The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1852-02-19
[From the Washington RePnblic.l
RAILROADS ~ THE WEST-ArXILIA-
RY GRANTS or PUBLIC LANDS.

with debates arising out Of q measure intr
duced BY Mr. JoNEs, offowa. granting Find
to that State 10 MD in the construction Q
projected railroads; and amendments h,v.
been introduced that csn hardly fail to pro
dnce collateral discussions on questions in
vnIving the general disposition Of the pub
tic lands in the great and growing West.
The people Of Iowa believe ,ha, The in
teres,s of their State require the cons,ruc
ton Of Two great lines sofrailaay--one lrun
Dubuque to Keokuk, running through
tier Of settled and comparativeig improved
counties, and connecting the principal min
ernl region with what mus, always be ib.
chief river por, Of the Staie; the other from
Davenport 10 Council Bluffs, traversn.
f,r the most part succession Of ferIil,
praries, opening far settlement reeior
otherwise all bur unavailable. and es,mh
fishing a route Of travel between an advan
1 geous point on the Mississippi, and III,
recoenized Starting point for Oregon an,
|Caifirnia. Both are Of vital importance
10 Iowa, and in n less degree. though no
less certainly. 10 the whole Unrn. Con,
filcni in The possession II rich nd variet
resources. md in tho Justice af claims Il
consideration b, The General Gevernment
the State has male application for ASST
tance Ia the form mtst avaiiah'e; aud, il
pursuance Of that application. the bill nos
before the Senate proposes TO eede to ih'
State alternate sections OF unsettled LAM
,long The contemplated roads 10 the exten
of six miles on either side.
Without committing ourselves TO the dc
tails ofthe measure or all The alterior view.
of It's friends, We cannot but think that the
principle il rests upon is essentially sound
whether considered as portion Of our ma
ii nai economy, or as adapted TO the loca
r qnremeuis Of newl, settled district
We approve Of il as a ,oeans Of efiertint
gigantic Improvements which would other
wise be impossible, md hope hereafter 4
see it applied 10 every State circumstance
as Iowa is, and presenting equal claims I,
legislative assistance II is as applicable
10 the construction of canil al Sant Sic
Mare, for The behoof Of Michig n, as 10 the
h,nl'llng ol railroads for the bencfi, Of lowa
nd we are unable to discover in what iieh
The plans projected for The advancement %
Michigan or Iowa can be regarded as prejn
dicial 10 other sections ot. the Union.
The wrong imputed 10 i.e Iowa scheme
is that il appropria,es 10 he State what be-
lpngs 10 the narion--that it does injustice
by disering from general application
tor the relief Of particular localities, iarg.
tracts Of The public domain held BY ths
General Government 10 trust ior The whole
community. II il were shown that tiIs
grants sought were designed TO aggrandiz
lndividuaIsor companies Of speculators, the
objection would be valid and conclusive
But ihe State, as whole, makes the ap
plication, and compliance with il, while
conierrlng obvious advantages on the pres
ent holders of land along the lines, viii moi
the less benefit all other Of its citizens
Simply as measure Of justice, il seems
to US thai The residents of "a State which bul
Yesterday formed The hunting-ground pi
Indians, have y title t. some regard in con-
>ideration Of the services which they hay.
indirectly rendered TO the country. Admit
that the first settlers Of a territory are such
from regard 10 their own welfare and not
from any mniives Of patr.oiisn, still il cnn.
not lie denied thai, ia encountering The
hazards and hadrships nciden, 10 n pio.
neer's life, they create for themselves J.
right 10 friendly consideration on The parI
II the Government whose resources they
have developed. They virtually conver,
immense regions Of waste into msrkels.
be commodny, and by their enterprise and
industry give value 10 what were else
worthless, because unavailable. Every
road they make adds 10 the exchange be
value Of the Government, land as well is
their own; every bridge the, construct 10.
creases facilities tor the settlement Of YET
lands every schoo. house they
raise hasiens the sale Of lands owned b.
the federal power; and yet roads and
bridges and school, !-houses, and the multi
,nde Of ct ceteras pertaining 10 growing set
dement's. are made and maintained on o.
taxes levied oD the settlers soil, while The
vast public domain adjoining, although
sharing the advantages conferred by these
things, is exempted from all liability con
nec,ed with them. The public domain
rcaps full share Of the benefits accruing
ircm private taxation and industry, wibou,
being subjected to enc ioia nf cost. or IL
self this is a great wrong. II is a wrong 10
The individual paying taxes for The ad-
vancement of what only partially concerns
Them, and to the community because Of the
subsidiary evils to which il gives birth.
In equity, the public domain is liable 10
the amount Of its just proportion Of the cos,
Of all improvements from which il derives
profit. Congress, having decreed that il
shall be free from taxation, is, we contend,
bound TO provide an equivalent in some
other way; and We look upon the grants
peti,ioned for by Iowa as neither more nor
less than an instalment Of the debt due By
The Government TO its western citizens
An idea Of the extent OF this debt may be
formed from the calculations Of Mr.. SUM
NER, introduced into his speech in the Sen
ate Yesterday. He estimates the total
amount at 72,250,000, very small pro-
portion ofwhich has been paid in the shape
ofin,ernal improvements. The calculation
is based upon the moderate supposition tha,
The tax on the land OF nonresident proprie-
tors III The States embraced. is cent per
acre, which is unquesticnably on the safe
side Of the mark
AZ afs al s~l