Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-06-09
LAND GRANTS.
what the Committee Have TO Say
About the Matter.
lSllecinI DiSnIlch % The RncisEer

About the Matter.
Special Di5pGteh 10 ne Register.
WASHINGTON, June SIN regard to the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, the
committee that has been studying the mat
ter has arrived at the conclusion that under
the law granting the land the latter can not
be forfeited to the Government to be re-
turned to the public domain. The Govern
ment can only take such steps as it deems
best to procure the completion of the road.
That the road has not complied with the
terms of its charter is admitted. The time
within which the road was to be completed
has been extended twice, three years in all,
but the roSd is not yet completed. The
Government can sell the rest of
the land and flush the road,
or it can grant the land to some COM
pany that will go on and complete it. OF
course the committee is confident that the
best thing to do is to do nothing, but let
the present company 60 ahead. The fact
which has been abundantly established,
both in litigation in New York year ago
and in report 70 Congress year or two
ago, is that the road is being constructed
without any capital at all; the land grant
which the government made ''in aid Of
the construction is so vast chat it will more
than pay for the construction of the whole
road, so that it would have been economy
on the part OF the nation to keep its land
for sale at reasonable figures TO settlers,
build the road across the continent and then
as y pure aUV- grace aIAu 1sI.S..S~---- 1S
ma Kes present OF Il to the. present owners.
Auditor Frepehl statement Of the estinat-
al lsAaih of the road. and the ameuatl OF
be s-arit showed 5.45o miles OF lfnes With
from "A 5000 q. 900 acres OF land to the
mile, the general Average being 2S, $40 acres,
and the total 81 $40, 900 acres. But later,
and perhaps a more exact, estimate shows
that the company could get 100000 acres
Of land on 2,424 miles OF road. Up 10
wear and half ago the company had
esrnsd by construction about l5,OOo,OOO
acres, and up to two years ago 1t had SOLD
. coo 600 acres for $9,0OO,OOO, or S.45 per
acre. The general price OF agricultural
lands IS 50. 90, but the coal and timber lanus
are reserved from present sale. Altogether
the unsold lands OF the company
amount to not less than 4O,OOo,oOo acres
this includes lands unearned and lands
earned but not sold. At the very low aVearse
| Of - 10 an acre this makes $lO0,0O0,OOO, be-
| sides the 80, ,OOO, 900 already mentioned as
having been received. In February, 1881,
| the auditor of railroad accounts estihateu
the cost of constructing the then remaining
I SIS miles of road at S26,S6S per mile'
total of $5O,llO,0 900. Adding what the then
constructed part of the road had COST anu
+be entire cost of the road would amount tc
| s75 OOO OOO-S34, ,OO0, 900 less than the value
of the land grant at low estimates. Fol
every mile of road that the company ouilu'
:, ,ets lands worth more than the cost o.
that mile, so that the government woulc
make money by taking the land and hnlsn
ing the road, and any corporation would o.
clad to finish the road for small part
the land grant-that is, for enough tt
help build the road. But the committee is
satisfied that the best thing Congress car
do is TO let the present company hold or
their fat thing, 1t is the opinion OF some
people whom the government IS not pre-
senting with railroads ready built, and
few million dollars worth Of land as
bonus, that the policy of granting land IL
aid of railroad construction is carried to al
excess when it peaches the point where th'
government gives away land enough II
build the entire road, with enough lef
over to furnish the equipment; but Con
gressional committee hasn't the heart t
disturban agreeable set of gentlemen, wh'
are naturally ayerse to giving up roa'
that they will own without paying cen
| for