The Florence tribune., 1899-10-21

maiutained from the production of the Lard reclaimed by the hands of the government. Not only is this so, but the governments of France, Spain, Algeria, Australia and Pera-ail teil the same tale and bear the same testimony. These are A:ssofie4l facts, unbeatable, and are sutfieient to serve our purpose here on this point These we submit as comparative statement of facts, which facts alone we submit, when taken for their worth, and sub mitted to the candid miad and to the impartial investigator who IS ssareti- ing for the true road to folio ;, is enough to destroy the cession theory, and stoutly maintain the other.
 Not only is shis so. but ge maintaia that, to ask the government to reclaim these lands for the people of the west for purposes of agriculture would he asking nothing more than fair play and impartial sreataent between the peop.e of the west and the people of south, east and north. It would be Easking TO more for the benefit of agriculture in the west than the gov
 ernmeat has already done for the benefit of inland commerce in the see tious just named, and not so much by l far. We all know that the goyera- ment has done nothin for the people ef the west in this derection, while on the other hand, for commercial be nefits in the states of Alabama. Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Flo rida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Maine, Maryland. Massachusetts, Mich. igan, Minnesota. Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York
 North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Penn sylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina i Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia
 Washington and Wisconsin, the gov ernment has actually expended in 3 local way and in fair. equal distribu- tion between these states. $92, Al, ,377. GA. and has in addition thereto 1T these states, for general purposes ap plying to them all-commercial 1T their nature--or at least to prom ot commercial interests, in the form O
 miscellaneous expenditures, expended 1 $fs8, ,405, lS9.96, making an aggregat of $230, ,850, ,567.69 for benefits othe
 than agricultural in those states. No
 only is this 80. but in twenty states i this union, to-wit Iu Alabama Florida, Hin ois. Indiana, Iowa, Ken tncky, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Penn sglvania, South Carolina, Tennessee Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wis consin, the government has exercise. the functions of q canal builder (aul not unwiseiy, either), and has expen ded in these states directly for tha purpose the sum of $6,920, ,7S3. And il addition to that it has given vast area of public land to these benefits, a
 well as good per cent of the proceed of the sales of such land. Not only i
 this fact, but that since May, 1875 to June 3Oth, 1s9s, the government ha
 received $31s. .532, ,129 as the direct pro ceeds of sale of pubic land, nearly al of which came from the west, and near ly every dollar of which was expende' foI Improvements in the south, east am north, and scarcely any in the westerA country from whence the proceed
 were derived. Nor do we stpp here h the last tifty-seven years the gov ernment has expended about 5000
 900 ,000- for the cleaning and repairin of canals, water ways, for commercia benefits, nearly all of which was bs yond the Rocky mountains. Indeed in 1896 alone for cleaning and impro'