The Glenwood post., 1916-10-07
Falls Heaviest on the Owner Of Few
Animals But Threatens to De.
stroy Entire Stock Industry
ARE MANY INSID|0US FEATURES

owner of the calves, and selling the ami
mails to satisfy the Judgment.
! l have been trying for number of
years as attorney for your board, to
discourage the widespread practice of
stealing unbranded calves. Under this
ingenious "herd law cattle thief
need no longer commit open larceny to
obtain his neighbor's calves. He can
take them into his possession on the
claim that they were trespassing on hi.
rr: perty, and then, without notifying
the owner. claim the animals belong to
4 confederate, bring suit against the
latter, to enforce his lien, and sell the
animals under execution, bidding them
in himself, if he desires so to do. It.
might be year afterward before the
real owner would hear of the outrage.
and when he did, the animals would be
lost, with no possibility of successful
prosecution of the person who SO OBJ
tained them.
Even the perjury necessary to prove
a fictitious claim of damages could not
be prosecuted, for the reason that the
owner could not successfully dispute
the claim that the animals had commit
ted damage. With this "herd law''
lin force, Colorado would become ver-
liable mecca for cattle thieves; and
they could not be successfully prose-
cuted if they took ordinary precau-
tions.
Unquestionably this proposed "herd
law repeals the present railroad
fence law. This law, (547S-54sO Rev.
Stat. l9os) provides that railroads
shall maintain fence as provided for
in Sec. 25s7. As the proposed "herd
law repeals this section, there is
nothing remaining in the statute to de-
fine what sort of fence the railroad
must erect: therefore, the essential
provision of the railroad fence law
would be non-existent. With this So
called "herd law in force, if live
stock get on an unfenced railway track,
and by seeking shelter in cut at
night, as is frequently the case in n
storm, cause wreck by the derail-
ment of train. the owner will be La
BILE for the injuries and damages re-
sulting therefrom. as there is no re-
strction to the amount or kind of dam
ages for which the owner is liable, the
so-called "herd law' making the own
e. liable for ''any injury or damage
The term 'herd law is understoof
by some to mean that persons who have
their livestock in charge of herder
may escape some of the consequences
of grazing on the unfenced land of an
other. This is not true. There are
thousands of acres of privately owned
land lying in parcels, varying in size
from quarter section mp, on the range
in Colorado, that have no fences or
marked boundaries to distinguish them
from other range lands. A trespass on
this land, whether the owner of the
animals knew where the boundaries
were or not, would result. under the
herd law in right of the owner of
the land to claim damages. take the
animals. and keep them until the claim
was paid.
These are some of the direct legal
consequences of the proposed "f herd
law.' 1t will fall most heavily upon
the small owner who has less than
twenty head of livestock, and who is
not in a position to carry on expensive
litigation or easily give bond to release
his livestock from liens founded upon
real or fictitious claims for damages.
Instead of this arbitrary and one
sided legislation, other states have, a
law providing for damages for injury
to crops on "cultivated agricultural
land,'' with reasonable provisions for
releasing the lien by giving security
approved by the nearest Justice of the
Peace, and further provision giving
the owner of livestock damages for the
detention of his animals in case the
taker-up refuses to accept the amount
of damages actually due, and does not
recover a larger amount in court. It
seems incredible that any law for Colo
rado should be without these reasonable
safeguards.
The "herd law'' would subject the
livestock industry to veritable ca
lnnity, and inflict upon small farmers
a constant harassment from fictitious
liens and claims for damages which
would tend to drive them out Of the
livestock business. Those who know
how greatly the small farmer depends +
on the certain income from livestock
to help ont uncertain crops, can realiis
what a menace this law il TO his II I
tereste f,l4-f