New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-08-02
NErrLENLYr rE&SCS SPlCrLlTIoN


NETTLEULNT FERSJS SPECTLiTTOX
\ great many efforts have been nude to pre-
vent the Absorption of public lands 10y ,pccu-
latori, but judging from the results thcy have
not been very successful. while fraud on
gigantic scale has repeatedly been pcrprtrtcd
by land gribbcrs with fortune well calculated
10 incitc others To- similar enterprises. Soldiers
warrants. Sioux scrip. lien lands, have IN turn
served the purpose OF greedy adocntnfcrs' AMI
not nllcqucu,iy the very men whose special M
tcrcsts il was sought TO protect nave wcd"ly
and bliudk lent them~elyes 10 the >ubicriuSrs
and tricks of thu Speculation. and molopolsis.
The experience of the corporation, winch nave
received Land Grants has been in many respects
similar to that Of the Government, and c-pc-
cialiy i'm the West. II j, the interest oil all rail-
road companies TO encourage real settlement
along their line rs much ~ possible, and 10 dis
courage the holding of their land, in large
blocks for speculation Or tor pa5turasc. In
sparscly settled Territories such Is Wyoming,
Dakota, Utah, and in States Ike Nevada and
Colorado, it H. however, necessary To dispose OF
large areas OF Land Tor embarrassing purposes.
Yet in doing this much vigilance has to DC cX-
crci,cd, or some shrcWd fellow Will secure the
water srpply of a range by buying lew mum
drrd acres and will thus obtain control of per-
hap4 ten or twenty thousand acres, and COM
pei the company to sell TO him for Il song.
When the land is arabic and fertile, the at
tempt X to hold it for a rise, and Is land Specu-
lators are VIGOROUSLY rapaclous, the common re-
| suit is 10 prevent settlement, often for several
| years This has been the case with much Of the
| land of the Central Pacific Railroad, and they
| have suffered from it, besides being exposed to
public censurc for imagined collision with the
! SPECTATORS who were really stopping the
natural development OF the corporate property.
| TO put an end 10 these drawbacks the Land
| Department of the company has just adopted
new policy and it will be seen at once that the
| plan is of general interest since if it proves
successful as applied by private corporation it
| would doubtless be rs effective if tried on the
public territory. The Central Pacific proposes
| to sell no land to any person who will not oc-
| cupy and improve it, making n large reduction,
| however, to such persons The railroad Will
| retain control of the land until it has been I'M
proved in the manner agreed upon, and will re-
! serve the right to prevent sale to spectators.
| Every applicant for agricultural land must GER
! tify the Use he means TO put it TO, and must
agree to the conditions precedent Failure To
| fulfil the agreement works forfeiture, and no
second application will be received from a man
who has failed once. a tract of eighty acres
| can be held by improving twenty acres forty
acres of improvement will hold one hundred
and sixty acres and 80 on. Similar prccau-
tons are to be taken for the preservation of
| timber lands from spectators, and special care
has been taken to prevent a mischcvoas
monopoly of cattle ranges.
To prevent the control Of such ramona
through possession of their water it is provided
that in all eases where such control is possible
application must be- made for all the land
watercd by the central springs and fences arc
required 10 be- built in other eases. The dcsigr.
of course is to stimulate bona iidc set t!emcnt in
the interest primarily Of the corporation. which
depcnds npon population Tor extension of bu.i-
nes4. But If such a plan IS found To succeed in
the Western States and Territories when an
Piled to railroad lands. il must be- as applicable
to Government lands and in the West there il
certainly an urgent demand for such "A Land
policy "a win put - check To- speculation and
monopoly Loud complaints have been coming
from Wyoming for a long time of the hieli-
handed way ia which poor settler. and stock
raiser. have been frozen out ' hy cattle men
of large means, or by corporations many Of
which consist almost entirely of foreigners.
The poor man In the Ncsi stand, IN need Of
protection against such ngHcwora, and there.
fore the attempt Of the Ccutrll Pacific = stop
similar abuses ought To be- watched with calc
and interest. and II u turns out we'll It might
then be- adopted into The land Laws b} Congress.
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CRI1ICISHS on AECHC MITTERN
Dr. Frederick II. lloadlcy's experience in the
Arctic basin has been restricted 10 short sc!l-
son of slX weeks. lie accompanied the Ncp-
tune relief expedition IN 1859, and displayed