Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-09
THE FRUITS OF IT.

The proof of the pudding is the chew
ing of the bag.
If Texas land policies have not been
radically wrong and hurtful in their
operations, how are these facts to be &C
counted for?
The census of 1880 reported popula-
ton of 1916 in the Panhandle of Texas,
comprising twenty-seven counties. This
report is blank with respect to Greer,
Carson, Dallam, Sherman, Ochiltree,
Moore, Farmer and Castro counties and
accredits Randall with Il population of
but three, CollingswOrth with six, Swisher
four, and Briscoe twelve. The re-
turns are manifestly incomplete, and
indicate population in the Panhandle at
that time of $500 at the very lowest esti-
mate.
In the recent election there We're cast
in these twenty counties 2060 votes.
It is probable, because of the large pro-
portion of single men in the west, that
the ratio of population to the voting
strength is about two and half to one
Assuming, however, that the ratio is
three to one the population of the Pam
handle is now $50.
Since 1880, or in nearly nine years,
twenty-seven counties containing more
that 20 900 200 of acres Of land have in
creased their total population by $3.50
people.
a But that is not the most startling reve-
lation made by the figures.
Since the taking of the census there
have been established in the Panhandle,
fourteen townships that are now recalled
by THE GAZETTE ;the true number is prob
ably over twenty. Childress, Amarillo,
Washburn, Cheyenne, Panhandle City,
Miami, Canadian, Higgins, Lipscomb,
Timms City, Ochiltree, Farwell, Hans
ford and Mangum were all unoccupied
sites when the census taker made his
rounds in 1880. Their combined popula-
,tion is not less than 5000. Clarendon,
Tascosa and Mopeetie have increased
their populations in the aggregate by 500.
These, then, are the results of nearly
one decade under the Texas land system
in the territory most vitality affected by
it: Total increase of POPULATION, $3.50;
increase of township population, $500; net
increase in "settler'' population, $50.
1t may be asserted that the sales of
school land reported from Austin tell
\. 81 oil th,t of
acres have been purchased and occupied
by actual settlers since 1880.
If any onei is so credulous rs to believe
that all the school lands sold under the
actual settler law have been sold to ae-
tusl settlers, they can obtain better in
formation by applying to Ex-Land Com
missioner Walsh, Commissioner Hall or
State Land Agent Mccullough. A con-
servative estimate places the amount of
public lands bought for speculative pur-
poses since the requirement of settlement
was introduced into the system at about
20 per cent.
b 1t will not be denied, of course, that
more than one hundred and eighty actual
settlers have gone into the Panhandle
during the last eight years. The mis-
fortune is that while some have been
going in others have, been moving out,
leaving q net gain for the decade of $50.
With this ratio of increase the Pam
handle would acquire something near the
population of Tarrant county in, the year
=
OF orr Lord A. d. 2lSS.
In the light of these facts, this clause
in the petition which will be submitted
to the Twenty first legislature from the
actual settlers of the Panhandle, becomes
impressive of great truth, ignorance of
which ON Il ut of the state govern