The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1905-04-06
THE STOCK Law IN NEWTON
COUNTY.

Times gives the following sensible ad-
vice In reference to the stock law
question:
About fourteen years ago I wrote
a letter to the county paper against
the stock law and have continuously
been opposed to it in its present form.
think our law makers have failed to
make the law plain enough to be un-
derstood by our best Informed citizens
and believe the law makers them
selves differ on some points Of it. I
am satisfied most Of us know more
about the trouble and wrapgling over
it than we do about the law, and that
is the part Of it that is so hurtfnl to
the country. It is getting to the place
| where man is elassed in his locality
according to his position on the stock
law question, and it is getting so warm
in some places that he must hold his
peace or climb tree if his opinion
happens to be at variance with the
popular sentiment. Indeed, people
are criticised for an expression of
their honest opinions on the subject.
Hard things are said pro and con and
in the rounds the law makers are ac-
cused of passing bad laws. And the
board of supervisors "Oh, how they
are punched with petitions And
sometimes they are almost roasted on
the altar of criticism for granting a
petition for stock law in one territory
and the people in another territory
are raising sand because they did not
grant their petition for stock law.
It is said that the board granted
stock law that was not legal and that
was busted up and then they granted
it again and it is not legal. What do
they grant it for if it is not legal? 1t
is out OF all reason to suppose they
would. No reasonable man can sup
pose that five men, mostly farmers,
elected to that Office would be
thoroughly versed in law. While the
legislature may have failed to make
the law plain enough and the board of
supervisors may not have understood
just what to do in some cases, there is
no excuse for all this trouble. We,
the people, can do something the
board cannot do, and that is stop this
mud singing. The law was enacted
by the legislature Of the state publicly
al lam not ready to charge that body
with wiilfully Eerpetrating wong
or working hardship on any particu-
lar portion Of the people. This way
of censuring person for favoring or
opposing measure is Of wrokg
spirit, and, in sense, t is an attack
on free speech. 1t is not crime for
man to be opposed to or in favor of
the stock law. 1t is not made in
secret.
''We, as Americans and democrats,
believe in majority rule Then if
two thirds of the land owners want a
stock law in a given district, have /
any right to say they shall not have
it? The answer is no. But I do be-
lieve that people in different localities
ought to be governed by the condi-
tions as they exist. IT the country is
mostly cleared up and in cultivation,
believe it is the best to have the
stock law, but if country is in the
woods it would be more expense than
profit to have a stock law.
Nov, I said in the beginning that
have been opposed to stock law for
about fourteen years and jusl here |
will give my reason. Personally I
favor it, but there are some of my
neighbors it would hurt and hurt
badly. However, with the present
increase in population the county will
soon be settled up and with the stock
law will necessarily follow. But
with the stock law or without it, we
would all do better to adopt the golden
rule, which is, DO udto others as you
would have them do unto you.
There are good men who don t
want the stock law and good men who
do want it and there may be some bad
ones on both sides, too
| 1.-The stock law discussion reminds
me of the fellow who wrote short
sketch Of his neighbor s life who had
died. He said he had known him
from child and he was good boy,
obeyed his parents and stole sheep,
grew up to be man and was very
useful and at one time had stolen a
horse, to know him was to love him
and he will be badly missed in his
community. And for clamors and
fussing SO would the stock law. =
NOTICE.