The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-01-07
LASDLoRDIsM IN AMERICA.

land laws, for the simple reason that we
are accustomed TO regard our public do
main as ilinitable and exhaustless. For
many years the free grants of lands to
railroad corporations has encouraged TINS
idea. The people have reasoned that If
the government was able to give away
millions of acres of land merely to en-
courage the building of railroads, certain
~ there was enough left to give posterity
for all time TO come, at least sixty acres
of land and mule and they have been
content t. let lands be occupied hap
hazard without any fixed policy, based
upon thorough system of laws.
In the meantime, almost without our
knowledge or notice, the most enormous
and extensive system of monopoly and
landlordism has grown up in this country
1t is q little strange that while the efforts
of statesmen and philanthropists, in the
old world, have been directed towards a
policy by which feudaism would be forced
TO loosen its foothold upon the soil of the
country, that we have, by negligence,
built up the most stupendous and arbitra-
ry system of feudalism in this country,
that boasts of the largest liberty.
This has been unObserved, and the laws
made looking only to give good titles
have so hedged in large possessions of
lands, that to-day it becomes the most
serious question of craftsmanship. The
manner in which this monopoly of land
has been brought about is patent to every
intelligent man in the country. The
donation of public lands by the govern
ment to railroad syndicates has thrown
the arabic public domain along the lines
of the different roads into the hands of
corporations.
These syndicates have sold out large
blocks to spectators who have held the
lands for higher price, i'll the meantime
renting out or selling with such conditions
that the purchaser, contending against
| llt ullIibuillNo VI OIOhIllS up u nv"
country, was unable to comply with, and
the lands in an improved condition re-
verified under the contract to the large
holder. Not only in this way, but hun
dred others, have our public lands passed
into the hands of spectators and land
lords until, according to the writer in the
North American Review, the United States
has become the largest tenant farming
country in the world
This writer says that TIE census of 1880
shows that there were then 1924, 601 farms
rented by tenants in this country, but
considering the time since the census was
taken he claims that the tenant holding
in the United States has increased twenty
five per cent, which would increase the
tenant farmers to a million and quar-
ter.
This is much larger than i'll Great Brit
ain and Ireland, where feudalism is so
strongly entrenched. In Ireland, where
the question is giving so much trouble,
there are 547,222 tenant farmers; in
England and Wales, 414,S05; in Scotland,
S0,101 tbtal, l069127. Thus it will
be seen that the United States possesses a
quarter of million more tenant farmers
paying rent to landlords, than the three
kingdoms and the principally together.
| ,tn hof hnY,a
more directly to us in Texas than any
other state in the union, because we own
our public domain and it is necessary for
us to frame our own legislation on the
subject. 1t is true we have parted with Il
great deal of our land, but we yet own
enough to make it important to devise
some general system of laws, by which we
can prevent landlordsm from getting too
strong Il foothold, and by which actual
settlers, and owners of the farms cult
waited by themselves should be encouraged.
The writer in the Review, referring to
the landlord and tenant laws in the west
ern states says:
"Probabiy the history of Institutional
government does not furnish a more one
sided scheme of legislation than the land
lord and tenant laws thus manufactured in
the western states. They are implements
for extracting rent, rs simple, terrible, and
brutnlly candid in their design as a revol-
yer in the hands of peremptory road
agent. At any rate, they have resulted i'll
fixing on the free soil of the United States
n land system that belongs to the ages of
barbarism. Its nearest surviving relative
in Europe is the 'metayage of France;
but it is more like the 'zemendaree' and
'ryotwar' of Britishized India THAI any
land system now in existence"
Texas stands face to face with this
question to-day. Free grass" or rental
for specific price, of school lands, and
all relative questions sink into insignif'
canoe before this problem that our state
legislature has to solve. 1t must be done
at once and not postponed for the census
shows already that Texas has 65,465 ten
ant farmers-a larger number than any
| state in the union, except the state o.
Illinois.
, Ii the state of Texas desires to avoiC
the old system of feudalism and the har
, rassing tyranny of lapdlOrdism, il be