Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-03-09
PENDLEION'S SPEECH.
The Argument which Killed Fosters
Four Section Lease Amend
ment TO the Land Bill.
The State Can Well Afford to Give the
Actual Settler Preference Over
the Fortune Seeker.


Foster Of GTayson moved ia sub
stance to strike out that part of section
10 OF the land bill which provides that
a seItler, after purchasing land, may
have the right 10 lease not more than
four sections adjacent thereto, aud to
insert in lieu thereof provision to
the effect that after the settler had
lived on the land purchased for three
years ne snouiu then nave the Tight to
purchase three sections more. Mr.
Pendleton oil Tarrant said In sub.
stance:
The arguments Of the gentleman
from Gray son In support of his amend |
ment seem TO me paradoNlcal. The |
gentleman correctly says THAI we mus |
make provision for other settlers be- |
sides the very poorest class OF citizens |
aens and that the email atuckmau |
wants home, as we'll ~ the Man wi h |
the Plow aud the Hoe. But the
amendment offered by the gentleman
Is calculated
10 DEFEAT THE VERY OBJECT
he processes To have In view. / would
ask the gentleman what would man
do with two hundred head of cattle
upon single section Of land until the
three years expired, IL you neither give
him free range nor n preference tn lease
few sections? 1t would be unjust and
impolitic to require the small stock
man TO buy all he needed for his range,
even without the three years. limit
proposed by the amendment, while al
the same time permitting the large
stockman TO lease all be wants without
out buy Ing amy because the settler
must pay SS.an acre for the land ~ D
per cent, per annum on II, AN, uniting
to ten cents an acre, besides
the taxes and other burdens, while
the favored lessee gets the came ben
elits at five cents an acre without
taxes. He feared that this was u
DEVICE or THE ENEMY.
He feared that under the name of the
settler the gentleman would deal u
fatal blow ut the best part of this bill;
that Judas.nke, while he cries out,
"Lord and master, protect the set
tler,n he would betray us with a kiss
Sir, no greater or more important
truth can command the attention o.
this house at this moments truth
proven by both history and expo
Tieuce-.ihun, that IN tho settle
ment OF every new country the nd
vance guard, the first settlers, are
never agrculiuralists, at least for
profit. They may cultivate the
land in u Limited way, but Il
Is for their own subsistence
because there are no markets there Tor
farm products They must depend fol
profit on thtii herds
Their herds must have grass. II you
will not give such men free grass, IL II
wrong TO deprive them wholly OF thu
privilege of leasing the range, which
! Ia done by this bill, II the gentleman
amendment shorld prevail The bill
gives every etockman the superio
! right for ninety days 10 lease his entir
Q range. This / do not OF iect 10 SER
ou,ly, because otherwise great injus
tice would he done To capital inyeste'
In stock. II Is simple justice 10 tn
stockman, and not dangerous ia Ill
> present shape Of the bill, but
WOULD BECOME MOST UBIQUITOUS,
II the four-rectiun privilege Ui the rot
tier be struck out by the amendment
This provision is the best counter
check that could be devised, to the ex
tensive privileges given 10y the bill (
the large stockmAn who IL already d
the around Under this law he is n
most sure to lessee the land. II 10 wei
known, too, that most of the schoC
lands are covered with stock; tina
there Is very little territory now unot
cupied Therefore you practically
LIMIT THE RIGHT OF LEAGE
TO those stOckmen now on the ground
According to the true theory OF settle
ment, the small stockman going frs
and tho farmer after him, this bill, b
the four-sectlon clsuse, provides ia
the gradusl dividing up Of the larg
oil holdings into smaller h0ldiDgs -mor
D. like natures plan of settlement
which is free range, and therefore TIA
best artificial plan OF settlement whic
could be devised, for such the nous
seems determined to have.
OPPOSED no ANY LEASE LAW.
~ He wanted II distinctly uuderstoo
that he opposed any lease law ct 81
lie accepted this law under protes
70. Decauee It was HI improvement ON IN
old aw, which would remain In fore
~ II this bill should be rejected. III
- the sentiment Of this house was larg
:, ly ia favor Of lease system, aud b
n did not propose 10 make
MI martyr OF himself, without SOM
" thing was TO be gained by
He would therefore discuss the que
principle on which members ought
proceed, which they ought to keep b
fore them as the sailor does his cha
and ompRss, was 10 pursue the pole
OF settlement In its full integrity al
then TO conform the lease system
that policy. Ifany conflicts arose b
tween the lease aud sale, and one
the other had 10 yield, itshouId alwa,
e os be the lease. This would be In In
nt mony with our Democratic pistfori
f9l and was the only way Ia which q
nd land
,ie COULD BE CoHsTITUTIoNAf4LY LEASE
20 Pne gentleman from Grayson 50
I Isa he does not thiok the settler has 81
sTa more rights than the cattleman, a.
II can't see why he should be allo wed
~ preference 70 Jesse land already less
Re bv the cattleman. II would cause b
By blood, and be source Of c0nsts
Pc, trouble. But would ask the gent
III. man II Il would not be az unjust, g.
az much against the cattleman's