The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1884-10-01

equaled by few and exceIled by nons. Dur
ing the entire Rebellion his sympathies were
intensely Southern. but as his abilities were
not OF the c0mbative order, he failed to
take up arms for his Southern brethren.
During the year 1862 Gas we are informedl,
in order to evade the Northern draft and to
avoid forcible enlistment against the princi-
pies and the people which he loved so well,
be underwent voluntary exile and fed to
New Mexico. There be was for many years
an intense rebel sympathlzer and violent
opponent of the Lipcoln regime. Up to 1870
Mr.. ElkIns was the most ardent of Democrats
and the very last man who would have been
selected as the future leader of the great
party of moral ideas.
During these years, however Mr.. Elkias
and his associate in the practice of law, Mr.
Catron, acquired great influence over the
Mexican population, and also acquired i'm
mense landed interests through the nominal
purchase of land grants from the Mexican
Government, protected by the treaty of
GuadalOupe-Hidalgo. but not then patened
by the United States. About the year 1870
Mr.. Elkins, despairing of an early restora-
ton OF the Democratic party to power, and
seeing various channels in which" he
could make the Republican party useful
experienced change of heart. acknowledged
the errors of his ways, was received into full
fellowship OF the Republican party, and was
which position he occupied from
1872 to 1876. All of his little schemes, to-
gether with those of Catron, then as
sumed shape, and the fruition of his hopes
was matter of little time only. The Gov.
eminent showed its appreciation of their
newly exhibited loyalty by showering its
favors upon them and patenting to them
without stint the public domain. Each has
thereby acquired enormous wealth, and they
have in turn faithfully served their newly
found pa iron, and it is but meet that Mr..
Elkins should give to the National Commit
tee the benefit of that rich political expe-
rieDce acquired during long course of years
in New Mexico. There elections were de-
termined by the count in the law office OF
the worthy pair referred to, and the devices
resorted to for defeating the public will
Justify the statement made by many of his
admirers that 'iSteve Elkins is as much
smarter than Steve Dorsey, when it comes to
politics, as Dorsey is superior to a ten-year-
old boy"
1t is an open secret that in all the schemes
in which Elkins is and has been interested
Blaine is a silent partner. The land grants
of New Mexico. the mines at Leadville, the
coal and railway interests of Pennsylvania
and West Virginia-all these and Others en-
gineered and consummatei by S. B. Elkins,
are matters in which the two are jointly in
teTested.
Anu lnlS suggests the true SECRET Oh hr.
Elkins' overwhelming desire for Blaines
election. Mr.. Elkins was one of the pro-
moteIs of the Maxwell land grant scheme
and one of the grantors of tie present COM
pany. Mr.. Elkins, while in official position,
sold the claim, together with Chaffee Wad-
bingham and others, for an enormous sum
to Dutch capitalists. The boundaries of the
grant were exceedingly indefinite, but it was
known that in extent it could not exceed a
million acres. In order to properly define
and mark Its boundaries the Interior De.
pertinent required survey of the grant, and
Mr.. ElkiDs was fortunate in securing the
job for his brother. The lines were run TO
suit the owners of the grant, and finally a
Secretary of the Interior was found whose
conscience was sufficiently pliable to enable
him to consent to the issue of a patent &C.
cording to the survey. It's fraudulent and
swihdling effect was soon apparent, for it
included $3.50. 900 acres of the publicdomain,
to which Elkins and his confederates never
bad shadow of claim, and very large
portion of which was in the actual possession
of bona fide settlers. A suit is now pending
in the Circuit Court of the United States for
this district, brought by the Government
against the Maxwell Company and Elkius
and others, to set aside this outrageous aud
infamous grant. and that the action will re-
suit in a victory for the Government, if
prosecuted. is apparent to every one cog
infant of the facts Mr.. Elkins' warranty of
the title to 9, $50, 900 acres, therefore becomes
q very serious matter for him, since he must
respond to his grantees in the event the title
fails. and that means financial embarrass-
ment, if not financial ruin.