New Britain herald., 1914-07-13

background of the concentration of land and timber ownership shown in this report. A study or the present ownership of 7,370,00O acres of rail- road, ,wagon-road and canal grant lands, covering most of the granted lands in the map area, and little elsewhere, shows that of these par ticular lands, granted long ago to single corporations apparently with the idea that they would be quickly sold to settlers, only fifteen per cent. are now distributed in small holdings. Eighty-f1ve per cent. are owned by the grantees or their successors, or by large timber holders. Of 82,50O,O0O acres granted to three western rail- roads in the sixties, the roads still re- tained forty per cent. in 1910.
 q Moreover the states appear to have disposed of the various federal grants made Ito them in such way as to contribute to the concentration of land and timber ownership. Flor ida is a striking example of this. Again, the public land laws, the cash sale law (now repealed), the scrip laws, and the homestead and timber and stone laws operated, at least in timber regions, to transfer govern ment lands directly or almost direct ly to great holders.
 Acquired in Wholesale Manner.
 Ninety eight per cent. of the 1,5O0,- 900 acres comprised in the largest timber holding in the lake states was acquired in wholesale manner, chiefly from tracts disposed of by the government through grants to the state or under the, scrip and the cash sale laws.
 This marked concentration in the ownership of land has two important aspects. The first is the concentra- tion of control of the natural re- sources, other than agricultural, in the area comprised in these great holdings. Besides it's timber now standing, part of the land must be depended on, together with the na- tional forests, to supply future crops of timber. Furtherm ore, some of it has valuable resources of ores, oil, gas, water power, etc.
 Land to Have Higher Value.
 ''The second is the possibility that these holdings, which will form considerable portion of the future area used for agriculture in this country, may be retained under con- centrated control. Formerly lum- bermen often got rid of their cut over land at nominal prices or let it so for taxes. But as the agricultural possibilities of such land have be- come apparent this policy Is being abandoned. A large part of the pres- ent cut-over land is now of consider able value for tillage. That part of the present timber land which when denuded will be arabic, will have a higher and higher value as land the longer the timber is kept uncut; be- cause if the timber is held for many years the land when finally denuded will be in greater demand for agr1- culture. Such a condition suggests the following potential effects upon the public: High prices for land sold to settlers, increase of the ten- antry system or direct farming by large corporations.
 Data Not Sufficient.
 "The data obtained by the bureau. so far as land is concerned, are not sufficient for a study of the land prob- lem as whole. They cover only one class of owners, the timbermen and only part, of the country They show conditions only at the time of the in- vestigation, and do not show whether the concentration is increasing or de- 1 creasing. They are not typical of ] present conditions in agricultural ] communities, where the average size ] of holdings is, of course, much l smaller. Though incomplete, these 1 data are, nevertheless, suggestive and l worthy of serious consideration.
 Most of the land grants were 1 made on conditions, and 1t appears | that in many cases not all of the con-