Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-10-16

nc <cond or revolutionary hne"eI was
CT gorial union.
GssD uxDKR THE CONSTITUTION. =
orhe third phase Of tho land question
nav be called the constitutional PM ~,
which began with the ordinance OF 1857,
for the organization and government of
ihe northwestern territory. Thst orflin-
ance. passed a few days befoyc the adop-
tIon of the present constitu' Ion and then
re. nyfIrmed, was the FIRST declaration Of
our national land policy, a declaration
second only TO that which made us an
independent nation. The ordinance de-
aned the method Of organizing territories
and distinct repub ilcan states 1T provided
for local self-gov Hnmentint townships, and
for freehold lanl tenure, It extended the
original, funde mental principles OF Anglo.
American llDlrty beyond their colonial
boundaries; II excluded slavery ard in
voluntary s.ervitude from the regions
northwest OF the Ono; II declared that
schools and education should be forever
encouraged. In short, IL laid the founda-
ton OF now Widely extending system Of
free and independent republics, based
upon free soil and popular education.
1 The ordinance Of 1857 Is the greatest land
set OF modern history Tho agrarian
laws OF antiquity sink into iusignifl-
canoe by comparison. Daniel Webster,
| in his famous speech on Foote'S resolu-
ton, which toUcfied the land question,
said; 81 doubt whether any single law Of
any lawgiver, ancient or modern, has pro-
duced effects Of moro distinct, marked
and lasting character. We see its conse-
quences at this moment, and we shall
never cease TO see them, while the Ohio
| shall iow," Webster also said: "Rrom
|
| Western lands and the Just protection Of
those who had been settled or should
settle on them have been the leading
objects OF our policy
The great land question which arose
under the ordinance OF 1887 was simply
whether Its constitutional provisions
| should lie actually enforced and slave la
Dor excluded from the great West. AL
though "free labor kept its, sleepless
watch" In Ono, the territory Of Indiana
and Illinois was In early danger of IN
yasion and conquest by the pro-slavery
party. Gov Harrison and the terri
torial legislature actually memorial
lied congress In 1902 TO introduce
slavery into that region. But congress
In early days stood by the pro-
visi ons OF the ordinance. Later there
was a continuous struggle between OPP
pojiDg parties with regard 10 the admis-
sion of new states as slave or free. Like
III alternate sections of land bestowed
upon railroads by congress, every alter
nate state was given TO the pro-slavery
PARTY. As early as 1890 the provisions Of
she ordinance, with the exception OF the
/ Tree soil article, had been extended to all
western territory south of the Ohio. BY
the Missouri compromise in 1920, the ter
ritorY west OF the Mississippi and north of
the southern boundary OF Missouri was
was declared free soil under the ordinance,
although Missouri came In as slave
state. In 1854, the Missouri compro-
mise was virtually repealed, for the Kan
sas-Neoraska bill left the land question,
free soil or slave, to squatter sovereignty
to decide. Then began the race OF free
| soilers and slave-owneIs for Kansas then
came the final struggle which ended In
the civil war. The third or constitu-
tlonal answer to the land question came
In 1865, when free soil was established
throughout the Union.
THE LAND QUESTION TODAY.
The present land question, like the tariff
and the silver question, is largely eco
nomic. 1t Is not the question OF the ma
Humiliation or specialization of land 1t is
simply whether congress will consent to
reform such existing abuses In our agra
rian administration as % wasteiul ex-
trayagance In oestowing bounties upon
railroad corporations, instead OF reserv-
Ing land for homesteaders and (2) virtual
encouragement OF land monopoly and for.
eign landlordism, tenant farming, and
rack rents by not limiting land sales and
| by retaining such outworn laws as pre-
emption, the timber.culture and Desert
land acts, under which fraudulent entries
are made aud public lands are stolen.
Since the year 1850 our government
has given away l72 900 1000 acres of the
public land to aid the building of rail-
roads. OF this vast amount, Land Com
mission Sparks estimates that 100 600 600
acres are now subject to forfeiture for
non-fuliilment OF condition This area of
recoverable land Is equivalent to the
combined areas of New York, New
Jersey, pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary
land ana Virginia. Such waste OF
land by the prodigal fathers Of the repub-
TIC Will, In due time, deprive their sons OF
all their substance. These railwsv
grants, together with thrlftless methods
OF regulating presumption and land sales.
have opened the way To land monopoly
Catliundia), absentee landlordism, and
the Roman, English and Irish systems OF
agrarian seryitude upon 8 remarkable
scale.
The American citizen would do well to
consider few facts in the case. There
are now 0,647 900 acres Of land Ia these
uuited States owned by twenty-nine for
eign landlords and foreign syndicates.
The amount OF land thus owned is as
large as ireland. Indeed, one irish land. |
lord is said to draw 100000 annual in
come In rack-rents from his estates In |
Illinois. One English gentleman In Lon |
don owns 100000 acres OF American land. |
The census of 1880 showed that there
werep ,024,60l tenant farmers In these
United States. That number must have
Increased considerably In six years, AVID
at the present time, our American
''peasantry" probably outnumbers that on
Great Britain and Ireland combined. AT
any rate, there are in Ireland to-day only |,
6t7 222 tenant holdings; Ia England and
Wales together but 4l4,soi; aud In ali
Scotland s0,l0l. The atate OF Illinois
alone has 10000 more land tenants than
scotland. France has to-day 5000, 600
small rural proprietors and 1000 GOO
a MIA