Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-09-29
WATER RESERVE ANDPOL1TICS.
MERRILL. Wis, Sept. IA, 1892.

MERRILL. Wis, Sept. IA, 1892.
MR.. EDITOR:-SOme democrats who
desire to see me defeated for personal
or political reasons Or both. and per-
hans some republicans who are laborlng
lunder a misapprehension Of the facts
think am in some way to blame for
something or other in connection with
restoring 'EITater Reserve Land" to
market. If any man will carefully read
the following, and impartlally consider
the facts therein sat forth, he will at
least not be ignorant of the ituation and
can Judge whether [ am culPable ornot.
When I was first candidate for con-
press [ promised the people if elected
would try to have the water reserve
lands restored to market subject to en-
try under the homestead law only. 1t
was to carry out that promise that L IN
produced a bill and followed it through
all it's stages until signed by the presi-
dent. Had | not dOAe SO the land would
still be out Of market. This bill was
pending in congress from January IL, to
June -, over five months and hundreds
of copies were sent by me to different
>uersons in the district and it was pub
1ished by many OF the newspapers of
the district, and never received asug-
gestion or hint from any person that 1t
was not just as it should or that it need
ed any alterat ion or amendment, ex-
cept [ was advised to have its taking
effect postponed for six months to give
every body due notice and a fair and
equal chance. If the law had gone into
effect the day it was signed by the
president, as laws usually do, it would
have involved claiments in endless
litigation and much trouble and this /
sought to prevent by postponing its
taking effect until six months after its
approval by the president. 1t is not
charged that there was any connivance
or conspiracy between the land officers
and myself, or any body else, whereby
my friends or myself were benefited or
that any man anywhere was treated I'M
Justly or unfaialy, by any land officers
or by any friend of mine. The only
charge that can in any way lay again:t
me is that there were two ways to en-
ter land under the homestead law, and
that ought to have changed the gen
eral law SO as to have done away with
this dual mode of initiating homestead
claim. Had I known there was two
ways | would have tried to have had
the law chan ged SO as to have had but
one way but | did not know it and do
Mt think there is a man in the state OF
Wisconsin that knew it. If [ am blame
able for not knowing this all the people
of the district and the state are tC
blame. But no one knew so far as
know and certainly no one advised me
of it before the passage of the bill. One
statement more and [ will leave this
whole matter to the intelligence and
honesty of the people asking only for
fair play and fair treatment. Ihave nc
interest now nor never had, either pres
ent or prospective, near or remote in
any claim or to any pine lumber that
stands or ever did stand on water re-
serve land. thought | was doing &
meritorious act when | got these lands
back into market in such a way that
the district might have the benefit OF
the timber and that all who had home.
stead right and chose to use it might
stand an equal chance with every othel
man to get a claim. | have never re
ceived a cent of benefit in any way
shape or manner from any claim OF
claimant, nor have | ever alluded OF
assisted any man to get claim or in any
way contribute / to any mans loss o.
one. One thing nobo ly can deny ano
that is that no spaculator or pine land
syndicate got the land: on the contrary
it has all been gotten by men who had &
home stead right and chose to exercise
it. Ha( ny object been to make money
the land, would have been sold to TIE
highst bidder. This course was strong
ly urged upon me by men who had mon
ey and was anxious to buy it all; it was
also favored by the committee on public
lands of the house who urged that the
government would receivs five or six
hundred thousand dollars by having it
50 sold. | declined to have it so return
ed and the people of this district got
the benefit whatever it was.
Now if anybody says that that had
men in the linz a any land offiae or had
men SOU a ing upon any claim at the
Gtns ii opening or at any o:her time or
nave or ever had any interest directly
or iniirect,y in >ay cain, or thatI ever
iuiuenc ed OF tried 10 Influence any
I - -: Il.