Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-03-10
Jerry Simpson on Forts and Land
Grabbing.

Congressman Jerry Simpson, in an
interview with Henry George. jr.. pub
lished in the Sunday Advertiser, of New
York, makes some eminently sensible
observations regarding the bill now
vending in congress for the expenditure
tf 500, 600, 900 to fortify seaportS
who's to be defended?" asks Mr.
Simpson. who's to be attacked?"
OF course there is no answer, and Mr.
Simpson, justly replying to his own
questions, says: THE fact is, this for
LITIGATION business is humbug from
beginning to end" He then proceeds:
What we out in Kansas want--and
the great farmer class throughout the
country are like us-is not to be taxed
for the building of Notifications We
waat chance to pillow the ground; q
chance to SOW and reap; a chance to
sell our products; chance for some
reciprocity with people who want our
things and have things we want,
whether those people are in another
state or in another country. We want
chance to trade and want friendly re-
lations everywhere, and we don't any
more need Notifications around the
oItitSu otdCcS tHdu VIC Accu tilCuA
around the state of Kansas. Wars don't
blow up in night. Wen have plenty
of time to get ready to receive our
friends If they should want to try to in
wade u.s."
Changing the subject Mr.. Simpson
said: I'VE are about to oper. up for set
Element 6. 900, 900 acres of iand in the
Cherokee strip and in the Cheyenne and
Arapahoe countries. l presume, in do
ing so, we shall witness another Okla
homa struggle. Yet 1 hope congress
will adopt some preventive measures.
To my mind, the way to prevent the
land from being seized by spectators
and to preserve it for actual users, as
was the intention of the homestead
law, but which shat law has failed to
accomplish, is for the people, through
their government to retain title in the
land and lease il to the occupants, as
was done by the state of Nebraska
most successfully with its school lands
/ am informed that rental of 81 an
acre was obtained from some of that
land. This charge upon land, while it
would bring in revenue and keep land
spectators out, would make taxes upon
improvements just that much less. But
if the barriers are simply thrown down,
then we'll have the Oklahoma business
over again-the spectators will ride in
on fleet horses and seize upon all the
choice spots, while the real farmers,
burdened with their families, will toll
behind, and find on arriving only unde-
SRA BILE parts of the new country left.
1t is quite apparent that it won't do to
homestead this new territory. That
means handing large part over to
SPECTATORS and putting the remainder
under mortgage, which is the same
thing in the end. There is feeling in
congress that something should be done
to prevent this, but whether there is a
clear idea of this remedy I speak of
can not say.
II would give the settler the right to
sell his improvements, but not the land.
Everything that he produces upon it
should be his, but the land should be-
long to all the people, and he should
have only the right to use it, and he
should pay the people for the privilege.
The land should be appraised period
ically, SO that the rental should have
its proper relation to any change in the
value. How, or by whom. this should
be done would be details to be settled
by territorial legislation"