The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1882-06-03
yICKsBURG, SHREVEPORT AND PA.
CIFIC RAILROAD LAND GRANT.

1
The following Washington special ofthe
18th to tho New York Tribune gives some
of the facts concerning the land grant to the
vicksburg, ehreveport and Pacific Railroad
which will prove OF interest to large num-
ber Of our readers. 1e
Among the railroad grants specified IN |
the resolution which was referred 20 tne
House committee on the judiciary. for for
FIXTURE on .ccount Of noncompliance with
the term Of tho grant, was that OF the V1cks-
burg. Shreveport and Pacific railroad COM
pany. . corporation which has . partially |
completed line Of road from the Mississippi
river. through Louisiana, to the Texas
state line. q distance Of about one hundred
and ninety miles, ninety four miles of
which have been built. This land grant,
made in 1856, amount. d to 3,sA0 acres Dor
mile and before the outbreak ofthe rebel
lion, the company had earned 800 $50 acres
fits grant. It has received patents for
S5S ,2l2 acres. The grant was of the odd
numbered sections in q six mile strip and
the indemnity limits were fixed at 10 miles.
BY the terms of the grant the road was TO
be forever ''a public highway for the use OF
the government Of the United States. free
from toll or other charge upon tho trans
portation Of any property or troops Of the
United States" In his report to the House
March n, 1882, the commissioner Of the
general land once described this grant as
amounting to 725, 200 acres-that being ian
approximate estimate"
According to brief just filed by Mr.. NJ.
d. Brainard, the attorney OF the railroad
company with the Judiciary committee,
there now remain of vacant unappropriated
public lands lying within the granted and
Indemnity limits of the grants only 2o.652
acres, all the remaining odd sections having
been disposed of by the United States be-
for the railroad says: ... ...r.,...
ssBy the construction of the ", 9. u r.
railroad from the Ouachita river to the Red
river q distance of 95 miles, this company
will earn 314 800 acres Of land; yet, owing
to the fact that the odd sections have been
sold by the governments, 1t can recover only
l29O4 acres of land the United States cannot
require the comp ny to carry Its property
and troops free of charge and Its mail at
reduced rates; for The road will not be
land grant after its grant is forfeited, and
Will be released from the Obligations ln-
posed by the granting act. ais -s-er---
According to af1davits accompanying the
brief 1t appears that the entire line OF thts
railroad will be completed and in running
order before he end of this year. 1t would
be interesting to know how much abate-
ment the figures hereto published as the
amounts Of the lapsed land grants would
suffer if proper deductions were made on
account of tho sale or disposal by the Uni
ted States, to others than the railroad COM
panies, of the odd-numbered section of
public land within the limits of the respect
i've grants. It will be observed that in the
case Of the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pa
cific grant deduction of about SO per cent.
must be made from the approximate esti-
mate' furnished to Congress by the COM
missioner Of general land Office; and, more
over, that that particular corporation has
not received patents to quite as much land
as it has earned by the construction of the
road.
OF course it may be argued that this cor.
poration has not complied with the terms
of its grant, which required completion OF
the road within ten years. One-half the
roao, however, was completed during the
first a.e years. and then the war broke out.
Immediately after the war tho corporation
became involved in legal proceedings,
which prevented further operations for a
few years, and it was only a year or two
ago that the road came into the possession
of it's present holders who have ever since
vigorously pushed its construction, so that
it is to be completed this year. In any
event, however, the United States cannot
recover the lands earned by and patented
to the company.