The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-03-31

How the Public Lands Go-Who has got them
and what II Left.


From the Cincinnati Times
Yesterday we inconsiderately put the
quantity of lands disposed of by the
Government in the States ut 100000
900 acres, while the quantity in farms
owned by the cultivators was less than
200,000.000 acres. The figures as to
farms are correct. A. to the quantity
owned by individuals not farmers we
find, from the Agricultural Reports, that
up to June, 1865, 40S, 1881 acres,
exclusive of railway grrnts, had been
disposed of by the General Government.
Though this includes swamp swindles
and school lands, yet it is fair to pre-
sumo that nearly all has passed into
private ownership. The amount dis
posed of up to this time and now owned
by individuals in the public land States
is ut least 450,000,OOO acres. To this
must be added the area of the old
States, all of which, except the worth
less lands, is owned by individuals. The
old States, including Tennessee and
Kentucky, contain 2S5,000,000 in whole
numbers, of which at least 250,OOO,OOO
are profitable either for agriculture,
mining or timber. This. added to the
quantity disposed Of III the younger
States and Territories, gives 700,000,000
of acres. TO this must be added what
has been disposed of by Texas, as her
land was not coded to the United States,
and the land Office takes no notice OIL
public domain.
1t is probable that 20,000,000 of acres
have been disposed of in Texas, which
should be added to the above aggregate,
giving 720,000,O00 acres Of land in the
United States owned by individuals.
Our working classes own only 100000
900 Of acres. Deducting this from 30
100000 we have 510,000,000 acres in the
hands of spectators or persons who
personally make no use of it. This
gives Just three acres to the Spectator
or mOnopolist for every one acre that
system has secured to the working elias.
ses This is bad enough in all conscience.
There can be no object in eXaggerating
the enormity of this operation of our
free system of government
The balance of the public domain to
be disposed of exclusive of Alaska and
the railway grants which are perfected
and to be perfected inclusive Of the
Southern Pacific, is S24 ,45S, 500 acres.
10 llllS aClu lle plDIlc Idiluo OF lexis
less what she intends to give to the
Pacific Railway, we have in whole num-
bers 945,000,000 acres left. Deduct one
third for mountains and desert lands.
and there remain 630,000,000 acres left
that might be saved for actual settlers.
This is nearly three and half times as
much as is now owned by our people.
If saved for settlers only it might serve
as a refuge for the landless for some
time to come. But if the new soldiers
bill is a spectators bill, more than half
of this remainder will be legally usmpcd
by spectators atamerely nominal price.
All our spectators seem doomed to
agony as long as there is a section left.
They believe it absurd 10 suppose that
we shall have any poor children or poor
grandchildren TO whom free land would
be blessing for which to thank Heaven.
The following horrible table of acres
of land owned by the working classes of
the United States, by private spectators
and by corporate monopolies, must be
kept before the people: