The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1868-03-28
OUR DB HOMES LETTER.

III H. slegnlstive mashsen" = on il grind>
ing WY, and the individual members Of this
body are = lively asaeas in ! barn-yard on
! June morning.
Yesterday the entire day was occupied 10
the discussion Of the bill for An act relative
I, thl reg rant Of the Dubuque and sioux
City Land Grant. A company called the
lows Falls d Sioux City Railroad Company,
Of which John /. Blair, the railroad king, IS
ssid to be the head and shoulders, was or
Ranized during the early part Of the winter,
q 1 sort Of compromise Company between
the old Company and the Illinois Central IN
terest, which latter Company are the lessees
Of the portion of said road now finished, and
whose interests confic.ed somewhat With the
Northwestern Company. Hence = new
Company was formed, which combines all
three interests and two Of the Companies.
This new Company now ask the Legislature
TO grant them the lands set apart BY act OF
Congress for the building Of said road con-
firm the contract entered into by said Com
~panies, and also an extension Of time for
completing said road; and further, that The
Company be granted patents for lands forty
miles in advance ofthe extension OF the road.
We have looked with suspicion upon every
movement of this Company, for the reason
that it was we'll understood among railroad
men that in case they could secure this land
grant on their own terms, that is with proper
extension Of time in which to build the road,
they would extend the road Immediately on
the line as far west as the waters of Maple
river, at which point they would bear directly
south, striking the Missouri river at or near
a point opposite the town of DeSoto, 10 Ne
braska, and there connect with the Chicago
l. Northwestern road in extending a branch
road across Nebraska, to connect with the U.
p. Railroad at Fremont. As a connecting
link In this great scheme was the building of
the Sioux City L st. Paul road, TO connect
with the former road at or near the head wa
tiers of Maple river. BY drawing patents or
forty miles Of the land grant in advance of
the building of the road, they win secure, By
the time their road reaches this point, the
majority Of the lands granted will, have been
absorbed, and they will have secured patents
therefor, and then they viii politely tell the
State sthat lift wishes the road built to Sioux
City, it can do it, AS they (the~ Company
don't propose to do anything 80 arerse to
their private interests." We say this has
been the understanding between the railroad
men of the Northwest, and this bill, to our
mind, furnishes . superior chance for this
Company to take advantage Of.
Mr.. johnson, Of Cherokee, offered an
amendment to the effect that a reservation Of
land be made of this grant to secure the fall
fllment Of the entire contract, or until the
road WAS finished through to the incorporated
limits Of Sioux City.
This amendment was voted down, and
Mr.. Browne, of Lee, moved to amend By re-
serving fifty miles OF the grant East from
Sioux City. This WAS voted down, or rather
amended by inserting twenty five instead OF
fifty miles, which was passed by a large ma
jority. But this railroad interest, who are
20 honest, and so fair in their dealing with
the State, and are so chock full Of money
that they can build railroads without any
legislative help, could not allow this little
strip Of twenty-five miles of land to slip out
of their hands; SO they move a reconsider
alton and argue the question nearly one
whole day, and finally changed the vote by a
small majority. The friends of the bill and
amendment thereto, made another movement
to reserve one hundred and twenty FIVE
thousand acres until the road was finished
entirely through to Sioux City, but this
amendment was also voted down. The bill
then passed without amendment, and we
trust will be killed in the Senate, as we think
it will be better for the State, tina. the grant
should be retained for the use of some Com
pany that viii build the road in good faith.
To-day the House has rushed through sew
eral bills, one Of which is the Mctitegor
Western Railway, or the 40 parallel Rail-
way which was passed by the Senate yesser-
dag. 1t passed the House with very little
discussion, the main bill being perfected in
the Senate. There was also an act passed
for the taxation of the shares of National
Banks. This bill viii be condemned by
dealers in stocks and bankers, but it Is just,
and extremely wise in this Legislature to pass
just such an act, and although this subject
has been logged into politics, and we thiak
n~njastly too, as it is a subject that belongs
only to the moneyed interest, and not to any
political party in particular, yet we think the
time has arrived when the people demand the
taxation Of bank stock, and we must also IN
clude national bonds upon which our banks
are based. We say that it is but just, and
that the lsboring masses demand il.
The Senate has to-day also passed an act
to amend other acts, and to provide for the
Iowa Soldiers Orphans Homes, appropri-
ating the sun of ten dollars per month for
king arrangements for repairs npon the
grounds and buildings at Davenport, Cedar
Falls and Glenvood, Cedar Falls by the bill
is allowed twenty FIVE thousand dollars, Da-
venport is allowed twelve thousand dollars,
| Glenwood fifteen thousand dollars. This we
deem very liberal, and viii, if properly used,
put our Soldiers Orphans Homes on a sub
s~tantial basis, and our State will then have
pleasant homes for the children Of our fallen
brave soldiers.
At Q O'Clock this afternoon, an effort was
made to bring up House file No. Ola bill
to regulate tariffs on railroads, and after q
little skirmishine, q substitute was offered for
it, which was considered in lieu Of all bills on
4 -
that subject now before the House.
At this juncturs, . motion was made to go
into the Committee of the Whole, which mo-
ton prevailed, ard Mr.. Williams Of Winne-
shiek, was called to the chair, and by consent
of the Committee, representatives Of differ
ent views on the subject were invited to adj
dreas the Committee.
Accordingly Mr.. Chambers Of Muscatine,
took the floor, and proceeded to discass the
substitute for the bill under consideration,
favoring : just tariff on III means of CON-
merce, and also that there shall not be an
unjust discrimination II the regulations Of
tariffs. Mr.. Chambersis . lumber merchant
and pork packer in Muscatins, and quite an