Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-05-20

u of this bill. -.-.l
= Now, a.man possessing all these qualifi
!, cl,lons, is certainly power in himself
: and would be a powerful agent in an,
: position he might occupy; from which
g appears that the proposed immigration
Q office win be in a position either to hestov
!; incalculable blessings upon the common
q wealth, or (being perverted into an insti
tute of corruption) to infict severe inju
! ries upon State and people. The DANCE
s of this latter eventuality is anyhow not to
7 be underrated for these reasons:
. l. In consequence of sections 8, and
6 of this bill the immigration officer
would soon be in possession of all neces-
Sary information about all the land for
sale in the State of Tennessee.
2. According to section 8 of this bill
said officer is ''the competent and suit
able citizen, elected 6y joint ballot OF
the Legislature to I'LL said office, etc.
Now, these two facts combined bestow
upon the immigration officer degree of
trustworthIness, well calculated to induce
immigrants to q surrender at discretion,
affording to said officer thousands of OPP
portunities to abuse confidence and make
money out of ignorance. And such op-
portunities would be, to the immigration
officer, constant temptation to turn
Spectator and sacrifice to his personal
interests those of his State.
It is, furthermore, not at all improbable
that the officer in question viii, now and
then, be approached by professional land
sharks, trying, by means of brides, to
| gain the influence of his official position,
IN order to get poor immigrants to pay
perhaps four times as much for their land
as it would be worth in market.
| Against all such abuses find no check,
no preventive whatever in the Walker
bill. Here, then, is room for an amend
ment
The immigration Officer should, in the
| first place, be required to give security
adequate to his salary and responsibility,
and then he should, under penalty of for
feiting security and office, be expressly
and distinctly forbidden to directly or in
directly speculate IN land for his own ben
eft, or accept from contracting parties
any recompense, remuneration or bride
whatever.
There is another direction in which
this bill is susceptible of improvement.
Many young colony ''is being stran-
gled in its infancy" because the native
landholders get crazy about the price of
their land so soon as a few foreign set
tiers have made their appearance. They
at once raise the cry: ''1'he Dutch, ETC.,
are coming; now is the time to ask a
good price for our land; strike, while the
iron is hot ~ But frequently the iron is
not very hot, just then, or, if it is, it will
quickly cool off; immigration on larger
scale is defeated and the oversmart land
holders will soon find out that they have
killed the hen which was to lay the golden
eggs, even before the poor fowl had got
time to commence operations.
Now, | know very well that it is not
within the province of republican govern
ment to establish a fixed price for any
article in market; prices should be regu-
lated mainly by the mutual relations of |
supply and demand. But in this case,
which affects the welfare of the whole |
State, (sOme of whose bonds are quoted
to-day only at 564,) the Legislature might
easily discover proper ways to encourage
counties or private parties to offer their
vacant lands for the time of O. whole
year at present prices as established
By recent purchases, and thereby pre-
vent immigration and its purposes from
being defeated by premature speculation. /
Such proposition, if made by a number |
of counties or big landhOlders, could not |
fail TO direct immigration towards the
State of Tennessee, and liberality would
find its ample reward.
On the subject of land titles VIC also
need some legislation very badly. Do
away, as far as possible, with doubtful
titles. Silence the general complaint that |
in the State of Tennessee there are often
number of State grants to the same
piece of ground Lessen the troubles of |
the poor immigrant who is trying to find
out the real owner of the land he intends
to buy! At present there is hardly a
State in the Union where land matters are
so doubtful and unsettled as in Tennessee. /
Selfish people, judging others by their |
own standard, tell me that sit is the law
yers" who oppose corrective measures,
from fear that such measures might di-
minish the demand for their services; but |
l am far from believing that the bar of |
Tennessee whose ranks have furnished so |
many statesmen of which this nation is |
justly proud, should have degenerated in |
such degree.
l am bold, however, to mention these |
things, because take lively interest in |
Tennessee immigration. Up to March,
1869, that immigration was not of much |
account, and the Louisville COUrier-JOur-
nal, for instance, expressed itself in a |
tone of derision on the subject by telling |
its readers that ''that old, inevitable i'm /
migrant had reappeared at Nashville, this
time with the firm determination of &C /
tually settling IN the State of Tennessee "
About month afterward 1 set out on my |
travels over this State, wrote letters to my /
paper, the Cincinnati Daily FolkSfreuld, |
describing the climate, soil, products, |
ETC., of Tennessee, which letters were |
copied by most of the German newspa-
pers of the North (and in translation also |
by some English papers of large circula-
tion;) bought them several large tracts of
land for myself; went home to Cincinnati /
and founded successfully three associa-
tons, called Tennessee Homestead AS
sociations of Cincinnati" bought fifty /
thousand acres of land in Tennessee for /
them, and about two months ago brought /
a considerable number of settlers, with |
selection of fine stock, twenty thousand |
grapevines and seeds of all kinds to this |
State in order TO start the new colony. |
Thus, suiting my actions to the contents
of my public letters, have succeeded in
creating favorable feeling for Tennes-
see immigration. From September, 1869, |
up to date, received over two thousand
applications for land in this State, and ! /
may truly say that, since that time, very |
few Germans have come to Tennessee
without previously having consulted me, |
either in person or by letter.
mention these things only to show
that my suggestions above are based on /
practical experience, and therefore might |
be entitled to some weight.
am not actuated by any selfish mo-
tives, have no axe to grind, no personal |
aspirations to crafty. My only aim is to |
secure large immigration and thus pro-
mote the welfare of Tennessee, for love
the State, which is to be my future home.
.- j. B. JEUP,
Leader of the Tennessee Homestead As |
sociations of Cincinnati.
NASHVILLE, May 10. 1870.
THE COUNTY CONVENTION "A /
SUGGESTION.