The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1883-09-06
KANSAS STATE NEWS.



The State VS.. Railroads.
The Legislature last winter authorized
Hon. Samuel J. Crawford to represent the
State in the prosecution of its claim before
the Department at Washington, in all mat.
ters pertaining to grants of land made by
Congress to aid in the construction of rail.
roads within the State of Kansas. In ac-
cordance with this authority, Governor
Crawford recently filed a brief before the
Secretary of the Interior, showing that a
large amount of public land had been
wrongfully and without authority of law
certified to the State of Kansas for the bcne-
fit of the Atchison, Topeka g. Santa Fe
Railroad Company. Mr.. Crawford argues
that no indemnity had been earned by the
road as there had not been full compliance
with the essential conditions and require
ments of the granting act. The grant, the
brief declares, was for railroad from the
city of Atchison via Topeka, the capital of
the State, to the western line of the State,
in the direction of Fort Union and Santa
Fe, N. NJ, with branch from where this
last named crosses the Neosho, down said
Neosho Valley to the point where
the l.. L. & G. enters the Neo-
sho Valley. The Neosho Valley
branch was to commence where the Atchi-
son, Topeka &, Santa Fe Railroad crosses
the river (at Emporia), and run down the
Neosho Valley to the point where the Leav-
enworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad
enters said valley (at Carlyle). The dis
tance between Emporia and Carlyle is fifty
miles, and that was the length of the
branch for which the grant was intended.
But this branch was not built There is no
railroad from Emporia down the NeoSho
valley to Carlyle. The Neosho branch not
having been built, either by the Santa Fe
or any other corporation acquiring its
franchises, Mr.. Crawford argues that the
lands lying along the proposed branch could
only be applied in the construction of the
same, and for no other purpose, as set
forth in the granting act. He further
argues that the failure to perform the es-
sential condition within a specified time
caused the land unsold to revert to the
United States, and quotes the law of Con-
gress to sustain him. There has already
Deen certified to the State, and by the State
transferred to the railroad company, %
IA, ,977.50 acres. In addition to this the
company has presented an additional list
of 1S9, $3.50 acres within granted limits,
which awaits action in the department.
This is more land than the company would
have been entitled to on the main line if
the granting act had been fully complied
with, and every section had been a full
section of six hundred and forty
acres, and no reservation had
been made of lands previously reserved or
otherwise disposed of. He further argues
that not only has an enormous amount of
the peoples lands been wrongfully and
without authority of law certified to said
railroad company, but by orders from the
Commissioners of the General Land Office,
all of the odd numbered sections of public
land lying between the twenty mile limits,
on each side of said road from AtchisOn to
the west line of the State, were withdrawn,
and are still withheld from settlement and
sale. The odd-numbered sections
of indemnity land thus withdrawn
and withheld from market contain
no less than 100000 acres acres more
than was embraced within the granted Sec
tions at the date of such grant. Governor
Crawford believes that every settler who
has purchased these Government lands
from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad Company can, so soon as the
United States RECEIVERS such lands, file
upon the same under the homestead, pre-
emption or timber culture laws, and then
recover the money, with interest thereon,
which they have paid the railroad COM
pany.