Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-11-17
ABSORPTION OF LAND.
A SUBJECT THAT 10 WORTHY
OF SERIOUS STUDY.
The Statistics Disclose tho Fact That the
United States Is Rapidly Becoming n
Nation of Great Landlords and Small
Tenants and Renters.

OF farmers, revealed by tho facts FOL
lowing, deserve the most thoughtful
consideration OF all who believe tina
the land and those who till II, furnisl
the only enduring foundation To-
peace, prosperity and national unity
Let the reader remember that thes'
figures were compiled In 1904, anC
that the enormity has grown more
rapidly in the four years intervening
than In any similar period OF the past
The farmers and toilers must awake
II they hope TO evadc repetition o.
the scandals'of Ireland under the land
lord system, In which they are do
stined to be the victims
In order that the comparison may bC
emphasized, we give first the total arer
OF the United States, including Alaska
which 10 3,005,O00 square miles, OF
9,oO72OO,O00 acres Tho unavailable
land, rivers, mountains, military ant
Indians reservations, 1,0O9, 907, III
available land, 1901, 2o9,se3 acres
used rs farm lands, OS1 900, 1906 acres
This is little moro than half of the
servlceable land In the Union.
Five years hence 1t may be impossi
bic for millions OF the people to be free
laudholders, Says 0tlsen; Tho land
movement during the last 80 years
rings out alarm bells that should be
heard by all the people The situa-
tion, us nearly as can be aseertaincd,
may thus be hdcated
Farmers own Os7, 200, 1915 acres.
Railroads own 9Oi ,3l4, 233 acres
Foreigners own 1900, 900 acres
American spectators own 20, 500, OOC
acres.
Doomed by mortgages, estimated at
10000, 900 acres,
When the sum OF these Ave claims Is
deducted from The available land,
there remains OF the American estate
Gland Of the Union), 3O4, SOC, 2l5 acres,
or not quite five acres to every man,
woman and child living.
The wealthy men Of Europe, who
own such vast territory, also have alb
solute control, through mortgages, Of
10000, 900 acres OF tho railroad lands.
Twenty-eight railroads In the United
States own 1896, COG acres.
Twcnty-scven foreign persons and
syndicates own go, 557, 500 acres.
Five American persons or syndicates
own 27,5OO,OOO acres.
Congress granted /, 49, railroad com
panies 3il,475 square miles, yet the
whole German empire contains only
9ll, 1000 square miles.
These land grants to the railroal
companies are greater in area than all
the land owned by 100000 people in
IL Of the states
Ninety million acres of this land Is
morlgaged to foreign capitalists.
These foreign capitalists will hold u
corner on this vast property, and pin
the prices handsomely TO the native
and industrious bread producers in the
years to come,
Titantic land holdings require CORE
spending comparisons to express them.
The land owned by tho English syndi-
cate in Texas equals 100000 acres, or
4 900 square miles, If in square
shape it would be 27s miles around and
II would take 10 days to ride around it
ut 81 miles day.
In Florida an Englishman owns
?, 900, 900 acres, and Scotch syndicate
owns 5000 acres,
An English syndicate owns over
| 800, 900 acres in Mississippi.
This ownership of largo bodies OF
and by foreigners is certainly a dis
gushing factor to the bread-winners,
Is landlordism to be the fate OF this
nation2 Are The Anglo-Saxon people
destined TO become hewers OF wood
md drawers Of water? Docs African
freedom mean the enslavement of the
white people2 Are the American peo-
pie to be cheated out Of their land and
lenied the birthright privileges Of be-
coming freeholders, paying for land an
ionest price? Shall these spectators
70 on until our people are at their
mercy? Alarm bells should ring out
heir honest protest in every state
lgainst any further encroachment
,pon the public domain by either for
ign or American Spectators
Legislative assemblies in all the
tates and the congress Of the United
states should be charged to protect the
,eople from these great and pitiless
'ampires
The last movement in the South pre-
ents another phase. 1t is two-fold
movement. The one is the American
dea Of owning small farms, when each
nan is his own freeholder, the patent
II passport to self-respect with the
lnglo-Saxon race ever since Hingst
nd Horsa landed on the shores Of Eng