The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1872-05-17


Grover on the Swamp Land Swim
die in his speech in this place upon
Wednesday night of last week. lie
there said it was far Letter for one
man to own large quantities Of
swampland than for the same land
to be owned by mary. He instM,ccl
the case Of Goose Lake, we believe
it was, a body OF some sixty thous'
and acres of overiiowed lands, and
said it would be vastly more profit
able to the State for one man to
own it, or other similar bodies OF
swamp lands, than for dozen or
more men to own them. He thought
where the one man power prevailed,
the lands were much more likely to
he drained and rendered available
for agricultural purposes. He pro-
rourecd the Swamp Land law of
this State as the best in the country,
because it disposed of large bodies
Of land to individuals, and brought
one dollar an acre into the State
Treasury. Now, if the principle Of
monopoly is good in one thing, why
not in another? If good in re-
claiming swamp lands, why not in
running railroads ard steamboats,, or
any other species of industry Or en-
terprise? Why do they say 10
more large gratis OF public lands
from the General Government to
Individual SPECTATORS, if it is 50
leuefcial a thing here in Oregon?
Tie fact is, the ftlror raised against
Holiday as monopolist, is only i'll
tended todistract tie attention from
the real character Of the swamp land
monopoly. While the railroad has
taken no mans land without APP
praisement and compensation, the
swamp land monopoly has. Hun
dreds OF settlers have been swiudled
out Of their homesand little improve
ments by the injustice Of this grasp
ing law. The fruits Of years of toll
have been swept away by the
scratch of q per, and Growers "a
vorcd Ring, his sixty-,housand-acre-
monopolists, now gloat over the
possession of these lands. But while
this infamous law works so disas-
trously to the interest Of the poor
settler, at theend often years, when
the remaining eighty cents per acre
is paid by the grabber, no very ma
terial benefit may have been secured
to the State in tie way of settle
ment and accumulation by the trans
action. All the grabber will have
to do will be to prove thatthe lands
will produce grass, and the title will
become vested III him. The audac-
ity ofthe law, as well as its inlquity,
is unparalleled. All tie purchaser
had to do in tie first instance, was
to indicate the mctes and bounds
Of tile land lie desired, without any
definite knowledge obtained by ac-
tual survey OF the number of acres,
and by paying twenty per cent. Oh
one dollar per acre, he received
certificate Of purchase. KS we have
read from another pen: There was
the audacity in the operations Of
these travelling land-grabbers OF
Oregon, that there was in Walker
and his predatory squad looking
across the gulf of California from
the peninsula and annexing by a
pen proclamation to his dominions,
the State Of Sonora. That the eight
hundred square miles of swamp
land in this State were determined
the same way, there is but little
room for doubt These Oregon
land d-shark-monopolists pointed out
with their greedy fingers the metes
and bounds Of their desired posses
sions, and by the scratch Ofa pen,
the poor squatter's home and i'm
provements became bis. Was
there ever anything more unjust and
tyrannical? Talk Of despotisml
The Sultan of Turkey, or the Rus
sian Car can exercise no more un-
limited power over the property Of