The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-12-24
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.

From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Dec %, 1888.
Whenever howl goes up about dis
turbing the business interests" of the
country it is certain to proceed from some
great monopoly or some special class who
fear that something may be done to take
away portion of the outrageous profits
they are tilching from the people. AS /
stated last week, there are indications of
determination on the part of some mem
bers OF congress. republicans as we'll as
democrats, to disturb" the business" of
some of the railroad corporations which
still hold on TO enormous land grants
received from the government on condi-
tions they have failed to fulfill. The
enormous amount of these forfeited land
grants may be conceived when it is known
that single bill introduced by that most,
excellent republican. Mr. Pavson, of
Illinois, repeals the grant of total of
46, 453, 900 acres to fourteen different
corporations which have defaulted. In
addition to this, Mr.. Cobb, of Indiana,
democratic representative, has introduced
bill to prohibit the secretary of the
interior from issuing patents for lands
granted by the United States to aid in the
construction of railroads when said rail
roads have not been completed within the
time fixed by the various acts. Other
measures have been introduced which
show that the house is in earnest in its
desire to put stop to this dangerous
source of public plunder
1tis now generally admitted by the best
political economists that monopoly of
land is the most unjust and intolerable of
all monopolies, from the fact that the
| amount of soil on the globe is fixed and
limited. 1t is well known that regions
do not prosper where large tracts of land
are held by non resident capitalists. In
this country, we have been accustomed to
speak of the 'boundless West" but the
| statistics of the land Office show that the
public domain in this region is fast melt
ing away. In Kansas, Nebraska, Arizona,
and other states and territories, the greater
| portion and the best lands have been
| taken from the people and bestoW ed on
railroid corporations. In Colorado there
is very little arabic land left With the
rapid settlement of the west by the large
foreign immigration as we'll as from the
older states, we shall before long have d
scarcity of desirable land left for actual
settlers, unless they purchase it of rail
| road corporations at whatever price may
| be demanded. The government should
without delay. provide against this evil
by reclaiming all the forfeited grants. 1t
| is matter of practical moment that these
lands become the property of actual set
| tiers who will improve them and maintain
civilized state of society in their respect
| i've localities, inste1d of allowing them to
be sold by the railways in large tracts to
foreign capitalists for speculative pur-
poses. If the days of land grabs" in
| this country are not numbered they should
| be-
kiefer has at last got quietus from
| his republican associates. He came up
| smiling with ''vindication" in the re
nomination for speakership, and immedi-
ately began to assume the role of leader
| i'll the house. But this was rather too
much for his party friends, who had tol.
Grated him, for the sake of the party, III
| spite of great dislike, and his known bad
odor with the people. BY almost uuani-
nous action on the floor of the house,
they OF Wednesday last stood up and
| repudiated him, through resolution he
had brought forward. Not one of them
cared straw one way or the other for
the proposition under consideration, but
it was kiefer they wanted to vote down
and they did it with vengeance. The
| feeling against Kiefer has been growing
| daily ever since Congress assembled and
an opportunity has been awaited to show
| him where he stood. This creature of
Robson, a coarse and clumsy blockhead
with no regard for decency or respect for
public opinion. is now expected to retire
| to the rear. There has not been such an
ass in politics in the memory of the oldest
| inhabitant and it will be long time
| before the speakers chair will see his like
again
A writer who has been evolving great
deal of nonsense lately, attributes the de
feat of George C. Gorham for the senate
secretaryship to the courtesy of the SEN
ate" He says: Il have seen ex-senator
Davis get up in the senate and move to
adjourn, saying that his dinner hour had
arrived Tha ''rn"rsoSy" would intiuUu
the senate to adjourn. The senate ad-
Journs when an honorable senator has
dinner party; it adiourns for . horse race
if an honorable senator expresses wish
to attend" This is all very true but it is
not true, as he further says, that Gorham
was beaten because he had said some
bitter things against Senators Hoar and
Dawes. These two senators opposed him.
but his most pronounced opponents were
men against whom he had not said any
| thing. The things that caused Gorham's
| defeat are his conspicuous championship
OF Malone; his quarrels with other jour
nalists over that odorous individual, and
his utterances against the Garfield admin
| istration, which are believed to have not
| only helped to inspire the act of Guiteau,
but to have greatly injured the party
But what is to become of the g. o. D. if it
is thus hereft of leaders? Star routes
killed Dorsey, the noblest eorruptionist of
| them all, and now here are Keifer, Cor
hoF1 and Maha.a ali lo.1 a.