Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-07-21

ceut of the lands affected. regard
this offer not as charity or gratuity,
for yen have no claim to either, but con-
sider it a business transaction, in which /
shall receive back in the enhanced value
| OF my own lands and the increased area
and constituency for taxation, very much
more than this grant is worth to me or to
you, Sos farmer, owning a submerged
marsh which is absolutely worthless except
tor raising frogs, and, not caring to ven-
.pre bis own money in the doubtful enter
prise of retaining it, would gladly give
portion of the wet land itself to any one
Who would ditch, underdrain and render
productive the whole
The fact that the Government retains the
alternate sections along these Pacific roads
and offers them for sale at 81 SO per acre,
is sufficient guarantee that the railroad
companies will not hold their lands at an
exhorbitant figure; and the fact that the
! business and success of the roads will de-
pend very largely upon the rapidly with
which the adjacent lands ere settled, is
ample warrant that the railroads will not
| long hold their lands out of the market.
Seltinterest and the public good will here
harmonize.
| L ut NpIlucIu iCluC iuuiptllN, III SOlu-
ing before Congress and asking for the
recent legislation, which has occasioned so
much discussion and misunderstanding,
requested four things: a. That the origi-
nal land grant, voluntarily conferred by
Congress six years ago, be made good by
permitting the Company to appropriate
other public lands to compensate for those
belonging to the grant, which had been
taken up by settlers and spectators; CD
That the short branch road to be con-
structed from Portland, Oregon, to Puget
= Sound be entitled to the same land sub.
sidy as the main line; (3,) That the com
pany be permitted to make the junction
Of its two western branches at point
further east then the original charter spec
; ifed--this in order to avoid engineering
difficulties in the mountain regloniand %
that specific authority be given the
company to make single mortgage cover
, ing all its property and rights OF property.
| This last request was made IN order to
! avoid the necessity of making fresh mort
2 gage every time a new instalment OF land
came into the hands of the company by
the completion Of each l5.nils section o
! road. Under the Legislation recently en-
e acted, the lands of the North Pacific grant
+ will pass under the general mortgage
- to the bondholders Just 6s fast as by
= the compile uon OF successive portions
= Of the road, they pass into the control and
;. ownership of the country-and no faster.
+ The current assertion that the bill author
S ICES the company to mortgage IT'S lands IN
/ advance of the construction OF the road, is
J. without foundation and absurd, Tho
S charter provides when and on what condl-
# tions the lands of the grant shall become
the property of the company, and the re-
Q cent legislation does not change The char
i ter in this regard, nor authorize tho COM
J.. p&ny TO mortgage that which is not its
It property.
t. The fact that the application OF the
Is Northern Pacific Company tor the addi-
8 tional legislation named above was preceded
d and followed by the introduction in Con-
- gress ola swarm ofpetty land grant schemes
j. tor local and lmmaglnary roads schemes
o having no merits and claims to considera-
v ton should rot be allowed to prejudice "A
* great and genuine enterprise which the
Ie people are really DESTROYS of, TO aid, be-
@ ca2se it will MD them in return. Undoubt.
!, odly the county wishes Congress to limit
e the application Of the land subsidy policy
q so The three trunk lines OF Pacific
n railroad. Here the line of distinction
|. should be drawn, end here the nation
n should put down its foot. Let the CONT
e nent be trayersed by Northern, a Central
4 and Southern Pacific Railroad, opening
C up the western wilderness, in three broad
# belts, to settlement and culture, travel and
It trade; then let local railroads be built by.
il private enterprises s fast as population and
g business demand them. The land grant
t system, as applied to these three main
t routes, is common sense and sound econo-
: my. Carried to the extreme, and applied
I to the numberless local corporations that
g are clamoring for aid at the doors of Con-
S gress, it is indefsnsible waste.