The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-06-25
The Policy Of Railroad Land Grants

ICONCLUDED.l

But, Il is asked, shall we leave
the Union Pacific Railroad a monopoly Of
the trans continental travel and traffic 2?
It is a poor compliment to the good sense
of the American people that such an argu
ment should have been advanced in the
United States Senate. Its utter made.
quacy pains the logical sense even as 4
discOrd in music jars upon a sensitive and
cultivated car. 1t is setting a mOle-hiIl
against a mountain, to put the possible
temporary Inconvenience of a few meI-
chants and travellers against the squandeE-
ing of the future homes of millions of citi-
zens. Would a man stop to 1rive a pig
cut Of his orchard when his house had
taken fire, and the timely application of a
few buckets Of water might save it ? Be
sides, who can fail to see that every ton
Of freight delayed on the Union Pacific
through an excess Of business, will be equal
to a bounty Of 1000 acres of land as an
inducement 10 capitalists to construct a
rival road Let us, then, save the homes
Of our people, and wait until commerce
shall offer her own bounty for the con-
struction Of railroads, which she will quick
ly do, whenever she needs them badly
enough to make it worth her while Or,
if we give a bounty, let us give it in the
form of specified amount of money, to be
paid out Of the proceeds Of the public
lands as sold by the Government to actual
settlers, and to actual settlers only. TIE
land grant is, Of all subsidies, the most dc
moralizing, and is chosen as the easiest
form in which to take property from tie
people without their suspccting the real
value Of what they are giving away.
But railroad grants, although by far tie
most formidable, are not the only form in
which the public lands are squanderetl.
There are, | know not how many devices
TO get large tracts Of land into single hanAs
its purchase under bogus presumption
titles, the sale of Indian lands, and, in
close prospect, the subsidizing Of ocegr
steamship, ocean telegraph, and irrigation
companies-all these combining to the "a,
result of dividing up and partitioning of
70 corporations and individuals all the bes
lands in our new Territories almost by 81,
time they have population large enough
to secure admission to the Union, and leav
ing the millions who are to come after then
to make such terms as they can with tbci,
fortunate predecessors.
In contemplating this result, we must re-
member that vast as is the pecuniary value
Of the wild lands VIC are now parting with
90 lightly, they have social and political
value, which is infinitely greater 1t may
ALMOST be said that we owe our republiean
system Of Government itself to the Ameri-
can wilderness. 1t was this which afforded
a refuge from persecution to the English
Puritan and the French Huguenot, and
gave them civil and religious freedom. II
was this which afforded shelter for the germ
Of liberty and permitted it develope iatC
a strong and hardy tree, capable Of resist
ing the force of the fercest tempest |
was this which nutured that sturdy spiri
Of independence which found expression il
the great Declaration Of I776 and sup
piled the infant republic with enouGl
stout arms to make that declaration geod
For what was this spirit which animatet
the cOlonists as one man, but the natura
and necessary outgrowth Of that practica
personal independence Of which every rnai
was in the habtual enjoyment And 4
what did each man owe this real and J+ac
teal independence, but to the free scoop
which the wilderness gave him to earn
Livelihood without by your leave" /,
any one lie had but to fence in a pcr
ton Of Gods earth, build him a cabir
upon it, cultivate it, and be practically anC
really free. SO also has it 1een during .ou
past history as a nation. IT is the alum
dance Of our wild lands, not less than .ou
free institutions, which has attracted iami
grafton to our shores, which has afforded
cheap homes for the people, which has pro
NOTED our unparalleled material growth
and, above all, which has kept alive tha
spirit of manly independence, which is Ia
best assurance of true freedom. An,
where is it that we find this spirit failing
Where is it that we chiefly find dependence
Hnd servility, but among the landIcss poo
Of our great cities farthest away from GU
public domain On the frontier if We cal
now be said to have one, even poverty
comparatively independent. Our wild lands
then, have value that cannot be expresse,
in dollars and cents. Reserved as home
for the masses, they are a guarantee 70
physical comfort, intelligence, selEresnect
and true mani y and womanly character il
millions OF our people, and through thos,
things they are a guarantee for the por
mancnce Of our republican institutions
On the other hand, if turned over to thu
ownership Of vast monopolics, they will con
stitutc the greatest danger to our freedom
as a nation Whenever they are bropg
under cultivation, they must be cultivated
IN small portions by individuals but
whether those individuals shall be free
yconanry, owning the land they cultivate; q
dependent tcnantry, paying tithes of all ihey
produce; or agricultural laborers, working
Tor such wages as they can obtain, DEPEND,
upon the course We now pursue. Every
time the land, now recklcssly given away
Or sold for mere song, in l.rge tracts
is SUBJ divided, the parts will be sold 1t i
higher price
Every decade will make ownership more
difficult, and increase the relative number
Of tenants and Of day laborers.
Every decade will thus make the masses
q our people more and more dependent on
the few, and promote the growth Of power
ty, ignorance, and servility.
Now, in view Of such momentous results
depending upon the manner in which we
use this public land what do the pitiful
sums its sale yields to the National Treas
ury amount to ? And of what compare
tive account are the benefits arising
rom the construction of any number Of
railroads few years earlier than thew
would wI be constructed by private enterprise {?
hesc lands are an immense power into
Whatever hands they fall-for onnros1.;;o,