The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1870-03-08

Railroad Jobs and LAID Slpsaies:
The Sharks Swimming Ar6lpdthe
Treasury--31Oney, GOyernQent
Credit and Land the Baft..f0yv
jobs Pass Tin Ough CongrSs--
Senator Thurman on the Sib-
ject--The Jobs OH Hand.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25.-Ex.Seeresfy
Usher, of the Interior Department Is
in Washington, the chief reppescntaYSfee,
outside of Congress, of the Kansas ai1s
Ell Paso Railroad bill, Senator Pomerv
the pious, woman rights, Temperance
man, being the chief Representative in.
side of Congress. Ths'bill proposes to
gobble up an enormovs amount of land
and money. The r,cords show that SEN
ator Pomeroy, wlo happens to be chair
man of the 6opmittee on Public Lands,
has presente1during the present Con-
gress a large number IL bills asking fois
land SUBSIDIES Eachoone.- of them is a
job and mas Especial lobby behind tt.
The country looks with confidence to
Senator Morrill,, of Maine, and Repre-
tentative Dawes, of Massachusetts. chair.
men of the two Committees on Appro-
priations, to guard the Treasury against
grants of money or the loan of the gov
ernment credit. With equal solicitude
do the people look to such men as Spra-
que, of Rhode Island; Casserly, of Cali
fornia; Julian, of Indiana, and Ke.cham,
of New York, representing the Public
Land Committees of the two houses, to
make a thorough expose of every at
tempt to transfer the public domain from
the people to corporations. They should
see to it that corrupt combinations are
not made between Senator's and Repre-
sentatives whereby millions of acres OF
the best lands belonging to the govern
ment are sacrificed. Railroad land grants
and other stealing measures are some.
times passed by an exchange of votes
between New England Senators and
Western Senators or between Southern
Senators and Northern Senators, or be-
tween Senators representing one section
al or local interest with Senators repre-.
senting another sectional or local inter
est, neither of which bills would pass
upon its own merits, but, ,by corrupt com
binations upon the principle that s.if you
will vote for my bill will vote for yours, y
they become law. The "dear people,
are quieted with the soothing assurances
that "it is all right" that "chesp and
rapid transportation would soon follow,
and.thus the robbery is consummated
and another land monopoly is born.
On Saturday the Senate passed one Of
these railroad land grants to corpora
ton in Oregon. Senator Thurman op
posed it vigorously, on the ground thai
these enormous land subsidies were get
| ting to be too common; that the bes
lands were generally obtained under
these grants, and removed beyond tht
reach Of the people at cheap prices tc
the possession of corporations at increas
ed prices. He showed that Congress;
had given twelve millions of acres o.
more of land to the Union Pacific Rail
road; seven or eight millions more tt
the Northern Pacific Railroad. Ant
there are now dozen bills pending by
which tits proposed to grant subsidies
to railroads running iu every direction
which will, if they pass, withdraw from
the public domain one hundred millions
of acres more Senator Thurman trul,
said he believed that the country's grea
source Of prosperity was in her cheal
LANDS, which enabled the American peo
pie to become owners of real estate, ant
Justified man in saying, "This cabin i
my own; this lard / will leave to m,
children after me, and they, too, vii
be landowners in the land of their birth.
On account of these subsidies, ever,
year made, it is more difficult for a poo
man to get farm or a poor meehani
to get tenement. He showed that
vast tract of the public lands betweel
Nebraska and California could no. b
occupied by the agriculturist. They ar
[only fit for grazing or raising cattle, AM
could only be temporarily occupied b
a rowing population. The good land
are given to corporations, such as tn
Union and Central Pacific.
What makes these grants sometime
infamous is. the fact that most of the lob
bying and some of the voting, throug
which means these subsidies are trans
ferred from the people to the corpora
4 tions, is done by members Of Congress
who, if not at the time members of til
corporations thus benefted-.-as th
Ameses and Alleys, of Massachusett
were-are indirectly interested. as ca
easily be shown. Congress should pas
a law making it State prison offenc
for any Senator or Representative t
vote for land subsidy toa railroad VIII
is, or expects to he, within one year a
ter the act Of voting, either directly 3
indirectly interested in said grant. Az
on this subject the House of RepresH
tatives should stop the Oregon Land bill
which was forced through. thin Senst
on Saturday last, and look to the Kansas
Ell Paso and other land jobs referred Z
by Senator Thurman, the former of whcl
was denounced by Senator Casserly, un
til such bill as we recommend above
guarding the people against corrupt leg
tislation, is passed.
Senator Caecariv is riobt in asserting