Rocky Ford enterprise., 1916-07-28

Is to be centered the continued tight
| of farmers organizations and civic
| and commercial clubs of the state
against the so-called "herd-law," petit
tiOns for the initiating of which were
| filed last week with the secretary
Of state at Denver. With surprising
| facts CLEANED from a careful checking
of the signatures attached to the peti'
| tions, opponents OF the measure say
they are convinced the farmers ana
cattlemen thruout the state are al
most unanimously opposed to the pro-
posed law, and that 1t is the unthink'
| ing city dweller that must be ap
pealed to to circumvent Its hackers
| purposes.
A checking of the 10000 names on
| the petitions disclosed the fact that
| $4,000 of the number were names oE
| persons living in Denver, persons
| who II is safe to say have little direct
| interest in laws affecting the agricul.
tural districts of the state, and whom
| 1t was easy TO mislead with specious
| statements that they We're giving
| their support to measure patterned
| after the herd laws of other states
| and beneficial to the new settlers and
| the small farmers. And the further
somewhat startling fact that the 12,-
| 900 names were added to the peti.
tions in two days-July G and July
many weeks after the first 5000
| were obtained, by whirlwind cam
| paign of hired circulators operating
from the office of the Denver Post
and its auxiliary organ, the Great Di
| vide strengthens the contention that
the farmers of the state have awak-
ened to the real truth, TO the real
ization that the measure is not in
reality in any way n herd law, but
fence law-which repeals the eff
ficacious fence law already on the
statute books-with dangerous poten.
tialities, with certain assurance OF
harmful effect on tillers of the soil
| large and small. on the states future
promise of settlement, on the raisers
of stock little ana big.
| Farmers Awake to Danger.
The petitions containing the first
5000 names were sprinkled literally.
| IL is pointed out, with the signatures
| of dwellers in the small towns oil
farming communities and farmers
particularly in the irrigating districts
| But that was when the measure, with
| Its plausibly perpetrated appeal as
proposed law aimed at predatory
| cattle barons and sanctuary OF
| safety for the struggling small farmer
was first sprung on the unsuspectine
| public. IL was pictured measure
patterned after excellent herd laws OF
other states. 1t promised to drive
grasping cattle barons out of bust
ness. Painted In glowing colors that
are habit of life with the props
sanuIst campaigns of the Denver
Post was the future of the farmer in
| Colorado once he had taken the child
of the Great Divide to suckle and sus-
| tain.
But thinking farmers of the state
did not long delay in studying the
| seemingly satisfactory measure. And
they made discoveries. Within a
| short time every organization OF the
state made up of and representing
the best interests of the farmer and
cattlemen came out in unalterable op-
| position to what it was plainly evil
dent was only another log rolling
scheme of the Post and Its weekly
mouthpiece. Within short time the
measure stood. but wabbled on weak
/ legs, with the Denver Post cham
pioning II, and against it
The Farmers Grange, The Farm
ers' Union, The Colorado Stockgrow.
ers' Association. The Colorado State
Dairymen's Association, The Denver
Civic and Commercial Association.
Commercial Organizations of Cities
and Towns in Every Part OF Colorado,
Business Men and Stock Farmers In
Every Section of the State.
Appeal Proved FaIIaeious.
Those organizations had not been
slow to perceive the iniquitous possi.
bilities of the proposed law They
were not long in coming to the scon-
viction that irreparable injury to the
state was sure to follow its enact
ment. Punctured was the bombas.
tically blown bubble of the Posts ap
peal for rally against the cattle
baron-it was disclosed that instead
of terrifying and predatory barons
owning great herds and driving to
limbo of poverty the small rancher
and small stock grower, the average
herd of cattle in Colorado numbers
only fifty head. The proposed meas,
ure was shown up not herd law, not
law similar TO the herd law of any
state in the union, but a fencing law
that would compel every struggling
settler, every owner of a small farm
in the state to fence his lands or to
hire herder to protect himself from
unscrupulous men who by the meas
ure's provisions could take advant-
age of him. The cunningfy worded
bill makes the farmer liable for dam
age IL his stock strays on the prop