| Show OFF WITH THE FENCES The President has issued a proclamation proclama-tion ordering all fences upon the public land to he taken off and requires that all United States officers whose duty it is to see that the requirements of the act of February 25 885 are enforced at once This is a most proper thing to do and one that has been too long neglected In Utah there has been comparatively little unlawful fencing done but still enough to annoy people traveling through some of the canyons and into the mountains But in Texas and somewhat in Kansas the fencing in of public land has been carried to such aii extent that travel in large districts was practically stopped for the wire fences stretched for miles and miles across the open country and it was a dangerous operation op-eration to undertake to cut the fences The law was to a certain extent in favor of the fencemen They were clearly trespassing upon the public domain and impeding travel but as they were upon the public domain and the Government did not see fit to complain of the trespass private individuals had no legal cause of complaint and if tfiey ventured into court they had no standing and were ruled out on demurrer The fencemen took advantage of the legal maxim I that where a trespass is committed and the owner of the property trespassed upon up-on does not complain no one else has a cause of complaint on account of the trespass tres-pass Technically they were working no injury to any one except the Government but actually they were working great injury in-jury to hundreds of thousands of people It was time that something was done that honest settlers might be enabled togo to-go upon the public land and make homes for themselves and occupy the land as it has always been the intention of the Government that it should be occupied Or as the President says U public policy demands that the public domain do-main shall be reserved for the occupancy of the actual settlers in good faith and that our people who seek homes upon such domain shall in no wise be prevented by any wrongful interference interfer-ence from the safe and free entry thereon to which they may he entitled Such should be the true policy of the Government Govern-ment without reference to the party that may be in power The President is showing show-ing himself a most thorough going administrator ad-ministrator of all laws and that is what the country needs and expects This proclamation concerning public lands is a fitting sequal to the Presidents order for the removal of cattle from the Indian Territory and shows that the President has far more respect for the law than for the monetary interest of wealthy and influential in-fluential men or great corporations whose wealth equals that of many nations The people of Utah would do well to heed the Presidents determination to enforce the laws although business interests suffer and values of all kinds are unsettled and property is put in jeopardy Let them remember that in all governments the law is supreme and that its honest rigid and impartial enforcement is the sole guaranty that liberty will be preserved |
