National Republican., 1882-12-09
THEY MUST TAKE THE TITLE,
And Then They Will Have to Pay q Good
Round Sum slor Taxes.
Mr.. Anderson Preparing a Raid on the
Land Grant Railroads.
The Enormous Sums They Save by Neglcoting To
Take Out Thor Patents. ~ %
The Influence OF Wall street und tIl'
Lobsby In the Matter.

On Monday or tuesday OF next WecA MI
Anderson, member from Kansas, will Ids
charge another gun at the Union Pacific rail
way company by introducing bill Similar t.
that introduced n few days ago by Mr.. VHlen
tine, of Nebraska, only more sweeping in ii
character, inasmuch as IL will cover all The
points made by the Nebraska gentleman, nnt
take in the Kansas Pacific branch of the Unioi
Pacifcas well. Mr. Anderson has bpen try
ing for two terms of Congress to secure the
enactment of law which will compel the
Kansas Pacific, through its lessees or Pur
chasers, to
TAKE OUT PATENTS FOR THE LANDS DONATED
by the general government under the acts o
1S62-Gd, but thus far he has not made mucl
headway, the railway influences proving too
strong. He is now prepared to buckle il
anew, and with the assistance of Mr.. Valentino
and other western members he expects t.
accomplish results this session, in spite of the
pressure of other business that is oppressinl
the national legislature. The history of this
branch of legislation during the past fcw years
is decidedly interesting and instructive, as
showing how little can be accomplished ir
congress in the face of powerful and hostile
lobby.
The Kansas Pacific company or rather it:
parent under a different name, was voted @
splendid subsidy in land and bonds to build 8
road from the Missouri to Denver, the land
amounting to 100000 acres in the state OF
Kansas and 100000 acres in Colorado I'm
dor the provisions of section 81 of the act OF
1864, which reads: Before any land granted
by this act shall be conveyed to any company
or party entitled thereto under this act there
shall first be paid into the treasury Of the
United States the cost of surveying, select
pany or party in interest, as the titles
shall be required by said company" &c, the
company holds that it cannot be required to
take out patents until the costs are paid as
stipulated and that it cannot be required to
pay these costs until it gets ready. AS q
matter of fact, it does not apply for patents
for any of its land until it has been sold tC
other parties and paid for, and then not unless
the purchaser insists on it. By the willlul
failure of its management to apply for patents
for the land given it by the government the
company
ESCAPES THE PAYMENT OF TAXES
on 100000 acres of land in Kansas alone
estimated to be worth, at low valuation
$15,000,000. The gentle Kansans are kicking
up a row over the injustice they claim to be
laboring under and say that every year the
discrimination becomes more oppressive. II
is held that the purchaser of railroad lands
can be forever exempt from taxation by
merely taking the company's warranty deco
when he makes his last payment and restlns
content with that title, which is in reality d.
valid as government patent, and asi good
for the reason that the land is formally re
leased from blanket-bond mortgage lia
bility at the time it is sold. Al
the present the holders of nOn-patentet
Kansas Pacific railroad lands escape the pay
ment of not less than $780, 900 year in thxes
and as the property increases in value, as 1t il
doing every day and every hour, tho amount
becomes greater, and the people who have ft
bear the burden of supporting state and leCa
governments, will have stronger groundlfOl
complaint. The people have beeiin crying
aloud for relief for several years, and they art
liable to keep on crying until their impor-
tunities are needed. e.
Several remedial bills are in the hands oil
committees of both house and senate, but they
are .t-
IN THE "PocKET," v
term which Messrs. Blackburn and other
gentlemen from the blue grass region will un
derstand, and cannot be brought for%ard
Last summer it looked very much as thougl
something might be done, and the friends o.
people thought they were in fair way of get
ting favorable report upon some one orfilOrC
of their bills from the Pacific railroad com
mittee but at the last moment the bill whiCl
had been passed upon favorably by Mr.. Ben
ButterwOrth's subcommittee was weighted
down by rider in the form of a provision di
recting the secretary of the treasury to inves
the Kansas Pacific sinking fund in first mort
gage bonds of the Kansas Pacific company
and the matter came to naught The champion
of the claims of bleeding Kansas, insisted tina
the Objectionable provision was one of Gould
schemes to enhance the value of Kansas Pa
cific bonds, and that the authorization of tn
purchase of these bonds by the secretary o
the treasury would send the market value u
90 or 80 points, realizing to the holders .
the $53,0O0,00O in Kansas Pacific bond
$10,000,0O0 or $15,000,000 profit. They he'll
further that the government would be
large loser in the transaction, as i
wauld have to pay in premiums double tn
amount it might make interest on the 81 ,000
600, or such matter, now lying idle in tn
treasury to the credit of the sinking fund
and that the measure is nothing more nor les
than scheme to take the sinking fund iron
the treasury as fast as it is paid in, to the en-
that eventually the government may com
into possession of line Of railway whicl
shall have been stripped of its lands and rul
down. These gentlemen find
CONFIRMATION or THEIR Suspicious
of the ulterfor, purpose Of this proposition +
which they object, in the passage througl
the senate of bill which contains precisel.
similar provision, soon after the measure wa
killed in the house. The bill in question H..
been lying on the speakers table ever since
and two efforts have been made to call it u
for action. Two or three members are OF
guard, constantly cooked and primed to oh
object to its consideration whenever
move is made to bring it befor
the house, and nothing short of ~
epidemic will keep them out of the wa,
long enough to enable it to pass. The mem
bers who are trying to force the railroad com
panies to assume the legitimate burdens @
land ownership, profess to believe that thi
bill is direful menace, and deep-laid, Wal
street jObbing scheme, which it is their primar
duty to defeat The legislation which is con
templated with regard to the forfeiture of
RAILROAD LAND GRANT,
aggregating more than one hundred millio
acres is an entirely different branch {
this business and one that is pregnant wit
complications, owing to queer" judicial dC
cisions, and the ruling of Mr.. Carl Schur
previous to his retirement from the depart
mcnt of the Interior to his New Yor
journal. 1t is not improbable that NJ
| Robson may take it into his head to have
farewell tilt with the Northern Pacific, Al
lantic and Pacific, and Texas Pacific companiC
before he surrenders his seat in congress, j
which event he may cause trouble among th
magnates, to whose disinterested efforts h
defeat is in measure attributed.
GRribaidls Dream.
From GWisoRfs "L0c Of Garibaldi"