National Republican., 1884-01-17
The Texas Pacific Land Grant.

KIM WORK OF aSsuaglng tnolr woes.
The Texas Pacific Land Grant.
The house committee on public lands has
promptly met the public expectation In de-
Gliding in favor of tho forfeiture of the Texas
Pacific land grant. If the Texas Pacific had
been built under the law making the grant
the company would have been entitled to
about 100000 acres Of land. But the COM
pany failed and abandoned the work This
It did not do until after IL had earnestly be-
sought aid from congress and been refused.
Its chief argument before congressional COM
mittecs was that there ought to be southern
route to compete with the Union and Central
Pacific. They we're met at this point by c.
p. Huntington, the president of the South
ern Pacific, who assured congressional
committeeman that his was compet-
ing road. and that IL would be built
without subsidy. He had his agents working
up an anti-subsdy sentiment in the south
to make IL difficult for tho members from
there to vote for the Texas Pacific bill. He
insisted that the Texas Pacific grant had
already lspsed, and acting upon that basis
actually pushed forward the Southern Pacific,
aud built It on what he considered the aban-
doned grant Of the former. II the Texas
Pacific grant was really then alive, he was a
trespasser Of others. The claim he set up
that his road was competing ono to his
other road the Central Pacific, was shown to
he entirely without foundation in
truth, but st helped at tho
time to befog the minds of members who
have to take much on trust, with insufficient
timo for investigation. They took the safe
side, as they thought, when they accepted
tho statements of tho company that wanted
no subsidy Of any kind against the one that
asked for aid. The Texas Pacific went down.
therefore, and the Southern Pacific pushed
on over its ruins.
But now comes the anti.subsidy company,
the Southern Pacific, itself the possessor of
millions Of acres granted it by congress- and
presents Jay Gou'd's order on The government
for the 100000 acres which the Texas Pa
ciflc would have been entitled to if IL had
been built
After Col. Scott had failed to secure tho
Texas Pacific subsidy he made long sus-
tanned effort to construct that road upon the
credit its merits and his namo could es.
tablish. After several years of this work his
health gave way, and no sold out to Jay
Gould. The enterprising Gould had no desire
to build the road, and he obligingly turned
over to Mr.. Huntington, for whatever he
could make out Of it, tho land grant to which
he himself had no more title than Satan had
to the real estate once offered by him from
the top of high mountain.
And now comes Mr.. Huntington, who
slaughtered the Texas Pacific, and who, as
long ago as 1876, secuted the idea that it had
any rights, and insists that its forfeited es-
tates are his, and that the government cannot
claim it's own. 1t is gratifying to observe the
alacrity with which the house committee has
oSo 'tS AOoV upoh 'bo SShOulCs ~ CdHuDb DC
doubted that tho fact of forfeiture will be
formally declared by act of congress.
1t is the habit of tho railway attorneys to
insist, first, that the executive branch
of the government cannot declare the
forfeiture of grants; second, that
the courts cannot, in the absence
of IN oct of cnporaas for tha nurnoso 5oo.o.
forfeiture; and third, that congress, iUhen in
session, cannot do anything about it. In
other words it is generally admitted that
millions of acres granted to railroads have
never been earned and never will be, but
that somehow neither branch of the gov
rnment can SO unravel the matter as to
restore these lands to the public domain.
The time seems to have arrived at last when
the people, instead of the railroad kings, are
going to be served in this matter The
| Central Pacific and Southern Pacific are one
concern substantially, and their enterprising
managers have contrived to pick
up some four or five hundred mill
ions of property wholly from the
gifts of the government and the increase of
the same. Their demand for the forfeited
grant of another company as reward for
building the road they wanted. and which
they loudly proclaimed would never ask a
subsidy, is probably intended as MASTER
stroke to show how congressman will dance
when they pipe. The democratic house,
looking forward to next November will not
serve them. The senate is republican, and
will not fail in its duty. Tho grabbers want
delay. The people want an act of congres.
aow, declaring forfeited the grant to the
Texas Pacific, and also those to all other
companies which have not earned, and show
no intention TO earn, the lands granted.
The Hog Question,