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Show RUSTLERS HIDE BEHIND FORGING DENVER r.ni A new use of the ae-old cattle branding system sys-tem was discussed here in a meeting of more than 200 ranchers ranch-ers and peace officers assembled to launch a drive against modern motorized cattle rustling. In the series of resolutions adopted at the meeting, one of the most important involved the cre-aion cre-aion of a non-forgetable bill of sale," within which the replica of the brand be incorporated, to be drawn up by the state brand inspection in-spection department. Charges liills Are Forged "Rustlers are forging bills of sale right along," Henry Bledsoe, Colorado Springs, Colo., cattleman who sponsored the resolution, told the assemblage. "Some of the bills of sale used by legitimate stockmen stock-men are worthless as far as providing pro-viding a description of the cattle is concerned. "I saw a bill of sale rcccnly for four head of cattle. It described the animals only as 'two branded and two unbranded cattle.' "We can work out a bill of sale which cannot be forged by adapting adapt-ing our brand system to the bill of sale form and by requiring two witnesses to every document." Urges Close Check The stockmen put additional teeth into their campaign against rustlers by adopting a resolution providing that stockmen sheriffs, state patrolmen and other officers co-operate to check and keep a record of nil livestock being moved through their districts by truck. The practice of dishonest truckers truck-ers loading live beef into their vehicles in pastures during the night has increased materially in the vast ranch areas of Colorado. Wyoming and New Mexico, it was disclosed. Killing and butchering butch-ering of beeves on the range is on the wane, stockmen said, owing to the strict regulations of the Federal government concerining the stamping and delivery of meat Consequently, rustlers have taken advantage of the lack of state vigilance to transport live animals to convenient markets within state borders. |