The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-09-05
In September, 1850, Congress granted

The first pre-emption laws were
passed under John Tyler's administra-
tion-September, l841, and March,
lS43-and provided that "by making
settlement on quarter section within
ninety days after making entry and
paying an entry fee Of 81 and continu-
ously residing on and improving it for
six months the claimant acquires the
right to prove up by paying S1.25 per
acre" In 1858 and 1854 this privilege
was extended to unsurveyed lands.
September 25, 1850, Congress passed
all act known as the Swamp Land
act," an act to enable the State of
Arkansas, and other States having
swamp and overfowed lands, to re-
claim said lands by ditching, etc. AS
evidence of the amount of lands thus
ceded, Michigan got nearly six million
acres.
The facts prove that q great deal of
this land thus obtained by the States
was good land, and also that a large
part of it got into the hands of corpora
tions and spectators.
Taking Michigan as a criterion less
than $4,000 acres have been applied
for such drainage purposes, while
about 5,54S, 400 acres have gone into the
hands of railroad and also private spec
ulators for pretending to build State
roads. AS evidence of how these State
road jobs have been managed we quote
from the speech of State Senator de-
livered in the State Senate in 1857:
"Men took contract, cut the trail
through, left the logs lying in every di-
rection, got the job accepted and got
two sections of land to the mile for the
job. Fourteen years later another con-
tract was let to build the same road
over again, and another land grabber
gottwo sections more to the mile. How
many more contracts will be necessary
to build that road / don't know"
The Homestead act" wes first agi-
tated by the free soil democrats in Con-
vention August II, 1852. They declared
that ''The public lands belong to the
people, and should not be sold to
and should be granted in
limited quantities, free of cost, to land
less settlers" Inspired words! This
was opposed by the friends of slavery.
In 1860 a Homestead bill was passed,
but was vetoed by Buchanan. In 1862
the bill passed again, and was not
vetoed by that great friend of humani-
ty, Abraham Lincoln. -.
It provides for the entry of 160 acres
on payment of S14, settlement required
in six months, and if continued five
years can ;'prove up" without further
cost; or in six months can 'tprove up"
by paying s1.25 per acre. To pre-
emption or homestead claim. can be
added a stree claim on payment Of
Sl4, and having $3.50 thrifty trees
growing on ten acres at the end ofeight
years can -"prove up" without further
cost. No residence required.
Since 1862 there have been 139,413
acres of the peoples heritage granted to
railroad corporations, and enough more
granted to them through States to
make over 00,oO0,0 900 acres, averaging
nearly 10000 acres to the mile; enough
to provide ] $4,000 homes of 16O acres
each.
Being pressed by the popular demand
for a forfeiture of all unearned land
grants; Congress, by resolution Janu-
ary 81, 1884, declared "all such lands
should be restored to the public domain
for actual settlement.
Under this resolution seven bills
were introduced and six passed by the
House, while the Senate defeated them
all but one.
Here we have evidence of the SIN
terest" a millionaire Senate takes in
the welfare of the people.
Congress has also shown its unfaith-
fulness by permitting 3O,000,000 acres
to 60 into the hands of foreign syndi-
Gates, which will result in transplant
ing to our shores English feudalism
with its system of lords and vassals;
also by neglecting to prevent many
million acres more being gobbled up by
individual land SHARKS speculation in
soldiers land warrants, through false
entries under the pre-emption, home
stead and swamp land acts.
Again, add to all this a condition of
contracted currency, that enable the
usurer to take the advantage of new
settlers and all hard pressed land
owners by robbing them of their land
and improvements by foreclosure.
These are. among the methods by
which our fair domain, procured at so
much cost and dedicated by God to
the whole human family Genesis l.,
26), has passed and is rapidly passing
into the hands ola landed aristocracy,'
while the cry goes up from the tene-
ments of the impoverished
"HoMES FOR THE HOMELESS.
And, again, add the different in
dustries that are operating under some
form of organized monopoly, sanction
ed and sustained by exclusive rights
obtained of law makers which enable
them to charge the consumer three
prices for their products or services,
and we have some of the ways that
answer the question, "Why are the
few millionaires and the masses
paupers?"
The following table shows the num-
t <>,,,,, oxJ ;f},oro,>+ q ,,a l..