St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-04-14
sRaiEway Influence in the
Land Office.''

Mr.. George w. Julian presents in The
North American Review an article en-
titled Railway Influence in the Land
Officer which is worthy OF attention.
Reading this paper, the truth OF an ak
iom repeated by Mr.. Henry George ap-
nears to have some weight: The gov
prnment must own the railroads, or the
railronds will own the government
II was in 1850 for the construction OF
the illinois Central railway, that the
first grants of public land were made.
So loose was legislation, SO grasplng the
demands OF the projectors OF the va
rions lines, Mr.. Julian states, thaI III
some instances the lands were given
with mo lateral limits" This waste OF
nnblic property became SO extensive
that at last the people became alarmed,
and about eleven years aso, hault was
called. ssbut twas not until more lhan
ono 000. 900 acres of the peoples patrl-
mony had been appfopiiateu-an area
as large as that OF the Inlfteeh Original
states. Since these rights were gwen
hv the nation, of course there Is no use
: ~ n,,t;n1 these claims, but Mr.. Julian
sInws nv what means the railroads
have been upheld in many cases In iitl-
,,a ion With nriyate parties as to the own
srshin of lands to which the railroads
had no possible claim. In some special
cases ii seems evident that the decls-
ions of the supreme court have Deen
ovarridden blythe railroad companies.
NJ milan cites how the simple PRINT
~ . of certified lists have been consld-s
cred equivalent to patents, anu tilaG IN
this way companies "have had awarded
tn them an illegal excess or indemnify
lands Ia u amounting to more than 10000
nan acres, or enough to make $4,000
farms nj 1e1 acres.n These lands might
have been opened to settlers ut govern
mani nrices. .sinstead OF becoming the
snoil of corporate monopolles and
sold at rates imposed by themselves"
In such litigation as may ARISE, MT. Ju-
liam insists that, as far as private per-
son is concerned, every presumption is
against him and no mistakes are ever
made in his favor" In the endeaVor to
correctly define lands claimed by rail-
roads, awaiting settlement under va
rious acts of Congress, Mr. Julian estl-5
mates that there are to-day not less
than 1O0000,000 acres withdrawn. But
the worst examples OF these grants are
the cases where railroads hold lands
where lines have never been bu1it at all.
The Coosa 81 Chattanooga railroads
lffu IdQQ NnlSu CApitSo III NV.
Ali the public lands along this proposed
line, in odd sections thirty miles in
width, have still been reserved since
1858. No portion Of road called the
Pensacola g. Georgia railroad has been
built: still the land along the whole
length of the contemplated road for
twelve miles in width was withdrawn
from the publicin 1867, and remains SO
to day. The St. Louis g. from Noun
tain railroad had grant made 10 1866.
but the railroad abandoned the pro-
nosed line for another location, and
still the reservation for twenty miles
on each side of the line, as originally
proposed, is held. Innumerable other
cases, all of the same character, are
presented, and in summing them up Mr.:
the management of railroads by the
land department. are in fact illustra,
trations Of the management of the land
department by the railroads"