Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-05-25
DAILY POST.INTEluGENCER.
TIE sRNATE COMMITTEES TAXES
ACTION.

There will be found in our dispatches
Z rom Washington this morning soine
interesting reading. IL viii tie very
satisfactory to that great majority VI
our citizens who think with as that the
Noytbern Pacific Railroad Company
should be compelled to keep is e"h-
tracts like other citizens, or Ia orI"ui'
snff.r the penalty FIR breach th.rtof
IA will not be 90 satisfactory 10 thai
class-happily a piiifnl minority-~ho
fall down and worship at tse SHRINE oi
corpora.e monopoly, obsying it, oehes's
and aiding its nefarious assaults upon
public rights with al obssqnionsnsss
and crineing servility unworthy free
American citizens. The Senate Com
nittee on PGbiiS Lands has al
last been heard from on the sub
iecs of land grant forfeiture ana
We commend to the faint hearted IN
we'll doiug, the report Of that committee.
II ia eviden, that the pressure for for
feiture of the huge area Of the public
domain, 40 long withheld from settle
ment under the shadow Of Withdrawals
in favor of the claims of railroad cor
porations, has become too great to be
longer ignored. A food of light has
been cast upon the means and methods
whereby the public lands of this Gov
ernment-which by night Should be
thrown open to occupation by the land
,ess and homeless and devoted TO the
building up of States and common
vealths. instead of the enrichment of
bondholders and stockholders, non res
ident and largely alIen-zre sought to
be acquired by railroad corporations
under the false pretenss Of according
in return therefor reciprocal public
benefits.
The Senate of the United States has
been for years and is even now the
stronghold wherein railroad monopoly
has entrenched itself. II Ia largely
composed OF attorneys, many Of whom
have been promoted TO that highest leg
islative body in orr government directly
from the service OF railroad and othel
powerful corporations. Not without
reason have the people grown disirust
ful of the success of any measure of re-
lief from corporate oppression through
the leg station of that body. They have
marked the methods whereby many 81
tho Senators have secured their election
have seen the potency Of gold and th'
foul hand Of bribery defeat the popular
desire too frequently in elections to tha
high office, not to feel doubtful OF thu
result when il became necessary to ap
peal TO the Senate for relief.
We believe that the beginning of thu
end of corporate aggression and mlsrul'
in this country is at hand. Ii is ful
time. In this Territory single eorpor
alton lays claim to land enough VI
which to build State, lays claim to i
unjustly, and as we believe, illegally. 1
winds its sinuous course, a hundred
miles in width, along our valleys anC
across orr mountains, casting shadow
over settlement, and blighting individ
ual and competitive enterprise. i
threatens to absorb the very govern
mcnt. It's hand il seen in business, il
politics, in the press. Give it the lane
Ii claims and We shall be mer
dependency, subject TO It's mandates
and forever compelled to pay extortion
ate tribute to its greed. Deny its un
founded and impudent claims To public
property, permit the settlement Of on
lands and development of our resources
by individual and community energy
and we shall have commonwealth o
freemen, self governing and self re
spsoting. The people of Washington
Territory desire no vassalage like tn
under which California wrlthes ant
groans. They look to Congress for de
liverance from the curse of railroad
control and land monopoly. We be
Iieve they will not be disappointed.