Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-01-03
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COMMUNICATIONS.

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What Will the 1918 soIons Do With
That vexed Herd Law? Should the
Present Legislative Session Change
Section 1888 Of the Revised N. D.
Code Of 1905?
The present herd law as it stands
on our statute works a hardship on
the settlers in the pioneer counties
of. this state-there is no question of
that The present law allows live
stock to roam at large from the first
day Of December to the first day OF
April, irrespective OF the SO much
talked about legal fences and grain
unharvested and scattered over the
fields. Legal fence or no fence at all
the fact vet remains that under the
present law cattle may roam at large
and the only instance in which the
owner can be made responsible for
such damage is when he w:l!fully d.
reefs such trespassing cattle directly
to place where injury is made. Dur.
ing the fall of 1911 and ~ you heard
the hOwling grunts and tall complaints
about the crying unjustness of the
present statutory provision which al.
lows cattle to roam at liberty into the
shocks and piles of flax of which very
little was threshed when the first day
Of December rolled around. Yes, but
the common presumption is that we
don't, as a rule, celebrate Xmas and
harvest at The same time and then try
hard to get the harvest so nearly com
pleted that the dear ladies may get
time to buy their easter bolnets be.
fore Easter rolls around. Further
more, people who SOW flax almost up
to the Fourth of July must expect to
reap disappointment and ice. The
whole state taken and many other
things considered, is the herd law so
cryingly unjust after all. The eastern
half of the state has a limited amount
OF live stock on their own premises all
the year round, while these western
pioneer counties are fast wedding out
the big ranchers, who up to this time
have mostly benefited by said laws.
Any county may outside of the state
law petition the county commission
ers to change the herd law of such
particular county by submitting to a
vote at the general election. In the
absence of statutory provision for the
herd law, in several states, the own
ers of trespassing cattle could be held
liable. since the common law pre-.
sumes that every owner of live stock
will and must carr for his own cattle
and if such cattle get out and thereby
caues damage the owner can be held
therefor. na
Should the harvests continue to be
as late as they have been in the past
two years why then we certainly
ought to change the present herd law.
1t is true that a very large number of
farmers during the last two seasons
suffered untold damages in conse.
quence Of the said law and if that
damage suffered is greater than the
benefits derived, generally speaking,
from letting such stock roam at large,
then the law should be changed. Now
is the time to make that change by
getting busy with your solons up at
the Bismarck law factory during the
coming session. Cases, plenty of them,
carried to the supreme court clearly
shoN that the law as laid down in sec.
ton 1898 of the N. D. code Of 1905 will
hold in spite. of the numerous com.
plants anent the same.
e. H. GUNDERSON.