The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-04-23
STARVING THE POOR MAN.

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in his veto of the land bill, must cause
a general smile, when it is so well
known that he, as leading member of
the land board, defied the constitution,
setting the board up as law making
power, repudiating legislation, and |
by doing so preventing the State from |
acquiring for the schools a |
vast fund, sufficient to insure
the adjustment of the special ad va
loren tax for public education. 1t is
hoped, since the Governor perpetuates
the existence of the land board, that
will now conline itself to executive
duties, for which it was created, and
permit the law now on the statute
books to exist in letter and in spirit
This law says the minimum price of
leased lands shall be four cents per
acre, the minimum price of purchase
two dollars. 1t permits the lease OF
land in unlimited quantities, upon
the principle that it is the States duty
to secure all the money possible for
the use of school lands; that unless
they be leased in unlimited quantities
they will, nevertheless, be used with
out pay in unlimited guam
titles, which was the result
of the land board'sI violation
of constitutional powers. The law
permits the purchase of as much as
seven sections of grazing lands by one
person, at not less than two dollars
per acre, the object being to induce
persons to settle in the grazing re-
gions, where the Governor, when he
let his pen slip in writing his veto,
declares man would be apt to starve
if confined to one section. But may we
not hope that the Governor has been
overcome with genuine conversion as
to the rights of poor men, who should
not be forced to strave or stay out of
the West. May he not be going to
stand up like a man, in the board, and
say: l will not permit the poor
man to be elected from the
grazing regions, reserving them
for giant corporations and moDopolists
to enjoy free-grass. May he not be
going to contend for the rights of
small livestock raisers, who, seeing
starvation staring them in the face, if
confined to one section of grazing
lagd, will now be allowed to buy
under the plain little of the law,
enough land to keep a small
herd of cattle where the giant corpor-
atoms alone now keep their thous-
ands of roaming cattle. growing fat
on free grass, thus forcing the poor
man to forever pay a tax for educa-
ton, when the Constitution and the
laws comfortable to it provide
means for his relief at least from this
much taxation. Everybody knows
there are portions of Texas adapted
only to grazing, and the purpose OF
the law, which now remains in force,
was to localize permanent settlers in
the grazing portions of the State.
Seven sections of grazing land would
keep, according to quality, one hun
dred and fifty to four hundred head
of cattle, while one section would
keep only from twenty to fifty. THE
STATESMAN agrees that the poor
man, made to acquire, under the rule
of the board, only one section would be
reduced to starvation, and hence
the poor live stock raiser is kept out
of the grazing districts, while
they are turned over to the
pampered monopolisis for nothing in
return. The law attempts to provide
fol the one, the land board has pro-
vided alone for the other, and the
great grazing West is, therefore, left
without actual settlers. Had the
board limited the purchase of
seven sections of land in
the grazing districts to per-
sons who would, upon purchase,
enter upon such lands and improve
them with houses, and place cattle
upon them, then the West would have
started on period of prosperity at
4 tending actual settlement. Perna-
nent settlement cannot be induced
alone by positive acquisition of lands
and, since leases will not lead to this
the only plan to settle the grazing re-
| gions is to allow that sort of settle
ment, which will not entail starva-
ton. To confne the sale of farming
lands two to or two sections. and
to impose upon the purchaser
| strict rules as to actual
settlement may be proper enough
since farmer may easily farm on one
or two sections, and keep his few head
of cattle besides. There is a world of
| land In Texas, and to settle 1t is the
part of wisdom in the government.
To adopt rules and methods that
drive away settlers, and which
condemns the poor man to worse than
| poYerty-Starvation a folly, from
which the Government must recede,o OF
stand as the clog stopping the wheels
of healthy progress. Give the poor
man chance. Do not condemn him,
to starvation. Give him means to
live, and Texas will take on another
boom, and John ireland may not only
feast his longing eyes on Maxey's
chair in the United States Senate, but
he may ever swing around on it's
springy cushioned bottom. If he will
follow the advice of the STATESMAN
he may yet be made happy.
THE INTERNAL REVENUE RUsE.
There is great deal of thoughtless
Al IL, I. 4