The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-03-04
COke's Land Policy.

Translated from the free reese.
Since the public domain has ceased to exist
the people beg in to inquire what has become
of the many millions OF acres and how they
became the property of private individuals,
and the discovery is made that that willful and
criminal spendthrift system dates to and from
the beginning of Coke's administration, who
alone through, and caused by his selfish poli,i-
cal demagogic aspirations, is responsible for
the squandering of the immense landed inter-
eSts OF the state.
A Washington correspondent seeks to white
wash Coke and defend him as having been
sacrifice to causes over which he Coke had
no control. He says that the 18th legislature
(republican) secured to the international rail
road $4,000 in bonds for every completed
mile, and that Coke in consequence of this
measure, seeing the future material ruin Of the
state, and wishing to avoid this calamity (?)
changed this donation of bonds into a gift (?)
of lands.
For years thoughtlesS public has looked
upon the matter in the atorcdescribed manner
that they finally all faithfully believed in the
statement, but few took the trouble to look
behind this mach ayelian system of proof, and
Mephisto (Coke) understood how to keep the
lican journals was not needed nor cared for,
undertook to picture successfully to the daz-
lied eyes of the masses magnificent views of
the golden future; the people had no political
schooling to comprehend the plans Of its lead
ers: the public domain was considered mex
haustble. What did few thousand, or even
a million acres amount to? History has been
falsihed and aduterated since 1873 in the in
terests Of democracy; only at the present a
little light falls on the political darkness and
attention is drawn TO the causes as they really
exist, and how they've re represented by the
democracy.
The donate of bonds by the Twelfth legis-
lature was declared null and void by Cokes
appointed or organized supreme court, al
though this court only decided that state Of
fetal (the comptroller) who refused to sign
bonds could not be compelled by mandamus
to do an act to which he was otherwise autho-
rized by existing state laws. Had the supreme
court also considered the second point of de-
tense, then we would have to-day the decision
that all donations, whether in money or land,
to railroad companies were unlawful and lille
gal, but this decision Coke did not want, be-
cause he needed the railroads, and O. NJ.
the right bower of Coke, with Ferris, !
VINO was appointed by him as special Judge,
acted according to the dictates of their lord
and master.
If Coke had left things rest thus, the
International railroad would have received
neither money nor lands, but this was
not his plan, and in consequence he brought !
the matter before the 18th legislature, which
was willing to give the railroad $1,000 instead
Of $1,000, but Coke vetoed this bill and recon-
mended to give them instead 20 sections of
and per mile, free from taxation for IS years,
which was granted. The International rail-
'oad got 1880 acres of land per mile, which,
according to the price of 81 per acre, made
he snug sum of $I2,Soo, and consequently
more than four times the amount in his power
o grant. Added to this the tax of twenty-five
,ears, at 80 cents per $Ioo; 500 in one year
makes $1,000 in twenty-five years. The
and is now worth two dollars,
md the railroad company mas received
n consequence instead of the originally do
ated $1,000, which was afterwards reduced
D 5 1900, the now pripcely sum of $4,000
er mile, for which they can justly be thank
nj to the ex-governor. Mr.. Coke is not soft
nough to tell us he is no Mathematician, and
e cannot make us believe that he did not at