, 1892-02-24
WON'T BULGE AN INCH:
The Stock Commission Has Taken
Its Stand and Will Keep 1t.
1t Will Ignore the Petition From
Johnson County People.
A Claim Made That Its Reputable
Signers Were Coerced.

The last number OF the Buffalo Bulletin
to reach this Office contained a petition
which is being circulated in johnson
county. Here is the petition:
To the board of live stock commissioners
of Wyoming:
We. the undersigned, citizens and tax
payers of the county oil johnson. respect
fully ask and demand that the money
received and held BY said board, and
claimed to be the proceeds from the sales
of stock (called estrays), be RENTED to
the respective owners thereof, whose
Office of the clerk of said county.
That the owners thereof are good and
reputable citizens and tax payers of said
county. and that the proceeds arising
from the sale of their said stock rightfully
and justly belongs to them. and that th
Withholding and detention of the same is
unjust.
The Bulletin, speaking upon the situa-
ton, very strongly denounces the stock
commission and represents the alleged
rustlers as honest, reputable. law abid-
ing citizens" and adds:
This petition will receive, or has now
already received the signatures of the
board of county commissioners aud will
undoubtedly be signed by every official in
johnson county. to say nothing of our
citizens In general. 1t is a public express
sion from, or by which, the state stock
commission may judge the sentiment en-
tertained by our people of the high
handed outrage that has been perpetrated
by the commission, against men here who
have been placed under the ban of rust
ling.
A reporter for THE LEADER Yesterday
showed the perported petition to a promi-
nent member of the Wyoming Live Stock
commission, and asked him what he
thought of the situation. He replied in
a very deliberate manner, and spoke prac-
tically as follows:
THE ~rnstlers in johnson county have
just about reached a stage where they
control everything, officially. socially and
commercially. Now, understand me. l
do not say that there are no reputable
and law abiding citizens up there. On
the contrary, there are some as good and
honest people In johnson county as can be
found upon Gods green earth. but the
point [ wish to convey is that these peo-
pie are so much in the minority that they
are, for the most part. afraid to come out
antagoristically in opposition to the
thieves, who have been very mildly
termed 'rustlers' by the stockmen of the
state.
while speaking upon this question,
let me say that | am well acquainted with
the people Of johnson county and l know
that more money and capital have been
driven out of II IRE by the r~ustling ele-
ment than coulG he made legitimately In
raising cattle there for the next twenty
five years. The situation now is Just this:
No one who aspires to office dares to OPP
pose the r~ustlers, or if he does, his official
head falls into the basket. Why, l was
talking to one of the most public spirited
and honorable men that lives in Wyoming,
who lives in JohnsoncountY. The rust
lers sent him the petition we are speaking
about with a request that he sign 1t. He
refused to do SO on the ground hat he
would not say that the men who we're cir
SuiotibS thC POtitiOh WClC hOutSJ duu
reputable people. A few days afterward
this same gentleman founo one morning
upon his door steps a CHASTITY skull and
two cross bones, with a sign painted in
large red letters something like this:
BEwAREl BEwAREil
This is the way the honest and reputa-
BILE men in reality are treated by the
other contingent of honest and reputable
citizens"
In regard to the amount of money
the Wyoming Live Stock commission has
on hand which comes from the cattle
taken from the johnson county thieves, |
will say that we have between 81, 900 and
$1,000. That the commission knows
what it is doing, and knew what it was
doing at the time it took the first steps,
that it has done nothing but what the law
authorizes it to do, and that it doesn't
propose to back down an inch"
What did all the trouble arise about?"
why. the r%ustlers hatg all law abiding
citizens like an angel hates the devil. and
they hate the Wyoming Live Stock COM
mission. if possible, a little worse. They
will lind the stock commission as firm,
however, as a stone wall"
Then you don't intend 10 pay any
attention to the petition?'
None whatever. We know that in
every case where it is signed by a reputa-
BILE man it has been done through lear of
antagonizing the r~ustling element. There
fore iadoesn't represent the honest views
of even johnson county and is for that
reason unworthy of our consideration.
No, it will have no weight with us. We
have deliberately mapped out our course
and Will pursue it to the end"
To the question. Which Is your favor
lite poem2 there may be a great variety of
answers; but when asked, Which is your
f%avorite blood purifier there can be only
ona rap1u-Aver's Sarnnor,lla hac.uoa II