Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-07-10


but little account"
Land is the principal subject Of ownership Its value
exceeds that Of all the other property of the country
Any thing therefore, occurring change its conventional
value its price, very seriously affect the general
business and prosperity The Is the case, though
in less degree with other principal subjects of value
and exchange 1t is therefore, the interest of the
munity keep the prices of such things uniform. The
important and valuable the subject, and the
generally and largely enters into and constitutes part
of the wealth Of the people, the certain win be the
conyulson and ruin that must follow depression in its
price sudden reduction, for instance in the prices Of
the staple articles Of agricultural production cot
wheat Of manufacturing productions, iron cl0ths
cannot take place without depressing and ipjurng the
general business Of the country which itdoesby rinne
or greatly inlwing The elaseof psrsone ip 80
ros ps.gs - "a more 49, ssx b.
tensivS Ehs q ~ ths grsaser ana Asrs general
will b. the ruin md defahgemcut that will follow Now,
suppose the Government had always had hand an in
exanstble store of wheat cotton ron clothsdoube
the amount held by all her citizenswhich she had been
the habit of selling at uniform and reasonable prices
and suppose she should by sudden change OF policy,
bring of those articles into market either at very
low price free of charge any one doubt that the
effect Of such would be runous upon the coun
try? If wheat were offered, without money and without
price, to all who needed and desired it. how much would
wheat -four or indeed the land which produces wheat
be worth? | need not answer. The wheat would be
worth what the merchant would get for his goods selling
them in the neghborhood Of mammoth store where they
could be had for nothing 1t would be worth nothng
for who would buy when the article could be had without
price So of the other articles named well as the MAJ
era and the labor which produced them and of the
land upon which they grow to extent The same is
the case only in higher degree with real estate 1t un-
derlies and is the foundation of all valuables While it
exceeds all others in value, and in the generality OF its
ownership and use it, for that very reason exceeds them
all in the power and influence of its established prices to
control those Of oil other species of property and to affect
the business Of the country How can sell my uniIa-
proved farmor $l2o per acre. ormy improved farm for
more than the value of its improvements while it is
rounded by land of the quality, which is offered
without price, in quantities to supply all demands for
tua useg 1t is impossible.
The Government is great land proprietor She is a
mammoth dealer in lands She sells more lands than all
Others No citizen can compete with her. When she
raises the price of her lands the price of all wild lands
rise with them. And so when she puts them down OF
such lands and indeed Of all lands considered
land apart from improvements she has the absolute
troll Of the prices To take away all value from the Gov
ernment lands is therefore, necessarily take away all
value from private unimproved lands and reduce all
other lands at least 81 25 per In the old States
where land is from $50 to 400 per acre. the effect win
be hardly percepble The blow will fall heaviest upon
the Western States, is cheap and mostly unm
proved In Ohio have millions of acres,
averaging, exclusive of city and town lots about eight
dollars per acre. Most Of this consists Of lands averaging
only from two to four dollars per One dollar and
twenty-five cents per lands would be thirty
i've millions of dollars. say, sir, that the farmers of
Ohio will be made TO that amount poorer by the passage
q this bill but u worst fssture q is that the loss
those who have but improve and open up
their lands In Indiana Illinois, Missouri, and the newer
States and Territories the blow win fall with still greater
severity and upon such still less able to bearit
should not be surprised if real in Ohio deprecated
100000 within year after the passage Of this
bill The whole West in my opinion, will be injured by
little less than it would be if you should tax
upon our lands Of $500, ,000, 900.
n
made up of poor farmers whose means all, and
often than oil, invested in cheap and unimproved
lands. know Of no class Of "poor men, sir, who de-
serve more sympathy" or who much more numer-
GUS Their land is all they call their Take
that from the destroy its market value and they
bankrupt. warn Western members TO study well the
effect of this upon the West Why, TIE wealth
Of the West consists in the value Of its lands All
other property would but little than redeem our
lands from the mortgages and liens upon them 1t Is to
our lands alone that we look and always have looked
means Of raising the necessary capital and credit TO
able to carry forward the business Of the country Such
is always the case in State Take away our lands
and insovcnt Take away the price OF our real
estate and in point of wealth. OF monetary and
cia power there will be West" twill all be East
warn Western members TO look to the effect Of this
upon their constituents We in the West sir bought
our lands. They we're not given to us. We paid you
many hundred millions Of dollars for them in money which
Injured to the benefit Of all Beside our joint interest in
the remaining public lands, have the right implied in
destroy the price and value of what we bought you
deprive Of the one beg Of you do also destroy
the value of the other.
Mr. Speaker who are those upon whom the injustice of
this measure viii fall with greatest severity They
the peneer settlers the recent purchasers from you the
Of cheap FARMS and Of cheaper dwellings erected
thereon. Your public lands are studded all over and
skrted all around with the corneds and cabins Of SUCH
You have their money in your pocket You told them the
land was cheap at the price they paid and would prove
profitable investment They trusted your word and paid
you the demanded How many of such are there
only knows They scattered all over the wide West
Within have sold them
ofand in thelast three acres and in the last ve
years Most Of this is yet unmproved
What have you done with the 500 00 % which you
received from them for this land viii you pay tback to
hem Win You expend for the benefit Of the land
they purchaser win you expend II to improve their rivers
snd barbors TO build them railroads No. you do what
s worse to them than to throw the money into the
you pocket at the rate Of eight dollars day pay you
or passing homestead" humbugs to cheat them out Of
heir rights in lands already sod In order make pol
,a capital for Presidential candidates thank God that
most OF these men voters tell you Mr. Speaker,
hey are not class Of men to be despsed entirely
ooked either for numbers for influence For the last
iy years the principal horoughfares to the West have
been lined with them They have in that time increased
he population Of the Northwest Territory alone from
600 to 000 and cleared up 90 000 900 acres Of
and They are the same who raised upon this land
n 1850, 900 900 bushels Of wheat and l770O0 900
bushels Of corn. Such not TO be despsed The
most OF them poor but they will, in the end work
throueh pay for their lands and be
you viii only let them alone. They in your power
on can bankrupt them while you nure the entire coun
y oy such legislation this II sfor you say whether
snail De done; but IL is for them to say whether you
mall oe called 10 account for 1t.
Look at of these pioneers whom You ore about 10
ieraud BY the passage Of this bill lie is in the midst
me public ands settled upon forty or an eighty acre