The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-09-24
THE LAND QUESTION.

One Of the great questions now be-
fore the American people l., "Who are
the owners of the public domain Of the
United States 2" Does it belong to
the people Of the United States as in
dividuals, each individual being par
tial owner Of the same or does it be
long to the States; or does it belong
to a certain honorable body Of men
known as the Congress Of the United
States? The people Of the United
States have tiattered themselves with
the idea that this il = Democratic
country, and that they are the fortu-
nate possessors Of a Republican govern
ment. constructed on the basis Of polt-
zeal equality, and guided by a written
Constitution, in which the rights Of the
people are so plainly recognized that
no government will dare to invade
them, ku, unless they waken from the
lethargy in which they appear to have
been plunged by the late unfortunate
Rebellion, they will soon find that their
much Wanted freedom is a thing Of
the past.
If this is indeed Democratic coun-
try, in which the sovereign power Is
vested in the people, it j. full time for
us to assert our sovereignty. For the
last forty years our public servants in
Congress have been engaged in dis
GUESSING the question Of State rights,
government rights, and Negro rights,
and they finally involved the nation in
a tratncidal war to maintain their ia
vorite, but erroneous theories. South
ern statesmen were great defenders Of
State Rights,-that is of the rights of
organized communities, but they ig-
nored the rights of the people of the
United States as individuals altogether.
Northern statesmen have been very
firm defenders Of the rights of the Ne
groes, but while they have been en-
gagged in lberating the slaves of the
South they have been binding the
chain Of serfdom on the free whites of
the North. The Congress has been en-
gagged in defran'ling the masses Of the
people by granting DE peoples land to
private railroad thus com
polling the hardy pioneers Of the West
to pay these railroad companies from
IS to SIS per acre for land that they
were entitled to receive, under the laws
Of their country, either As hOmesteads
or at Sl2 % per acre. Hence it will now
cost the settler on the public domain
years Of toll to pay for the land, Of
which as citizens of the United States,
they are the partial owners. Hence it
must be evident T. all men, that these
settlers are virtually reduced to a state
Of slavery, by being compelled to work
for years to pay for property that is al
ready their own. Thus far the people
have submitted patiently, but they are
now becoming restless, and are begin
ming TO ignore As TO the poicer Of Con-
gress b grant the public domain away
as 1t has been doing Two years ago
the writer came out West intending 10
settle on the public domain in Southern
Kansas, but ! found all the Land either
claimed by railroad comp anies, or like
ly 10 fall into their hands. | decided
at once that | would not encounter all
the hardships Of pioneer in order to
let a soulless railroad corporation reap
the benefits Of my labor; but as | could
not believe that the Congress Of the
United States had the right to grant
the land away as they have beer doing.
| resolved to investigate the question
whether really had any Rights as an
American citizen or not, and | shall
now give my readers the result of my
investigations.
The American colonies were settled
under charters granted by the English
sovereigns, based on the assumption
that the English suvereIgns were the
absolute o1cnerS Of such portions Of the
American continent a. any Of their sub
jects should discover or be able TO take
possession Of, subject only to possesso-
~ right Of the Indians. This assump-
ton Of ownership was in accordance
with the absolute principle Of govern
ment which presumes that the sOyer-
eign is the absolute and original pos
SCISSOR OF all political power.
When the Colonies obtained their
independence they were acknowledged
by England to be free and indepen-
dent states, and as such as each state
was, as an organized community, ms
absolute possessor Of political power.