The Hawk-eye and Iowa patriot. (Burlington, Iowa) 1839-1843, 1840-05-07
-. From the St Louis New Era.
GEN. H HARRISON AND THE PUB
Tic LANDS.

Is *
80, No single act of Gen. Harrison's life
has been attended with consequences so
& vida spread and beneficial as that in rela-
ton ion 10 the Public Land. It is right that
y. u all who till the earth should know what
81 that act was. They should look into
mans history if they want to find out
whether he is likely to be their friend.
/. is homely. phrase but true, that ac-
-7aions speak louder than words; and it is
the glory of Gen. Harrison's life, that his
actions are his best witnesses. In 1893,
at the early age Of twenty.six years, Har-
rison was, sent as a delegate to Congress
from the Northwestern territory. In
those days, that a man lived in log ca
bin was no reason why he should not be
entrusted with official responsibility =
in this enlightened day, the self styled
dsa,ocracu turn up their noses at the Old
Z Generals claims TO the Presidency, be-
cause they say he lives in a log cabin
and worse sill, because he drinks hard
cider!!9 !, ,.. SEQ. ..s.9,.., $3.50,
Well, we won't quarrel with them
about democracy, but we venture to guess
that ours, that ,glories in the old mans
log cabin and hard cider, is about as good
s3as theirs who find such homely things of
: fensive to them. But to return!
,Harrison's first effort after taking his
seat in Congress, was to effect change
aoin the mode of selling the Public Lands.
{ Before that time they had never been sold
III less quantities than four thousand
!, acres. +, This system was. excellent for
the rich Spectator; but how different for
the poor man, let those decide who are
glad now to, get a forty or eighty acre
tract, 1t was a system admirably calcu.
lated to put an eifectual stop to emigra-
ton, and TO create, all over the west, a
landed aristocracy, who would either sell
out their land at an increased price, or
lease it on terms highly Instantaneous
10 The emig.ant. Such a system could
not but have been repugnant to Harrison's
feelings, and he set himself instantly to
work to destroy it. He succeeded: and
though he did not get all he asked, he
threw wide open the doors Of the great
West for the ingress of the millions who
= now swarm on its surface. For this act
q alone he deserves our constant gratitude.
But hear what he said to his constitu-
ents in a circular letter, which he address
=. ed to them on the 18th May, 1900:
.aS5 " amongst the variety of objects which
engaged my attention, as peculiarly in
y teresting to our territory, none appeared
& to me of SO much importance as the adop-
ton of a system for the sale of the pub
i. lie lands, which would give more favora-
q. blesterms to that class Of purchasers who
are likely to become actual settlers, than
was offered by the existing laws upon
that subject; conformably to this idea,
procured the passage Of a resolution at an
early period for the appointment Of a
committee to take the matter into consid.
Grafton. And shortly after / reported a
bill containing terms for tile purchaser, as
favorable as could have been expected
This bill. was adopted by the house OF
representatives without any material al
5 iteration but, in the senate amendments
were introduced, obliging the purchaser
to pay interest on that part of the money
for which credit was given from the date
of purchase. and directing that one-half
the land Gnstead of the whole, as was pro-
vided by the bill from the house of repre-
;sentatves,) should be sold in half sections
Of three hundred and twenty acres. and
,t.5s the other half in whole sections of six
hundred and forty acres. All my exer-
tons, aided by some Of the ablest men,
* sbers Of the lower house, at a conference
for that purpose, were not sufficient to i'll
duce the senate to recede from their
e amendments but, upon the whole, there
/. is cause for congratulation to my fellow.
& citizens, that terms as favorable as the bill
a still contains, have been procured. This
50 law promises to be the foundation of great
increase of population and wealth to our
country for although the minimum
price of the land is still fixed at two dol
lars per acre, the time for making pay
ments has been so extended as to put it
In the power of every industrious man to
comply with them, it being only necessa-
,-.ry to pay one. fourth part Of the money in
Ss', hand, and the balance at the end of two,
Is three and four years; besides this, the
b.4 various. circumstances Of forfeiture, which
~ ", was made the penalty Of falling in the
! payments under the old law, is entirely
abolished, and the purchaser is allowed
8 one year after the last payment is due to
! collect the money; if the land is not then
81 paid ior 1t IS sold, and, after the public
81 have been reimbursed, the balance of the
ssi money is returned to the purchaser
4 In COZ contemplating the present condition
OF the states and territories northwest d
the Ohio, too much praise cannot be
awarded to.the author Of this law. Hac
the system OF selling the public lands, il
large tracts, been continued, it is certain
that the population and wealth of this i'm
mense region would not have been hall
what they now are. The poor but stur
dy and independent farmers, whose axe
has felled the forest, and whose plough
has upturned the soil, would have beer
precluded from becoming freeholders ii
this immense region, which, by the swea
n Lsx~ - Il A.