The weekly Arizona miner., 1872-11-09
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Ry HON. R. B. COWEN.

py HON R. B. CowES
 Tn the exciting days of Kansas ennigra1'oll the noet and the orator united 10 ehcoutase inc hardy and adventurous emigrant to o,rre fr,'e inc d.ncers of Lis prospective home. me Western sky was golden -hued, and hls arden' honas and eaper inauguration pictured theie 1. narad;se awaiting his occupancy. Danger cn,,Id not iutimidate, hardships dld not oiS- coursoe fear of death did not appall. mere ,,,.s a romantic attraction in the emlgratioh .f tho.e days which the danger seemed oniy ,o hs;obten. The pious settler, with ms Sb.rrJs rife and his Bible, became the fervid anosfle of freedom-the chosen propagandist of ,ha ,rue faith to announce the evangel of Srosdor, He marched with all the sturdy, nnouestioning courage of the psalm singing 1 Round -bead.n chanting his creed Tn nasal tone-the ridicule, as he was afterward the terror. of the scoffing Southern cavalier
 The same tide of emigration still flows on. States are forming; cities spring up as ii bv magic. The poetry and eloquence of 1854 are missing: but as sterling and determined men hush their way to the West to erect as lasting States. and fight as bravely in the great battle of civilization. Quietly as the snow falls the tent of the emigrant drops upon the prairie. Anon it grows into house, the house becomes hamlet, the hamlet a city. with it's bustle, and noise, and busy lie and still westwardly, beyond the city, the tide flows on, flooding the prairie with nu- manity, and dedicating the wilderness to CIV TIization.
 Thus the wide expanse of forest and prairie, JinitIess as the sea, is being occupied, and the public domain is being settled. So rap idly is this being done that it is difficult to mark its progress, or to note the steps py which it has been accomplished. So much has been said and written, in general way, about the process of squanderlng the pubic domain. and the evil effects of land monopo- lies upon the general welfare, that some de- tails relative to the present condition oi the public lands and tue past history oi their management, may not be inappropriate.
 It would be interesting to know just what the fathers of the republic designed to do with the public lands, for we may find that all settlers thereon were considered trespass- CTS, and dealt with as such in the most rig orous manner. But settlers in those days mere much as they are now; and the policy of the fathers had to be modified as settle ments increased, and was eventually aban- doned altogether.
 For thirty years prior to lS4l the Govern
 
 regard to the public lands. Land titles were ali settled by special legislation, and such lesislation was generally for the relief of the trespassing settler Of course, such law could not long prevail and change was effected by the pre-emption law of Septem- Der, l84l. Subsequently the policy of Con- press seems to have been to enact such laws as would induce the most rapid settlement by small farmers, who would occupy the lands in person. cultivating them to the best ad- vantage. To carry out this policy various laws have been enacted. The legislation on this subject may be classified as follows:
 lst. Pre-emption laws. 2d. Homestead law 3d. Counties for military service, and ur.tuities to half-breeds. 4tb. Grants to States for various purposes. 9th. Grants to railroads.
 lst. The pre-emption system seems to have been ar, accidental or involuntary out growth of the confusion and want of policy which had prevailed for so many years, and became necessary to avoid the numerous prl- yate acts which were pressed at each session of Congress The pre-emption law gave any citizen, or person who has declared his inten- ton to become a citizen, the right to enter upon any surveyed one-quarter section of un- occupied public land, and, after bona fde set tlement thereon, to purchase the same at the minimum price of $l.25 per acre. This law has been amended in some of its details but the main features are unchanged.
 2d. The homestead act permits any citi zen. or person who has declared his inten- ton to become citizen, and who is the head of family, or over twenty-one years Of age, to enter upon any unoccupied one-quarter section of the public land held at the mimi mum price, and, after residing thereon for five years, and making substantial improve ment thereon, to receive patent therefor, without any other expense than the pay neht of the fees for entry, etc. under tnls law any man can acquire homestead oi looacreS free of cost.
 3d. Bounty land laws are of several classes and passed at several times: They comprise Iou,,;ss to soldiers for military service in sawarsI of the wars of the republic, and gra entities to half-breed Indians, to induce their settlement and civilization.
 ath Grants to States have been made for educational purposes, for the promotion ol acriculture. for internal improvements, and oi swamp and overnowed lands, to induce theil reclamation.
 Eth. Grants to corporations, to aid in the construction of railroads, of alternate sec t;ors r;thin stated limits on each side of the line of the road.
 Iuasmuch as large bodies of land have beer obtained by speculators, it is evident that tho policy of Congress so to legislate as to place the lands in possession of the actual settlers has not been carried out. Let us see under which of the above classes that policy ha: probably been subverted. Not under either of the first two, certainly, as a condition prccedent to obtaining land hereunder wa: actual occupancy by the prospective owner The legislation for the third class was intend ed by Congress to carry out its policy. anC under the first law the warrants were moi assiguable Subsequent legislation, however ,rodif,ed this feature, and the soldiers t, ,wbom the warrants were issued were enable, to throw them on the market, which the, did in large quantities. and she origina holder realized an average price of not eve twenty-five cents per acre. n case of tn snsuiiies to the half.breeds the scrip was no sssIeoahle. and could be legally entered b
 the grantee alone. But nnaer that singula