Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-11-08
Stealing the Pablo Land.

| Stealing the Public Land =
If there is any one. thing sagainst
which the people ofsthis country have
the right to seriously complain, it is the
way the public lands have been stolen
from them. The controversy is with
the Republican, party, and it will be
difficult for the" leading men among
them to defend SO gross a violation Of
public confidence. The great wealth of
broad acres, the magnificent heritage of
the people. has been gradually tAksn
fromthem; the most of It byegrasbifg
railway corporations, and every once in
awhile big slices cut off by fraud and
outrageous theft: Any government best
|.epe. wholly given MP to sschemes fof
The retention G- political power would
have found time to overhaul these land
robbers. whether in the form of organ
lied Corporations Or simply acting as
Individual Adventures. But this boast
ed Republican protectorate finds no
time to look after anything except the
|spoils of office, and the retention of
favorites in. the, soft places of Govern
mental control. 1t has, therefore, come
to- pass that what: lifties public land has
|eseaped tie raEag$ sbf egrasping cor
porations is being gobbled.up in every
conceivable fashion by men who care
nothing for public rights and still less
for the arm of the law. The most out
rageous and astonishing frauds have
been perpetrated upon the Land Office
of the United States in the far West,
frauds so gross and monumental in
their character as to..almost surpass be-
lief. Complaint has been made time
and again BY thejsettlers who were @.be-
ing robbed and plundered by these bold
adventures, but their complaints were
left unheard and unheeded until these
violations had grown to such proper
tions as to demand sattentien by the
danger of great public scandal. These
things have long been known to the
authoritsieE but the scene Ct the pascal
8 e. "s sss sss'ays HsFs t n,
efforts of the settlers, and sti1l more
firmly intrepching the robbers in their
the muttered growls of discomfort could
forced upon them, a special Eand A gent
was sent West into the Territories to
investigate and examine, AND the Piet-
AIS A4iRHS Ptg1 lcaHSstteaeSaffeSS, =
ipattention and neglect would be dam
aging in the extreme it the party whose
agentiheis had any conscience toreach. /
or any sincere regard for public opinion.
This, agent says:
<.The Desert Land Bhtrs act has been vio-
lated with recklessness that was positively
astonishing. In many cases it was found that
claiming the lands, and yet what are known
and regarded as good citizens have gone be-
fore the land officers aud made solemn oath
that the land had been reclaimed and all the
condftionSof the law compl led with, when, in
fact, no mark made by human hanfls could be
found upon the entire tract. Other tracts
were taken up under the Desert act that are
no more desert than the Valley of the Ohio
fke and to haze
which there was growing at the time of the
original filing more. forest trees than the law
Homestead law has not been fairly construed.
and thousands of acres have been patented
single requirement of the law. and who have
given fraudulent testimony with the full in
tent and purpose to defraud the Government.
are fenced of by. wealthy stock raisers thus
leaving the actual settlers without a range for
the family cow. In one instance it was found
that men living near a city in Montana had
fenced up three thousand acres of public
and the the PEOPLE
dollar per month per head.
We have here string of charges
which are disgraceful in the extreme,
including perjury and villainy.H That
such state of things could exist under
the eye of men charged with the duty of
protecting the public interest seems al
most Incredible, but so much has hap
pened during the past twenty years of
like character. not only out in the far
West but much. nearer the. haupts of
civilization, that one need not be aston
ished. If the common people of this
country, they who must work hard for
a living and have not the time to read up
closely the current political doings of
the party in power, could know fully
and completely how the interests of this
country have, been TITLED with, betrayed
and abused by those charged with its
protection and defense, they would not
need to be told what their duty was as
honest patriotic citizens. A sweeping
Indignation would overwhelm the men
who, prating of their zeal and fidelity,
waste their time in political scheming
and delude the, people by honeyed
words, when broken promises and be-
trayed, trusts rise up to condemn, them
upon every hand. What that agent |
says of the manner the public trusts are |
administered in the Territories is |
equally true of public concerns nearer |
home, anst every intelligent unpreju-
diced man knows.it. Neglect and in
difference is written up against most of |
the, public duties of the Republican
party, and it is high, time to call that |
party to account. -44paerica'a Register.
Neal Do Dow" "a and the Republican Party.
The latest individual of Importance
to take up this somewhat threadbare
but expressive battle-cry is General
Neal Dow of Maine. In letter TO DR..
Miner, of this city, General Dow makes
the plain declaration that 1--WE. have
fully made up our minds now to break
with the Republican party in Maine as
you have done in Massachusetts" This
is well said, short and to the point But
who says it? A man whose private life
is doubtless above reproach; man
who, despite the stories to the contrary,
would no more steal your silver plate