The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1888-03-31
Our Public Lands for The People.

Uur PuDlC Lands fOr Tne People.
To the Editor of the ADvoCATE:-The
subject you have given me is rather too
large fer single article, must therefore
condense it, and ask your readers to think
out some of the details of the subject by
themselves. In order to fix the Importance
Of the questions involved upon your MINDS,
1 desire TO briefly refer to recent article in
Ely, of John Hopkins University, on ma
tural monopolies and how to reduce taxa
tion. l do this because natural monopo-
lies all spring out of land, in its most com
way, and the only way, to reduce taxes
and to remove burdens from tie people
SIS the full and complete utilization Of all
natural monopolies for the benefit Of the
people. is to erpect from every natural
monopoly using public property full com
pensation."
Let us illustrate. What does full com
pensation mean? 1t means this: Making
just as good terms for the public as pri-
vate man could make for himself, Let us
imagine, for example, that a private person
owned absolutely the streets of Philadel-
phia as that city would own them, if it had
not bartered away its rights and privileges
to corporations for mess of pottage.
How would a business man manage the
street car business? He would give no fa-
vors to anybody. He would either operate
the street cars himself, or lease the privil-
ege to the man who would give the most,
and never, under any circumstances, would
he give perpetual lease. Short, termina-
BILE leases are the kind private men give,
and thus keep control of their own proper
ty. These privileges properly managed,
Prof. Ely insists, would produce ample
revenue so that the people would need to
pay very little if any taxes.
New York City has already moved in
this line of public policy, and will obtain
increased revenues from franchises in the
future, there is reason to belieye, for under
Mayor Hewitt's administration a halt has
been called in the prodigal waste of public
resources, and his last message to the Coun-
Gil Of New York abounds in suggestions
analogous to those referred to in Prof. Ely's
article. viii other localities, ever if they
be smaller than New York and Philadel-
phia. delay action until opportunity to save
what public property yet remains is lost IN
the grip of corporate power. At any rate
take it that the ideas of Prof. Ely and
Mayor Hewitt and others of that class and
calibre, are worthy of the most serious
consideration.
During the first seyenty-fivs years of our
country's history the public lands were
held in sacred trust for the people, to make
homes for the homeless and to give lands
to the landless. Fifty-three millions of
acres were given to the several States of
the Union fol interna! communications, for
the advancement Of trade and commerce =,
the settlement of the States, and for the
purpose of education. The State of New
York York INVESTED a portion of her land
scrip in Cornell University. Two hundred
millions Of acres haye been voted to rail-
road corporations. From 1861 until 1874
these unprecedented and muEifcent gifts
were made to railroad corporations. While
no man living is more free to admit than |
am, that corporations are almost a necessi-
ty, and that no well informed citizen can
be insensible to the great benefits conferred
on trade, commerce and advancement of all
the material interests of this country by
railroads and other corporations, and that
vast benefits have arisen from some such
grants, and the work accomplished through
them, but l earnestly maintain that the
lands to the people of this republic are of
immeasurably more value and Importance.
And this will become more and more cyl
dent as time and progress roll on. Our
form and system of government can be
maintained in its strength, vigor and puri.
" best by the occupancy OF land by the
holders OF small property. 1 refer you to
the history ofthe Roman Empire before its
decline and fall, and also to the history of
France, prior TO the French revolution, as
two notable instances of the downfall of
nations because of the concentration of
very large land holdings by few persons.
In discussing the public lands question,
an EX-Goyernor of this State once said,
"That condition of Rome has not failed TO
interest friends of humanity from that time
TO this. At the beginning of the French
revolution, when France was entering upon
revolution and the people struggling for
the right to be relieved from oppression,
when the SxAetionI of tyrAnnieal landlords
had robbed them Of all their just rightS.