Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-01-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.
A5thur's Boom-Lincoln's Availabilify-The New
York Receptions-The Huntington
Letters.
rom our Special Correspondent.

From our Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON, ID. c., Jan. 10, 1854
First Assistant Postmaster General Hat
ton, who is presumably navigating the
| Western end of Mr.. Arthur's boom,
has gone thither to be absent two or
three weeks. What he proposes to ac-
complish, or whether he proposes to ac-
complish anything. is mere matter of
conjecture. but putting this and that to-
gether, we have the right to guess that
MIR. Arthur is exceedingly DESTROYS of
getting some of the Western Presiden-
tial candidates out of the way. Having
already ridden himself of Senator Ben
Harrison by putting Judge Gresham
into the Cabinet, his next step is across
the line into Illinois to smother what
ever enthusiasm there may be gathering
there for Mr.. Logan. Meantime Judge
Newton Pettis, of Pennsylvania, whose
sagacity brought about the nomination
of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, is also out
West talking up the availability of
Robert Lincoln as the Republican stand
ard bearer for 1884. 1t is just possible
that Mr.. Arthur's preference, next to
himself, would be for the nomination of
Mr.. Lincoln, as that would be hailed as
an unqualified endorsement of the ad-
ministration; but the President is not
the man to be committing any overt
acts in this direction yet awhile.
OF course Congress will this session
take note of the developments made by
the Huntington letters, and order
thorough investigation of the methods
by which the Southern Pacific Railroad
legislation was secured, and doubtless
it will result as all other investigations
have resulted-in nothing. The res
ponse of Secretary Teller TO the Senate
resolution asking for documentary evil
dence relating TO the transfer of certain
land grants from one railroad company
to another, covers great deal more
of correspondence and other senatorial
literature than the Senate called for,
and infinitely more than some of the
Senators desired to bring out 1t would
appear from this correspondence that
the influences TO effect the passage
of the Southern Pacific land grant bill,
were essentially the same that had
wrought successfully for the Northern
Pacific, and it consisted of lobby that
had for its membership some of the
most prominent Senators and Represen-
tatives in the Congress that passed the
measure. The fact that the Supreme
Court had decided that the lapsed land
grants could be reverted to the Govern
ment by appropriate legislation by Con-
gress, and the other fact that the GEN
eral Land Office, under an opinion of
Attorney General Devens, had acted in
direct conflict with that decision, shows
that the railroad influence did not cease
with its manipulations of Congressman,
but extended into the Cabinet and other
official quarters necessary to be reached.
When, If ever, the men who have been
guilty of corrupt practices in this land
grant Legislation shall be found out.
the public will be astounded at the ar
ray of names that may be developed,
and when it comes to a measurement
of this fraud upon the Government,
with that of the star-routes, or any other
of the modern swindles, the latter will
fall INTO utter insignificance.
,JJTNIrTs