St. Landry democrat., 1885-03-21
Alien LandhOEders.


The advocates of the Oates bill, which
provides that land in this country shall
not be acquired or owned by persons
who are not citizens of the United
States, have undertaken to lcgislate
against an evil of considerable magni-
tude-the acquisition and ownership of
vast tracts of land in the Territories by
English nOblemen. The bill, so far as
it touches this evil, deserves support.
But those who framed and reported it
have weakened the measure by making
it applicable, not only to the acquisition
of unoccupied lands in the unsettled
| Territories, but also to the purchase of
real estate in the thickly settled States
of the East. where the acquisition of
such property by foreigners is not OBJ
jectiOnable. 1t seems to us that the bill
ought to be amended so that it will pro-
hibit only the practices which its advO-
Gates seek to forbid-the acquisition of
huge tracts of public or unoccupied
lands in the far West by absent foreign
! landlords.
No one who is familiar with the bis
| tory OF our public lands in the last few
days can deny that the evil exists and
! that it demands the attentian of Con-
gress. English noblemen already hold
| q, 900 900 acres, of land in western States
and Territories. From year to year
they are adding to their holdings. They
are said to own or control one-sixth OF
the cattle that Craze on Western ranges
They take these lands, not with an in
tention to promote the settlement of the
country, but with the object of holding
them in unbroken tracts and establish
ing upon thema tenant system that is
opposed to the spirit of our laws and
our institutions. These lands have
been disposed of by the Government in
two ways-by the land laws that pro-
vide for small holdings by settlers in
fee simple, and through the agency OF
railroad companies to which vast grants
have been given. 1t was expected that
the grants would be sold to settlers in
small parcels, and that in this way, as
well as by the operation of the home
stead and pre-emption laws, the sale OF
the public lands in small farms to set
tiers would be assured. In some cases
the foreign landlords have gained pos
session of great tracts by purchase from
the railroad companies, but in many
cases they have followed the example
set by American citizens and have taken
the lands by fraud.
The establishment of the Brithish
landlord and tenant system in the West
would be great evil, but the acquisi-
tion of millions of acres of land by fraud
and theft, by Americans as we'll as by
Englishmen, is also a great evil. We
believe that the building up of these
great estates by Englishmen should be
Government should punish all scOun-
drels, American or English, who have
robbed the honest settler of his heritage.
In attempting to legislate against the
aliens Congress should not forget that
they have 6beeA enabled to get vast
tracts into their hands by the rascality
of Governments officers, and that where
an Englishman has grabbed one acre an
American has grabbed fifty.
If the land laws had been honestly
administered, and If the Government
had shown any desire to punish land
thieves, there would now be no occasion
for the enactment of such q law as that
which the Public Lands Committee has
reported. Before the Englishmen made
their investments our own citizens had
taken great areas by fraud or by force.
For years they defied the Government
as they defy it now, and the Govern
ment allowed them to work the1E will.
The Englishmen were attracted and
even invited by these American. specn-
,latOrs and thieves. They found scOun-
drels in, abundance who were ready to
get hold of the land by fraud and COL
iusion. with Government officers and
then to transfer it to their rich employ
ers. In this way some Of them came
into possession of their ranges, and the
Land Offioe-unable or unwilling to in
terfere-confirmed their title.
Undoubtedly Congress ought to taBs
measures to insure tho distribution of.
public lands in accordanee with the.
policy that gover1ed those who enacted
the homestead aha pre-emption laws,
and to prevent the c7eatiOn of large es-
tates held by foreign or domestic and-
lords 1t may, haa hat good beginning
can 9e maa NV passing bill like the
Oates hgS, c0nfinsd in its application to
,cche, e,aa sdisition of great landed estates
ip9fge West. But the Government
t<~McMd not stop there. 1t should pro-
ea9i against cur own citizens who have
sinned in the, same way it should strike
down the thieves who have taken the
settlers land and excluded him from
vast stretches of the public domain it
should promptly reclaim from the rail-
road companies the great areas which
they have not earned and should not be
allowed to retain, and then it should
stand between the settlers and his enc
mics and see that he gets his rights