Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1914-11-19

Canadian to the Mexican border. In
many states these 1854 own no lands
at all. In the 900 timbered counties
Investigated they own one-seventh of
the, area.
these 1,94 holders own los, soc, 900
acres. This is an area four-fiifths the
size of France, or greater, than the
entire state of California; or more
than two and one-half times the land
area of the six New England states.
Sixteen holders own 47,800,000
acres or nearly ten times the land area
of New Jersey. Thre land grant rail
roads own enough to give Is acres to
every male of voting age in the nine
western states where almost all their
holdings lie.
"In the upper peninsula of Mich
tgan 5per cent of the land is held
mostly in fee, by 2 timber owners.
In Florida 81 holders (mostly timber
ewners) hold one-third of the land in
the entire state.
Too Lavish Land Grants.
"Lavishland grants and loose, ill
enforced land laws are the historical
BACKGROUND of the concentration Of
1.-THE report. A study of the present
Iownership. of 100000 acres of rail.
lIroad, wagon road and canal grant
Hands, Governing of the granted lands
lin the map area and little elsewhere,
!shows. that of these particular lands,
granted long ago to single corporations
would be quickly sold to investors, on
| ly Is per cent are nof distributed in
h L S1,l,% Gv1k
are owned by the. grantees of their
successors or by large timber holders.
| Of the 82,500,000 acres granted to
three western railroads in the sixties,
| the roads still retained 40 per cent in
1910. ak lE
States Also To Blame.
Moreover, the states appear to have
disposed of the various federal grants
madt to them in such way as to con-
rtibute to the concentration of land
and timber ownership. Florida is a
4 striking example Of this. Again, the
public land laws, the cash-sale law
(now repea1ed), tine scrip laws, and
the homestead and timber and stone
laws operated at least in timber re-
gions, to transfer lands directly or al
most directly, to great holders.
''This marked concentration in the
ownership of land has two important
aspects. The first is the concentra-
1 ton of control of the natural resources
other than agricultural, in the area
4 comprised in these gerat holdings.
\ Besidesits timber now standing, part
II of the land must be depended on, to-
Il gether with the national forests, to
Il supply future crops of timber. Fur
lthermore, some of it has valuable re
sources of ores ,oil, gas, water power
etc.
Fear of a Tenantry System.
saThe second is the possibility that
these holdings, which will form q
considerable proportion of the future
II agricultural area Of this country, may
L be rtained under concentrated CON
troll. Formerly lumbermen often got
H rid of their cut-over land at nominal
prices or let it go for taxes. But as
the agricultural possibilities OF such
land have become apparent this pol
|Iicy is being abandoned. Alargeparl
of the present cut-over land is now Of
considerable value for tillage. Thai
mart of the timber land which when
denunded vii lbe arabic, will have
higher and higher valueas land tht
LONGER the timber is kept uncut; be
cause If the timber is held Tor many
years the land when finally denudet
lWill be ii greater demand toy agrl