Show A VERY DANGEROUS obstruction GUN naso ni june ath I 1 editor deseret wems news in passing fion juab R R I 1 sia sta aoa on olt the high and only road to lecan lelau on tuesday evening evenin jut Jui fc at 8 pm my team suddenly ily lly tangled in two lengths of barbed itne if stretched across the road the horses got kot seriously badly cut upon lupon the neck by t hen ap pp e r wre arc and on od the breast one and had it nt not been ron for fonta forth z tb pro P 10 lection afforded by the harnoss harness collar coli the windpipe and the have haxe been cut and the anim sill sili it was as two sagging bagein barbed gea stretched between two cedar ipos 91 feet apart therb was 0 f no pole ontoh oy OT any I 1 M r of 01 any kind whatever to signify the presence rc enmor of that ecedra execrable ble bie trap far destruction st of horses I 1 drove on the most traveled track on the road from which I 1 judge that the wire must have been put up that v very ery 1 afternoon so if a warning had been put up it would inest most likely have been there arriving at levan with my profusely bleeding and wounded horses I 1 soon found bat that not a few others had bad met with a similar and some with a great deal deai worse fate at the same place I 1 was informed that mr leavitt was the man who was engaged in putting up this kind of so called fence without a warning or a sign to indicate it this is to ask you to be kind enough to insert this and give a public answer to this my question in the NEWS Is it lawful to stop the tha highroad high road by such a cruel invention as above described bed without a notice or warning of its presence of any kind if there is 13 not a law protecting protect inc lne travelers on the high road roads against fe fences cices that hardly can be seen in high daylight if there is no pole or board on top then we are sadly in want wand of cne men so disposed can then overrun the country with two barbed wire fences stretched on poles or posts 90 feet apart spart and cause a great amount of damage for which the then i nobody can be calla called to account very respectfully yours C A MADSEN we publish the foregoing as requested with the exception of some personal reter refer references elices but as there are always two sides to a question we to do not f feel eel at liberty to say much mulch in answer to the queries of our corres correspondent pon until we hear something on the other side if the road described is a public highway of course no one has a right to fence if 1 up or obstruct free travel A highway is defined by law as a road street alley or bridge laid out and erected by the public or if laid out or erected by others dedicated or abandoned to the use of the public roads coads laid gut but and recorded as highways by order ot of the county court and ana all roads used as ar such for a period of liv tive live i c years ears are highways A road ceases to be e a highway when it has not been worked or used for a period of live years obstructing a highway hig highway hwai hwaT Is ia declared by statute to be a pub public ic nuisance and the person guilty of committing it is liable to prosecution for misdemeanor as well as to an action for damages the public have the right to passage kissage on a highway and may remove any unlawful obstruction thereto I 1 we regard barbed wire fences as a barbarous and improper protection to iu In closures when along or near a public street or highway hig liway for division fences and in closures where persons or animals are not likely to be injured they may answer a good purpose but some material as boards or poles ought to be used for a d top rall rail when individuals or animals are liable to come in contact with them as a sign that can be readily distinguished bills have been introduced in the legislature I 1 several times to enforce this regulation by law but they haye all been defeated stock men wanted it farmers as a rule did not A lawful fence is one that bein being four and a half feet high of any kind of maternal mater material tal tai is pronounced lawful by two tiso or more lence fence viewers the aggrieved parties can note these facts anz ant and take measures accordingly i it seems very strange that all ail any y sane person would take the tho course described by our correspondent and there must roust we think be some mistake in the particulars two barbed wires vires strung across a public road with posts POst ninety feet apart and no sign siga or warning of the obstruction is a startling and autt dangerous invasion of public rights and Is almost incredible further explanations are in order |