Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-27
A Monstrous @
st. Louis Po,t-D Dispatch.

st. Louis Post-Dispatch.
It is to be feared that during the
last week of the session congress will
pass q bill which has been favorably
reported comforting upon Jay Gould
and O. P. Huntington a free gift of
ID, 600, 900 acres of land valued at
$25 600, 900. This is the land grant
which the Texas Pacific road may earn
by extending its line between the
western boundary of Texas and the
Pacific Coast, bat of which it has not
earned an acre by building q single
mile Of the proposed extension.
Ninety miles east of the western boun.
Diary Of Texas the Texas Pacific met
Huntington's Southern Pacific
and stopped there. Huntington's
road was built from the eastern bound.
ary Of California through Arizona and
Now Mexico to q junction with the
Texas Pacific In Texas, with the pro-
Deeds Of the great Central Pacific and
Credit Mobilier robberies, and without
the promise Of Q single acre of land,
Now It is proposed by the pending
bills to enable these roads to consoli-
date In such . way that the consoli-
dated companies will be entitled to ell
the lands which the Texas Pacific
might have earned by building
through to the Pacific, In addition to
the lands already granted to the
Southern Pacific along It's line In CAL
ifornia.
The passing of such q bill would be
q continuation OF that most outrageous
and diagraoeful chapter of American
history which records the dealings Of
the legislative, executive and judicial
departments of government with the
railroad corporations. In less than
twenty years the latter were given
over 200, 600, 900 of the peoples patri.
mony, and all the provisions Of the
grants which seemed to forbid the
conversion of this vast empire of land
into a tax free land monopoly have
been overruled and nullifed by the
supreme court. That august body has
twisted and turned its decisions and
interpretations of law at the be-
hest of the corporation monop.
olists, until it has made for
itself a record as indefenstble "a
the dirtiest court that Tweed ever
owned and controlled In his palmlst
days. Department rulings have been
made In the same shameless and defiant
spirit, by which the monopolists have
bean enabled to gobble up an illegal
excess of more than 10, 000, 900 acres
of indemnity lands, and all this has
been done simply to enable q dozen
self-oonfessed bride glvers to amass In
n few years over $500, 600, 900 and ia
control property worth 8 5000. 900,
600, thereby mastering all depart.
ments Of government and welding q
oorrupting and predatory power such
as has never before been exercised BY
30 few men on this earth.
A new grant Of IA, 600, 900 acres to
Gould and Huntington, for nothing
but the brides which they may pay
for congressmen's votes, might turr
out to be that last feather which pro,
verbally breaks the camel's back,
In that case 1t might bring about thai
popular awakening which has been &C
long expected In vain. But from eg,
cry other point of view such an act Of
congress- IL to be deprecated. Every
such gift has become an untaxabit
land monopoly and An engine of cor
ruption. The only excuse for q lane
grant Is to induce the building of q rost
wherethere Ia none. But in this case h
Is proposed to give IA, 600, 600 acres t.
a road already finished, built without
such induoement, promised or implied
and built with some Of the, $45, 600, OO(
which 1t was proved the Credit Mobil
Ter fellows made out of the formel
transaction similar to this. AnotheI
objection Is that we have already NOR,
than 100, 600, 900 acres of land with
drawn from sale and settlement on sc
count Of the grants to railroads tina,
never have been built and never will
, be. Some Of there grants have stood
thus for twenty-five or thirty years
: and yet nc law can DO passed to re
store the peoples right to occup,
/. them. Last, bat not least, II Is abou
time to exhibit something like a qualn
/, or spasam Of decency, and to halt Ii
: this course of heaping wealth, powe
4 and homage upon the money king
. whose undue influence n~otoriousl,