Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1919-11-27
With Land Monopoly Destroyed and People Rapidly Gaining
Happiness and Prosperity Rule Island Country
and More In Effect There

ana more IN e1t0cI mere.
A graduated land tax taking the bur
dens of small farmers and increasing
them in proportion to the size Of the
idle unused estate, and the famous re-
purchase act, by which the state APP
praises and buys large estates and
parcels them among the farmers, re-
suited as follows:
Land for the Farmers.
"By this arrangement no person is
allowed to take more than 800 acres Of
land for a farm. The yearly rental to
the government is 4 per cent OF the
market price. The government has
bought ZIP about two hundred estates,
nearly one million and q half acres on
the whole. and leased the land thus
bought to small farmers who have
jumped in and fenced 1t and plowed It
and planted 1t. The cost price to the
country has been about $50 600; 600,
and the land has been leased or rented
to 400 resident farmers, who with
their families number nearly II, 600
persons. ms8, s,. ss {, q ,.45 !
ION the two hundred estates which
the government has broken up a
population which: did not exceed one
thousand persons has, within twenty
years, grown, to 1900, and the i'm
provements made by those farmer ten
ants Of the nation are valued at
$11 10000 s4G
"The way that you rent farm lands
from the government in New Zealand
is usually on a 21-year lease, paying
an annual rental equal to 4 per cent
of the value of the. land, with q re-
valuation every q years..
Great Public Ownership Program.
Public ownership was also extended
into the realm of insurance, banking,
railroads and public utilities, like tele-
graphs, telephones, street car systems,
heating, lighting and power. systems,
and industries, like coal mining, sugar
refining, and certain lines OF manufac-
turing. The whole Nonpartisan League
program Of state-owned marketing IA
cilities, such as elevators, warehouset,
flour mills, packing plants and stock
yards is being established rapidly.
Concerning the establishment and
operation Of this great public owner
ship. program, Miss Young, among
other things, says: "a 33s, 81 !
State Insurance, TUX
1.-THE people of. New Zealand had
some rather disastrous experiences
with life insurance companies and be-
came uneasy about the responsibility
Of private INSURANCE companies.
Thereupon government life insurance
department was organized, to: which
was later added an accident insurance
department. The government conducts
it's life and accident insurance business
as the private companies do, only it
charges lower premiums and 1t gives
to the people a feeling Of added secur-
ity because their money is.deposited
with the state.
Public Owned Railroads.
Back in the sixties New Zealand
had just 48 miles Of railway under
exactly seven distinct railway systems,
run for the most part under the gov
ernments Of the different New Zealand
provinces. The state took over the
railways and unified them under one
system, ran them for public service
and developed them for the country.
Settlement was systemat ically en-
couraged by cheap passenger and
freight rates, large. concessions to
farmera and facilities to producers for
exports. Determination between ship
pers was stopped. Big concerns were
treated the same as little concerns.
There was no favoritism.
Public works, such as railway con-
struction. were taken; over by the
state, and the state hired men to do
the work on the railways, paying them
top wages therefor. At the same time
the men were working on the railways
q number Of them were taking up
small holdings along the railroad line,
which they rented from the state. In
this way a transient or moving popula-
ton was changed into q permanent
population that engaged itself in de-
veloping the country.
People Run the Industries.
..The state took over, too, the regula-
ton Of trade ana industry. State pro.
lection was extended to cover the
meat-freezing business and the paper
making business. Then state maternity
hospitals were established. There was
state sawmill. There was a state
oyster bed And It seems to be true
that nearly every time there was q
convention Of any organized group q
hopeful resolution was passed calling
on the government to establish some
new industry for the benefit Of the
people. 8 :s "a Y a4ss III
etats Home Building.
1T was for the benefit OF the people
that the government, 40 far, back as
1905. stepped IN when the difficulty Of
finding housing room 4pr the working
people threatened TO interfere with the
comfort of the people and, the nations
power Of product ion. Houses being
very scarce, rents were very high. SO
|fworkers' houses were built In all the