Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1884-02-29
NORTHERN PACIFIC.
Interview With the Land Commissioner
of the Road in Relation to the
Aeti8n of the
House Committee on Public Lands De.
claring Forfeited Unearned Land
Grants-A Sweeping Action.

ST. fAuI., February 28.-Charles B. Lam
born, land commissioner of the Northern
Pacific road, when shown the, Associated
Press account Of the action OF the Com
I1ittee on Public Lands, said The
House committee seems to favor yeTy
sweeping action, but do not believe any
bill TO forfeit lands which have already
been earned by the Northern Pacific by
actual construction of road will become
law. In the possible contingency, how
ever, that Congress should pass an act Of
the character suggested in the dispatches, 1
think there is no doubt whatever that
the Supreme Court OF the United States
would decide that Congress cannot deprive
the company of any lands earned on that
portion of the road constructed and duly
accepted by the President ef the United
States in accordance with the charter of
the cempahy, and it would not make any
material difference whether the constrIlc-
ton OF the road, and accordance by The
President was beforP or after July t, 1879.
The total grant of land made the
Northern Pacific was somewhere near
81 aeH,0UU ,UOU acres, being twenty sections per
mile of road in the States and forty sec
tions per mile in the Territories. The
grant extends from Lake Superior to Pu-
gets sound by way of Portland, with a
branch through Eastern Washington Ter
| ritory across theCascade mountains to Pu-
| gets sound. All this road originally char
| tered has now been constructed excepting
about fifty miles in the State of Wiscon-
| sin, 220 miles along the Columbia river
| between Wallula and Portland and about
| $50 miles OF the Cascade branch; total
| of about 500 miles. Twenty-Five miles of
| the branch running west from Wallula
was recently accepted by the government,
and 300 miles of line eastward from Taco
ma, on Puget's sound, has been built and
| in operation for number of years. The
company has already earned all the lands
| granted to it except those pertaining to
500 miles of road which has not yet been
built. Ii Congress should pass bill for
the forfeiture of these 500 miles of land
the company would lose 10000, 900 or
| 100000 acres, and chiefly along
| the Columbia river and on the Cascade
branch in Washington Territory. Should
such bill as proposed pass Congress and
| be accepted by the Supreme Court of the
| United States as legal enactment the
company would be deprived of that por-
ton OF its land grant which it claims now
| to have earned by the construction and
! acceptance of its road between Missouri
river, in Dakota Territory, and Wallula
| junction, in West Washington Terri,
tory, a distance of 1923 miles. This
| part OF the road has been built since July
1879. The grant accruing to this portion
of the road would aggregate about 80, ,O00,.
| 600 acres. Of these lands about 5000 OF
5000 acres are agricultural lands, and the
remainder consist of mountain and graz
ing lands. Along 900 miles of the road
within the boundaries of the Territories
| of Montana and Idaho, where, owing to
the mountainous character OF the country
the construction of theroad has been very
| expensive. 1t is estimated there is not less
! than $1,000 acres OF agricultural land
| embraced with the grant to the railroad
and the remaining 20,000,000 acres of the
grant consists of inaccessible mountains
and arid, broken uplands, suitable only
for grazing purposes. All lands in the
State of Minnesota and in that portion O
| Dakota lying east of the Missouri river
and aso lands adjacent the line o
road between Kalama, on the Columbi.
river, and Tacoma, on Puget's sound, il
Washington Territory, earned by construc
ton of railroad in 1873. AS I understand
the terms agreed upon by the House Com
mittee, the company's rights to these land
is questioned. l think that settlers on rail
road lands, and in the country adjacent t
railroads in Montana and Washington Ter
ritory, would be very seriously affected
under the proposed action of the Hous
committee, and it does not see any way il
which the rights OF those who have pur
chased lands from the railroad compan.,
can be securely protected. There has beer
over 100000 acres of these lands sol'
to settlers. There certainly exists N
equitable grounds for Congress taking tht
hostile action proposed. l think the pas
sage of such bill as proposed by tht
House committee will seriously injur
communities along the line of the North
ern Pacific. 1t will cast cloud on titles t.
land, and will retard and check the settle
ment of the country. 1t will certainl,
put stop to railroad building. 1t seem
to me that Congress has not yet consid
cred the magnitude and extent of the in
jury which would be done to the North
western country by the passage of an
such bill as has been prepared. am no
yet willing to believe any law to confis
cate the land grant of the Northern Pa
cific will be passed by Congress.