Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-11
THE LAND GRANTS.
Too Much Praise for the Committee on
Public Lands-Other- Notes.

Correspondence Of the Morning NeacU.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 9.-The House Commit.
tee on Public Lands is getting little toe
much preliminary praise. 1t is not well to
give them too much glory, or they NAV feel
privileged TO lay back on what they have done
ana not go ahead with yigor in dealing with
the railroads which claim unearned land
grants. The committee is 8, good one and in
tehus Well, and viii doubtless do we'll But
1 y IlHe .l,ey nave done does not entitle them to
~ ~ 80 ping praise. They have agreed to
report in favor OF legislation f9rfeifiney
Ine lands granted the following roads
bne. bne t1Id u, anu Ship Island. the Elyton and
Bear Bun, the savannah and Albany. the
tuscaloosa and Mobile, the St. I0uis Iron
Mountain and Southern, formerly the Tron
Mountain Of Missouri the Mobile and NJ
OIledhs' tne iron Mountain of Arkansas and
the Memphis and Charleston. The nature of
the forfeiture of the grant to the savannah
ana Albany Road was explained in a recent
dispatch TO the NEWS. Ii really amounts to
no forfeiture at all. No man lOcatintr tbo
road was ever filed with the Land once and no
portion OF the road was ever constructed. let
us look into the other roads whose lands have
Oeen recommended FOR forfeiture by the COM
mlttee- Take the Gulf and shin Island
road. Under the act OF August III IS5S a
grant OF SIX sections of land per mile was
made by Congress. In the case OF this road a
OF uelnite location was filed on NOvem ber
=, lobO, but no lands have been approved for
the road. neither has anv portion of the rood
been constructed. The Tuscaloosa and Mobile
grant Is similar to the Savannah and ALBANY
\ map OF location has been filed nor any por-
ton of the road constructed II is fbe same
with the Mobile and New Orleans Road II
Is the same with the ElytOn and Beard's BIpfT
Road. In the case of the MemDhis au,l
Chafleston the State of Alabama refused
10 accept the grant for the road and
the lands were restored to the market in IS5S
In the case of the Iron Mountain in Arkansas
no no portion OF 1t has ever been constructed or
1t u1ennlteIy located: nor has any withdrawal of
lands been made for its benefit. The remain
ing road whose land grants ~ are TO be for
felted Is the Iron Mountain in Missouri now
Ihe 81. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern
ms road was constructed on a route more
westerly than its original line The road was
never accepted by the Interior Department
and no lands have been certified or patented
10 the company. The company, in fact. does
not claim the lands granted
such is the status of the roads whose grants
the committee have decided shall be forfeited
There Is not road of them all that has ever
raised q single protest against such forfeiture.
In TACT, OF the whole seven there is really but
one road. the others never having been beeun
IL Is thus better TO wait TIL the COMMITTEES
gets down to dealing with real roads and ac-
tive and aggressive corporations which have
not complied with the law before giving them
laurels, ana that too where there has been no
fight.
THE REPUBLICAN MINORITY
in the House has no head, but il possesses a
ghost. keifer is the ghost. The particular
role in which he appears is the same as that
Of the apparition in Hamlet" He Is the
'BanquO' ghost of the Republican minority
lie VIII not down. At the Outsfart of the ses-
SION the Republican brethren, as one man. sat
down on keifer. Since then they have been
IN sections and singlv, the sitting
down process. But Keifer don't seem to care
He is there every time. He is Just as serene
as babe, and, apparently, as confident that
he Is the recognized leader on mis-
RenuhlfCans hof he
IS not. The more he is sat
down upon the more cheerful and suave he
becomes. He goes right to the front and stays
there. Reed, HiscOck and the rest of them
may fume and fret, but keifer goes on lust as
II he thought they were rallying around him,
ana were possessed of an abiding faith in his
grand qualities as leader. He seems TO grow
and WAX under his many snubs.
TOM OCHILTREE Is NOT HALF AS BIG AMAN
in the House as he was out of it. He repre-
5enis the biggest district in the United States,
lt Is true, and also holds up the end Of the In
dependent party in the House. But that is
ness was Toms strength. He is no longer
lgure OF plcturesqueness on the horizon, He
is a common member Of Congress. and that i
an. He only gets the Speakers eye when
presiding officer sings out. ''The state of
Texas" In fact he is no longer Tom OehiItree
but simply member of Congress. Possibly
7 may be that he is no longer a prominent
tS lttLet7NulIt Dttduet Ht Is sur
rounded ON the floor by many other uniuue
specimens Of the genus homo.
EX-SENATOR KELLOGG Is NOW
4 member of the House. He told me during
The last session, that he did not think he
would take much part in what
The House did when he assumed
his seat He certainly is carving
put his intentions. He has appeared on the
loor but twice since the meeting of Congress.
and then he only staid about five minutes. He
= IN Washington most Of the time, but evi-
lently has more congenial places to pass away
he hours than IN his seat in the House.
POTOMAC.