The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-11-13

paper W iaSt Nceh ~ icttcI iToin 81 H..
Drake, relating to the untaxable lands
claimed by certain individuals and COM
monty called railroad land, will you now
publish the enclosed communication
from the Jackson Republic. Yours,
A. G.. X.
Jackson, Mimi, Nov. ), 1855.
Editor Republic:
In the last issue of the st. James Jour
nal | find u lengthy letter from James
II. Drake, land commissioner Of the 81.
Paul Il Sioux City Railway Company, in
which he, in effect, terms the present
excitement in regard 10 land titles as
wild and ridiculous and owing to the
dense ignorance of the people on land
grant matters. He says:
'Thc supreme court of the UNITED States.
the district courts ana the department NJ
Washington, I'LL have ruled. again and again
line IL the basis Tor the adjustment of land
grants. The present commissioner does not
pretend 10 dispute this. Now, our located
line was about four miles north Ut st. James,"
etc.
That is the way ! have understood the
matter. Now, what do the courts anG
department say in relation thereto?
''In order 10 eRtiHe a railroad company
10 DE benefits Of lands granted ia aid Of It's
construction Il is necessary that The road
should be constructed according TO The line
Of route as definitely located"
\ State cannot legislate SO ~ to effect
the rights of the United States, or those
of persons owning property in farms or
villages who had purchased with the be-
lief that the road was To be constructed
according To the line of definite loca-
ton. "lfa different road be construct
ed than that definitely located it cannot
entitle the State to the benefit of those
lands Mr.. Drake admits that their
road was built on u different route from
the one located, therefore under the
above ruling the State cannot take title.
lie also says "the department at WASH
ington recognized N filing of our To-
Gated line and withdrew the lands and
certified them to the State, and the State
in turn decided them to us Mr.. Drake
mentions the act of 1857, and also the
act of 1864, but ~neglects to tell us of the
act of March 3, 1865, which provides
that the title to these lands, wHEN
EARNED, can only be conveyed by pat
ent. He also tells us that there is no
such thing as II ten mile limit, and that
this lis not IN indemnity grant, etc. The
btluIiilltIlt ~ NuSiiiiiStoh HiuSi ioDOi
under Il misconception, as in 1888 It
made II decision in which it says: ''The
land Is within the fifteen mile limit, by
act of March 3, 1857, of the st. Paul
Il Sioux City railroad, and was certified
To the State March I, 1872. The certifi-
cation did not convey title To the land,
as under the act Of March B., 1865, title
can only he conveyed by patent" In Il
recent decision of the supreme court Of
the United States on appeal from the
supreme court of Kansas, similar in
some respects tn the present ones, the
lands had been certified TO the State of
Kansas, and by the state decided to he
railroad company. Ii was decided thai
the title did not pass, and that rs the
United States was primarily the owner
of the soil, until title Vas shown away
from the United States, deeds and con-
veyances from the State of Kansas were
no more than mere waste paper.
Mr.. Drake says 'thc Albert Lea peo-
pie make II great point over our failure
To make formal selection of each piece
of land, and treats that us a%"puerile and
ridiculous technically"
IL has long been a rule of the depart
ment that when "A railroad company Sc
lected lands as indemnity they must at
the same time lille Il list of lands lost to
them, and | regard il us Il very import
ant thing to do. rinstance, the courts
and department have decided that the
company were only entitled to indem-
nifty for lands lost by the action Of the
government after the date of the grant
ing act. and previous to filing the map
OF definite location. Now, the granting
act was March 3, 1857; the map of defin-
ito l,,ati.,, unC flnl - limo 1917 aud
the road would be entitled to receive
mcnt disposed of or sold between those
dates, Il period of about three months.
The amoun of lands disposed of during
that time could not have been very
great, and il would have been a simple
and easy task 10 perform, but it wac
found easier To assert title to all the odd
sections within twenty miles, without
any tedius iormalities, trusting to the
accommodating spirit of the executive
officers to overlook any little "pueriie
technicalitieS."
The land department having instruct
ed their attorney 10 prosecu-
tons for trespass, it might not be advis-
able for those making filings TO enter
upon and improve the lands until after
IL decision is obtained in the matter.
IL is purely a matter between the gov
eminent and railroad company, and
where persons have filed their applica-
tons and made their appeals in good
faith, they can await the action OF the
proper authorities.
The land grant questions have become
national in their character and import
ance. All the political platforms OF the
several great parties have declared in
favor of restoring all lands to the public
domain that have been illegally or
wrongiully obtained by or given to rail
road corporations. TIE present admin
Istration was elected upon just such a
platform, and its executive officers have
declared it as their purpose to fully
thoroughly investigate all iand grants
with u view of reclaiming what they can
To the public domain. In the commIs
sioner's report he makes a speciel mem
ton of the St. Paul Il Sioux City rail-
road, as having obtained large quantl-
ties of land i'm excess to their grant.
1t is claimed that the st. Paul IL Sioux
City company only built its road to st.
James, and hat the act of Legislature
consolidating the two companies was
merely To give a color of right To the in
demnity land south and west of that
place. Ii also provided in the granting
act that a railroad shall he built from
Minneapolis to the city Of Shakopee,
which has not been done. The com
has sold its railroads and retained
It's lands. 1t has held its lands at prices
beyond the reach of the actual settlers,
and its policy has been to sell in large
quantities to foreign corporations and
speculative purposes. Its purpose
has seemed to be to divide this immense
grant into principalities aud ~dukedoms,
and establish Il system of la~ndlordism.
Instead of being a subject of regret to
Minnesota, should the grant
become forfeited, it should be hailed
as IL token of deliverance from bondage,
and the dawn of an era of prosperity.
To show the probable sentiment of Con-
gress, ] give a resolution passed n the
last session:
"Resolyed, That in the judgment of the
House all public lands heretofore granted
States and corporations In aid of the construc-
ton Of railroads, so far as the same are sub
TO forfeiture for the reason of the nom
of the conditions on which the
grants were made, ought to be declared for
lcited to the United states and restored to the
public domain" |
The above was passed by a vote of Pol i
10 Is. The sentiment in favor Of rail
road corporations is no more favorable
now.
The plain facts, AZ they seem to be,
ire that for many years the railroad
corporations have controlled the Land
Whenever II company
had n grant to he adjusted, they had it
lone rs they wished-po matter how
many settlers suffered by il.
There have been many %spasmodic at
at reform by the Land Depart
ment. and feeble efforts TO do Justice, |
but soon the power of the railroads
would be brought to bear and offensive
decisions reversed.
If the present administration main
its attitude in respect to land grant