The Labor enquirer., 1886-04-03

Il
try is effected through the members Of
congress. Under the American form o.
government we may thank Goo that
there is one right that every man may
enjoy; that he need neither be land
owner or millionaire, but when these
gentlemen poise to election to the legis-
lative branch of this government, your
voices and your votes will determin e
their fate. This is your duty-It is the
only safety of the republic only
basis upon which you can formulate in
telligent action to alleviate your wrongs,
and to conserve your rights.
This tendency of monopoly to crush
out the rights of men is not of recent
origin, and even in this, our free gov
eminent, has been making its invidlous
advancement for many, many years
The wage workers of this country, the
small owners of propeftY-those men
whose brain and muscle make up the
strength and vigor of the nation-hoId
in their hands the power which, if in
tolligently exercised, shall bring abou
such reforms as will make this country
a land of liberty indeed.
That great martyr of American right
Abraham Lincoln, in his message sent
December 8, 1861, to the congress of the
United States, said "No men living
are more worthy to be trusted than
! those who toll up from poverty. None
less inclined to take or touch aught
which they have not honestly earned
Let them beware of surrendering a po
litical power which they already pos
sess, and which, if surrendered, will
surely be used to close the door Of ad-
vancement against such as they, and to
fix new disability and burdens upon
them till all of liberty shall be lost"
Henry George said: "Divide and
conquer is the golden maxim of the op-
pressors of mankind" 1t will be the
duty Of the great voting millions of this
nation to see to it that vide and con-
quer shall be the death-bloW to land
lordlsm IN America.
The question now arises as to what is
the remedy. believe that it is within
the province of the congress of the
United States to pass laws regulating
how much land a man may hold, and
attaching to his estates such conditions
as will insure the actual use of that land,
or forfeit it back to the people, who are
the true owners of every inch of Ameri-
can soil. In this country, according to
theory and to the law, the sovereignty
of the soil is in the government of the
United States; or, in other words, in
the people of the United States. Not
one acre of ground throughout the
length and breadth of our land can be
claimed by any man, be he citizen or be
he foreigner, upon title of absolute
ownership.
Mr.. Tiedman, in his work upon real
property, section 10, SAYS: ut may be
set down as a general rule that there
cannot be an absolute ownership in
lands. The right of property, or inter
est in them must always be qualified
A man can have only an estate in the
land the absolute right of property be-
ing vested in the state" An estate has
three elements: the right of possession,
the right of ENJOYMENT and the right of
disposal, subject to the right of the state
to defeat it and appropriate the land to
the public use, or for the public good.
Nowhere can the private right of prop
erty be said to be absolute. The state
has the right and power to stipulate the
condi ions and terms upon which the
land may be held by individuals.
These conditions and terms, aud the
rights and obligations arising therefrom
constitute what is known as tenure, or
land tenure"
So far at least as the public domain of
the United States is concerned, under
the construction above laid down, it is
clear that it is within the province of
the congress of the United States to
stipulate such terms as 1t may thtbk
wise and best for the interess and good
of the rubllc Under the same author
ity and following out the same principle,
it is equally clear that the government
of the United States has the right, being
the fountain-head of all ownership in
land, to take back to itself that which it
has hitherto given to its citizens and to
aliens, upon remunerating them in such
ratio as shall be proper and just. This
land could then be re-distributed under
the laws enacted BY the United States.
Those who have held it, have held it
under the title Of the United States gov
eminent and under its sovereignty. If
they have made proper use of the soil,
they have received for their labor ap-
propriate benefits. If they have al
lowed it to remain idle, they are entitled
to nothing, and there could be no Just
ground of complaint.
The justice of the case would require
only that they be remunerated for the
original cost to them, established upon
such ratio as might be proper and con-
sistent with the situation and circum-
stances of their title. These PROPOSE
tions might be elaborated, but glance
at them is sufficient to any thinking