Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-10-16

grant as do The people Of Oregon and
Washington, bat If NOT 80 intense
their fe<ling b neverfhless strong.
and. - here. Il has been carried into
The politics OF the day. and has be-
come 81 issue between the two par
lies. The popular sentiment there h
about - here. and the talk the came,
- the report following Of speech 81
Belle Plain, Oct. Alb. found In the
Pioneer Press. win 60 70 show. In
answer TO congressman Strait. the
Hon. Ignatius Donnelly said:
I see By this mornings Pioneer
Press thai Mai. strait has. after
month and iaifof silence replied 70
tbecbsrges ! made against hts official
record Id my speech st Glencoe. II
charged that be voted on the 18th Of
July, 1852. In the House, against
resolution declaring the land grant
on all that portion u the Northern
Pacific railroad mol constructed with
In The time fixed by law forfeited,
and restoring the same 20 the public
domain. Maj Strait ssids
Was II vote upon whsthsr ths lands
shouId be forfeited Or mott No, sii, IL
was simply whetheF she rniing Of tho
speaker 70 the eifecs that The resolution
OF Mr.. Knott couid not. under the rules.
be received II lhas time Mr.. CasseIl oh
jsctsd). should be sustained. This and
nothing moro.
But If the ruling Of the speaker was
sustained no vote could be had on
the passage Of the resolution; vote
| on The appeal was therefore q vote on
the resolution. The House so re-
garded IL, and the vote stood yeas
o., nays 10. Neither Of his colleagues,
Washburn or Dnnnell, voted But
Nal. Strait thought more Of the feel
| ings of that weak and bitter partisan,
Keller, than he did Of the rights OF
the people. Is this any excuse for
turning over thirty million acres OF
public land 10 corporation that had
no legal claim TO III The feelings OF
Keller against the rights Of millions
The company was six years in de
fault Nho ever heard of legisla.
lative enactment 10 give back TO q
farmer his farm six years after he had
lost IL on mortgage sales And why
should q corporation, an artificial
person, have more right than q real
person. But the major says he did
vote 10 favor Of forfeiting that
piece Of their land grant from Wallu
Ia Junction TO Portland, Or, because
they did not build the road on thai
line. but adopted another line. lie
/" Compounds for sins he is inclined 10
Ny damning those be has no mind to-"
The company, of course, could not
pretend 10 claim lands where IL never
built road or intended 10 build one
and the major was willing TO forfeit
what the company did not ask for
But anything they did ask for be wa'
willing TO give them.
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC LAND GRANT.
But, says the major, Mr. Donnelly
voted originally for the large land
grant of the Northern Pacific Rail
raid. Certainly. Twenty years age
all men of all parties In the West fay
ored land grsnts. Stephen A. Doug
las invented The system and the Re
publicans perfected II. But mankind
learns something In twenty years
We have found the evils of land
grants. aad all the national parties oil
this country. including the Republi
cans, have declared against them
and We have seen Jim Hill build
more miles 81 railroad In Dakota,
without an acre Of land grant. than
the whole unbuiit portion of the
Northern Pacific amounted %. To
vote railroad company In 1882, 80,
600. 600 acres of land To which they
had no legal claim. as free gift, In
the face of the pledge of the Repub.
llcan national platfor:r, is u very diff
ferent thing from voting for land
grant twenty years ago in obedience
TO universal public sentiment Mai
Strait then considers the Backbone
land grant, and he clouds IL all over
with letters aud documents; but these
facts remain undisputed and undis.
putable:
FiEst-Ths company had not built it,
road IN the time fixed by law, aud had
therefore forfeited its lands ON the I'M
built portion.
Second-Maj Strait voted against 70
storing the forfeited lands 10 the pnelic
domain for the use of settlers and gave
them 10 the company 10 sell to settlers.
Nal. Strait then says:
Equally conclusive evidences OF his dis.
honesty of purpose 10 the fact that be
failed to mention or allude 10 the fact,
that IN the committee and the House,
favored and voted for all the other for.
feiiine acts that passed the House.
And he enumeraies a list Of bills OF
forfeiture for which he claims to have
voted. have not the Congressional
record with me and therefore cannot
test the accuracy of his statement, or
ascertain whether there was any OPP
position to these bills from any quar-
ter. But ] have. nj nay residence,
the last issue (iSS4) of MCPHERSON
Political Manual, high Republican
authority, for Mcpherson was tue
clerk OF the National Republican
House of Representatives for years,
aud he gives long list OF votes ON
these land grant forfeiture bills, with
the yeas aud nays in each case, and
In not one Instance does Mai Strait
appear ~ voting TO forfeit any rail-
road company's unearned land grant.
while, As | have shown, be voted
against the most imp rtant ones.
.REAGAN's HILL.
| charged that Mai. Strait voted TO
Kill Reagans bill 10 prevent railroad
poolings and discrimination Whist
i Straits answers lie admits the
charge. but gives as his excuse the
following
IL proposed TO suspend the rules Of the
House, and m he the bill referred TO the
special order for consideration ssx
months thereafter, aud It's passage weala
have been an ms alt to every menher of
the COMMITTEES u Ccmnerce.
He soted against forfeitlnT the
Northern Pacific land grant out of re.
speci for the feelings of the speaker:
aud he votedto continue railway pool.