The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-12-29
MONDAY, DECEMBER 20. 1918.
THE RIGHT TO THE LAND.

From many places come testimony
bearing on the fact that the right to
possess the land is essential to the life
Of a people. This does not mean that
It is necessary for each individual to
have allotted to him so many square
feet or acres Of ground, or a certain
value in land. but rather that the soft
shall be regarded as the common heri-
tage Of the people. to be used for their
benefit. and not to be monopolized by
individuals without paying to the So
ciety which is the real owner Of the
rancy.
England is just now developing
perhaps the most advanced thought
concerning the tenure of land of any
country in the world. A generation
ego the kingdom was confronted with
an exceedingly serious situation in
ireland. The country was being rap
idly .depopulated, and those who re-
manned were or the verge OF ~starva.
ton. 1t was decided BY thoughtful
men that one of the greatest troubles
with the country vas that Irish people
have really no stake in Irish soil. The
land had been apportioned in large
tracts to landlords who exacted from
their tenants the last possible penny in
rent, and because OF the conditions Of
tenancy there was no incentive to the
tenant to improve his holdings. New
land laws were enacted. and either
voluntarily or under compulsion the
landlords transferred their titles to
vast tracts to land to the actual occu-
pants under a purchase plan which
made this possible. The government
also undertook the supervision Of rem
tails, and the tenant can no longer
be dispossessed It will. nor can his
rent be advanced without good caase.
AS a result OF this policy Ireland is
today prosperous. The same problem.
or M similar in character, existed
with reference to the crofters of Scot
land, and similar treatment there pro-
duced similar results. And not in
England itself the land question is be.
ing solved along the same lines.
The land taxes, government super
vision. purchases by tenants ana other
devices + gradually restoring to the
people their practical possession of
the soil. and the holding of large areas
of land out Of use is becoming neither
possible nor desirable. Old estates,
large parts Of which have been allow.
cd to lie idle. are being rented to act
nal users or sold. Certain classes
of city property are affected as we'll
as farm lands, and it is stated that
tho rectn sale of the duke of Bed.
ford Of some nineteen acres in the
heart of London was one Of the re.
suits OF the new land policy.
One Of the problems which it was
nccessary~to solve when the United
States took possession Of the Philip.
pines was that of the disposition Of
the friars' lands in the islands. Mill
ions Of acres Of the most desirable
lands in the archipelago were held un-
der: grants of one kind and another
by religious orders. and were by them
rented to the Inhabitants, and the con-
ditions were exactly those which al.
ways exist when the population Of a
country is a tenant population with
ownership vested in private hands.
The occupants had no stake in the
property which they held. and they
could see no reason why they should
tmprove 1t, for the improvements be.
longed to the landlords. and not to
them. To extinEuish the titles Of the
orders without confscation and to
make such arrangements that the oc-
cupant should acquire a title to all his
improvements was one Of the dificult
tasks Of the government, and the sue.
cess which attended the efforts to
solve the problem has been followed
by excellent results to the Filipinos.
The land problem is one OF the
greatest problems to be solved in Mex
1co. More than .n%ine-tenths Of the
people are in a condition Of practical
" slavery because they have no in
terest In the estates which they culti-
vats The private ownership Of en-
ormous tracts Of land has been a curse
to the country, and Mexico will never
have stable conditions until this situa.
ton is remedied.
Spain is the most poverty stricken
country Ia Europe. The condition Of
many Of. the Inhabitants is pitiahle,
and students Of the situation ascribe
this condition largely to the land laws
OF the country. AS Is common in
many countries individuals own large
tracts Of land. and in Spain land that
is not used is. not taxed. hence mill
ions;of acres of land arc allowed to lie
idle because it can lie idle without
actual cost to the owner. and to put
it in condition for use would require
some outlay. Everywhere bad land
laws and national poverty go together.
Some Of the Shakespearean critics
wonder whether or not the great dra-
'natist wa 4 snob. We may leave the
experts in such matters to figure that
out. but thers 10 plenty of evidence
that, whether he was a. snob or not,
Shakespeare had an u%nbounded con-
tempt for the mouthy detnsgosue.
That fact 10 made evident in many
Of his plays, and the demasogues- Of
s~hakespeate's' day appear no to have
differed uueh from thooe of the PRES
q aGe, = Mis-
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