Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-11
PoPPLEroN, VS. BRIEF.

and defender of his employers he 10
the right man ia the right place. But
when he steps out Of the arena OF the
court Into the arena of the press to
defend the wrongs and robberies com
mitted upon the people OF Nebraska
and the United States by the land
grant railroads In general and the
Unlon Pacific in particular, he
bslittles himself both rs q nan and
q citizen. Time was when Mr.. Pop.
ploton declared publicly in his famous
indianapolis address that the liberties
of this country are In greater danger
from the aggressions of corporate
monopoly, and the reckless disregard
of private rights BY the railway
magnates THAI they ever were
from rebels at home or In
vasion from abroad. And II Mr..
P~oppleton were to give voice to his
honest opinion to-day, unfsttered by
his salary CT $12. 900 q year he would
emphasize with greater force all he said
at indianapolis and elsewhere. Either
as q matter Of policy, or under instruo.
lions frem higher authority, Mr.. Pop.
pleton has undertaken the thanhleas
task Of setting Judge D andy right be-
fore the people of Nebraska and at
the same time defending the outrag-
eous exemption from taxes of the
largest landowner In this state. We
shall take occasion hereafter to point
out In detail the Inconsistencies and
false assumptions which constitute Mr..
Poppleton's elaborate plea on behalf
of the railroad tax shirkers. Barring
his attempt to befog the Issue by
burning incense before Judge Dandy,
the evident aim of his plea is to I'm.
press county officers In this state and
elsewhere with the utter useleesness of
trying to levy taxes upon the
railroad lands or to reopen the
question of their liability to taxation
before the United States supreme
court. With this end In view, he
%sneerlngly recounts tho several at
tempts made ten years ago by this and
other counties to compel the railroads
to bear their share of the public bur-
dens, adds up the thousands Of dol.
lars squsnderod by the people In seek.
Ing redress from q grave wrong, and
illustrates, by his own admission, how
the railroads are willing to ~aquander
thousands Of dollars In defending
their robberies even when they be.
lleve that the highest courts will not
sustain them. Mr., P~oppleton admits
that he believed Secretary Schurz was
right when he decided In 1877 that the
unsold Union Pacific and Kansas Pa
cifc lands were subject to homestead
and presumption entry. He says fur.
Their that this view was held by three
out Of the eight members of the su-
prone court. But for all that he
oonfesses that he himself sdviaed VIM.
Platt ''as o friend of the rosd" tc
make the contest, which he believed
would result ia taking out of the
control of the Union PAcif, several
million acres of land. Right here
let us ask, why was it, IL Mr.. Popple-
ton himuelf and three Of the judges
of the supreme court sustained the
position OF Secretary Schurz iu favor
Of the people, that Judge Dundy
sustained the railroad In preference
II there was q doubt, and there
seems to have been a very grave one,
why should not q Nebraska Judge
have given the benefit of that doubt
to his own state rather than to a giant
corporntion7 On Mr.. P~oppleton's
own confession Judge Dundy should
have thrown the a 8 out Of court.
Let us quote Mr.. Poppleton:
1t IL charged that the Plat suit was o
collusive case, struggled through the
courts. Nothing further from the truth.
The facts are these: The company, fore.
seeing the Importance Of Grand Island,
had reserved o tract of its granted lands
adjoining the city for railway uss. When
Secretary S3huIZ announced the Dude.
motto decision, holding all Pacific railway
lands subject to pre-. emption at one dollar
and twenty-five cents per acre, this tract
was worth a large sum of money. A
fquattsr having no previous interest in or
occupancy OF the land, Immediately
put up u shanty and claimed 1t by pre-
empsion. l so happened that Hon, w.
ii. rlatt,. of Grand Island, had built his
dwelling house on o corner of this tract.
This fact coming to my knowledge, / sent
for him at once, and after stating the facts,
said to him: The company must meet this
question. At the best It is q close one.
The Schurz decision may be sustained, in
which case this land, which Ia worth fifty
dollars per acre, will 60 to seine pre- -emptor.
You are in q position to pre-empt II Secre.
tary Schurz Is right, and IL we must lose
the land, we prefer to have 1t 20 into the
hands Of our friends rather than our enc
niles. If you think it Is worth q fight to
you, 20 ahead.
What does Judge Dundy think of
this dead give away7
Does it not show that this was a put
up a In which plaintiff and defen.
dant were one and the same party
Plat was the Union Pacific land
agent at Grand Island and Judge
Dundy kpaY IL. WHY did ha allow