The Springfield herald., 1916-04-21
The Pros and. Cons
AS to a Herd Law

faS " IilS ilhbaiiSap Vi q 'ShSs
law and the advantages of herd
law, here and elsewhere, and
who are interested in the one or
the other, we might 90 back on
the trail OF legisla lion in differ
ent states along stock-laW lines,
and also cal up our direct per-
sonal experience with both these
laws.
As to the great handicap and
hardship OF Il fence law in the
settlement of a icW country
wonder if it is remem bered that
no other law was known in
the settlement of the United
States until long after the Mis-
'sissippi had been crossed; in
deed that Kansas an Oklahoma
are the only two states ever hav-
ing experimental much along
fenceless lines.
OF the hardships the new set
tiers of practically all the United
States had to undergo, that Of
the necessity of fencing their
crops was the smallest and least
thought of; indeed the only one
not thought of at all, because
they wanted to make use of their
fields, and it was taken as mat
ter Of course.
The stock law of all those
states had to do with board, pole
or rail fences, aud the fence re-
quired was against not only
horses and cattle but also hogs
and sheep. Since the introduce
tion of barbed wire, however,
these latter requirements have
been generally thrown out.
When speaking Of the hard
shi;1 Of fencing, the job of'build-
ing those good Old worm fences,
with states and riders, doesn't
want TO be forgotten.
The first part of the job was to
take an AK, maui and wedges,
and go to the woods. TO fence
that little 40 acres, like unto the
40 acre pasture needed here in
Baca county, would take 5000
rails. All those rails had to be
splintered out of those mighty
oaks, and may be that was just
g picnic.
Then came the job of hauling
those 5000 rails out around that
land, and of course that was al
so picnic; and the laying up of
those rails ziszag- wigwag, dig
ging the stakes into the ground,
crossing them over the fence and
putting on the riders-that was
still another picnic.
and who was it that was back
of the free range fence laws of all
these ages and centuries from
the settlement of Jamestown to
the first fencelass laws of Kan
sas?
Was it the beaf trust, the cat
tie barrens, and the banker hand
Ing paper money, and taking
in cattle morey:
Answering the question direct
of who are interested in fence
laws in Colorado, there is to be
said first of the beef trust that
it has the same interest in those
having cattle as a hawk has in a
chicken; and there is the exact
same understanding between
them.
The facts are that the beef
trust doesn't care in the first
place who raises the cattle, and
in the second place it is really in
5erested as much in a short crop
as it is in long one. 1t has in
fact just two interests to buy
meat low, to Sell meat high;
and that is the end of It's relation
with both the cattle raiser and
the public.
or the interest Of the banker.
because of his handling cattle
paper, there is to be said that if
that were all thE paper the bank
ers handled there wouldn't be
any bankers very long.
Take the oank at Springfield,
and of the over 100000 de-
posted in it by the people,
Cashier Holt thinks it safe to say
that over SO, ,000 of it is by those