The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-05-02


gathered from investigation like the present In the
Of dscordant testimony which has been elected by
transaction which has been 40 fruitful theme of
paper enuncation. aud which has keeny elected the
passions and cupdty Of disappointed land agents. il
to be supposed that material enough might not be
culled from the partial opinions Of portion OF the wit
upon which report might DO framed iDgeniously
assailng the official Judgment aud decision Of the Secre
tay of War yet, in the absence Of all corrupt selfish
and improper motives u action In that officer, il
hoped that these opinions would have been estimated
at than their true WORTH and especially when
they outweighed upon every material point by
the great body Of the evidence accompanying this
port. 1t not until meeting subsequent to the
close of the testimony that aseertalned with
tanty that such would not be the of the commit
tee We confess have heard the report of the major
ity with surprise We prepared to concede the skill
and ability with which 1t Ia framed, yet regard II par
tial IN Its view Of the sQlect Ad IL conclusions based
upon the least reliable evidence In the record Scarcely
auion In made IN their report to that great body Of
testimony which overthrows every condemnatory position
which 1t has assumed This of the majority has
thrown upon the necessity of full and elaborate
view Of the whole Both reports will be before the
country and prepared to stand upon the fairness
Of statement of facts and the soundness of
clusions drawn from these facts ii other benefit
shall be derived from the large expenditure of public
money caused by this estgaon II may at least pre-
sent sautary admoniton to the American people to
guard their minds against that spirit of caumny and de-
traction which Is ready to ascrbe the motive
and the worst conduct to political opponent and to
pause before they permit their Impressions of public
fctionay TO he controlled by tho shrcks Of disappoint
cd spectators, when the very offence Loudly charged
may have been frm faithful and successful effort TO
defeat Illegal combinations, and to protect the public In
terests from sacrifice.
Before proceeding to present nm analysis of the evidence
imbodcd in this report some preliminary observations
essential to just comprehension Of the subject
braced in this inquiry.
Military Reserpations.
Reservations are portions of land severed from the
If the public domain and appropriated by law to some
specific public These public various. Those
designed sites for the construction of forts, asenals
and arorics with the grounds appuenant thereto for
the supply Of water, fuel forage, &c. are termed military
| reservations.
reserved for such public and the places where to be
located rests in the discretion Of the President subject to
such regulations Congress may, from time to time pre-
| scribe.
When land is thus appropriated it is Withdrawn from
the control and supervision of the General Land Office
No power exists in that department to make sale Of it,
No right exists in State even in whose jurisdiction 1t
lies to condemn 1t for public purposes, making just
pensstion for the II is subject to entry
the right of preempton No title, in opposition to the
government be acquired in it, and every person.
whether citizen stranger who without permission
enters upon for the purpose Of settlement occupation
is trespaser and may be removed by the judicial and
if need be, by the military force of the government.
The United States has its military sites in every section
of the confcdcracy in the old States well In the
new But those large military reservations which
onally appear conspcuousiy in legislative history
have usually been parcccd out from the public domain
at some point beyond upon the verge Of frontier
settlements where posts erected and troops stationed
for the protection Of the early settlers against the aggrcs
eions of their savage neghbors The rapid flow of
population, (which, like the Pontc sea, knows cbl"
the extinction of the Indian title the retreat of the
tive tribes still further into The great central Wilderness
changes the character Of these sites from frontier
interior posts, surrounded by thrifty aud agri-
cultural people and useless for all the purposes for which
| they originally established They consequently
4 new cLaup np
boundaries of western civilization Asketch OF the
tablishncut and removal Of our military posts would
present accurate history of the progress population
and settlement from the Aeghany to the Rocky noun
tains.
Notwithstanding The cessation of the purposes for
which these tracts of land set apart and their
abandonment for all military purposes by the govern
ment yet having been appropriated for specific OBJ
c by law authority short of Congress could restore
them to condition TO pass into the of the pri-
vatc property OF the country To provide remedy for
this Inconvenience law was passed by Congress the
Sd day of March, 1872 and which may be seen by ref
10 3d volume Statutes at Large page 500 ii pro-
vides
r, the c War be- and hcrcby ou,hozd under
such military belonging TIC Unii So may
hoaa or bccons useless for military purposes"
| The authority to SELL under the language of this act
construed by the President with the advice of the
Attorney General to extend only TO such military sites
belonged to the United States at the date of the law and
comforting authority to sell such approp
ated and reserved its date In consequence of this
want of authority many sites that might with great
vantage to the country, have been sold and opened to
cultivation and improvement, continued to be held
by the government, subectng Congress to mportunntc
applications for the passage of special acts for the sale
some particular reservation sought to bc brought into
market In all these efforts at special legislation strug
gle naturally cnsued between those who represented the
local interests Of the Territory and those who represented
the interests Of the treasury the object of the first being
to bring the under the operation Of the general
land system, which would subject them to pre- emption
and public SALE and its disposal at the minimum
price Of dollar and quarter per acre whilst the
special friends of the public treasury denying the
Just application Of the prc-empvc principle to such loca
ons contending that their value far exceeded the wild
and frontier lands and that this special value had been inn
parted to them by the expenditures Of the government
and the protection given to the settlers around them
maintained that they should be sold in such manner at
public private sale would best fair price for
them and best indemnify the government for the money
expended upon them. Jt needless to say that in all
these acts of special legislation the interests of the
uy made TO yield to the opportunities of the local
application.
In November, 1884, Gen. Jcsup guartermaster gen
cr thus calls the attention of the Secretary of War TO
this subject
this proper
longer necessary military purposes
valuable consequence expenditures
government protection given settlers their neigh
which sold for their r value wond supply fund sum
sry probably authority sell these bu,
wccr modification OF the law for their sale
authorize something sc their intrinsic value"
below which shall luke effect be considered legal
qurc the public interests Tho toft
Howard Sning Crawford Rock Island should
he made military depot sold for anything kc their value wpnhi
lei,rt (nlln hRNu