The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-07-19

Preached the land office, Cohen found a
homesteader- or sooner ahead of him.
oh, what a humbug is this interior
department.
The dispatches from Blackfoot. Ida,
which gave the particulars OF this race
for the swift and battle for the strong
also say that
DESPITE all vigilance on the part OF
the United States officials and the Po-
lice, 'sooners' secured the cholee lahoS,
Homeseekers and miners, VINO, IN soou
faith lined up and made the race NON
estly and were first to reach the lahd
Office, found that the lands and CLAIMS
which they had selected had been pre-
empted by persons who were not in
line at the hour set for the opening
Most of the men thus defeated in the
hope of securing homes they had
dreamed of for months took their III
fortune with true western philosophy
but there was considerable bitterness
of feeling on the part of some, and
many contests We're fled which will be
fought to the bitter end"
Took their i'll fortune with true
western philosophy" say the daily
newspapers. What a cheerful message
to the interior department, What sig
nal recognition of its creased pig the
ory of comforting the greatest good
upon the greatest number!
Charles Dickens wrote novels to a
purpose. Not only was his style the
most remarkable in fiction, but his
blows at public humbugs and Ubiquitous
legislation through the characters he
conjured up, did more to influence pub
lie opinion than years of debate in par
lament. Among our Bret Hartes,
Mark Twains. Joaquin Millers and
Whitcomb Rileys, have we none who
! could show up the grotesque iniquity
of cur creased pig interior department?
Among our local humorists there is
Joel Priest of the Herald; clever ed
itorial writer, be it said, who does not
believe in taking the worlds affairs
seriously. Yet if Editor Priest SO
chose, he could expand his humor to
some purpose if he took up the subject
above mentioned, instead of expanding
it upon the man around the corner.
Nor would it be Invested entirely of
local Importance, for one of these days
the Fort Hall farce will be re-enacted
in Utah when comes the time for open
ing up the Uintah and Uncompahgre
reservations.
Shaking dice for a piece of public
land would not certainly commend it.
self to the pieus parsons of our Minis
terial association. Yet will one of
them deny that it is not better plan
than the one now obtaining in the in
terror department?
Where. zoo parcels of land, for exam
pie, are to be distributed among 2o00
bona fde applicants. what better plan
could be carried out than picking the
names of the winners out of a lottery
wheel? Then would the timid man and
the deserving woman stand some
chance, and the race would not be for
the swift or the battle for the strong.
"Oh. but that's another species of
gambling" again cry the parsons. So
it is; but that's the way you conduct
your church fairs, brethren.
No application should be considered
by the land board unless the candidate
be citizen of the country. and the
state in which the reservation is to be
opened. Further, no application should
be entertained except from such who
can prove that they own not foot of
land by those who already own more
than they cultivate themselves, is one
of the grave problems of our social
economy. No man should hold more
than he needs. OF course, it would be
unlawful to restrain a person from do
ing what he likes with his money, even
to the purchase of thousands of acres;
but it is not unlawful, and entirely
constitutional, to take the tax Off inn
proved property and place it entirely
upon the land. Under such condition,
the prudent man would be content with
an acreage that would give him COM
Portable living.
But before anything can be done
toward reform Tin the administration
of public lands" we must first kill this |
creased pig in the interior department, |
because his presence in the same dwell |
ing with Justice only serves to make a /
srotesque comedy of the homestead |
aw. Kill him, if We can, by sober |
If that Is not effective,
Knife him with ridieule and show him
up in the deadly aartoon We need !
equitable land laws IN this western
country almost as much as we need
irrigation. /