New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-06-12
TIE PUBLIC LANDS.

-, p5;to- Of The Tribune.
u wv Whatever the faults and shortcomings
xIIs congress was pleased to note in it grow
- a,nrociation OF the American land question. With
% r twoexoeptOnal cases. grants OF land were neither
-0 - nor profise. They were given, too, whore they
,s ho most properly given where the land had little
I,o save through the railroads II helped 10 build
MANY measures pending and some were passed. to
meiorate the condition Of the settlers. wholesome in
qures made respecting the true merits OF measures
for pioneers and squatters relief and the time OF pay
7nent was extended year. The wretched mode OF dis
posing Of lands by cunning bargain in the treaty that
Incurred them. was effectualy done away with.
our land system is distinctvely American. An at
tempt was made TO plant the feudal system IN the COLO
MES; but neither the genius Of Locke nor the creation
Of lord palane, could preserve s stem foreign 10
American ideas Neither did the communal system take
any healthy root II only occasionally that FEEL
ing broke over the American people that "the land
should be Sold and the land should not be bonght
,but like the air water and sunlight, be common herl
gsge" Nor did copy from the Hebrews the system OF
family holding No year OF Jubilee was invoked TO trans
fer the lands from the strong hands that had won 10
be enervaed hands had lost them. Entail was not
permitted and the fullest guarantees were gwen 10
Hhose who struggled to acquire property. II man
Those who made the earth fructfy and bloom were us
possessOrs, yet there no security offered 6eYohd
what could be given to industry and virtue; ndoence
and vice relaxed the grasp and the lana went Dach i'll
natural wayfruit to be plucked by new bold winners
Yet although our land system is peculiar il has grown
on in piecemeal the early days of the Republic,
land was sold in large quantities In the slaNSnOuS
states II held in large plantations and degraded
labor demanded TO build upon these prlncpaUe great
arisOcracy The admirers of this system are stl gas-
ing their teeth in mpOtent rage at It's destrdcOn lhe
lamentations vain 1t is indeed the true pohcy OF
che Government to make far as lies In It's legumate
control the cultivaOr Of the soil the owner OF the soil
The husbandman should plant his vine on the border OF
his inheritance and sit under its shadow with his family,
and know neither lord nor master on earth.
The preGmptiOn laws offered facilities 10 The poor set
Tiers When the Republican party came into power the
Homestead law gave home to the poorest man on me
simple condition that he reclaimed IL from the wider
This the cornerstone of the edlce. And Vet
II lacked, and still lacks much needed legislation The
war with its necessities inOnOpozed almost everything
and pleased now 10 note fresh interest on inns
vital question. Land courts are needed III every new
cheapest facilities for his day In court when he has
contest. No longer should CLERKS in land offices act as
and jurors. No longer should an unknown CLERK
in a department WashiG gtOn overhaul and decide al
mis- desk cases involving the valuable rights, where
a has virtually no appeal we should take adj
vantage of experience of the land warrant system
chat followed the heels of the Mexican war Tht idea
OF giving bounty the soldiers that served her not
unworthy of the Republic but as IL was managed 80 III
sold their warrants for song Occasionally a. IN the
NewMexican cases, the warrants were gathered up ~
pecuatOrs by the wholesale. The result was wholesale
and perncOus land speculation NOumay travel tOd1y fOT
and miles through parts Of the West and see
nothing but woods and prairie and on inquiry earn
land warrants were stuck on ana lne
cultiVaOrs, holding for rise. Let our statesmen
-oOk this matter plainly in the face time Is coming
the still virgin plains and valleys OF the west sha
covered Farms and villages Will dot the valleys OF the
Rocky Mountains and the solitary caOns OF the aaron
Colorado will echo the voices Of enterprise and industry
Then land will reach price hitherto unknown on TINS
Continent. Then sQuH ting VIII exist only III memory ana
l9ud-buying will be the work Of life In shaping the
steps that lead to these conditions let us remember at
III independent yeOmanry Is our SAFETY Let US neither
land system that the toer snail be the OF the soil
Washington, May q, lo'l v" A. T.