Mohave County miner., 1883-10-14

 up and things generally go to smash.
 But the germ force of whatever is true and good has infinite resources and opposition is useless. This new power, together with it's adjunct, the telegraph, has wrought wonderful transformations, has effected local changes and social revolutions, and become vast and mighty power in the land. But tor it's presence our Territory might have remained q desert for centuries to come. It has accomplished great results. but like all great powers 1t has not been prop erly controlled.
 The people have allowed this use ful servant to we'll nigh become the1r master. From the earliest dawn of history the great thoroughfares have been public highways" open and free to tho public use on the payment of slight tax to keep them in repair But here is the most perfect (indeed the only road) of any importance known to the present age owned and controlled by 3 few individuals. It is a thraldom that has It's origin in pure cupidity. The people have al lowedit to be thrust upon them through their liberality, their care lessness and their ignorance.
 In 1850, the first land grant was made in aid of the Illinois Central railway. The people began to be- lieve that these won ders of the loco motive that they had regarded as fables were facts. They were as anxlous to aid and set in motion this great power as they had been to de- cry It. They forgot the duty of caution. This first grant gave ''every alternate section of land designated by even numbers for six sections in width oD each side of said road and branches" It was the theory of this policy that in belt of land thus restricted in width, the reserved sec tions would be doubled in value by their nearness to the road. The set, tier could afford to pay double for the increased value of the land and the fund thus raised would enable the road to be built and the Govern ment would lose nothing by the oper- ation. This was a precedent for other grants for few years and if 1t had been adhered to might have been very beneficial to the public; but in 1862 a different policy was inaugura- ted and our land grant policy enter ed upon its career of reckless extray- agahce. The grant made in aid of the Union Pacific as amended subse- quently gave ten sections on. each side of the road within the limits of twenty miles. In some of the rapidly multiplying grants made up to 1870 the reserved even numbered sections were granted after the odd ones had been exhausted and in many other ways the spirit, if not the letter of the original policy was per verted. For nearly a third of a cen tury these railroad corporations have appropriated, under the form of law, but contrary to its letter and spirit, large tracts of the public domain. Lands have been certified greatly i'll excess of the grants. In controver sies between railroads and pre-emp- ton settlers the rights of the latter have often been disregarded, not wilfully, but through the faults of the system. Through the imperfect machinery of government, the indif- ference of the people and the cupidi- ty of men embodied in vast corpora tions, reinfor ced by great landed estates and the neglect of Congress as to suitable legislation, the people are rapidly being forced towards the condition of political serfdom. Shall this be allowed or shall monopolies be made subservient to the supreme good of the people? and how shall 1t be accomplished.