The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-09-02
TELEGRAPHIC.
JUDGE PAYsoN. {
His Fight Against the Southern
Pacific.

Chicago, L. Washington special;
Judge Payson is preparing an argument
against the transfer of the Texss Pacific
land grant to the Southern Pacific rail-
road, 70 be filed with the Secretary OF
the Interior. The Judge has fortified
himself pretty thoroughly with private
and public documents. There is belief
on the part Of many persons who have
watched the course of Mr.. Tel er, that
ne will decide against the transfer and
would do so without any Argument, and
there is room for plenty of doubt about
the Southern Pacific claim, and the Sec
rotary has generally denied the benefit of
the doubt to the claimant corporations.
There are about 100000 acres of land
in this grant and Judge Payson is de-
termiDed to secure it to settlers if he
can. He takes extreme grounds In the
case Of these grants, and will not admit
that even in the case Of the Northern
Pacific there is sCything now that can
be done In the first place, the Northern
Pacific has several subsidiary grants that
it has not earned and has no intention
for the present at least of earning. About
], 500, 0O0 acres of the best land Ia Oregon
was gra Lted for the Portland and Astoria
line, which the company shows no in
C inRtion 10 construct. There are 3,0OO,-
600 acres along the Colum bic, on both
sides Of the river, which the Northern
Poetic will never maze o route through,
because it has come into PISS ssiO1 OF
road already built there by the 0res on
Rrilroad and Navigation company.
There are ABOUT 1,250. 600 acres along the
proposed Cascade line, where no road has
been made Obviously these tracts are
still within the reach of Congress. Even
in the case OF lands granted TO the main
line, though the line has been completed,
where repatents have not been Issued TO
the railroad company. Judge Psyson
holds that Congress can still declare them
forfeited. This is doubl & ty many
persons, even those who would de & lad
to see the great forfeited if possible, but
Judge Psyson concurs with Mr. Holman,
of Indiana, in the !belief that 1t ls not yet
too lste to declare thu suds forfeited.
He will as soon as Congress meets, offer
this bill declaring the efecture OF all
unpAtented land grants. The Texas
Pacific railroad company undertook 10
dispose of its lspsed land grant Of l5,t co.
600 acres of land to the Southern Pacific
company. Judge Psyson, of Illinois,
and Proctor Knott, of Kentucky, were
originally the only TIVE mem
beers of the committee who
opposed the legality Of the transfer;
Subsequently Knott was taken sick and
Payson was left to fight the scheme alone.
This he did SO we'll that on the final vote
the transfer wss defeated by IA to l, and
bill declaring the grant forfeited and
returned to the public domain was re-
ported to the Houze, but failed to pass.
After adjournment it was stated to Judge
PAyson, that Messrs. Huntington and
Crocker, of the Southern Pacific, would
endeavor during the summer to induce
Secretary Teller to recognize their COM
pany as a land grant road, and certify
to the Southern Pacific the land grant.
In orGer to forestsll this action, Judge
Psyson requested the Secretary Of the
Interior and Attcrney-Genersl to
notify him il the company at
tempted any such action in order
that he might present an argument
in opposition, and during his absence in
California, Judge Psyeon noticed in the
newspapers q paragraph that Messrss
Dunn, RosencranZ and Cobb had filed
protest against the transfer of the grant
and subsequent Item to the effect that
Mr.. Hill, claiming to represent them,
had made an Intellectual attempt TO with
draw the protest. Surprising something
done, he came to Washington ard
found an elaborate argument filed by
Tweed, of the law firm of Tweed s.
Choste, of New York, asking that the
Texas Pacific grant be transferred to the
Southern Pacific company. Psyson
Immediately set about preparing reply
to this and ls now engaged at the interior
department in collecting evidence there
on file in support CT his statement that
the Southern Pacific has no legal claim
whatever to the land grant OF the TexSs
Pacific company In conversation to.
night he said be came IS representative
of the people to fight against
this effort to steal 100000 ceres of
the public domain. This, he said, is
only one case out of many involving up
wards of 1873, 100000 acres Of lapse3 land
grants, which up the present time had
received far too little attention from the
press Of the country, and which will
certainly become q feature Of the discus
sion 10 the next Congress.
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