The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-12-06
The Public Lands and the Republican
Party.


The measures and policy of the Re-
publican party with reference to seeur-
ing the public domain for actual settle
ment has formed one of the first sub
jeets the people have taken into consid-
Grafton in the campaign. They have
asked themselves how far the party has
been faithful to labor interests in the
disposition of the public lands, and
have studied the indications of the fu-
ture in regard 10 them. The subject Is
one of great Importance, of course, ire
spectlve OF any more party triumphs,
for it is Intimately connected with ma
tional development, with finance, with
labor, and with trade.
Now il the Republican record be such
that the party can claim to have acted
in the interest of the labOring man, it
certainly has right to the cOnsidera-
tiOn which such \ fact demands. One
of the first measures of the Republican
Congress, after some necessary steps
had been taken to resist q rebellion, for
which the Democratic party was largely
responsible, was the passage OF the
Homestead law. Under that act the
public domain was offered to the labor
ing man as practically free gift-the
| payment of some SO or Sl2 and actual
secEre the possession of .1G0 acres of
land.
At the same time the only policy by
which this great opportunity for labor
could be realized was not left neglected.
Land grants have been conceded to aid
in the construction of lines of eOmmuni-
cation, by which vast territories, little
else than an untraYeled wilderness, were
opened up for the advance of civilization
and the creation of wealth. Thousands
of new homes have been erected in To-
calities before practically unknown.
The possession of the continent with all
its wealth of soil, climate aud of min
eral production has by means of these
assisted lines been given to the people.
And when these modes of cheap and
easy transit were established, or prOvis-
ion for their establishment made, Re
publican leaders entered what might be
called the second stage of the process by
which the enterprise and industry of the
laboring class might be secured. Wher
the work of opening the vast interior
had been assisted, it was deemed propel
that the further development Of railroad
and canal enterprises should be left t.
the individual States and Territories.
n resolution was consequently intro
duced and passed in the Congress o
1870, to the effect that public lands o
7 the United States should be held for tn
exclusive purpose of securing home
p steads toactual settlers under the home
stead and pre-emption laws, subject T.
reasonable appropriations for education
e al purposes.
t Here then is one of the things whicI
the Republican party has done and pro
poses to do for the laboring man of thi
d country. 1t enactad laws by whic
f the public domain was declared tn
, property of the citizens who were desil
Gus of securing homes for themselve.
and imposed conditions for the requis
e tiOn of such that were merely nominG
e i'm character. 1t encouraged the entel
! prises by whose means the vast region
waiting for settlement could be rendere
: accessible. And when these latter ha
h been constructed or sufficiently advance
: further grants were suspended, and ii
g immense remaining domains reserve
= for the use and benefit of the people
large.