Red Wing sentinel., 1859-08-20
THE FREE HOMESTEAD PROJECT

THE FREE HOMESTEAD PROJECT.
A Republican paper says:
''Keep it before the people that the
Democracy are enemies to the interests
of Minnesota;-That the Free Home.
stead Bill was projected by Republi-
cans, was sustained by Republicans,
and killed by Democrats"
This is untrue. The Democracy
were the first, by many years, to pro-
Zject a bill for the freedom of the public
lands to actual settlers. A bill of this
character reported by Senator john
son, of Tennessee, from the committee
on Public Lands, is now and has for
several years been pending before the
Senate. Senator johnson has fire.
quently essayed to bring it before the
Senate for action, but, his attempts
have been thwarted by the opposition.
1t is true, that when the sessions were
about drawing to q close, Democrats,
too, were opposed to taking up this
bill, but this was because there was not
time to discuss its merits, without leav-
ing undone other business which was
deemed OF greater Importance. Again,
the records Of Congress show that
while the Democracy has always been
endeavoring to place the acquisition Of
the public lands within the power of
poor men-actual settlers-and pre-
vent their absorption by speculators ;
the opposition, no matter under what
name it was organized, has uniformly
opposed that policy. IF any one will
take the trouble to examine, he will
find that the original pre- -emption la rs,
the reduction of the public laads to The
minimum price of 81, IS per-acre, ar5,
indeed, all the other liberal laws cor.
cearning this matter that are now il
force were projected and enacted o'
Democrats, and opposed by Wings,
Liberty y-party men, and Repuhlioans
The Homestead Bill which -j--.
Grow, of Pennsylvania presented e t:=
House of Representatives last 'wilte~,
was the frs, effort of the opposition il
that direction, we believe, and we
know we are asserting a truth when
we say that it was only meant to
make political capital out Of It was
delayed till the session was far gone;
and then presented when th.re was an
immense pressure Of business before
the House? 81 -, 20
The Democracy never seeks to hum
bug the people by telling them what it
would have done, but for the opposlt-
ion, but it points its finger proudly to
the record, saying, look there and be-
hold what We have done already. We
have not only made laws BY which
actual settlers can possess themselves
Of the public lands for 4 merely NOM
inal price, but ours was the policy by
which the public lands were obtained.
To the Democracy is due the credit
for what exists, and under its policy
tits that the country has progressed.
Now, in the face Of these things can
intelligent people be made to believe
chat the principles and practices of
that party are inilnical to their inter-
ests? We think not, and especially
when the opposition have nothing bet
ter to refer to than . mere claptrap ef.
fort ola tricky politician to appropri-
ate to himself the praise due TO his
opponents, and that under oiroum-
stances which render it palpably evil
dent that his attempt was incincere,
and meant only to deceive. Il Hender-
son Ds1z,socrat. .ig s7.lz
J, SrRANGE.--To hear. a person at one