Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-03-05
Lieutenant Governor HOlcombe's Still
water Organ DenOuneinG the Homo
stead Law!


water Organ Denouneing the Home
stead Law!
Over in Saltwater, they have a paper called
the " Democrat" which is an organ of tn
New Style Democracy, and which is wei
known to have been started with the money
of Lieutenant Governor HoLcoMHr, to advo
cate his claims to be Governor, OF U. s. Sen
ator, or for any other good pickings IN the
higher circles of office and power. 1t Is EN-
phatically Mr.. HoLcoMBE'T organ.
The Register and Receiver OF the U. 5,
Land Office, lust removed away from Stillwa-
ter to the town of Cambridge, in Isanti coun,
ty, have also aided to start the concern, and
one of them, gentleman from the extreme
South with congressional aspirations, devoted
to Southern interests and Southern institu.
tons, helps to do its writing, along with our
Lieutenant Governor. -." -es- ass
The opinions of the paper consequently
possess an importance which the ability with
which they are proclaimed, would not other
wise confer upon them.
AS the reflector, therefore, of the sentiments
of Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Min
nesota, and of officers Democratic admnistra-
ton of the nation its advocacy of, or its opposi-
ton to, any measure, may rghtfuly be set
down as Orthodox Democracy.
With these premises, we would give the
public to understand that this organ Of Lieut..
Gpo. Holcoabe is out, tooth-and-toe- nail,
against The Homestead Bill now before Congress
"a bill which the Republicans there, and the
whole People here, earnestly desire and try
to have made, the law of the land But the
entire South votes against its passage at Wash
ington-the Democrat;cSenate votes to snsOth-
er it under the precedence of other bills.
Democratic Vice President BRECKENRIDGE
votes to kill it-and therefore it is orthodox
Democracy in Minnesota to oppose tho Home
stead BIZ, which gives to Poor Men, to Free
Laborers, 160 acres of the public lands in con-
sideration Of five years occupancy and i'm
provement thereofl
The organ of the Lieutenant Governor thus
argues:
The plan of distributing the property of the Fed
era Government to actual settlers carries with it
the idea of gift an aims.
1t affects to consider the pioneer of our frontiers
almost in the light Of pauper, unable to pay fair
equivalent for the benefit he receives and depend
ing on the government for the lands he cultivates
This is mistaken policy. The desire which is in
herent in every Independent mind, to owe its sue
cess only TO its own exertions is one of the most
valuable attributes of the American people, and
should be fostered, not suppressed.
benefits
paying reasonable equivalent for the same is op-
pressive to any person whose arrival in a new
State or Territory is of any value to the commu-
nifty he proposes to Join.
No man Of any energy and spirit would wish,
much less ask, to receive as gift object which
his own exertions can easily and surely attain.
This feeling of dependency is most successfully
removed by the course pursued by the administra-
ton IN Minnesota.
Again, the Democrat says:
The Homestead bill would throw upon the shout
ders of the Government a burden ofsome ten mil
lions Of dollars annually for which the treasury
would receive no equivalent income whatever.
Nov, we are glad to have the leaders of
the Democracy thus conserving to argue the
question on its merits, instead of compelling
their followers, as usual, into ignorantly sup
porting the measure by a senseless cuckoo
cry of Democracy! Democracy But the
position OF the organ of the Lieutenant Gov
ernor is not new one with Democratic pa
TerS, and leaders, even in Minnesota Three
or four years ago, Jos. r. BRowN, as one of
the editors of the ST Paul Pioneer committed
that press against the Homestead Law, and
used just such arguments in opposition 10 its
passage as Mr.. HoLCoMBE's Stinwoter Deg,,
erat now uses in the above extracts. Tscy
are the stereotyped reasons commonly offer
ed by the spectators, to prevent the many
prospecting, without submitting to be taxed for
the benefit of the .teao.
Doubtless, the Lieutenant Governor and
men of his stamp, who have made thei, mon
ey by filling government offices snd by pur-
chasing land 81 Government at Government
price, holding on till the pressure of settle
ment raised prices, and then selling out to the
actual settlers at big proft-doubtless such
men ought to curl their aristocratic and veal
thy noses high in the air, in scorn at what
they call giving the poor man "alms!" He
is, forsooth, in their view ga paaper," who is
unable to pay the fair equivalent for his
lands These men who are continually Of
fce-begging-who are regular Office "pau-
pers" upon the government receiving in land
offices aI,a IL Lieutenant Governorships, fees
and perQuisites more than an equivalent "
for their services-who avail themselves of
the opportunities Of their positions to pick out
the best lands and the choicest locations, and
enter them at 81 ,96 per acre when they know
their honest equivalent" is at least 81, 90 per
scre-must insolently dub the Actual Settler,
who goes upon his 16e acres and makes that
much Of the wilderness to "blossom as the
rose and who gives government full
equivalent in making blades of grass and corn
to grow where none grew before-such peo-
pie must dub him a "Pauper"-a recipient of
'alnas!" Really, this kind of ofice-holding
insolence passes liberation.
Then, again, no one, according to these
gentry, can have an independent mind"
who does not owe his lands to his town excr-
TONS" They tell US, that no person of sang
ca,ue'-of "any energy or spirit''-to a new
State or Territory, would want to avail him.
self of the Homestead Law! Hear we that,
y men OF limited means, who may be guilty of
thinking that you render back to government
for It's l6o acres more valuable " consdera-
ton in redeeming its wild lands to cultiva-
ton during five years OF time than does the
spectator who pays 81, 25 per acre, and keeps
the lands desert for five Or ten ycars-hear
We this Democratic anathema and slandor nm
on your character and spirit! The men who
stand ready to apply their labor to the cult
vation of the sol-to producing something
are of ",ao Ualue" to a new country-are