The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-03-18

poets. The present law is unjust ON us,
even counting the land board out. We of
the frontier are standing the brunt of bat
tie and if our lands are to be leased the
lease money should be used to build up
the country it is taken from. If, instead
of charging six cents per acre rental for
the benefit of Eastern Texas, it we're APP
piled to improving the lands themselves.
the state would develop so rapidly as to
bring the prophesy of Governor Ireland,
that in short time we will be elbowing
one another into the sea, prominently to
the front. The state should keep an
agent here for the purpose of collecting
rents, and he should be empowered to ex-
pend the rental in providing shelter on
sections at present unleasable, because of
the lack of shelter, and for sinking arte-
sian wells on sections at present practic-
ally useless, because of the want of said
water. In this manner the country would
develop and the present waste places
blossom into life and profit to the state.
Mr.. Harris, wool and hide buyer of San
Francisco, speaking of the commercial
prospects said: 1.-The eastern wool market
continues quiet and prices have declined
to where they were last year at this time.
The prospects are not encouraging for an
early advance in prices, owing to the
large quantities of cheap foreign wool on
the market. This comes into direct com
petition with the clips of Texas and Cali
fornia, the stock from those states beng
defective. Wool manufacturers feel rather
Respondent they not being able to main
tain the 10 per cent. advance asked at the
early part of the season on samples sub
mitted to clothing manufacturers. The
very best quality and grade of free secured
Texas is meeting with fair demand at 81
cents. Other grades from 80 to 45 cents.
California woods are neglected and prices
purely nominal, quotations for fall being
IL to 10 cents, spring ID to 80 cents. The
wool growers are not in a particularly
happy frame of mind at seeing the an
ticipated high price for the coming clip
pass from their vision like beautiful
dream.
Some of the leading eastern papers,
notably the New York Sun, are paying
much attention to report to the effect
that the cowboys in the range districts
are organizing and will enroll themselves
with the Knights of Labor. 1t is repre-
scented that the stockmen have compact
organization to keep down wages and
maintain black list for the punishment
of cowboys, who might demand their
rights, and also that cowboys, all things
considered, are the poorest paid working
men in the union. This is refreshing
news to the properly informed, and shows
the sublime ignorance of the east about
western life,and especially about stockmen
and cowboys. Nobody in the range country
knows anything about an organization
among stockmen to Cypress cowboys. In
fact such an organization would be i'm
practicable and does not exist. Stock
men as rule are intelligent and practi
cal business men, and are characterized
by broad liberality. Many of them rose
from the ranks and it would be foreign
to their natures to combine against strug-
Cling merit and seek to maintain poverty
among those who labor for them. There
is probably no pursuit in life where per-
sonal worth is more necessary and where
personal worth is more quickly recog-
nized Cowboys are paid from 500 to $50
per month, and on many ranches they
are given the opportunity Ito acquire
wealth i'll other ways. No cattleman is
disposed to be guided by his neighbors
in fixing wages. Each knows the worth
of the men who direct and protect the
herds, and exercises his individual opin-
ion solely in the settlement of wages.
The cowboys will not join the Knights of
Labor