The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-12-22
THE TEXAS PACIFIC.

Although President Arthur was
s%ingularly. silent In regard to the
matter Of unearned land grants to
railroad corporations, the subject will
doubtless receive the attention Of
Congress and some of them restored
to the public domain. The case of
the deiunct Texas Pacific should be
thoroughly investigated at the earli-
est possible moment to the end that
the original grant of nearly 16. OOO, 900
acres be opened up to settlement.
The history of this road is fresh in
the minds of many, but a brief refer
ence to 1t will not be out of place.
Seven or eight years ago the corpora
ton was reconstructed by placing the
late Thomas Scott, the then railroad
magnate of P6nnsylvaBia, at its
head. The road had u magnificent
land grant, which could only be
made productive by completing the
road through it. The company could
not do this with the resources at its
command, and Scott. backed by his
immense railroad support, applied to
Congress for a Government guaran-
tee Of 5 per cent interest on $50, OOO, 900
of bonds. With this guarantee the
company hoped to dispose of them at
par and finish the road. The security
offered the Government was ample,
being a first mortgage on the entire
land grant and a lien or the gross
proceeds of the earnings of the road.
For reasons not then known Con-
gress refused to guarantee the inter-
est on the bonds, and the company
collapsed. And nov comes the ex-
PLANTATION. It is known the Texas
Pacific, if finished, would have been
dangerous rival of the Central Pa
cific and for this reason the building
of the former was earnestly advo'
Gated by nearly all the California
newspapers. In the meantime, how
ever, the Southern Pacific company
was organized with the principal
owners of the Central Pacific at its
head. TO kill the Texas Pacific was
the prime object of the latter compa-
ny. To effect this it is asserted the
the Southern Pacific offered to build
its road through the country sought
to be covered by the Texas Pacific,
without any subsidy in land or bonds
Of guarantee by the Government.
This promise Was accepted in good
faith and the Texas Pacific
was thus ~effectually buried.
The next move made by the
Southern Pacific was to procure an
assignment from the dead company
Of all its rights, franchises and land
grant. This being accomplished, the
Southern Pacific now asks the Int.
rior Department for a patent to the
lands granted to the defunct com
pany.
Our press reports r full of the
matter, and the name of G. P. Hunt
figures prominently in them
This gentleman is n of the owners
of the Central Pacific and, we be-
lieve, president of the Southern Pa
cific. He has not yet secured the COW
eted patent mol will he received it from
Teller, as the latter EN-
declares he will not rIv-
coed in the matter until Congre:s las
settled the matter as to the rjgnL OF
The Southern Pacifc;to the lands orig
granted to the Texas Pacific.
As the grant was made to the latter
-0ad, and as it had not complied
with the conditions of the grant, nor
earned an acre OF the land it is hoped
Congress will speedily settle the mat
er by restoring the lands to the pub
ic domain. The lands are said to be
worth two dollars an acre, but at one
lollar and a quarter an acre they
will add to the Government ex-
$40, 900, 900 which is too
arge a sum to give to a corporation
hat has no shadow of title to il.