The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-05-30
ALIENS AND PUBLIC LANDS.

The bill which the House committee
on public lands has prepared to prevent
foreigners from owning real estate in
the Territories of the United States, is
one of the most important in its rela-
ton TO the general welfare of the Re
public of all the measures which have
been proposed during the session. 1t
declares that no alien nor foreigner
who has not declared his intention 10
become q citizen. nor any corporation
oDe-tenth Of whose capital stock is
owned or controlled by aliens, shall
have the right to acquire any real es-
tate in any of the Territories of the
United States. The purpose of the bill
is obvious, and nobody can say it is not
a wise one. The theory upon which
our land laws are based is that Ameri-
can soil should be owned by American
citizens. The laws were inside liberal in
order that poor people might acquire
homes and the means OF earning q living
at nominal cost. the correct idea being
that a man who has a home and stake
in the country is a source of wealth and
strength to the nation. Cnfortun-
ately, the laws have not been ad-
ministered in the spirit Of their enact
ment, and quite as much of the
public land has gone into the hands OF
spectators and persons for whom the
nations generosity was never intended
as has fallen TO bona fide settlers.
The scramble has been so mad and the
something so general that comparatively
little Of the desirable public domain is
left; and at the rate it is being disposed
OF, the present generation will see all
the land that is worth demonstrating
owned by private parties; then states
men will have TO grasp the problem Of
how to provide homes for the poor
Vast areas are now owned by foreigners
whose only interest in the country is
their rent rolls or the returns from
their cattle ranches. The public lands
committees bill will put stop to
aliens acquiring title TO the soil, and the
other bills now pending for restoring to
the public domain the unearned sub
sidy grants should provide land for
homes for thousands of poor families.
The committee accompanies its bill
with long report in which the policy
Of the government in regard to the dis
posal Of the public lands is fully set
forth, and the reckless manner Tin
which the soil has been gotten nd
Of severely denounced. The committee
closes its report with the following
summary Of the work performed during
the present session: "The committee
has devoted its best efforts and most
earnest endeavors to perfect and present
to the House for its consideration and
action, such measures as in its judg
ment would reclaim such lands as had
been improvidently granted to corpor-
atoms, xnd 20 which they are not |
entitled; also for the repeal of such |
laws as rendered possible the improper |
acquisition Of great areas of land from |
the government. and to preserve what
1t had and should reclaim Of the public
lands as = reserve to be drawn upon
by the actual settler without cost in
homesteads. We do this because We
believe that not only the fostering q
the home sentiment and individual
prosperity would result but. in addi-
ton, because We believe there is no
greater safeguard against public dis
order, tumults and riots than generally
distributed ownership OF lands and
homes"