The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1884-01-31
Land Grants.

Land Grants.
There are now four great railroad lines
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, which
have opened continent to settlement and
enterprise. But for government aid, in
land subsidies, these important lines of
Interstate communication would never
have been constructed and the whole inter-
vening country between the Mississippi and
Missouri Valleys and the Pacific would
still be waste and desert. 1t is impossible
to estimate the accretion of national wealth
resulting from these improvements, or the
revenues derived to the government flom
the communities which have been built
up. 1t required great courage, intellec-
tual grasp and physical energy to consum-
mate these immense national thorough
fares, and when the first one was underta-
ken the masses of the people looked upon
it as the wild project of enthusiasts. Now
that there are four roads reaching across
the continent, binding the Pacific and At
lantic together, and studding the interven-
ing country with busy towns and cities
and farming and grazing districts, opening
up millions and millions of mineral wealth,
advancing the prosperity and greatness of
the nation and offering homes for thou
sands and thousands of families, the dis
position is to assail their management
and to higgle about complying with
the grants of land to them, because Of tech
nical informallties in complying with the
terms that were imposed. The railroads have
been constructed object had in view
in granting subsidies. They would not have
been built but for the action of Congress
in giving the lands. But because the linn
itation of time has not been precisely
observed, and a loop-hole is left for legal
bubble to rob the companies of what they
have really earned. clamor is raised
against the railroads for the express pur-
pose of depriving them of that which the
government contracted to give Them
What would the lands have been worth
but for these railroads? What would now
be the condition of the Territories knock
ing for admission as States but for them
The wide expanse Of domain. comprising
States and organized Territories, would be
essentially worthless, and where the actlv-
tiles of civilization are stimulating devel-
opment the Indian and Buffalo would be
roaming.
Congress, we know, has the power to
declare forfeited the districts of lands
granted for the construction of some
of these railroads, because of irregularity
in complying with conditions. But would
it be right. or honest to do so, after the
object Of the grants had been obtained?
The railroads have been built, the purposes
of the government in legislating to aid
them, contaminated, the Nation bene-
fitted and the desert made to blossom as
rose, yet because a technical advantage
can be taken by the government to reclaim
the lands thus granted, it is urged that it
should be done. To our mind it would be
a clear case of national robbery to do so,
although it may be popular to do it, be-
cause corporations are unpopular, general
ly. 1t would be a disrepntable thing for
the government to take advantage of
technical irregularity to regain possession
of lands it contracted away, when they were
worthless, for certain considerations and
after these considerations had been met
and the lands become valuable by reason
of them. to use the power it possesses to
deprive the parties owning them of what
was guaranteed to them. No plea of nom
compliance with the exact terms, from
which the government nor the people have
experienced detrimeut. can Justify u refu-
sal to confirm the grants. Private enter
prise, thrown into corporate form, has
given the lands all the active value they
have. and because they have become val
valuable by reason of this, as the result of
the pledge of the government, it would be
a great public wrong to avail of any tech
nical advantage to seize upon the result of
their enterprise and to appropriate it to the
government at the expense of the corpora
tions.
We know it is unpopular to write in be-
half OF corporations, or even to defend
their just rights. But it appears to our
mind to be such palpable breach of the
A'oOoo1AOC VI puUllC ldlIIl W ueCissI6 lOE-
felted some of the land grants to Pacific
railroad companies, now proposed in Con-
gress, that we have offered a few of the |
reasons which present themselves against
it. When we look at what the railroads
have done in opening up the country be-
tween the two oceans, the immense ener-
gy and intellectual grasp it required to ac-
complish their great work and the vast |
national benefits to accrue from them, we
think it nothing more than reasonable and |
right to draw attention to the facts as they |
stand, and to oppose them to the clamor of |
popularity-seeking politicians, in their an
nounced purpose to vote against giving |
Them what Congress contracted to give
It would be a palpable violation of the IN
'ention and spirit of the contract, and
reflection on the government that could |
not be defended in the forum of con-
science or as matter of public policy.