The Irish standard., 1912-03-30
CHAMP CLARK ON THE
HOMESTEAD LAW

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Speaker Clark on Tuesday left the
chair long enough to make speech on
the floor in support of the bill to
amend the Homestead laws. The bill
provides that three-year period shall
be sufficient in which to prove up
on homestead claims. The only home
steads on the continent except in the
United States have a three-year
homestead law. Canada has a three
year homestead law, and Texas, which
manages it's own lands, has a three
year homestead.
Mr.. Clark, in advocating the bill,
said:
MIR. Chairman, in the early days of
the Republic the speakers frequently
took part in the debate. For some
reason do not know what-that GUS
tom has fallen into innocuous desue-
phrase. l have a notion, not fully ma
tured, to revive it. l do not see why
the Speaker has not as much right to
make speeches as anybody else, if he
feels like it
"Missourians take an abiding in
terest in the whole western, south
western and northwestern country. The
ablest defender that the West ever had
in either branch of Congress was Col
Thomas Hart Benton, of Missouri, the
greatest Missouri statesman that ever
lived; and Col. Roosevelt says in his
Life of Benton that when a thousand
Missourians loaded their wives, chill
dren and household goods into their
wagons and went across the plains
they settled forever the ownership Of
what was called the Oregon country;
that UP to that time the people out
there. when it was held in joint occu-
pancy, had been temporary soJourners;
but the Missourians were there to
stay. In addition to that, the country
has been very largely populated by
Missourians. They are a prolific race
and they like to go forth to better their
condition. Just why they leave Mis-
souri, I cannot tell to save my soul,
but they do leave it. I suppose have
received over hundred letters from
Missourians in the West in favor of
this bill, and am making these re-
marks to please them more than for
any other reason, except for the strong
est reason possible, and that is that
the bill is right and ought to pass.
"A strange historical fact is that
during the entire 80 years that Benton
served in the Senate he worked in
cessantly to make it easier for people
to really homestead land and live
upon it.
And one of the greatest Inaccuracies
in history is that the fatherhood of the
A. Grow, of Pennsylvania. Benton
worked it out and got every feature
of it that was valuable, except that he
never was able to obtain for any OF
his bills the title of homestead law
The day that he went out of the Sem
ate Galusha A. Grow came into the
House. Mr.. Grow introduced a home
stead bill by title in six Congresses
hand running, and got it adopted in
the sixth. Benton secured the sub
stance; Grow secured the title, and
the historians rob Benton of his share
Of the glory and give it all to Grow.
"Benton's theory, and I am simply
following it out, was that the possess
sion OF homes-and believe it with
all my heart-or the getting of homes
for bona tide settlers ought to be made
as easy as possible. The home is the
unit of American civilization, and the
more homes we have the better for
the Republic. The peculiarities under
which this bill is presented here are
these: With the rich soil of the state
from which my distinguished friend
Mr.. Mann, of Illinois, comes, or OF
Missouri, from which I hale, just as
quickly as a farmer could get the land
very few acres believe that Secre-
tary Wilson tells the exact truth when
he says that if the Mississippi Valley
were cultivated for all it is worth or
an average acre of land would sup.
port one human being. That would
give us a population of 100000, 00(
souls between the top Of the Allie.
ghenies and the crest of the Rockies
But these lands about which the prop.
osition is made in this bill that the
period of residence shall be- cut from
five to three years are not like the
lands of Missouri and Illinois. The
pick and choice Of those lands hav.
been taken up. It is extremely Difficult