62 COMMISSION ON COUNTRY LIFE 



lative holding of lands; monopolistic control of 

 streams; wastage and monopolistic control of 

 forests; restraint of trade. 



(a) SPECULATIVE HOLDING OF LANDS. 



Certain land-owners procure large areas of 

 agricultural land in the most available location, 

 sometimes by questionable methods, and hold it 

 for speculative purposes. This not only with- 

 draws the land itself from settlement, but in 

 many cases prevents the development of an agri- 

 cultural community. The smaller land-owners 

 are isolated and unable to establish their neces- 

 sary institutions or to attract the attention of the 

 market. The holding of large areas by one party, 

 tends to develop a system of tenantry and 

 absentee farming. The whole development may 

 be in the direction of social and economic ineffec- 

 tiveness. In parts of the West and South, this 

 evil is so pronounced that persons have requested 

 the Commission to recommend measures of re- 

 lief by restricting, under law, the size of specu- 

 lative holdings of agricultural lands. 



A similar problem arises in respect to the utili- 

 zation of the swamp lands of the United States. 



