The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1882-02-07

From the N. Y. World, 3!st ult.
The War Against the Land-Grab.
bers.
The Washington correspondence Of
the World announces the reference yes
terday to the Judiciary Committee OF
the House of a bil introduced by Mr..
Cobb, Democratic member from In
diana, declaring repealed all laws and
parts of laws now in force granting pub
lie lands to a number of railway COM
panies, including the Oregon Central,
the Atlantic and Pacific, the Texas Pa
ciic and the Northern Pacific. Mr..
Cobb, who introduced the bill, naturally
enough desired that 1t might be referred
to the Committee on the Public Lands.
of which he Is a member, but he prompt
ly acquiesced in the decision Of the
House that it should 90 to the Judiciary
Committee, the case of the people
against all the companies which the bill
is most certain to affect being 80 over
whelmingly clear, as the World has al
ready shown, that nothing is to be fear
ed from the action upon it of any COM
mittee not deliberately packed, as there
is some reason to suppose that the Com
mittee on the Pacific Roads may have
been "packed," to stiff such bill, as
such bills have too often been s,iled
heretofore. An effort which was made
to secure a reference of the bill to this
Committee on the Pacific Roads was
promptly met by Mr.. Townsend, and
crushed by the overwhelming vote of
16l to So. 1t is particularly satisfactory
to find from the composition of this
committee that no attempt is likely to
be made to deal with this q1estion on
strictly partisan lines. While it is true
that he pelity uaHst which it became
possible for empires to be voted away
into the control Of gangs Of spectators
was policy originated and pressed by
Republicans, and while the Secretary of
the Interior who stands pillcried in our
history as the chief tool of one of these
gangs OF spectators, Mr. Carl Scnu,z,
was and is Republican of the extreme
Pecksnitflan school, it is only just to re-
member that no man in either house of
Congress fought this policy more reso-
lutely at the outset than Mr.. Clarke, of
Kansas, an ou,spokcn Republican of the
old school whose faith iP free soil was q
faith In Keeping all the soil of the coun-
try free, and that this same early cham
pion of the rights OF settlers against
speculative rings is doing yeomqn SER
vice today in the columns of the World
for the redemption of what remains of
the public domain. There was time
in our history wheh honest men of either
party mi ght have been pardoEed for be.
lieVing the Substituting of great con
struction companies by gifts OF the pub
lie lands really wise and necessary. That
policy prevails no y in Mexico and other
Spanish-Amercan states in which capi
tai Is scarce and which Rnd it desirable
to attract capital by enormous bounties
1t may be doubted whether it is a wise
policy even 10 such countries as these
Bnt the time has long since gone bv
when it can be even plausibly pretended
that such policy is necessary to the
development of any sound and leoiti
mate enterprise within the area of the
, United States, while the steady and enor
nous increase OF imm'grat on from Flu.
rope makes it absolutely imperative thai
every acre of our territory available fol
settlement should be jealnusIy protected
against speculation and monopoly. The
public lauds even more clearly than the
public Treasury fall within the scope o
the maxim laid down by q body of cit,
zens interested in the propagation o
sound ileas touching government and
legislation which calls itself the "Societ,
for Political Eluca'ion," that "neithe
the public money nor the peoples lant
must be used to subsidize private enter.
prise" The public money of the Treas
, ury belongs to the people of the presen
/ generation 1t represents their labors
their economies and their contribution:
to the support of the Government
they choose to apply any part to tnt
'subsidizng of private enterprise" i,
= may be argued with some plausibiiity
that they have right TO do tLis, nc
, matter what may be thought of the wis
dom OF their ac'lo1. But the people,
; land belongs 10 the republic and to The
, people of the future. 1t is q great trus
con6ded TO the people of the living ag'
, which they are bound to keep sacred in
| tact for the use of coming generations
What the perls are against which suct
, Il bill as that Yesterday so overwhelm
J acclaimed by the House Of Representa-
: tives needs to be guarded in cpmmitte,
{ and on the floor of the House, is mos
strikingly shown by the fact that anon!
3 the Executive Committee of this ver1
: Society Of Political Reform we fed tn
name OF Mr.. Horace White, now one o
the svowed editors of the Evening Pos
of this city, in association with Mr. Car
Schu'z, the delinquent public officer VIII
, deliberately attempted to "restore" t.
one huge land grabbing company tn
! Northern Pacific, an empire larger thar
all New England, New York, Pennsyiva
MIA and Maryland, justly forfeited b.
that company to the people. The Even
! ing Post Is now the organ of this YER
: company, and we may look in val
, through its columns for any protest fror
5 Nj. Horace White, of the Execu,iv
| Committee Aforesaid. against the scan
4 dalous attempt of Mr. Schurz as Secre
y tary of the Interior to "restore" to
, ring OF spectators "the peoples land.
An Elephant as ExecutiOner.
E, Recent advices from India announce
!. the execution at Cabul Of Daoud Khan
formerly Minister Of War to Yakool