St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-03-03
Davis. of Iowa. Certainly.

whether certain bills dld not pass
Congress some two years ago, grant
ing to railroad companies in Iowa.
for railroads passing through Iowa, a
very large amount of land? / have
heard it stated, though probably that
is an cxaggeration, that if those
grants were all placed together, they
would extend in width some sixty
miles all through that State. And ]
would ask the gentleman further,
whether the land Offices, or nearly all,
were not closed up? l do not know
the facts, but | desire to know what
they are?
Mr.. Davis, of Iowa. | will cndeav'
or to answer the gentleman, although
| have not particular data before inc
to enable me to speak accurately. Ii
is perfectly apparent that by the en-.
try of lands and settlement upon them
the adjoining lands are enhanced in
value. One of the earliest land grants,
| believe the earliest, was for the ILL
nois Central railroad.
Mr.. Vallandigham. Will the gentle
man state how many million acres
have been donated to railroad compa'
MES in Iowa?
;. Mr.. Davis, of Iowa. believe that
: some three or four million acres OF
land were granted to four railroad
r lines running across the State, from
: the Mississippi to the Missouri. un'
derstand that there is also an appllca'
ton before the Committee on Public
) Lands, and that committee are ready
: to report a bill granting a right of
prc-cmption to another railroad to run
across the northern end of the State
of Iowa, from the Mississippi to the
Missouri.
Mr.. ValIandigham. Has, or has not,
the Legislature of Iowa memorializcd
for the grant of land to these railroads :!
Mr.. Davis, of Iowa. Yes sir, it has.
The State of Iowa originally asked for
lands for the construction of four rail-
roads.
Mr.. Phelps, Of Minnesota. In order
to avoid any misconstruction that
might be put on the question Of the
gentleman from Ohio, | ask whether
the Government does not receive $3.50
an acre for the alternate sections of
land not granted to the roads?
Mr.. Davis, of Iowa. l understand
that is usually so. The alternate sec
tons of public land are doubled in
price and the land which had lain
perfectly idle, as in the case of the
illinois railroad, and had not been
taken up at twelve and a half cents
an acre, has become salable at that
advanced price.
Mr.. Vallandigham. l desire to ask
the gentleman from Minnesota whcth,
err that did not raise the price far
above that which has been fixed by
Government to actual settlers?
Mr.. Davis, Of Iowa. That did raise
the price. ! may mention here that
the people who have settled i'll the re,
gion of country through which the
northern Iowa railroad is to run, threat
en- to desert their settlements unless
they have a fair prospect of getting
j the railroad. The country, for some
+ seventy or eighty miles along the linz
? of the proposed road, is settled. 1t is
5 mainly destitute of timber. There il
= not a suflicicncy of timber for the or
: binary purposes Of improving farms
a; erecting buildings, making fences, &c
| There is some little timber interspcrs
) ed here and there, but not enough t.
) meet the demands of the country. /
is finely watcrcd. There is needed ;
railroad to transport timber from tho
Mississippi.
Mr. Maynard. | would like to ask
the gentleman whether, as a matter
of fact, the great body of the actual
settlers Of that region of country are
not men Of limited means, and poorly
able to develop the u of the
country!
Mr.. Davis, of Iowa. The settlers OF
all new countries are generally mer
of small means. Now and then &
man Of moderately good means goes
r in and settles on the public lands.
Mr.. Maynard. | ask the gentleman
whether it is not desirable, as a mat,
ter of public policy, and would not be
promotive of the growth and prospcri-
ty of a country, that men who are not
actual settlers should become owners
of land, and hence interested in the
developcment of the country?
Mr.. Davis, Of Iowa. The persons
who purchase land for speculation
seldom look to its improvement. They
suppose that the land must rise in
value, and they wait to avail them
selves of the rise. They are not the
{ men to SO into a country and improve
it. When men come into a region Of
country to settle, and the land all
taken up by spectators, the intend
ing settlers, knowing that there is
plenty Of public land elsewhere, move
on from that locality, and thus the pro-
gress of that portion of the country is
retarded.
Mr.. Phelps, of Minnesota. Docs not
the entry of those lands by non-resi-
dents prevent the occupation and cul-
tivation of the country, and operate to
drive away settlement?
Mr.. Davis, of Iowa. l have stated
that that was the effect of having
lands entered by non-residcnts. The
man who comes to settle there with
his family, finds all the eligible lands
taken up. If there be a grove of tim
Der in the neighborhood, the specula-
tor secures it, and this prevents the
settlement of the lands in the vicinity.
Mr.. Maynard. | desire to ask the
gentleman from Iowa another ques-
ton for information. | ask him wheth-
er the first settlers are the persons
who usually form the permanent pop
u~lation, or whether, when they cstab-
lish what they call occupant claims
and improve them more or less. they
do not sell ont to permanent settlers
and go on and make other occupant
claims?
Mr.. Davis, of Iowa. ! will explain
that matter. Sometimes "a young man
comes from New England with a
couple OF hundred dollars in his peck
! lf . -