The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-09-09

T, us tIlty UIlluk Ut, UT tuS bitAVS Va oAAO
landowners must be considered abso-
lutte, and all national works must be
postponed until lords and squires please
to part with requisite slices Of their es-,
tates. If we decide that the claims OF
individual ownership must give way,
then we imply that the right of the ma
tion at large to the soil is supreme
that the right of private, possession
only exists by general consent-that
general consent being withdrawn IL
ceases-or. in other words, that 1t Is nc
right at all. -
s. but to what does this doctrine.
that men are equally entitled to the nse
of the earth, lead? Must we return tc
the times of uninclosed wilds, and sub
sist on roots, berries and game? Or are
we to be left to the management OF
Messrs. Fourier, Owen, Louis Blanc &
CO.?
Neither. Such q doctrine is consist
ent with the highest state of civiliza.
ton, may be carried out without involv
ing community of goods, and need
cause no very serious revolution in ex'
listing arrangements. The change re-
quired would simply be a change Of
landlords Separate ownerships woulc
merge into the joint stock ownership 81.
the public. Instead OF being in the
possession of individuals, the country
would be held by the great corporate
body-Society Instead OF leasing his
acres from an isolated proprietor, the
farmer would lease them from the ma
ton. Instead Of paying his rent to the
agent of Sir John or disgrace, he would
pay it to an agent or deputy agent OF
the community. Stewards would be
public officials instead of private ones
and tenancy the only land tenure.
A state of things so ordered would be
in perfect harmony with the moral law:
Under it all men would be equally
landlords; all men would be alike free
to become tenants. A, b, c and the
rest might compete for vacant farm.
as now, and one Of them might take
that farm. without in any way violat.
ing the principles OF pure equity. All
would be equally free to bid; all would
be equally free to refrain. And when
the farm had been let to A, B or C, all
parties would have done that which
they willed-the one in choosing to pay
a given sum to his fellow men for the
use of certain lands-the others in res
fusing to pay that sum. Clearly, there
fore, on such system, the earth may
be inclosed, occupied and cultivated in
entire subordination to the law of
equal freedom.
8. No doubt great difficulty must at
tend the resumption, by mankind at
large, OF their rights to the soil. The
question of compensation to existing
proprlctors is complicated onc-one
that perhaps can not be settled in
strictly equitable manner. Had we TO
deal with the parties who originally
robbed the human race of its heritage,
we might make short work OF the mat,
ter. But unfortunately, most Of our
present land owners are men who have
either mediatcly or immediately
either by their own acts or by the acts
Of their anccstors-given for their es-
tates equivalents of honestly earned
wealth, believing that they were In
vesting their savings in legitimate
manner. To justly estimate and liqui-
date the claims Of ouch is one Of the
most intricate problems society will
one day have to solve. But with this
perplcxity and our extraction from it,
abstract morality has no concern. Men
having got themselves into the tlilemm0
by disobedience to the law, must get
out of it as well as they can; and with
as little injury to the landed class %
may be.
Meanwhile, we shall do we'll to recoL
lect that there ara others beside the
landed class to be considered. In our.
tender regard for the vested interests
of the few, let us not forget that tho
rights of the many are in abeyance, and
must remain SO as long 40 the earth IL
monopolized by individuals. Let us re.
member. too. that the injustice thus In
ficted on the mass Of mankind is an in.
justice of the gravest nature. The fact
that it is notso regarded proves nothing:
In early phases OF civilization even
homicide is thought lightly Of The
suttees Of India, together with the prac.
ticc elsewhere followed Of sacrificing
hecatomb of human victims at the
burial Of chief show this, and prob
ably cannibals consider the slaughter
of those whom 'tthe fortunes of war"
has made their prisoners perfectly
iustifiable. It was once also univers-
ally supposed that slavery was q natur.
al and quite legitimate institution
condition into which some were born,
and to which they ought to submit -
to divine ordination. nay, indeed,
great proportion of mankind hold this
opinion still. A higher social develop
ment, however, has generated in us ,
better faith, and we now to a consider
able extent recognize the claims of hu-e
manity But our civilization is only
partial It may by and by be perceived,
that equity utters dictates TO which We
have not yet listened; and men may
then learn that to deprive others Of
their rights to the use Of the earth, Is to
commit crime inferior only in wicked.
ness to the crime Of taking away their
lives or personal liberties
ILLINOIS is one of the richest states Of
the union. 1t is scarcely yet fairly set
tied, for the last census shows the male
population in excess Of the female, and
wages are considerably higher than in
more eastern states. In their last re-
port the Illinois commissioners Of labor
statistics say that their table Of wages
and cost of living arc representative
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