, 1892-03-23
where 'sFhs Daily Leader" Nay be Pound
THE ISSUES DEFINED.

this city yesterday: The only thing left
for us now is To knock out that damned
~outft"-his references beng made to The
LEADER Acting upon this theory
doubtless he visited this office, stopped
the CODY of the paper he has heretofore
taken and paid for aud ordered discon-
tlnued two advertisements, one ANNOUNCE
Jog the annual meeting of the Wyoming
stock W association on April 4 next,
aud the other announcing the ansual
mee,ius of the sto,k growers of the state
on the day following.
THIS action with reference to stopping
the paper WIS followed by several other
partisans of the stock commission, some
of whom. while they have oeasedlt to pay
for, will probably not cease to read this
paper in the immediate future. H4 s8urb
The question naturally recurs: Why
do these men now stop their papers aud
why does the secretary Of the stock COM
mission withdraw his advertising patron-
age at this particular time? There is only
one possible answer and it is this: These
gentlemen will uphold no newspaper
which does not openly. OF by it's silence
%tscitly, support the Wyoming stock com-
mission in assuming the arbitrary powers
OF a Dictatorship aud without color Of
warrant Of law, without trial or hearing,
permit that body to pass upon the moral
status OF the people OF the state and de-
spite protest hold the proceeds OF the sale
Of property owned or claimed bv certain
individuals. The stock commission and
its adherents execrate the thieves for
breaking the law BY infringing upon
property rights; they uphold the stock
commission in its dictatorial attitude, in
its utter defiance Of the plain letter of the
statute, in its high handed assumption of
autocratic power and its Haunting defiance
ofthe rights of persons and of things.
There is no paper in the state which has
more persistently fought range thieveIy
than has The LEADER. This paper was
among the first. if not the very first to
raise Its protest against this proceeding.
The color of justification for the stock
com mission in Withholding from its claim
ants any money arising from the sale of
Wyoming cattle on the Omaha and CHI
cago markets was the plea set up that
through this means and this alone could
range thieyery be wiped from the face of
the earth. The plan has been tried. It
has not simply been found wanting but it
has thrown affairs into a condition of
chaos which must eventually breed q
political upheaval If not a social revolu-
ton. This being true, no man who is not
wilfully blinded to the actual condition of
affairs can longer pphold the stock COM
mission In its illegal, and as circumstance
have shown, its unwarrantable conduct.
The LEADER is unalterably opposed TO a
of the present policies OF the
stock commission. Now that the crusade
is begun no threats, no. withdrawal of
patronage, no matter of private consider.
atoms or personal feelings will cause this
paper to deviate ono iot from the straight
path toward the object at which it aims,
which is the humiliation of the stock
commission with its present unla wful aims
and purposes. .o.rr.g
We regret to see in the stock commits
sion q revival of the old spirit Of %intoler-
anee Of the Wyoming stock growers as
sociation-an unamerican spirit of domi-
nance which would ride roughshod over
the weaker elements and force them
either to emigrate or crawl cowed and sub
dued at the feet of a fierce and implaca-
bic oligarchy. Live my way or you can
not live at all, seems to be the inspiring
motive of this coterie of dictators. We
had believed this spirit was dead; that the
experience OF the past carried with it
some lesson to profit by-something to
prove thai the free born American citizen,
though he may be long suffering under ia
tolerance and imposition, when once
aroused. with his mighty power and high
resolve, would sweep to the dust and into
oblivion the ~tyrannous cliques which, hold
ing the reins Of government, convert mild
and benefcent laws into engines of OPP
hRdiust IHc Wehhs tuo pooI hfiu
friendless. i29sf2a ssS3aa aN1f
We regret to say the old time domi-
neering spirit is not vet dead. 1t is q
thing of life and aggressive action in the
hands of the present live stock comma
sion. It says to the American citizen:
Think as we do or do not think at all.
1t says to the American newspaper:
There are but two things for you to
safely do: either uphold us in our arbi-
trary and illegal actions or keep your
peace-otherwise we will destroy your
business and crush you out of existence.
With this as a platform Of principles to
fight to a finish, as uphoiders of and be-
levers in the rights Of a free press whose
duty 1t should be to xrestle with wrong
wherever it is found, as firm and unauaii.
fed believers in the great American prin-
ciple Of free speech The LEADER here
and now throws down it's gage Of battle to
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