The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-06-24
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC LANDS.

nanus Win those hSru. headed OLD dcmOcrau
Proctor Knott, David D. Culberson and Il. W
Townshend, in protesting against the giganti
Northern Pacific land steal which the repu5 l
can majority Of the Reuse Judiciary Commit
tee few days ago reported in favor of legaliy
|, ing. The facts areebout these: The NOrther,
) Pacific Railroad wes chartered in 1864, auc
grant voted it Of alternate sections of all tn
} land for 30 miles on either side of the read
} the grant being on condition that the voa,
& should be built within five years from the dat
of the charter Not foot of the road wa
I built within the time specified, and the Inn
Of the land grant was subsequently extended
to Jan. l., 1872. Then Jay Cooke took hold o
the road and built about 400 miles of it, tn,
grant meantime having been again extended
! year or two, but in 1873 he went up with q
crash that swamped the business Of the whole
country, and not another mile of the road was
built IN the next five years. OF course the
condition upon which the lana grant was
made and extended having failed, all the lands
ezceptpossibly the fraction earned by the ac
tual completion OF 400 miles of the road, re-
vertcd back to the United States. SO the
Secretary of the Interior at the time SAID and
so congress understood; this last fact being SO
recognized that when, in 1875, congress was
asked to renew the grant it refused to do so.
Yet in 1876 this company was recognized,
and year later getting a ruling from Secre,
tary Schurz that although by the terms of the
grant the lands were forfeited they were really
only forfeitable, and an act of congress was
necessary to complete the forfeiture! Under
this extraordinary ruling the company COM
menced rebuilding the road, treating the lands
as Its own, until now the road is within 600
miles of completion.
The entire grant amounted to 57,920, 600
acres. or $4,000 square miles, equal TO the area
of Illinois and Indiana combined, and as the
lands thus far sold by the company have aver.
aged $34G per acre, the total income from the
lands, when all sold, would be, In round num-
bees, 5000, 100000, while the highest estimate
of the cost Of the road by the company's own
engineers, including all Its branches, IS but
S75, 100000, leaving the remaining $l25, OOO,-
600 realizable from the sales Of the lands q
free gift to the company.
Now what Mr.. Congressman Payson and
his democratic colleagues on the Judiciary
committee ask is-not At this day proposing
to call in question the extraordinary decision
Of Secretary Schurz that the lands were only
forfcitable and not forfeited by the failure of
the terms OF the grant-thst at least so much
Of the lands as remained unearned by the CON-
psny by the completion of say 100 miles of
the road on the LIST OF January, 1882, shall be
declared forfeited and open to entry by settlers
as government lands. This would leave in
the hands Of the company still enough land TO
pay for the entire road assuming the land to
be worth but $3.50 per acre. with surplus of
over million Of dollars; while II It IL allow.
cd to retain all the lands, the excess of value
OF lands over cost Of the road, even at the low
rate OF $3.50 per acre, will be not less than
$75, 100000.
But Mr.. Payson IN his innocence is wholly
oblivious Of the fact that the present managers
Of the Northern Pacific road knew all about
this years ago, and that, fully comprehending
the vastness of the steal involved, have long
ago so divided 1t up and parceled it out tina,
now the loss of fifty or seventy-fve millions
would be simply ruinous! Does he imagine
hat his nine republican colleagues on the ju
ic"ry committee have reported to the house
heir grave though absurd decision that these
ands are non,toretable O. for naught? Does
lc imagine that Mr.. Nillars went before the
judiciary committee and asked for decision
hat to him and his ring was worth $4,000.
'OO without proper backingy Is 1t In the ma.
ure of congressman under any circumstances
o make such grants for nothngs Who paid
'lllars for leading three or four thousand of
lis laborers up to the polls in Oregon two
weeks ago anu thereby giving that state to the
epublicans? Go to, Mr.. Payson You are
$ green as cabbage!
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The FREE TRADER emphasizes, by repeti. {