M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-04-19
Homestead BiII--Speech of Hon
A, Johnson,

the speech of Hon. A. johnson, of
Tennessee, delivered in the Senate on
the 2Sth Of May, 1858, on the subject
of the grant of lands to actual settlers:
say, that instead Of wasting the
public lands, instead OF reducing the
receipts into the Treasury, this bill
would increase them. In the first
place, it will enhance the value Of the
reserved quarter sections. This may
be illustrated by m example. In 1s4S
we had nine million quarter sections;
in 1858 we have about seven millions.
Let us suppose that our population is
twenty eight millions, and that under
the operation of this bill one million
heads of families who are now pro.
ducing but very little, and who have
no land to cultivate, and very scanty
means ofsubsistence, shall each have
a quarter section Vi land, what will
the effect be9 At present these per.
sons pay little or nothing for the sup.
port OF the Federal Government, under
the operation Of our tariff system, for
the reason that they have not got
much to buy with. How much does
| the land yield to the Government
while it is lying in state of nature,
uncultivatedl Nothing at all. At
the rate we have been selling The pub.
lie lands, about three million dollars
worth a year, estimating them at ST..
20 an acre, it will take a FRICTION Jess
than seven hundred years to dispose
of the public domain.
| want to take case that will dem.
onstrato as clearly as the simplest sum
in arithmetic thai this IS u revenue
measure. Let us take million lami.
lies who can now hardly procure the
Inecessarics ofliie, and place them each
on quarter section of fland--how long
will it be before their condition will
be improved so aS to make them able
to contribute something to the support
OF the Government Now, here Is
soil producing nothing, here are hands
producing but Little. Transfer the
man from the point where he is pro.
ducing nothing, bring him in contact
with a hundred and SIXTY acres Of pro.
dpctiye soil, and how long will it be
before that man changes is.,conGition2
As soon as he gets upon the land he
commences to make his improvements.
lie clears out his field, and the work
Of production is commenced. In q
short time he has crop, he has stock
Iand other things that result from
bringing his physical labor in contact
with the soil. lie has the products
Of his labor and his soil, and he is en- .
abIed to exchange them for articles OF
Consumption. lie 10 enabled to buy
more than he was before, and thus he
contributes more to the support Of his
Government, while, at the Same time,
he becomes better man, and more
reliable man for all governmental pur.
poses, because be is interested in the
country in which he lives.
To Illustrate the matter further, let
MS take n family Of seven persons in
number who now have no home, nc
abiding place that they can call theil
own, ard transfer them to q tract o.
one hundred and sixty acres Of lapC
which they are to possess and cult
vate. Is there a senator here who
don't believe that, by changing theil
position from the one place to the 9th.
cr, they wonld produce at least dol
lar more than they did dbefore9 | will
beg n at a point scarcely visible-a
single dollar. Is there a man here OF
anywhere else who does not know the
fact 10 be that you increase q mans
ability to buy when nc produces more
by bringing his labor in contact with
the soil. The result Of that contact is
production; he produces something
that he can convert and exchange fol
the necessities Of his family. Sup
pose the increase was only collar a
head for a million of families, each
family consisting Of seven persons
By transferring a million of families
from their present dependent condi.
tioG to the enjoyment and cultivation
of the public domain, supposing il
would only increase their ability tt
buy foreign imports to the extent of 9
dollar each, you would create a de-
mand for seven millions worth Of i'm.
ports. Our rates of duties, under the
tariff act Of 1916, are about thirty pei
cent, and thus, at the almost invisible
beginning of single dollar a head
You in this way increase the pecuniary
and financial means of the Govern
ment to the extent Of so, 100000.
This would be the result, supposipe
that there would only be an addition
Of one dollar per head 10 the ability oI
each family by being taken from q
condition Of poverty aud placed upon
one hundred and sixty acres ofland
This is the result, supposing them tc
havs seven dollars more, with which
to buy articles Of consumption, than
they had when they had no home, nc
coil to cultivate ro stimnlant M in.