The Daily Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Or.) 1876-1883, 1882-05-21
The Curse OF Land Grants.

session oil congress Iiie SoS' Sea'
of the Interior was asked to fur
nish a statement in detail of the
grants of land TO railway and other
corporation-the amount OF each
grant, how much each corporation
had earned by the terms Of the
grant, to how much they have a.
possible. equity over and above
what they legally earned. and
how much of. each and all the
grants IS forfeited by non-com-
pliance with the contract OF each.
Let US, says the Chronicle, make
this so plain that the simplest
mind can comprehend it. Every
charter awarded by Congress to a
railroad corporation that contains a
grant of land has proviso that
the road contracted for should be
completed in "a certain time, or the
grant failed as to SO much of the
road as remained incomplete at
the lapse of that time. A road
that was to be two thousand miles
long, and had q grant of forty
square miles OF land to the mile of
road, would be entitled TO patents
for eighty thousand square miles
or 81, 100000. acres of land, pro
vided the road was completed in
the time specified in the charter.
But, whether completed Of not, it
would have legal right to $4,000
acres per mile Of road for as many
miles OF road as had been COM
pieted and accepted by the govern
ment commissioners within the
time specified in the charter. The
grant to the Northern Pacific, for
example, lapsed about the time
that company had completed FIVE
hundred miles Of It's road. 1t
therefore has q legal and clear
title to f2,8O0,0Oo acres Of its
grant. From that time to the
time this years statement OF the
Secretary Of the Interior was
made it completed, say two hum
dred miles more; it therefore is
supposed to have earned all equity
of 5,l20,000 additional acres
The remainder of the grant, 3d.
aS0,00e, is contingent on the pas.
sage Of an act by Congress, either
recognizing the Company's right tc
an equity if it completes the whole
road oAestoring the land TO the
public domain.
The Secretary's statement show:
that the grants of land made tc
six railway companies, including
with others, the Northern Pacific
the Southern Pacific, the Texa:
Pacific and the California ans
Oregon, aggregate l15,45S,2lS
acres. Of this aggegate lega
title has been earned TO 1861.
1876 acres before the lapse cf th'
grants. Equitable title had hee'
earned, or at least set up, TO IA,
2e1,344 acres for road built afte
the lapse Of the grants, and s3,
674,47S acres were IN condition
to be forfeited TO ii 9 government
absolutely at the time this rs
founding statement VAS sent t
: Congress. The aggregate of tn
six grants covers an area owe
10000 square miles; or, 10 quct
the language of the Secretar,
more territory than is contain
ed in all the New Engian
states, New York, Pennsylvani:
New Jersey. and Maryland.
The area legally earned by thes
six corporations covers 29,09
square miles, covering a territor
"equal 10 all of New England, e,
eept Maine" Aud the area t
which equitable claims is set u
covers 22,2S3 square miles
territory larger than Massach.
sets, Rhode Island, Connecticl
and New Hampshire" The art
of the remainder of the grant
that part which is waiting on g
act of Congress for restoration
the public domain, and TO whit
the grantees have neither legal n
equitable right, is 130,736 squa
miles-"a territory nearly equal
extent to New England, New Yor
New Jersey and Maryland, or