The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-02-22

till the issue Of the patent While the whole
OF the agricultural public domain would
thus be absorbed by these certificates as
fast as surveyed, it would lie perfectly tied
up from all uses (sincc the soldiers do not
want>to live on it) till the patent is issued
of course this would bring the settlement
and tillage of the public lands to a dead
halt but shall refer to this presently
AS soon as the patent is issued the soldier
is as free to dispose of his land as was the
soldier of the Mexican war to assign his
warrant. The transfer will be quite as
easy, and his desire for ready money will
be as great The entire public domain,
the title to which the Government will have
abdicated, will be thrown upon the market.
If 400, 900, 900 acres Of lands tit for tillage
can be found, and their survey can be pro
vided for, they will be for sale by their
millions Of owners What will they bring
The Mexican war land warrants on y Gov
cred about 60, 0OO, 900 acres, and yet, even
before the Homestead law was enacted, the
price fell AS low at one time as ID to AZ
cents per acre Would not the price fall
still lower under this bill, with JOO, OOO, 900
or 400, 900, 900 acres thrown upon the mar
ket by men mostly poor, and who wan mo
ney and not land Would il not be a pit
ifal mockery Of the just claim Of the sol
der, and profitable only to the speculator
and shark
In what have said thus far | have sup
posed the bill capable of being executed.
! But even this must be denied A large
| portion Of our soldiers could never get the
| land which it proposes to give. II could
not be selected and patented till surveyed.
The Government, with its present force, is
able to survey only about eight million
acres per annum, and this is deemed sufii
cient to meet the demands Of settlers and
the development Of our Western territory.
At this rate it would take fifty years to sur
vey the land required by the bill and as
its effect would be to sop all settlements
under the presumption and homestead laws.
there would be no motive whatever to push
the surveys prematurcly into the frontier
If, however, the Government could afford
largely to increase It's surveying force, and
1t were practicable and desirable to do So
without reference to the demands uf set
Element, but solely in the interest IT the
soldier, it would still be found impossible
to provide lands for all, or nearly all. Of
the men who would seek them under this
bill. Every acre Of the public domain, As
fast AS it could possibly be surveyed. " Duld
he taken, while considerable per cent. Of
our soldiers and seanen would have to 20
down to their graves unalded.
But by far the most formidable objection
to the bI- remains to be stated. Ii hands
over to nonresident owners, for specula-
tive purposes, the whole public domain Of
An TTnitaI Stataa 4, hi..b 10 ~ fnt .,..,var.,,-
and cultivation. II sets at defiance the
well known purpose 4 the people TO attach
the principle uf settlement to all further
dispositions Of the public lands, and treats
with contempt the platforms III all parties
on that issue. 1t destroys the Homestead
Law, BY Withdrawing the only lands to
which it can apply, and surrend erng them
t. the Spectator and monopolIst. Ii null
lines the Presumption Law also, for while
the settler could still select his home On
the unsurveyed lands, he would not be
crazy enough to DO it when better lands,
already surveyed, could be bought for a
trlhe from the soldier, and without any OBJ
legation To settle them. The enactment
Of this bill would he practically equivalent
To- throwing more than two millions Of land
warrants on the market, cheating the sol
dier out Of the bounty which Is justly his
due, while organizing land monopoly and
pnhlc plumber into an institution. Ii
would inaugurate a scheme Of national
spuhatiDn. m comparison with which our
IMMIGRANTS to railroads, our Indian treaty
swIndles, and our swamp-laud thieving.
would become decent and respectable #
would fatally stay the progress of the TIA
ton IN industrial developments, and lavish
curses nnumerahle upon the land, on the
false and tilmsy preteXt of h"noring the
soldier. 1t Is SAID | know, that land boun-
ties have been voted To- the soldiers Of all
our former wars. and that 1t Is but Just
that this traditional policy should Ice carried
out IA to the soldiers 1T our latest aud
grandest war. The answer a. tins IL that
our traditional policy has been a mischiev-
Gus hlunder. ana ought not to w. turtle q
followed. Some 73,0nHO acres IT lands
have been appropriated in all as military
buuntIes, with very little profit a. our sol
diers and at a most rumous cost to the
country OF the land warrants issued Ia
the soldiers of the Mexican war the Com
missioner Of the General Land Office esti-
mates that not t. succeed 10 per cent NJ
them have been used hy actual settlers, ana
that not one III 800 has been located by
soldiers or their heirs spectators ana mo
uupullsts having used them III growing rich
BIZ rctardlng the settlement uf the country,
and imposing their eXacthIns upon the
Door, to whom the public domain should
have remained free. 1t is impossible t.
compute the widespread mischief inflicted
upon the country through the agency 81
tn Sc Mexican war land-warrants, for
which the soldier received comparative
tritle but these mlschlets would be a mere
drop III the bucket IN comparison with those
inflicted by this bill, should it become a
law. Our traditional policy as to land
bounties WAS, no doubt, well meant but
the lesson which 1t clearly teaches to-day,
and has written down in its tracks IS, not
t. repeat that policy, but to shun it, Let
the nation testify its regard for the soldier
by aIberal ample bounty IN money. " hich Is
the thing heneeds but let the land, which
was made to be titled be sacredly dedi-
Gated to the purpose az it, creation. ia
not believe our soldiers and seamcn have
asked for the enactment of this bill
have seen no evidence Of it in the action
Of any body Or organization " them IN any
quarter of our country and am sure, AT
all events, that no class Of intelligent men,
whether soldiers or civilians, who will duly
consider the subject, viii demand the en-
actment of a measure which ] am con
WINGED, would prove a wanton conspiracy
against the rights of the people ana tn,
welfare Of coming generations
National Labor Union.