Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-03-08
"Prae Grass

Mr. Founders drew bead on tho bull S-eye
yesterday when no declared that free grass
was misuomer and that, Stripped OF all
false verbage the issue was simply reduced
to lease and antl-lcase. AS he has been
ranked az very ardent lease man this
ought to satisfy the doubling Thomn es.-
tGszette's Austin Special
If MIR Founders Is correctly quoted,
the declaration attributed to hum Is
credit to his good sense, That the
discussion of tho disposition of the
public lands Of Texas has been OBJ.
scured by INSTRUMENTATION and pre-
judice, THE GAZETTE thinks will be
admitted. This paper has been the
especial target OF interpretation
much Of which, we believe, was and
is due to Misrepresentation, THE GA
zETrE has used tho term free grass"
to express that policy which was
deemed the best under which to settle
the vacant Western territory OF
the state; that policy has ever
been the policy of the United
States, and il has been
the policy under which the popula.
ton of Texas has been increased from
little more than 100000 people in
1850 to be now, perhaps, fully 1000 =
coo THE GAZETTE believed, and does
believe, that the policy which has
proven good for the Union and which
has proven good for other sections of
Texas, would be good for the Western
part OF the state, and that 1t was sel
tishness, pure and simple, In those Sec
tions which have grown up under this
policy, to deny the advantages Of il to
| Western Texas IN order to create =
school fund for the settled sections.
The term free grass" az used by
THE GAZETTE, WAS al incident Of the
policy advocated by this psper--now
the sheet OF that policy. But THE
GAzETTE's position was perverted to
mean policy designed to give rich
cattlemen the henefit of free range,
aud the paper was most falsely de
clared to be "the subsidized organ of
the bullionsires The voice of the
accomplished liar who originated this
SANDER has not been heard in the land
since the action at Austin and st
Louis OF the cattlemen but his lie did
its appointed work and much OF the
di-trus, now evinsed by men
who really hold purpose COM
mon with that entertained by free
grass" men. is due TO the misrepresent.
tslions and ISLANDERS OF last year.
There is not % free grass y man In
the NlNth legislature, so far IS THE
GAzErrE ia informed, who wants TO
give any man something for nothing I;
there Is not one OF them whose primal
consideration IL not the settlement Of
the country; there Is not one Of them
who IL for free grass" as an object,
but all of them have earned that
designation because free grassr Is
at once an incident and means OF
the policy advocated by them. Their
course In the legislature is consistent
and intelligent, They seek, first, the
promotion OF the settlement OF the
West; they know the difficulties that
attend pioneer efforts 90 develop the
agricultural resources OF that section.
ana the abs lutte need of range sui.
ficieut n enable the settler to live uu-
Ill no can make farming pay; they
recognized their powerlessness In the
legislature, and, as the best they could
do, 81 the only inducement to immi-
grafton and encouragement to settle
ment a,tainable, they insisted on the
four-sectlon lease provision. All argu.