680 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



off from his natural heritage. The doubt concerning early legis- 

 lation was changed into the conviction that it was a mistake. It 

 was during this time and a little later that foreign syndicates 

 and noblemen purchased great tracts of land from the railroads. 

 These lands were divided into great farms, used as cattle ranches, 

 or sold in small sections to farmers. The foreign owners were 

 always represented by managers, with whom alone the people 

 came in contact. Misunderstandings often arose, and as a conse- 

 quence, hatred for the foreigners. It was unpatriotic for for- 

 eigners to own land in this country ; and this sentiment, coupled 

 with the fear that a landed aristocracy would arise, added fuel 

 to the opposition to great land holdings and the consequently 

 unoccupied and undeveloped territory. This hatred of foreign 

 landowners, however, has no real basis. It is a relic of medi- 

 aeval civilization. Many serious and earnest men doubtless be- 

 lieve that it will virtually end in the nation's being transferred 

 to the foreigner. But in reality the alien investor puts himself 

 at our mercy. Compared with the resident owner, he is at a 

 decided disadvantage in his business relations. Again, if he buys 

 land or invests in some other form of property, he increases the 

 value of the property around it. Considered from this point of 

 view, the alien ownership in lands is not such a terrible thing, 

 and hardly calls for the resolution of a political party against it. 

 For the last fifty years there has been more or less agitation 

 in regard to the public lands. In 1852 the Free Soil Party in- 

 corporated in its platform the declaration that "the public lands 

 of the United States belong to the people, and should not be 

 sold to individuals nor granted to corporations, but should be 

 held as a sacred trust for the benefit of the people, and should 

 be granted in limited quantities, free of cost to landless settlers." 

 In 1892 the People's Party said at Omaha : " The land, includ- 

 ing all natural resources of wealth, is the heritage of the people 

 and should not be monopolized for speculative purposes, and all 

 alien ownership of land should be prohibited. All lands now 

 held by the railroads and other corporations in excess of their 

 actual needs, and lands now owned by aliens, should be reclaimed 

 by the government and held for actual settlers only." This later 



