The Portland daily press., 1879-08-27
rSnecial DESPATCH to the Press.

Special Despatch to the Pressl
SPRINGvALE, Aug. 26.
Governor Grosvenor spoke to large audi
ence here tonight. Among other things he
said
sIn the Eastern Argus of this morning
find the following, written by some person
whom / have not the honor to know:
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
To the Editor Of the argus:
In an address before the Republicans OF
Deering Gen. Grosvenor of Ohio is reported
by the PRESS of August 20 as follows:
"The Republican party made but one single prom
Use when it first placed in power; that it has
redeemed and made good. 1t redeemed our terri
tories from the blight and curse of slavery, and
opened them up for homes for the teeming millions
from these states, and for the millions who have
been attracted to shores from distant lands 1t
gave against, and over the bitter opposition OF the
Democratic party, the public land to actual SET
tiers"
Now let us look at the item of the public
lands moment.
1t is the general belief that our public lands
belong to the people and should not have been
given away to any but actual settlers. But
what are the facts. Here is a table which has
been prepared by the Interior Department at
Washington and shows what has become OF
our great public domain. 1t will be seen that
there has been given more acres to great cor
DOrau1OnS IHdn Is COultlHcu III 4NOW
New York, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and
Maryland. I append list of the grants and
the corporations which have received them as
follows:
And then follows long list of appropria-
lions of public lands to railroad and other
transportation corporations. Among them is:
"nlinois Central, Mobile and Chicago rail-
road 1856 ,053.'
have to say that L did not at Deering
discuss the question of land grants to rail-
roads. was giving to the Republican party
the credit of having first established by law
the practice of granting the public domain to
actual settlers to the extent that such lands
are required for all the demands of actual
settlers.
reiterate what said. Homesteads to actual
settlers were invented by the Republican
party; and the law granting them was passed
after it had been defeated by Democratic
Congress and vetoed by James Buchanan, the
last Democratic President, and cover and
against the bitter opposition of the Democratic
party" 1t was defeated in a Democratic Con-
gress in 1859, and vetoed by Buchanan in 1860.
In 1860 the Republicans put into their
platform, in the thirteenth section, demand
for homestead law, the same which Demo-
cratic Senate had just defeated. (See Greeley
Almanac, 1861, page 31.) And it was not until
1868, when the Republican party was in power,
that homestead act was passed and became a
law.
But who invented the idea of subsidies OF
public lands to railroads? The first act for
such a purpose ever passed was a bill intro
duced by Stephen A. Douglas, if am not in
error, to give vast subsidy to the Illinois
Central railroad. Benton and Yulee had intro
duced bills for a similar purpose, but Douglas
bill was the first to become law. 1t was
passed by Democratic Senate and House,
and signed by Democratic President, and
was the entering wedge that opened the door
to vast subsidies by law that have followed.
1t was done before the Republican party was
formed and had elected a majority of either
branch Of Congress, and so at the door of the
Democratic party lies the censure, if censure
be due, and the credit, if credit be due, OF
having established the system OF lands to cor
porations.
Were it pertinent would agree to show that
the giving of lands to railroads has been OF
incalculable advantage to the landless in en-
HANGING the value of the homesteads given
them by the Republican party, and by adding
states territories, wealth and population to
the country.