The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-03-16

!; which are common inthis country. = ]
do not ask that there shall be ar
sagrarian Tdiyision of them, In ms
IEoEn State it 10 no uncommon thing te
ace n tarm u one thousand or two
,tthousand, or even three thousand
acres devoted partly to agriculturt
and partly to grazing; Whether thai
IS beneficial 70 the State Or not Id
not stop to inquire. do not choose
to interfere with 1t, OF desire to inter
fers With il; but, when it comes te
moaopolizing land by the million
acres, then ! say that it is time for
every man to raise his voice agains,
it, LAua mark il, that Of all monopo.
lists = cofpoFstioh is the worst. II
an individual engrossess land. when
death comes and puts its hand upon
him HIS lessessionsr go 70 hjs Feir un-
der thest9tpte of desGepts are disikdt,
ed afNatsett DIP Ind pa. celed out, OF
ftKeS SSi6btheiebJeees3 of Ifs bounty
under tie provisions Of his WILL AMI
4 are usually as muchDdiSided, hcit up,
and paIceled nut. isRut ateorpotation
endowed with -psrpstJityf knows no
death and just asaapg q it sHestft
d too ON its land jnsf4so1e1g may It con.
tinue to OWN it.. There Is no1statute
of partition to divide it; GtbersIis no
statute of descenI I 10 dmefe jteN1D heSe
aud there it inakasJne ei1berjest1s
ment by which acknowledgements
! tered far and nensft and thereforeuf
all monopohsts of fand9th worst iSa
perpetual c9rBoratieps oa5q hsi1Q OF
Dir. President these ara the gener,
al views which I entertain /; an6t have
not the strength, if had the desire,
Ito go into details. Indeed, 7 do not
suppose it to be necessary, The one
great idea with me, and that which
oyerrides ali other considerations, is
that I wish this landsto be preserved
| for the hndless.- My own belief IS
Ethat the best policy the United States
could pursue would be to give island
in suitable quantities to men who
would 90 and occupy How much
Eof suffering Is there In the great cities
everywhere; aIdEright herein the ma
tional capital our ears we're assailed
by the cries for relief two weeks ago,
and yet here 10 q country that has q
home tor every citizen in it, If the
Government would grant it to him on
condition that he should go and occupy
It. You will do better for you coun-
try, Senator'S, you will do more to in
its aggregate wealth, you will
do more to promote the happiness OF
its people, yes, a th~ousaidfold more,
by giving your pubic lands in suit
able quantities to the men who viii
settle and occupy them, than you will
by playing the land-raiser and trying
to wiring the last dollar of exorbitant
price for the lands which you grant TO
them. I'D 7a0HaC
Z And this brings me to observe that
it Is no commentator to me of this
bill or any other of these bills that
they propose to- indemnify the Cow
eminent 6gainst pecuniary loss for
the alternate sections it givea by
doubling the price OF the sections it re- ,,
tains. Doubling the price on whom?
Putting up the price on whom? The
Government extorting a higher price,
for its land from the people Of the
country, from its own people; acting
like a land-shark, and taking advant
age of circumstances to enhance the
price, and demanding more pay from
the poor man who plays up a pittance
his daily labor in order that he
may become the lpossessor ofreal es
tate. 5e5@l
This, Dir. President, has always
seemed 10 me to be a heartless policy.
is no answer to me- therefore, to
say that the Government win lose
nothing in a pecuniary point Of view
giving half these Hands to the rail
Dad, because the railroad will make
he half that is retained by the Gov-
worth more than the whole
vas before. That is no answer at all
I is not asa dealer in land, it, is not
IS a land speculator that I view this J
question. / look upon it as a ques-
whether or not this great and
'ountiful gift that Providence has be-
tewed on this nation, such as 10 ma :
ion in the world ever before had, 1
7hether this opportunity given to this I
'eople shallbe improved for the ben-I
fit ofthe people; of the homeless, {
be destitute, and the suffering, or !
it shall become the great fund {
E speculation, of perpetual CORPORA I
ions, out of which they are to enrichi1
heir stockholders, their favorites, or /
heir friends. 81 Is
Nv