Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-04-24
DAILY pOST.INTeluGENCER.


The Tacoma Leigsr is quite unable
n rise above the COOPERATION instincts
and methods BY which it l. inspired ana
II has several times iaseiy /
ATTEMPTED to ridicn!e the action OF tue
citizens of this city and county IN dep !
utizine a representative TO proceed I"
Washington 10 present the peopies
side Of the land forfeiture question
It's vsnk sarcasm has been especially
directed to the amount of funds rais'd
to defray the EXPENSES Of this delegate.
The Ledyer need not trouble itssii on
that score. Mr.. White has been aud
will be provided with funds for all nee
assarv expenses attending his mission.
1, ia true tina, ne did not go ~ the ref
resentative Of large corporation ~nich
ia devoting the millions OF money
has received from the sale Oh innds
given it by this Government to the sup
mort OF a formidable lobby IN WASH
;,o.o, enoaped in iniaultous attempts
70 perpetuate its hold upon the pooi'c
domain He il 10 Washington to ask
iustice OF our law makers. not to b1ee
them. II doesn't require 80 nucn
monev TO convince honest men In
riohtsous cause "a To bFibe sconndreis
IN betr.v their trusts. When We read
in the Ledger such language as thi-
"As Whites $7z3. Is divided among the
Senators and Representatives would
only give each man $z4A, We are AZ
once confronted with the methods by
which only the cause in which that
journal is employed expects to succeed.
II il only by corruption that II can sue
coed. 1t is by bargain and sale, by BAL
ter. by bribery that corporate misru.e
and robbery have been 80 long upheio
under cover and protection OF our laws.
We arc aware that the Northern Pa
oific Railroad Company has a fornlIda-
bic lobby before Congress; aware that
millions Of dollars, if necessary, Will be
expended to avert forfeiture of Its un-
earned land grant. 1t - "A vast stake TO
strive for. The bill reported by the
House Committee restores to the pub
lie domain over 81, 20 1900 acres Of land,
worth not less than xl0O,0OO,UO, not n
square rod Of which has been earned
by the Northern Pacific Railroad Com
pany, Five or ten millions may well be
expended To obtain one huadred million
dollars worth of property. No one
need doubt that bribery has been and
will DO attempted In this matter. But
it will not he done by tae agents of the
people. They cannot afford 1T, and II
they could they would soorn such metf =
DDS of securing justice. The Letige,'s
instincts are corporate, which Is but
another name for brutal. 1t proceeds
upon the theory that public rights ara
subjects of barter or sale; that to secure
Justice money must be- paid to law
makers for doing their plain duty
Owned body and soul Of it has any
SOUL by a band of land sharks and
oompunctionless capitalists, it echoes
the sentiments Of its masters and pirates
of dividing money among our Senators
and Representative in Congress.
1t is not impossible that bribery may
defeat honest action once more in the
Congress of the United 5 ates. 1t Ia
possible that the allied corporations OF
tho country may succeed by crooke d
methods in postponlng the inevitable
but 30 sure IN this Government con-
tinues to exist, 81 surely will there
come time WheE a settlement must be
had, and lot II not be forgotten thaI the
stronger the tension, the greater will be
the recoil. While the Leiger aud Others
OF itq clnss are tlippantly detiding the
honest efforts OF the ps.pls to save
some portion of their landed patrimony
from the grasp of corporate greed
while they ridiouls the voluntary oontri.
buttons of the public 10 that end, and
sneeringly suggest that it IL insufficient
IA n fund for bribery, there are faith
full men i'll Congress- above ori.i.
oism-who weigh and ponder well the
insults heaped upon tue integrity of the
bodies of which they are members,
We have filth i'll the American people.
We believe that the time ia near at
hand when the money changers will be
hurled from the corridors of the Ma
tional Capitol i'll answer to a popular
demand potential and resistless. The
sooner that time arrives. the better. not
alone for the Government and the peO-
pie. but for the corporations then.-
selves.