The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-06-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent. !


from our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D. c., June :, 1888.
Another decision by the secretary of
the interior in favor of d land grant rail-
road recalls the words of Mr. Henry
George some yesrs ago, that 1.-THE govern
ment must own the railroads or the rail-
roads will own the government. The
people are going to find out one OF these
DAYS that this is true. The case just de
cided by Secretary Teller is upon the
application of the Central Pacific railway
for patents to certain lands belonging to
the original grant, but forfeited by the
failure of the company to complete its
line within the time specified. In SINH
lar case the supreme court decided that
the provision for the completion of the
road within a certain time was a condi-
ton subsequent; that although the time
for building the road had expired, the
grant remained unimpaired, and the land
did not and could not revert without the
Intervention of legislative or judicial
action, and without such action no effect
whatever could be given to the forfeiture
clause. The secretary says that, in view
of this decision, which was made more
than eight years ago, and has ci-en been
reaffirmed and of the further fact that,
although the attention of congress has
been repeatedly called to the effect of the
decision and no action has been taken by
that body, it must be presumed that con
gress intends that the land grant compa-
MES shall have the benefit of the decis-
ion; that at all events his action as an
executive officer must be controlled by the
decisions of the supreme court. So far
as the secretary is concerned his position
is sound; and the court has doubtless
enunciated good law also. The respoG-
sibility rests with congress, which has
neglected or refused to take the necessary
action pointed ont by the court to give
effect to the law regarding forfeiture
And why has congress failed to act? Is
it the railroad lobby that stands in the
way2
In this connection, the statements of
Mr.. Geo. W. Julian in a recent article in
the North american ReDieto have new
interest, even if not now referred to for
the first time. The influences which Mr.
Julian refers to in the government land
office are still more potent in congress,
where the rights of the people ought to be
felt and their rights protected It was in
1850, for the construction of the Illineis
Centralrailway, that the first grants ofprsb-
lie lands were made. So loose was legisla-
ton, so grasping the demands of the
projectors of the various lines. that in
some instances the grants were given
with mo lateral limits" This waste of
public property became so extensive that
at last the people were alarmed, and about
eleven years ago halt was called "but
it was not until more than 100000 900
acres of the peoples patrimony had been
appropristed-a area as large as that of
the thirteen original states" Since these
rights were given by the nation, of course
there is no use in dispnting these claims,
but it would be interesting to note by
what means the railroads have been up
held in many cases in litigatiOHs with
private parties as to the ownership of
lands to which the railroads had no pos
sible claim. In some special cases it
seems evident that the decisions of the
supreme'court have been overridden by
the railroad companies The simple
printing of certified lists has been consid-
cred equivalent to patents, and that in
this way companies ''have had awarded
to them an illegal excess of indemnity.
lands amounting to more than 10, 900, 900
acres, or enough to make 81, 500 farms of
100 acres.
These lands might have been opened
to settlers at government prices, instead
of becoming the spoil of corporate
mOnOpOlies and sold at rates imposed
by themselves" In such litigations as
may arise, as far as private person is
concerned, every presumption is against
him and no mistakes are ever made in his
favor" In the endeavor to correctly de
fine lands claimed by railroads. awaiting
settlement under various acts of Congress.
Mr.. Julian estimates that there are today
not less than 100. 600, 900 acres Withdrawn.
But the worst examples of these grants
are the cases where railroads hold lands
where lines have never been built at all
The Cooss and Chattanooga railroad had
land grants which expired in 1856. An
the public lands along this proposed line
in odd sections thirty miles in width, have
still been reserved since 1868. No por-
ton of road called the Pensacola and
Georgia railroad has been built; still the
land along the whole length of the con
templated road for twelve miles in width
was Withdrawn from the public in 1857,
and remains so to-day. The st Louis
and Iron Mountain railroad had grant
made in 1866, but the road abandoned
the proposed line for another location, and
still the reservation for twenty miles on
each side of the line, as originally pro-
posed, is held. Innumerable other cases,
all OF the same character, might be pre-
sented. these illustrations of the man
agement of railroads by The land depart
ment are, in fact, illustrations of the man.
agement of the land department by the
railroads. Already the railroads are
practically stronger than the government
Acts of Congress are overridden and all
attempts to bring them to terms, as in the
case of the Union Pacific, are met with
counter movement su5terfuge and almost
open defiance. PHorO
A Wonderful Fish Pond.