Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-06
WASHINGTON LETTER.
The Railway Land Grant The Aston.
ishlng Result OF the Contest.
The People and Public Lands-Free Grass
With Vengeance,
Monopoly Triumphant-Ben Butler Set
On His Pins by Congress.
Thurman as Member Of the Chicago
Convention-What Nay Come Of It.

Special cor-ssroudence OF the Gazette.
WASHINGTON, July 2-Suppose
there be only 500 votes difference in
the presidential election. between the
Democrats and Republicans, in Vir-
ginia. A Republican congress and
president remanded Alexandria
to the Ola Dominion, but Alexandria
will give this local Democratic ma
jority. Will not the Republicans, If
Virginia's vote determine the result
Of the presidential election, declare that
this vote of Virginia shall not be
counted against Blaine? AWould not
the party to-day repudiate its action OF
yesterday and declare that Alexandria,
i'm accordance with the statement of
the federal constitution, Is still part
and parcel of the District OF Columbia
and not of Virginia? Must we have
another electoral commission or vio-
lent conflict, beginning in the capital,
to involve finally all the states?
ANOTHER SUPERSTITION.
Again, suppose Ben Butler carry
Massachusetts, and that Blaine and the
Democratic candidate for the presi-
dency have within eight or ten of the
same number of electoral votes. The
presidential election may be thus
thrown into the house where the
several states vote AS such. Would
the Republicans, in the contingency
supposed, suffer Nirginia's vote TO be
counted? And IL the house must Sc
lect president from the three candi-
dates, will not Ben Butler win? Will
not the Democracy prefer him who
was only accused of stealing n few
bushels of spoons to the great and good
man who used his position AS speaker
to endow the Fort Smith railway with
public lands? Would we not prefer
the famous author of the technical
term "contraband" (meaning stolen
d,rky) to the illustrious author of the
Mulligsn letters? Would we not pre-.
fer "Bottled-up" Butler to Blaine un
bottled in his internal Andersonville
speeches? Would we not prefer The
representative of the common people
to him of the "protectedn lords Of
booms, rails, mines and banks:
QUEER FACTS.
From all parts of the United State
there caue to Washington, last week
in gorgeous, gilded, private railway
coaches the owners and managers o
the great railway lines of the CONT
nent. The issue was to be determined
between the people and the corpora
lions. The people did not come. They
had sent up members of congress Ia
guard their rights and their property
Bat they themselves came not neith-
er in person nor by attorney; but tn,
corporations came and in regal splen
dor. What sums of money and bond
and stocks they brought have NJ
means of ascertaining. But the Back
bone railway land grant was on trial
Thousands of poor people had
settled on these lands. They knew
that the railway corporations have nc
CURED no shadow of title to thes,
lands, that the corporations had com
piled with no single condition prec.
dent or subsequent to the grant AT
made by congress. The poor people
mad built their cabins as upon public
land, as they had the law and God
given right. Nobody had dreamed,
until these railroad managers and
owners appeared upon the scene, thai
the house of representatives of the
people" would fail to declare this land
grant forfeited to the people. But the
palace cars came, and the vote was
taken two days after, when there wa.
majority for the corporation anC
against the people of nearly fifty
James A. George published lettel
| from member of congress, showing
how the corporations had use,
bonds to "Barnumizen aud otherwise
control members of congress and an in
| r,,An,hnr Tf thn
next day reconsideration and 1t wa
| ter changed forty votes. The pub
Usher of the letter, Mr.. George, wa
denounced, meanwhile, OH the floor o
the house, in unmeasured terms; but |
awaited nothing. Few believed tina
George had done more than publish
private letter to be justified alone whe
1t may prevent the commission of
crime greater than that involved Il
this violation OF personal trust an
private confidence.
i need not go into details to sho,
how the railroad representatives on til
floor of the house ''paired" in order t
win, two of these "pairing" with fou
others. But the senate will hardly
in this case, concur wit
the house. In any event i hop
Democratic senators will act in thit
as in other less II giantly wropgfl
cases, and vote for the people and nc
for tine spectators in the woes an
wrongs of the poor.
A telegram, i am told, WAS read las
night in the leading knights Of Labo
club of this city in which Ben Butle
said, substantially, that we could "
ways rely upon the Democracy in col
gress to put its foot in IL just at tn
right time, and that most Of the part
III the house had done the job In II
fusipg to declare the Backbone Ian
grant forfeited. Butler gains all this
the party loses and don't suppose til
old fellow is very angry about It.
CANDIDATES FOR THE PRESIDENCl
The purpose of Blaine to win In tn
South two or three old Wing state
notably North Carolina, Tennessee
and Virginia, through the interver
ton of Malone, will make the accessio
of o Southern Democrat ~ the tickt
OF this party eminently proper. JudR
Jno. Hancock WAS born In Jackso
county, Ala, on the confines OF Tel
nessee. He is and always was
straight Democrat, never having vote
any other ticket and always an III
swerving Unionist. His approval as
candidate by the press OF the Sout
and the universally Of Southern asser
to his proposed nomination will Iserv
to allay In the minds Of the ol
women and Hoars OF the II
publican party the dreadf.