The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1878-06-15

and land grants for educational pur-
poses to private corporations public
moneys distributed in charities to the
inhabitants of the District Of ColGm bia
and foreign nations in distress; main
tensnce of lighthouses, coast-surveys,
storm-signals, life-saving stations; fast
mail routes. postal commissions, COM
missions and appropriations for explo-
rations of oil parts OF the continent
from the Amazon TO the North Pole /;
transits of Venus and Mercury solar
parallaxes. bug and grasshopper COM
missions, departments for the diffusion
of useful knowledge concerning the
cultivation of wheat in the west. cotton
and sugar in the south, hemp in Ken
lucky, acclimation of tes.culture, silk
culture, commission upon generation of
decayed seeds; commissions to find
claims against Mexico, courts OF claims
TO decide disputes as between the Gov
eminent and individuals; authorize
tions to the executive departments to
adjust every possible claim except tue
claim Of the laboring classes, and that
indefstigabls body of workers, the
southern claims commission, who have
discovered enough loyalists who have
claims against the Government in the
south to have squelched the rebellion,
If they had only been there and sat
down on it when it was going on.
All these precedents for government.
tai action are in favor of property In
its several forms, but where is the leg
islation for labor =? Indeed, the expen-
ditures and gratulties OF the Govern
ment in this behalf are greater than the
entire amount of taxable property of
the country as returned by the census
in 1870. Let us examine few of them.
BY the acts of July, 1862, az Stats,
492, and July I'd, 1864, (l3 Stats, SO. J
Congress authorized the issue of guar
anteed bonds bearing interest at six per
cent, currency, payable semi-annually,
to the several railroad companies to the
amount of. ...... $64 1923, 900
Upon which, since their
issue. Congress has paid,
asinterest on such bonds 36.2l2.O 900
Amounting in all to-. 100. S35, 600
These bonds run for Sc
years. The United States
will have to pay at least
the additional interest on
them amounting to. .... 62,048, 900
Making the total cash
grant to the Pacific rail-
a,
AS these corporations issued bonds on
their own account to the amount of
1886, 600, 600, bearing high rate of in
terest, aud as the repayment by the
corporations has only been made to tho
United States by transportation service,
(about 100000 up to date) no man
can doubt that the bonds and interest
paid and payable were in fact free
grant by the United States of $780,
600, 900 to these roads.
In addition to this vast sum in cash,
which never will be repaid to the
Treasury unless ii be paid for by the sales
of the land granted also to the corpora
tions. which the companies hold for sale
at s. en- acre, Congress has granted to
tuC oSNCkdt IoIAOoo SluCc
1862 an empire of two hundred and
eighty-five million acres of public
lands, which at 81 25 an acre, the Gov
eminent price, would be equal to $780,
100000, for which the companies will
realize. at s. per acre, the lowest SELL
ing price of the railroads, 81 .425 900, 600.
To this add the amount of the bonded
debt and interest. as above stated,
Sl62. $50, 900. which will make 81. $50.
$4,000, being al amount nearly equal
to the entire bonded debt Of the Gov
ernment now outstanding. the result of
the war, the lands thus going TO aid
railroads more than treble in amount
tho free homesteads ever settled, and
making in this class of grants alone a
money value almost exactly equal to
one ninth of the amount of the entire
return Of taxable property IN the
United States in 1870.