The Portland daily press., 1871-01-30
The Public Domain.

aid of various public works, had long ago ex-
cited the cupidity of Spectators. 1t is only
quite recently that the frequency Of these
grants. and the eagerness with which they are
sought. have attracted the attention of tax
payers-the rightful owners of the public
lands-to the lavish disposal of the same by
Congress. At the same time there is awak-
ened the suspicion that the objects for which
this aid is asked are not invariably identical
with the public interest. Of late years most
OF these land grants have been made to large
corporations, to aid in building railroads. We
know with what plea these claims have been
urged; that these roads could not be con-
structed, by private enterprise and private
capital, so fast as the growth Of the country
demanded; that they would accelerate that
growth, and thus enhance the value OF the
remaining lands. In the case of few roads,
aid has been asked of the government on the
pretence that these roads were military ne
cessity to the country. Now, we are disposed
to admit, with its proper force, all that is urg.
ed in behalf of these claims upon the bounty
of the government. 1t is every way desirable
territories be occupied by an intelligent, pros
porous and happy people; that their schools
be we'll endowed, and their railroads and
canals meet fully the demands of traffic. But
it is just as desirable that these advantages
be enjoyed by the citizen of our older States
as by the settler on the frontier. In the view
of the general government, their claims are
alike. No part of our country is yet so old
and so wealthy that it has not resources yet
andeveloped, that it has not capacity for sus
tanning largely increased population. Few
communities are so blessed with this worlds
goods that they would not accept with graft
tude the bounty of the government, or have
not public burdens of which they would glad
ly be relieved.
The public lands are the common property
of our people. They belong, as we have re-
| marked above, to the taxpayers of the coun-
try; and, just in proportion to each persons
tax, is his interest in them. If one conceal
his property from the assessors, he, by his
own fraudulent act, folfeits, to the same ex-
tent, his right to the public domain. If he
sell taxable property, and invest in such as is
exempt from taxation, he, by that transaction
relinquishes his title to public lands. 1t is
true that the absolute title to these lands is
not in the hands of citizens individually, but
1t is equally certain that they have rever-
sionaly interest in them sufficient to entitle
them to some control of the same. This con.
troll can be exercised only through the gov.
ernment-the common. trustee of all. Our
Representatives in Congress have heretofore
managed this estate in manner calculated to
crafty o ur national pride. By selling these
lands at merely nominal price, they have env
courased immigration; and, by donating them
lavishIy for public improvements in .the new
States land territories, they have stimulated
and fostered an nordinate growth along the
frontier. The same course of legislation il
continued will continue to produce the same
results. five were a feeble power, at the
mercy Of our neighbors, the plan hitherto
pursued would seem judicious. But we are
that the condition of our people be improved,
than that our population be increased by ac-
sessions from abroad; that our government
legslate for citizens in esse rather than for
those who are only prospectively such. 1t is
well therefore to examine this policy before
the public domain is exhausted, and govern
ment, to bestow its larsesses ard bribes, shall
thrust its hand into the pockets of the people.
Had these schemes for public Improvements
in the West required ready money for their
accomplishment, many of them would never
have come before Congress begging for aid.
Spectators would have understood perfectly
well that the publ: treasury c ,uld sustain no
such draft; that the people would not uncom-
| plainingly submit to the taxation requisite TO
carry out these magnificent projects. The
older States would have felt the burden, and
have inquired more carefully into the merits
of the case. In Its moral effect it would have
been far better policy for the country to have
made its donations cash, and have raised the
money by mortgage or sale of its lands. 1t
would have led to more economic manage
ment of its resources. As it is, the practice Of
donating public lands for almost every pur-
pose for which they are asked, has easily won
its way because the people have failed to rec
ognize the value of the lands, OF their interest
in the same. Were a grant of land sought in
aid Of ship-canal across Cape Cod, it would
be opposed by the West, and thought bold
request by many in the East. And, yet, it
would be perfectly legitimate action on the
part of Congress to make the grant. Since
the people of the new States and territories
have come to regard the public domain as ex-
clusively their own, would it not be well for
Government to changeits policy, sell the pub
lie lands only at such rates as will yield a GER
tain revenue, and apply that revenue to the
| payment of the national debit. let the com.
mon property contribute to the removal of the
common burden, and thus do strict though,
tardy justice by those States which were Or
ganized at the time our public domain was
acquired. I.B.C.
| MAEJNn FuENTEn CCuOorc CoNpJ-r