Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-10
ALIEN LANDLORDS.
A BILL TO ABOLISH A MOST PER.
NICIOUS SYSTEM.
ing Title to American Lands, Unless
They Become Citizens.

WASHINGTON, June 9.-Representative
Oates, from the committee on judiciary,
today reported to the house a bill to
prohibit aliens from acquiring title to,
or owning lands within the United
States. An elaborate report accompanied
the bill. In it the committee says The
power Of the government to totally ex-
clude aliens from coming within it's jur-
isdiction, as has been done in the case
OF the Chinese, no one questions. This
sovereign power certainly includes the
lesser one of defining what property
rights they may exercise, after they are
admitted, and during the continuance
of their alien condition.
Your committee ascertained, saws the
report, with reasonable certainty, that
certain noblemen of Europe, principally
Englishmen, have acquired, and now
own, in the aggregate, about q ,OOO 900
acres of land within the United States.
We have not sufficient information to
state the quantity owned by untitled
aliens, nor is 1T so important, as it is
generally held in smaller bodies. This
alien nonresident ownership will. in
the course of time, lead to system
of landlordism incompatible with the
best interests and free Institutions of the
United States. The foundation of such
system is being laid broadly in the
western states and territories.
The avarice and enterprise of Euro
pean capitalists, the report continues,
have caused them to invest many mil
lions in American railroad and land
bonds, covering perhaps 100000 900
acres, the greater part of which, under
foreclosure sales, will most likely before
may years become the property of these
foreign bondholders, in addition to their
present princely possessions. This ag-
gressive foreign capital is not confined
to the lands it has purchased, but over
leaping its boundaries, has caused hun
dreds OF miles of the public domain to
be fenced up for the grazing of vast herds
OF cattle, and set at defiance the rights
OF the honest but humble settler.
The bill proposes to place these aliens
under disabilities of civil law as to all
| future attempts to acquire lands in this
country. In other words, the report
says, the bill is a declaration against
absentee landlOrdism. 1t declares all
foreign born persons who have not been
naturalized incapable of taking title to
lands anywhere within the United
States, except a leasehold for not exceed
ing five years. 1t has no retroactive. but
prospective, operation. 1t also contains
provision which will compel alien
landowners to cease to be such, or to
become citizens of the United States
within ten years.
The bill, the report says, would pre-
vent any more abuses like that of Lord
Scully, who resides in England and is a
subject of the queen, but owns 10000
acres in Illinois, occupied by tenants,
mostly ignorant foreigners, from whom
he receives as rent 100000 yearly and
expends it in Europe. The Schenley
estate, about 1000 acres, within the city
limits of Pittsburg and Allegheny, from
the rents of which the Schenleys, who
are subjects of the British queen, draw
annually not less than 81 100000, is an
other instance of alien landlordism in
America. The tenth census shows that
the United States had $4,000 tenant
farmers, the largest number possessed
by any nation in the world.
In conclusion, the report says
What to do with the natural
increase of the people and the for
eigners who flock to our shores annu-
ally, and by competition are reducing
the wages of labor, and making battle
with our people, is a problem for the
American statesmen to solve. A multi
plication of owners of soil is a CORE
spending enlargement of the number of
patriots, and every landowner in this
country should owe allegiance to the
United States.