Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-17
settlement and ownership of the land by
the citizen.
Ian d Corporations.


A greater evil than alien ownership of
lands confronts the citizens to-day, and that
is the inactive or permissive course of the
state with reference TO land corporations
Within the past thirty-five years Texas has
granted in aid of railways over 80, 600, 900
acres of land. In addition TO this, by one
process or another, foreign and domestic
land corporations have acquired title to
many million acres Of the best land OF the
state. Most of this land, now amounting
to nearly a fourth Of the whole area OF
Texas, is held, owned and controlled by
corporations of some kind in contraventlon
of public policy if not in violation OF the
constitution itself.
The act of 1854 under which lands were
granted to railway companies required then
to ALLEVIATE these lands within six. eight,
ten and twelve years after title vested in
them. Under that law title to land was ac-
ouired upon location of the certificates.
From then until the adoption Of the consti-
tuition of 1875 very small per cent of these
lands were alienated within the meaning OF
the law The constitution of 1876, author
izing the further grant Of lands to railways,
provided that they should ALLEVIATE them
within period to be fixed by law, in no
event to exceed twelve years from the date
of the issuance of the patent They there
fore evaded the effect of the constitutional
provision by not calling for or procuring
the issuance of patents after making loca-
tons until such convenient time as suited
the companies.
As q result from the subterfuges resorted
to on technical grounds and from the fail
lure of the law to give full effect to public
policy on such questions, most of the lands
granted to railway and other corporations
have been held from actual settlement until
prices are so high in many communities
that persons needing homes are virtually
deprived of them. Each alternate section
owned by the state when settled caused an
advance of price in the railway lands In
this way, as communities have grown up in
the West on state land the corporations
have grown rich by the increase of the
price and they have withheld from
sale in violation of public policy. So that
from these acts of bad faith on the part of
the companies to whom these lands were
there exists most serious and threatening
danger to the homes of our people
in the future. With nearly one
fourth of the area of Texas domi-
mated by corporate control, claiming the
title to the soil, the future of our state in
this respect is anything but promising of
good results to those who expect our pos
terity to have homes of our own.
No government can stand idly by and
witness this condition. without being
recreant to its trust and abusing the conf
dence of the people. Our constitution pro-
Yides in express terms that perpeUuitieS and
monopolies are contrary to the genius of q
free government and shall never be al
lowed. The platform on which most of the
members of the present legislature, to-
gether with the executive, were elected,
while it did not refer at all to the alien
ownership of lands, made the express de-
mand for ''the enactment of a law that will
prohibit the further operation of land
corporations and requiring those now hold
ing possession of or title to land to dispose
of the same within such reasonable time as
will not impair vested rights"
A law to give effect to these demands
made by the people through their constitu-
ton and the platform of the party now in
control of state affairs was recommended in
the executive message to the last legisla-
ture. Reference to that message in the
discussion of that subject is hereby respect
fully made to your honorable bodies.
Perpetuities have never been defined by
any statute of this state, nor have the oper-
ations of land corporations as such been
expressly prohibited. If the people hope
to avoid perplexities and embarrassments
in the future, complicating the titles to land
and depriving themselves and their poster
ity of the homes that nature seems to have
left them, action on this question cannot be
delayed longer without serious conse-
quences The further acquisition of
title or interest in real estate by land cor
porations should be prohibited, and those
now having possession of the title to or in
terest in real estate should be given reason
able and ample time within which to alien
ate them to natural persons on prescribed
pains and penalties.