The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-08-16
BIG Fight
LOOKED FOR
Cattlemen viii Fight Enforce
meRt of Law
IN WESTERN KANSAS
Fifteen Cases TO Be Settled in
Courts.
IN WESTERN KANSAS

Topeka, Kan, Aug. 15.-The United
States district attorneys Office here an
.ticipates a determined resistance on the
part of the cattlemen of western Kansas
federal statute prohibiting the fencing Of
= government land. What the cattlemen.
and the district attorneys office also
would Ike to have is decision setting
forth precisely what constitutes the en-
closure of government land. Nearly Is
suits are in preparation, to be brought in
the United States district court by Attor-
ney Dean. In these suits every conceiv-
able method Of enclosing federal land is
included. and by the tine they have all
been settled it is ~ Fable very clear
idea Of what constitutes the offense will
be secured.
In previous suits brought in Kansas
and elsewhere the validity of the land
fencing statutes, which was passed by
congress in 1885. has been tested and
affirmed in the United States supreme
court. However. very few cases brought
under the statute present parallel situa-
tions. The statute holds it to be an Of
tense to enclose by fence any govern
ment land TO which the owner of the
fence has no title or claim or TO in any
way interfere with the access of pros
pective settlers or of the public at Lar &c
to it 1t is the purpose of the law to
make all government land free range
and to permit no person to have adyan-
tage In its use.
Since the first opening of western Kan
sas lands to settlers vast amounts of it
have been proved up and much Of il lost
TO the original owners on tax sales Scat
tered all over the short grass" count'e
sre thousands of acres of very poor grade
government land, useful only for pastur-
ing. A quarter section is insufficient to
furnish living for a single person and
no greater amount than that can be pre-
enpted. Could the cattlemen purchase
the ground outright, it would be sold
readily Unpreempted quarters dot the
= danches OF the big cattle companies.
These companies. to reserve their range,
have resorted to various devices for fenc-
ing in their own animals and fencing
out those of other ranchmen.
In instances drift" fences are used.
The drift consists Of miles upon miles OF
starlight fence, attached to nothing at
either end. A few miles to one side may
be the fence of another ranch. At either
end of this drift riders are stationed to
prevent the animals from wandering out
end thousands of acres OF pasture In this
manner are reserved for the use of one
ranching company the proprietors of
which own perhaps but a fraction of the
land over which they Craze. Within this
partial enclosure a settler finds his GUAR
ter section of ground liable to be overrun
by the cattle of the big grazer or he
finds the section line road fenced up in
the drift fence. From these annoyances
frictions arise. and in most cases, the
complaints received by the district attor-
new or the general land Office come from
this source. 1t is practice for the ranch
men to place an employe or a friend upon
some tract of government land TO home
stead IL under the ordinary course. but
this is a slow process Occasionally
quarter will be homesteaded by seller
whose Intention is TO hold up an adjoining
ranchmen, who Is anxious to buy 1t. for
an exorbitant price
Some Of the suits now in preparation
are against two or three persons to-
pether. A line fence of one ranch may
toin A line fence OF another. at an angle
and the latter lire may be similarly JOIN
ed bv third. The result is the enclosure
on three sides of a tract containing gov
eminent land which is used for grazing
nv still a different ranchman. The ques-
ton wifi be to decide who IS to be blamed