, 1891-07-25
4 SERIoUS QUESTION.

The state of Wyoming is confronted by
a serious problem which Is every day
growing more serious. We refer to the
audscious organized system Of cattle steal
ing now not merely prevalent but rampant
on nearly every cattle range in Wyoming.
The business is carried on in many
quarters without even a pretense of dis
guise. 1t Is not confined exclusively to
desperadoes. Men who have before this
year borne and deserved good characters
arc now openly engaged in preying upon
the public ranges. They make no effort
to disguise the fact All of their neigh
bors and acquaintance are perfectly
aware .! the fact and the practise is
oftentimes not merely winked at but
applauded. Desultory but determined
efforts have been made by some of the
Larger cattle companies in the past few
years to bring the offenders to justice. In
some cases the grand juries have refused
to indIct; il others petit juries have
brought in verdicts Of not guilty in the
face of evidence as conclusive and con-
vincing as any ever submitted in a court
of justice. Thus shielded by the law
these men have grown 5older and holder.
Small ranchmeu have been terrorized into
submission. They take good care to care
fully avoid seeing what is going on under
their very noses and their reasons for do
ing so must be obvious to every one who
knows anything about frontier life. As
sured of immunity from punishment these
stook thieves nave become the scourges
OF the ranges. They steal openly und per-
sistently. The losses sustained by the
winters are supplemented by the losses
from thieving until the cattlemen are
driven to their wits ends.
This is far from being a creditable state
of affairs. In proportion to their pos
sessions the stOckmen pay more taxes than
any other class of men in the state. In
some instances that we know they pay
taxes on more cattle than q roundup
would disclose. What do they pay taxes
for? Is 1t simply for grazing their herds
on the public domain which belongs not
to the state but to the nation? Haye
they no property RICH 5? 1t certainly
seems as though they hadn't. Their
property is openly pillaged and known
thieves are fattening upon their pilter-
ings. The law seems powerless to reach
them. Convictions annot be secured
under any circumstances What are the
cattlemen going to do about it2 This is
something we do not know but there can
be only one of two conclusions-either
the cattlemen must organize at their own
expense to protect their property or they
must drive their cattle to some other state
where the organization is more effective
and the laws are enforced.
Have the people of the state stopped
to consider what added burdens this
might place upon their shoulders2 OF
late years the cattlemeu nave been driven
from pillar to post. The idea seemed to
be to stamp out their business or force
them to go elsewhere. A great many
large outfits have been driven into Mon
tana. What have We received to replace
them? Agriculture is of slow and cxpen-
slNe growth. II can only lGllOW on the
heels of irrigation, and irrigation is a
costly enterprise. Meanwhile burdens
have been increased, and with every big
herd of cattle which is driven out of the
state the load will become heavier to
carry. Quiet arrangements are even now
beng made to round up and trail at
least two pig lunches of cattle elsewhere.
Those who own them confess that the
thieverY has passed the limits of human
endurance and the only recourse left them
to save the remuants 0 ftheir herds is to
go where cattle is respected as property
and will come within the pale of the pro-
lection oil the law.
1t is high time that something was being
done about this matter. The situation
that conironts Us is a serious one for every
taxpayer, whether he owns a hoof of
stock or not. There are only W horns to
the dilemma-eithcr the thieves or the
cattle must go,
Which shall 1t be?