Show THE GREAT CATTLE MOVEMENT Ruf us Hatch Says the Texas Cattle Which HaveBeen Stopped Willie > Will-ie Front Starvation The New York Times says There is a j strip of neutral domain in the Southwest I which resembles the District of Columbia i inasmuch as it belongs to no State or I Territory I is thirtyfive miles long and 11G9 I wide from east to west On the south II is Texas on the west the Indian Territory t Terri-tory on the east Colorado and on the I north Kansas Its neutrality is due to i the fact that it has never been surveyed and is consequently unsalable at present I j by the government For years it has been the gateway of Texas cattle into the I North There is a squatter sovereignty j in the minds of Southern people which dictates that the first comers on government govern-ment land have the right to hold such tracts as they may claim until it is surveyed sur-veyed when they can have the first chance of purchase So it happened that cattlecompany squatters took a step in advance and went on and fenced in their claims on this neutral strip without a I vestige of legal right Drovers of passing i herds and government agents have torn I them down from time to time and within with-in three days as stated dispatches the Secretary of the Interior has directed his representative to keep a passage open here for cattle droves Mr Rufus Hatch has been charged with being a prime I mover in fencing this strip and yesterday he took occasion to protest his innocence in the matter and give a concise statement state-ment of the great cattle war between Texas and all the rest of the country which lie says is but in its inception Lt me tell you about the cattle disease II dis-ease said he then the public will understand the whole question The cattle fever originates in this way The Texas and warmclimate cattle are infected in-fected with a minute tick which propagates propa-gates rapidly and drops off in the grass The tick does not destroy the cattle but others of Northern birth grazing on the same ground swallow it and it produces an affection of the liver The disease is not contagious but results from cattle swallowing the tick with drink or food This has been demonstrated by Samuel W Allerton of Chicago who placed a diseased Steer near a healthy one but fed them separately on wholesome food no contagion resulting When the frost comes the disease passes away and cattle I may be driven with safety so far as it is concerned Below the frost line where the ticks are indigenous however the disease is permanent When Texas cattle spend a year in the North they become free and safe to herd with others But ninetenths of the Texas cattle II are used for canning The other tenth is sent North fed a year until the disease passes away and Ihen become the splendid I splen-did beeves we read about Formerly Texas cattle were driven North slowly I feeding on the way and by the time they I arrived here had become acclimated and I fat Now the intermediate country has all been taken up and such dangerous immigrants are prohibited by strict laws of all intermediate States I this were not so Texas cattle passing North would spread the disease among all herds on the route and these to other herds The intermediate herds are fattening for market and the Texans have more or less destroyed them by spreading disease in this way The Texans say that the opposition op-position to their cattle is made to prevent their competing in the market and they also know that their method of competition competi-tion means the destruction of their rivals I and vast losses of money At one fell swoop I lost over 500 head of cattle in I this way valued at 15000 I war What will be the outcome of this I warThe herds that were stopped down there will die there because they cant get food It will be the same with every herd they attempt to drive north hereafter here-after I tell you the whole cattlepro ducing country is up in arms against Texas The Secretary of the Interior may pass them through the neutral territory ter-ritory but when they arrive on the borders bor-ders of Kansas or any adjoining State they will be stopped because those States over which the Secretary has no control are quarantined against them They cant pass through the leased lands of the Indian or other Territories tories because the courts hold the leases valid and the lessees have the right to prohibit them I Texas wants to rght bring her cattle north she must take the cars i even the states will permit passage cr by rail The Texans are using the fence as a mere pretext They argue that if they make war against the fences the owners will be compelled to compromise and make a passage for them to save their fences They could never get the trail they demand however even if their cattle intermediate were not diseased The land is all taken up now and the owners I i will never surrender it for such purposes I I i But are there no public highways I I None that is in Texas Kansas the I j territories and part of the adjoining 1 I states The very few national highways J I i arc in the states already quarantined I against Texas While I am about it let me say something on the of Texas i They have played a bold game down there and must lose They are very anx 1 1 ious to have people invest and buy out i i their herds alleged rights The moment j people bought they repudiated their t rights a some neighboring states have i their bonds These rights consisted in the I I purchase of lands adjoining water and I then claiming all the adjoining country dependent on the streams After you buy I thejf say there are no rights except such i as are acquired by an honorable under i I standing among cattlemen The reaction I i I has come and no one will buy of them now I never expect to receive one dollar I back that I have put into Texas No foreigners will ever put another dollar Americans will invest j there andcertainlyAmeriCahls wi I no more after one taste |