The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-05-28
R1IEWAYS AND LAND GRANTS.

Congress Is showing curious aud orimt-
nal indifference to Mr.. Cobb's hill declaring
the forfeiture Of all lapsed land grants. The
case ia so clear "that he who runs may
4" read" Millions Of acres of public lands
are new withheld from homestead entry, or
purchase by settlers, because they have
been granted to various companies upon the
condition that railways should be built with
in n certain time. The time specific has
long since passed, but by some hoous pocus
IL seems TO be necessary that the Govern
ment must take Affirmative action to reclaim
these lands which the railways have never
earned. The companies want to he allowed
to go on and build the railways whenever
they feel like it, and get the land grants,
despite their failure to comply with their
contract. Bargains of this sort are of the
most one sided kind. Lands were granted
to aid railway building upon the ground
that the country needed the railways,
but that there was not prospective traffic
enough to induce private capitalists TO build
them. Now some of these railways ask TO
be allowed to wait until the growth of the
country will make their enterprises profita-
BILE, and yet to keep the vast area of land
which was offered them upon condition that
they should anticipate that growth and
build out through the Western wilderness
This, if allowed, will be a clear, unmitigated
steal.
More than this, the land-grant system has
disappointed every expectation that it would
be public benefit, and with our present
light we would be fools to repeat it were ii
all to he done over again. The people of tn,
country were cheated out of the subsidy
outright by the Credit Mobilier frauds. Tn,
land grants have been the means of creating
the colossal fortunes of railway magnates
which now control our legislatures and courts
and threaten even to elect our Presidents
and finally govern our country, Just as tn
moneyed monopolists of that day, Crassus
Pompey, and Caesar, governed Rome. Instea
OF benefiting us indirectly, by cheaper trans
portation for their products, we know tina
the combined railways, the subsidized as we
as the private lines, fix the rates of freight
of all kinds at as high figure as the con
modify will bear. There is to-day nowher
on the Continent any competition in carry
ing except between railways and waterways
and that competition will not last five year
longer The land-grant system has created
another evil, that of vast farms, worked b
hired labor, to compete with the smal
farmers, who work upon their own HON,
steads. The latter are beginnin
to be crushed in the competitio
with millionaire landowners and mi
lionaire cattle-grazers, aided hy IL
excessive local freghts charged by railway
Nothing but public policy can be urged
favor of giving railroad an acre of an
lapsed land grant. twill be neither mol
nor less than deciding the public domain
Jay Gould and Vanderbilt. The coloss
shadow of railway monopoly already darl
ems all our fair land. II means grndir
poverty for the working millions of Il
future, luxurious insolence for their ric
masters. To give an acre of public land
arailroad would now be crime again
humanity.