Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-05-19
almium and Smerifam.
RUY LAND I

We would counsel no man 20 run in debt,
and no poor man 10 invest his little all
where il will not contribute 10 his sustenance
or be available in case Of need yet We can
not help urging every landless man TO be-
come owner of some spot Of earth so soon as
may be. Land is still amazingly cheap in
most parts Of our country, and is not des-
tined TO remain co. immigration is very
heavy; we are all sick Of war; and our pop
ulation increases at a rate which will double
il every twenty years. The common notion
that We have still an enormous area Of ara
BILE soil unappropriated Is a mistake. West
of Kansas and Nebraska-that is 300 miles
Of the Mi-souri-there is little good land.
The central table lands Of our continent lie
so high as to be cold and frosty, andNin sum-
mer are parched by persistent pitiless
drouth. Even were not the lack Of timber a
serious obstacle to settlement, not one acre
in fifty could lie rendered productive without
irrigation and anesian wells; and these are
very costly. Considering that the four mil
lions of blacks have as yet scarcely an acre,
il is not probable that fifteen millions of our
countrymen are owners Of land, or the wives
and children Of those who are. Yet these
own more than half the whole soil Of the
United States.
Twenty years hence we trust the land
holders with their families will be forty-iive
millions. Who does not realize that land
must then be dearer than il now is? And
the enormous production Of the precious
metals which those years are morally certain
10 witness-not less than two billions of dol
lars in this country alone--must also tend TO
enhance the price of land.
T., l.. rv-pu 1apd-pn usatfpr IL buf a
patch-need nevermore cringe for employ
ment-he can always find work for himself
lie need not strike" but if ne does, he
need not stand idle since he can always find
work on his land If every youth at twenty
one had a bit Of land assigned him, the pro-
portion Of paupers and swindlers among our
population would rapidly, largely diminish.
Morals, independence, industry, thrift, would
all be promoted by a general diffusion of
ownership in land.
We cannot all live out Of cities Though it
were better for all that many more did so)
but even the young merchant, lawyer, doc
tor. mechanic or clerk, who feels constrained
to live on a paved street, might advantage
ously own a bit Of land, though miles away.
Travel is rapid and cheap; a day in the
country is health and happiness; and we
nearly all hope TO live in the country by
and-bye.
With an acre or more Of good land well
fenced, the habitual plodder over pavements
may plant in youth or early prime the trees
that are 10 solace his old age; may have his
plants, shrubs, vines and fruits growing,
though unable as yet TO build house-may
have an occasional fOretaste of the calm joys
of living his own master in his own home.
No one can realize all the blessedness which
centers in home until he has a spot that is
truly his own.
Thousands live and die tenants and hire
lings who might far better employ and house
themselves. The city hireling makes more
money than his country cousin; but strikes
and panics, sickness and frolics, with the ne
cessity Of giving half he earns for shelter,
generally keep him poor; and an increasing
family soon drives him TO close calcu-
lations and shabby shifts TO keep afoat.
Happy for him and his, for those he takes
with him and those he leaves behind, the
day that sees him settled in his own cottage
the owner and occupant Of a genuine
home