The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-13
THE TERRITORIAL RAILROAD BILL


Senator Stewart In = Tornado OF West-
ern Eloquence-He Becomes Excited on
tho Indian Questi0n-sOme Wise
Amendrnents-A Description OF the Me-
vada Giant and His Peculiar Ideas.
WASHINGTON. April 0, 1874.
Relieved for the time being OF the currency
question, the Senate for the last two days has been
chiefly occupied In the consideration OF bill pro-
vding for the incorporation and regulation OF rail-
roads IN the Territories OF the United Stated as
reported by Senator Stewart, OF Nevada IRON the
Committee on Railroads.
The Dill as reported provides that in any OF the
TERRITORIES except the Indian Territory, an organ
ization OF not less than give natural per-
sons" as body corporate may build and
operate railroad under the provisions OF
this act The terms, concessions and restrictions
under which such corporations snail act
are thus detailed:-The grants to all such
Territorial enterprises embrace the right OF way
and grant OF land 100 feet IN width on each side
OF the track the right to take from the adjacent
public lands materials OF earth, stone, timber and
water needed for the construction and mainte-
nance OF the road; and a grant OF forty acres for
every ten miles Tor depots, machine shops &c.
The company may also go into
THE BUSINESS OF LAND GRABBING
by buying up the public and private lands along
their route under certain conditions ana finally,
In the twenty-frst section, the bill gives to rail-
way companies in the several States the same gen.
eral allowances OF land, with the right OF way as
are given to these Territorial roads. The Secre-
tsry OF the Interior is made the general supervisor
and regulator OF these Territorial corporations
and their roads,
The purposes OF the bill are those OF general
law, and applicable to all the railway enterprises
hereafter undertaken 10 any OF the Territories ex-
cepting the Indian Territory, and to preclude
special legislation for combinations OF land grab.
bers and lobby jobbers, and yet as reported, this
bill was apparently little better than stupendous
land grabbing scheme.
WISE AMENDMENTS.
But 1t has been clipped OF the section which gave
to these Territorial roads the privileges OF favored
land grabbers, and Of the section which extended
the grants from these Territorial roads TO railway
corporations in the several States. The right or
way to these Territorial roads has been cut down
IRON grant OF LOO to SO feet on each side OF the
track; and the grant OF forty acres for depots ma
chine shops &C., Tor each ten miles, has been cut
down to ten acres.
These are important clippings, for they save
many millions OF public property and Mr.. Stewards
hberalty In consenting to most Of these amend
mcnts was winning for him golden opinions from all
sides OF the Chamber when an unlucky amend
mcnt, proposed for the
PROTECTION OF THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS
IN the Territories, reused the sleeping lion, and
then, towering III his wrath, he made the welkln
proposed 70 exempt the District OF Columbia, as a
Territory. from the operations OF tnis act Gan
rigna," sala INC senator nom Nevada; But when
lions IN all the other Territories, the indignant
Senator Senator like IKE hon or . grizzly bear
yond the last point or endurance, and so,
turning upon hts pursuers, he attacked
them right And lelt ike Sierra Nevada miner
salytng from his cabin upon o gang of freebooters
whose mission il to "clean him out" IL was
touch OF Nevada and OF her Tree woods her bound
less plains OF sage brush and OF her endless laby
rinth OF mountains. 1t was q blast rs from the
bugle horn OF q western pioneer. whose range is
from Oregon to Arizona, and whose "home is in
the setting SUM-"
IN ms BOOTS six ise three man o. ane
lie Is blonde, With sandy colored hair, long,
moving beard, a little whltened by the frost OF
time, aud the top OF his head, like the shining sum-
init Of Pixies Peak is .'ab0ve the timber hne.n He
stands OH rhe floor CT the Senate, fitting repre-
sentative OF the sralwsrt miners Of Nevada, o man
whose majestic voice ana presence would electrlly
the boys OF the Devlls Gulcn or the Roaring
CANYON. They would have been glorfed In his
presence to-day The southwestern hero OF Dickens,
from the brown forests OF the Massassppy," was
pipmy compared With the indignant senator
we half expected him to say, II come, Mr.. Pres
ldent, from the silver diggings. the sage brush
plalu5 ttuu TIE aiktdi ueuS VI NcVh0a. nave seen
the jackass rabbit and the Digger Indian OF the
sage brush In all his glory OF freedom, and have
seen him on his reservation, and you can't TOOL
me, Mr.. President, with your mock heroics OF
humanity. When the sun shines with his fun noon
day lolce in my country you can see to California
and can see the drlft Oh this indian amendments
''MAkE THE INDIAN CITIZEN"
We say that the senator from Nevada, badgered
as ne was by chafilng amendments to this BILL
would have been justified in some such outbreak
as this. But he did better than this. Your Indian
reservation, as rule, he described as humbug
the poor Indians are ''t treated n like hogs,
and IN the management of which Indian
selves at the expense OF the Indians the white
settlers and the government. "rne humanity OF
these reservations TO the Indians was sheer hum
bug and cruelty. The red man, should be given
the chances and responsibilities OF citizen. Tha.
was the humanity he wanted. And why should a
railway be debarred from passing through one Of
these indian reservations, when it MAY pass
through the farms or towns or the white settlers,
IN view OF the general interests OF the Territorys
These reservations are but temporary abiding
places Tor the Indians az BEST and not onehal the
Indians reported in them can be found, because
this to the white settlers which would stop the
building OF railroad where an Indian reservation
stands rim n The way How far do you intend
these feservations too ssorea to be s ap
life OF these FAR Western Territories. They have no
navigation. They have inexhaustible treasures or
gold and silver In their noun tains, and they must
these Indian reservations. Ha is that your East
ern notion OF humanityr' And so on ior full half
an hour.
srpE SLEEPY SENATE STARTLED.
But the manner and the voice OF the Senator
rom Nevada were more Impressive than his matter
HIS manner was that OF u rushing crevasse tearing
through river embankment and carrying every
thing before IT, His voice is powerful oasso pro-
Jss,d0. Against 1t the omparativey feeble voices
OF Bayard OF Delaware and stockton OF New Jer
sey, In their attempted cross-examinations, were
drowned and reduced to silence. The senator
from Nevada was thoroughly aroused and terribly
in earnest. He iariy startled the conscrpt fathers
IRON the dr0wsy stupor into which they had fallen,
and yet there was much OF the same pleasure
given from this general warming up as would have
been given from the unexpected raid OF q Nebraska
buffalo through the Capitol grounds. The Senate
enjoyed II hugely and the Senator from Nevada
deserved vote o. thanks for this burst OF Western
eloquence, as relief from the tedious platitudes
OF the senate debates. And yet We apprehend that
in this tremendous Territorial Railroad bill Mr.
stewart has undertaken to carry load under
which he win be broken down.