The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-09-19
MOney.Making Legislation.
THE LAND cRAsRERs.

has had an uncomfortable majority II
both branches of Congress, and, for tn,
greater portion OF the time, q Presiden
in full sympathy with that majority
And when the man of its own choice
Andrew johnson, becaming President
and having, in the language of Thad
deus Stevens, some splinters of the Con
stitution sticking in his heart, under
took to pay decent respect to the pro
visions Of that instrument, a two-third:
majority in both Houses Of Congress
rendered him as iInpotent as the Consti
tuition itself, and, impeaching him for
the high crime and misdemeanor Of re.
garding that instrument, only failed to
depose him by the want of one vote.
All Federal legislation, then, for nearly
ten wears, has been in the hands of men
chosen by the Republican (or Radical)
party, and now the question is, how
have they exercised their power? A
review of their Legislation will show
,hat, with an audacity and persistency
never before equaled, they have EN-,
pIoyed the law-making power to legis.
lite money into the hands Of themselves
Or their friends. Taking advantage Of
the necessity to raise means to carry on
the war, they resorted to system OF
loans, by the sale of Government bonds,
the effect of which was that, for every
dollar it received, the Government gave
its promise to pay nearly two. That
the necessary funds could have been
raised without such an enormous sacri-
fee, | believe that every well informed
and candid man will now admit; but
the sacrifice was made, aud the pur-
chasers OF the bonds, and the Govern
ment agents who negotiated their sale,
made such profits as never before were
seen in this or any other country.
Under the pretense Of raising revenue
for the same purpose, the custom duties,
or tariff, were increased no less than
three times in less than three years, and
to a degree never before known or
thought Of; and the act so framed that
it is, perhaps, safe to say that for every
dollar they put into the Federal treas
ury, they put three dollars into the
pockets Of the manufacturing monopo-
lists
To provide. az was said, a forced mar
ket for the sale of United States bonds,
they taxed the State Banks out OF ex,
stence and created over 1900 National
Banks, with powers and privileges so
vast that their annual profits range,
according to Senator Sherman, from ID
to 20 per cent. And the currency au-
thorized by the Banking Act was so
distributed as to give s2s67 per capita
to New England, only Sll.5l to the
Middle States, but $40 to the Western
States and to the Southern States only
o. cents. At this very day the amount
of this currency allotted to Massachu-
sets, Rhode Island and Connecticut,
with a population of about two millions,
is SS6, 961 sos; while Ohio, with two
and a half millions of people, has but
SIS, 4O5. 3S5. In other words, these
three States have about Sl4 per head
for every man, woman and child IN
them, while Ohio has less than s..
Bv sudden changes in the Internal
Revenue laws, knowing spectators
nave been enabled to acquire more
than princely fortunes-the profits oil
The Whisky Ring for instance, result,
ing from a single alteration in the
whisky tax, having amounted to not
less than $jO,0O0,0OO, according to an
official report. E.
Then look at the astounding subsl
dies to railroad companies-mere pr,
vate corporations. To say nothing OF
the fitv-eight million acres granted to
States for purposes Of internal improve
ment, most of which have gone into the
hands of railroad companies-there
had been granted by Congress before
is last session directly to four railroad
communicative Union Pacific and
branches, Central Pacific, Northern
Pacific and Atlantic Pacitic-l24,OOO,.
900 acres-more land than IS contained
N the Middle States, stretching from
the Atlantic ocean to the Mississippi
river-that is TO say. the seven States OF
New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania
West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Him
OILS Besides this, a subsidy of over
500 600, 900 in bonds was granted to the
first named roads-every dollar OF
VIII 'ch, though in name loan, VIII, !,
can hardly be doubted, have to be palo
bv the United States. =,
To the Northern Pacific Railroad
Company the land subsidy, originally
Granted, was f., 100000 acres, to which
Congress, at its last session, added
nearly 100000 more. So that this
one private corporation has been gwen
of the best lands belonging to the PEG
ole a territory equal to that of Penn
svlvspia and Ohio combined. In Other
words. Congress has given to this cor
noration the means to build and equip
sbont 1000 miles of railroad, to be thu
nriyate property of a few private lndlvld
nals. Suppose that the government
had built the road itself, with The
means thus provided for its constrsc
ION and then bestowed it as a gracious
,iff mon a company ofprivate persons
Tayorites of Congress and Of the part.
in mower, what would the country say
And vet where is the difference between
that case and the case as 1t stands
What is the difference between givin'
away road already built and glvln'
the means to build it? There IS ou
one difference and that is pre)udIclal e
the existing case. By giving to a pr
vate corporation this vast body Q
land, Congress has made it the creates
land monopolist the world ever saw.
By it's grant Of over l3O,OOO,0o
acres to railroad corporations, It ha
deprived millions Of landless peoplec
the chance to get homes, except upo
the payment of exorbitant prices-land
that should have been reserved fo
actual settlers and given to them unde
a system of homestead laws.