Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1911-09-05

lands. I was convinced beyond doubt
that only by their purchase could
rioting and public disorder on these
estates be quelled. In his letter in
your issue of Aug. %; MI. Wuden-
hof makes the following st&temets:
.The government bought the
LANDS Of the friars at $1S per acre.
and put them on the market with
the provision that no one party
should get over 100 acres, yet his
Iemployers (the sugar trust) select
ed $4,000 acressof the choicest Of
the lands, and got deed to them at
Sc per acre They would probably
have got them for nothing, only
they wanted the soto divide with
the boys"
Now what are the facts?
l. That in the public land act,
passed long before the friar lands
were purchased, the amount of
public" land-unimproved land for
homesteads any person or COR
poratibn could buy or control was
limited to $500 acres. This limit
was fixed after long discussion,
during which representatives Of the
sugar trust, the lumber, mining and
tobacco interests" exerted every in.
fluence, legitimate and otherwise, at
Washington and in Manila, to have
at least 10000 acres, the maximum.
as successful sugar-making by trust
methods requires large estates to
furnish constant supply Of cane.
Mr.. Taft firmly resisted all this de-
mand, and insisted on the maxim,
''The Philippines for the Filipinos''
land in so doing brought down up
on his head the wrath of "Ameri-
can capital" which stood ready to
exploit the resources Of the islands
with a ruthless disregard OF the
rights of those to whom that part of
the world is "fatherland."
q. When the friar lands were
purchased, the legislation authoriz-
ing the transaction and determiu-
ing their control. survey and resale
specifically declared that such lands
when bought would not be public
lands" within the meaning OF the
public land act. This was right.
Public land was unimproved forest,
grazing and mineral land. It was
worth from SO cents to 81 per acre.
The friar lands were, for the most
part, improved, and some Of the best
rice, sugar and tobacco acreage UNI
der irrigation, and worth from $25
to $500 per acre. Furthermore, the
friar holdings were laid out as units
for cultivation--a regular set Of
buildings. water storage, drains,
roads, bitches, mills, ETC., etc, so
that subdivision would be difficult
in many cases, and in all cases the
value of this land would be greater
than the acreage offered for sale as
public land" Having paid over
S7000,0O0 for these holdings the
government was justified in expect
ing to sell it at better prices than
could be secured for wild lands, and
in tracts of any size that the nature
OF the estate as bought from the
friar owners made most desirable
from the viewpoint of the purchas-
err Nor was there the least peri!
of monopoly of the resources OF
the Philippines in permitting pur-
chases of thousands of acres by any
one person or corporation. The total
land offered as public land is over
60,000,000 acres. Manifestly, IL
/ this land could be acquired and con-
trolled in vast estates by American
trust methods the resources Of the
archipelago would be under monopo-
listic control. But there were only
100000 acres of the friar lands. No
\ uoh6St Va AhOuOPOiy vi IulilVplu0
resources would ensue If the whole
acreage We're owned by one syndi-
cate.
8. Instead of the $4,000 acre
purchase mentioned by Mr.. Wuden-
hof being "the choicest OF the
lands" they are the very poorest. l
know just where they are, and how
big risk any purchaser takes in
attempting to clear and subdue that
estate. The land is on the island
of Mindoro That island is motor
iously unhealthfui, and is very
sparsely populated. It is almost i'm
possible to induce Filipino laborers
to stay there. The estate was never
more than one-third cleared of trees
and jungle brush. Some of this
cleared land has gone back to
Jungle" and must be again cleared.
The ivnproyomonfc oro poor opd <ha