statute
prohibiting it. They clamor for free
grass, but are not willing to leave it
free to others.
REVENUE FROM SCHOOL LAND.
If proper laws are enacted for the
management of the school land, with
lease and sale on easy terms, the reve-
nue. from sales, leases and interest on
school land obligations would amount
to 100000 annually. A; ii the
lands are made taxable in IT, hands of
the lessee, as l propose, 40 II $780,
600 would be paid into the state treas
ury annually for the benefit of the
general revenue Of the state. The
school land department, under the
management Of commissioner with
authority to charge and collect fees
for work done, would not cost the
state over $4,000 annually and would
pay into the treasury more
money than any other department.
THE ENCLOSURE ACT.
This law is being boldly and
defiantly violated by large cat
til companies and corporations
al Il they have many million
&C. e3 Ct school lands now il,
legally enclosed. In some in
staucas the alternate sections have