The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-04-15

y 'u"u>ahu acres 81 lOcaten, WHICH act, ny
way Of legislative irony, was entitled " A
dill amendatory of an act to protect the
rights Of settlers upon the public lands of
the United States" OF the motives and
purposes Of the men who originated and
carried the act Of 1862 I have nothing to
say but The law itself is as vicious and
miscMevou~ as if it had been studiously
planned as conspiracy against the public
welfare No man can defend it; and it \
ought ~ be entitled A bill to encourage
the monopoly of the nations land, to hinder
ihe cause Of productive wealth, and to null |.
tiply the hardships Of our pioneers, under
the false pretense Of aiding the cause Of
general educa ion" Kindred observ Itions
apply to our halfbreed Indian scrip, which
was to be issued to the Sioux Indians in
person, but, by some black ait, is now 10
Gated IA violation Of this requirement. The
whole amour Of this scrip Is nearly three
hundred and twenty-one thousand acres
while scrip covering over seventv-seven
\ thousand acres has been issued to the Chip
pywa Indians.
Our legislation respecting mInUarv noun
\ IN lands belongs TO the same class. More
thau S"vcnty-thrcc million acres in all have
been appropriated for military and naval
purposes, the effect Of which has been far
more ruiuous 70 the prosperity of the coun
try than beneficial to the soldier AMI sea
men. The warrants issued for the lands
granted were TO DO located only by the sol
der. 1t was soon provided, however, that
be ~ Ght locate them by an agent, and II
nay thuy were made ss,ignable. The
COMMISSIONER Of the General Land Office
says that Of the Mexican war bounty land
warrants the record az bis office show that
not one ID five hundred OF those issued and
placed in the hand Of the soldiers or then
heirs has been located BY them, o. for their
usy and be e ima,eS th4it not to exceed
zen y T cent. Of them have been usel b.
pre- gmptors a. assignees IN payment for act
uai settlement, tile remainder have gone ill.,
~ the clutches Of the Spectator. While
JHu soldier N as cheated out vi his warrant,
or sOld ID at a very low rate, the public do
main, which should have been free to him
aud ~ 4 ! other poor meu, has been absOI b.
rd by mOnopolIsts, " 10 nave fixed upon It
such tariffs as the, could exact from those
10 search OF homes Aud yet, IL tie face
of these unfortunate bat very instructive
facts, persistent attempts have been made
10 Congress for years past to re-enact the
same mlsculeNOu> folly. Several bulls are
now pending u tbs House providing boun
~ laud, tor the soldiers OF the late civil
! -, 81 y
, sixty acres for eacu soldier VIII served
twelve months. TIE number OF these, ac-
cUrdlug 10 careful Official estimates uI the
, w ar Department, Is at least two millions
exclusive Of deserers. those " no paid com
? mutation, and those di>honurablS dlschar1-
I 81. Multiplying tuis BY one hundred anu
sixty, We nave The a Create Of ihree hun
! bred anu twenty million acres OF land. Ii
1 Is by tar the most appalling schcne ofspOll-
y atVu Of winch nave any knowledge, CALI
ing for about one-third OF The remaining
D public domain, exclusive OF our Russia an
! possessions. The Warrants issued for th -se
? lands wnen thrown upon he market, would
Z probably sell as low as d quarter Of a dollar
I per acre, or less pItiful mOckery Of the
I soldier, while the presumption and home
stead iaws would be practically nulltied, ana
curses innumerable Iaylshed upon coming
generations. 1t would make the plumber
of the people a national institution, and
breed an army of vampires to prey upon
their hts Slr, need hardly say that the
solder asks loI no sucn legislation but he
does ask that the public lands shaI no long
er be surrendered by SPECTATORS, but set
apart for those only VINO desire them Tor
homes.
Like considerations apply, with almost
, equal force, to another lending measure,
providing that every h0norably discharged
soldier and Seamen who served ninety DAYS
III The late war Tor tue union may select one
hundred and sixty acres Of tue public do
: main, and receive patent the eiOr at the
cad Of hye Years, without settlement. Ii
all Of our soldiers and sailors should apply
for land, as they would have every reason
TO do,slnce they could get it for the asking,
the measure would absorb over three nun
dred and fifty million acres. If one-half
oaly should apply, it would require every
acre Of land which the government coulI
surN oy within the neat Nv ynty-nIne years,
al the rate our surveyors are progressing,
tlus totally blocking up TIE genera MA CD
of civilization and sett cement now in pro
gress and cons gnlng the pubic DOMAIN to
solitude Wllle tue soldier, on receiving his
patent, would be under no obligation to
settle on bis land, and might sell il TO the
shark who would he lying n wait 10 take
adyantage OF bis poverty o driving bar
gam Tue bounty which The soldier needs
and deserves should be paid IN money, and
bu graded IN amount according 10 h. term
OF service or 4 land Is 10 lie gwen BIN,
let hIu have 1t under the homestead law,
with tie discrimination 10 ui~ favor, that
IVY term If service, whether lon- Or suor
shall he counted AZ a part OF the hve
ygais' settlement row prescribed 10y law
But | am very sorry 10 say, Mr. Speak
cr, mat the Federal judiciary las at last
made common cause with Congress again,
the rights Of our pioneer settlers. The
case to which | now refer arouse between
/ Whitney, pre-emptor Of quarter section
OF land included IN he famous Spanish
grant known as the cuscol Ranch, ID Cal |
# ruia, ana which the Supreme Court O.
\ the United States bad declared invalid. and
\ General trisble, a noted monOpolst who !
claimed ute to portion Of said ranch in
\ ciodue y l.tuey's c aim, under an act of
Congress passed chiefly through bis agency !
I The local land office Il California decided |
tue case ii favor Of Fr.sblc but, 90 appeal
to the General Land Office, Whitney, pre-
emptiou was susl aimed Frisbie then pre- |
vailed on the Secretary Of the Interior to
ask the opinion IF the Attorney General on
the question Of law involved, which was The .
rtutt If n,a auption Tia f,.t. b,,,,. IA I.