174 HEREDITY. 



always to withstand the rivalry of greed and fraud 

 in this matter. Our national power has passed a 

 pre-emption law, and a homestead bill, and a soldiers' 

 bounty act, and a forest bill. To-day a hundred and 

 sixty acres are given into a man's control if he will 

 keep a quarter of the tract covered with woods. 

 But the more fertile portions of our public lands 

 have been sold to railway-proprietors and other 

 speculators ; and the truth is, that one of the most 

 difficult things in prosecuting now any enterprise 

 like that of Mr. Greeley, and of St. Louis and Chi- 

 cago, is the competition of land-sharks and railway- 

 proprietors who are speculators. We have railroad 

 kings who are real princes, but we also have railway 

 kings who are thieves and sharks. 



What, therefore, we need, is an organization of 

 philanthropy, if this measure of land-ownership is 

 to be pushed. We want, as Mr. Franklin W. Smith 

 of this city has suggested iri a very admirable 

 pamphlet, such attention to this theme as may re- 

 sult in a combination of capital and philanthropy 

 to secure the benefit of the public lands for the 

 unemployed. Let us take out of the hands of greed 

 and fraud the opportunity to defeat Gracchus. There 

 is no agrarian law wanted. There is an organization 

 of philanthropy needed, such that we can move suf- 

 fering families, worthy and willing to go to colonies 

 like those of St. Louis and Chicago and Anaheim 

 and Vineland and Greeley. There are five specimen 

 cases, and they are all encouraging ones. Many of 

 the unemployed say they are willing to go, if aided 

 with only a very little to go with. 



