The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-08-25
THEY WILL QUIT.
Western Cattlemen Won't Re-
sist Anti Fence Order.
Frank McGrath, Deputy Mar
shall, Tells of Experience.
HE SERVED THE ORDER
Believes That Cases Never Will
Be Tried.
Thinks the Cattlemen Will
Adopt New System.
HE SERVED THE ORDER

a number of ranchmen who are de-
PENDANTS in injunction suits to compel
them to remove fences from govern
ment lands. Four such suits have been
commenced and material for twelve or
fourteen more is said to be in possess
sion of the United States district attor-
ney here. But Mr.. McGrath today ex-
pressed the opinion that none of the
suits so far brought will ever be tried
and that no new ones will be brought.
1t looks very much as though the
Kansas ranchmen who have govern
ment land fenced would give up with
out a fight. One or two have already
sent in word to the attorneys office
that they will remove the offending wire
from its staples Evidently this is
what is expected from all the rest of
! the ranchers who have been threatened
/ with prosecution. At the time the first
four suits were brought it was an
nounced that several more would be
taken into court within a few days.
That was upon August IL. Since then
no new suits have appeared. The de-
PENDANTS in the cases already brought
are the Circle Land & Cattle company,
in which Senator L. H. Wulfekuhler's
family is largely interested the now
famous Dewey cattle company; the
/ Mills Wood company of Syracuse, and
r. z. Steele of Hutchinson.
The big ranchmen of western Kansas
are confronted by one of the most ser
/ ious obstacles of their experience in
! the recent order of the department of
justice compelling them to remove
fences from government lands. The
order backed up by federal authority.
can not be disregarded although, at
this time, no power other than civil
procedure has been brought to bear
upon them. Ranching upon the gigan-
tic scale that maintains IN western
! t. lev oil IN he -
mental stage and there are reasons to
believe that it is proving failure
Many agencies operate against It's
success and the interposition of the
anti-fencing order is the straw that
will break the backs of some of the
largest enterprises. One of these is
said to be the Circle Land and Cattle
/ company, which had in its enclosures
lmore than fifty thousand acres OF graz
ling land Of this, fourteen thousand
acres belonged to the United states
The last year has not been a prohtapie
lone for the big ranchmen. Ine GILL
Guilty of sheltering such numoer OF
cattle through the severe winters OF the
Mains is incalcula bic. To furnish ade-
ouate extra feed is an impossibility
The losses experienced by the large
ranches during the past two or three
wears are said to have amounted u
from 80 to 60 per cent year DurlnS
the past year the variations OF the
market have worked serious haIusliip7
upon the stock ralSerS anu leougi
| The small land holder, VINO oeNotes
his attention to feed raising and to 1at-
tening. appears to be the man VINO
makes the steadiest income IN western
Kansas. 1t is largely through the nos
tilitv of the small feeder that the at
tention of the government has been
brought to the violations of the anti
fencing law by the big grazers. me
war between the feeder and the graZer
dates from the disappearance OF the
open range. immigration into western
Kansas has been unusually large dur
ing the past two years, the majority OF
the immigrants settling upon tracts OF
from quarter section to one thou-
sand acres. This immigration is COM
ing largely from west of the Mississippi
river, some of it indeed from the east
ern end of Kansas. There is still some
colonization of Russians. The removal
of the fences will throw the advantage
in the favor of the feeder and small
land holder.
wella acquainted with conditions in cat
tie land, predicts that the men now en-
| gagged in ranching on large scale VIII
take down their fences and go into the
feeding business the colonization
plan. This will unQuestionably reVolu-
tionize the cattle business as well as
exert an inestimable influence for the
settlement and agricultural advance
ment of western Kansas. Incidentally
it may result in the ruin of some of
the large cattle interests that will be
unable to accomplish the transition.
Under the present expense of maintain
ing fences and employing small armies
of line riders the margin of profit for
the owners of the big ranches is likely
to be small and extremely uncertain.
A fenced range is an uncertain reliance
for the cattle raiser and MCGrath
thinks that the disappearance of the
big ranch is a question of but a few
years even where there is no conflict
with federal authority over the problem
of fences.
THE big ranchmen in western Kan
sas have been heavy losers in the past
year or two" McGrath said today, in
speaking of the cattle situation as af
fected by the recent orders to remove
fences 1t is almost an impossibility
for them to carry cattle through a win
ter, and the present low market, follow
ing the high prices of a year ago, has
nearly ruined many of the cattle rails
ers. Their losses a year have amounted
to sixty per cent in instances. The cat
tlemen realize that it will avail them
nothing to buck the anti-fencing law
and efforts to circumvent it are fruit
less. The fences must come down and
/ believe that every one of the ranch
men will submit to the situation with
out making trouble. l do not believe
that one of the suits that has been filed
will ever come to its natural ternina-
ton.
"On the other hand there Is a vast
amount of new settlement in the west
ern part of the state at present. Men
are coming in to go into the cattle
feeding business and are settling the
available ground rapidly Land prices
have advanced remarkably during the
past few years and the division of the
big ranch holdings can be made at great
profit. Men who bought land at a dol
lar an acre a few years ago are selling
II at from three to seven dollars to new
settlers. Jim Fyke of Colby is getting
rich off the colonization rush Last
week he located thirty-five settlers from
the middle states. The real estate bus
mess is one of the most lucrative of
any to be found
During the past few years the wheat
belt has been extended rapidly west
ward. Much ground will be turned
from grazing into wheat land. The