St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-01
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.

VOICE OF TIL Il PEOPLE.
Sioux City Railway Lands.
To the Editor of the Globe:
In your paper Of the Goth, with the cap
ton, sis 1t Land Steal?" I read an arti
Gle, partly editorial and partly from cor
respondent of the Rock County Herald,
containing scandalous and false charges re-
lating to the st. Paul & Sioux City land
grant-charging with fraud. stealing and
corruption state and cabinet fficers courts,
legislatures and private citizens. The OIL
GERS of the st. Paul & Sioux City road, IN
Guiding such names as the ThompsonS and
Burbank now deceased, and such living
names as Gen. Sibley, j. W. Prince, Capt.
Davidson, Col Merriam, Capt. Blakeley,
and other gentlemen equally respectable,
are charged in the article referred to as hav-
ing been guilty of a great crime. 1t seems
to me that with the opportunity so near at
hand to get information, some inquiry should
have been made before publishing such
charges. If all the things charged are true,
or any of them, the acts OF bribery, cOrrup-
ton and stealing should be punished. If
they are not true, what do those who make
or publish such charges deserve? In addi-
ton to the evident malice OF the article, the
author shows entire ignorance OF his sub
ject Let us have some facts.
Blythe act of 1857 there was granted fol
the ST. Paul g. Sioux City road six sections
per mile for its whole length OF 1888 miles
from ST. Paul to the north Line OF Iowa.
The entire line was completed thirteen
years since, to the satisfaction OF the United
States, the state of Minnesota and the
people generally. The road has been
operated ever since, whether it earned eX-
penses or not, and while nearly every
other land-grant road went into bankruptcy,
the ST. Paul & Sioux company has paid all
it's debts, the stockholders making up de
ficiencies from their private pockets: Not
only have the stockholders of this COM
pany built it's whole line, as required of
them, but they have built on the frontier,
through these lands, $50 miles OF road for
which they neither receive nor ask a Land
grant.
The Herald correspondent makes show
of figures to sustain his charges, but they
are Inaccurate and without application to
the case He says: Sin looking over the
list of lands granted to railroads, we notice
that the st. Paul & SiouxCity grant is 4S7, $40
acres; miles of road built, Sc; land earned,
316, 700, and forfeitable, ITO, $40. 1t ap-
pears from the above that the deficiency in
the 316, 700 acres of earned land is all that
the St. Paul & Sioux City company is en-
titled to, and how some 100000 acres OF
indemnity land can be crowded into a de-
ficiency of 316, 700 acres is problem for
the ex-state auditor to solve" Where these
figures came from, what report, | cannot
guess. They do not in any way relate to
the road either as to miles, quantity or de
ficiency.
Now for facts, and reference is made to
the state records with the general govern
ment for accuracy. The ST. Paul u Sioux
City line actually built is 1873 miles. Six
sections per mile under the grant of 1857
give 721, 900 acres if full grant. The four
additional sections under the grant Of 1864
give 4S1, $50 acres, or total of 1,203, 200
acres. The company has received 1,0SS,-
500 acres, leaving it still entitled to ia. 700
acres.
The writer, presumably ignorant of the
law, charges as great wrong that the COM
pany took corruptly from corrupt public
officers deficiency lands so to $50
miles in advance of built road. OF
course it took the lands for road
then built, as it legally could to supply de-
fciencies, but having since built all the road
and more too, having also built roads
through both Rock and Murray counties,
there would be little ground to complain if
it were as charged. The legal mode of TAX
ing deficiency lands is to go forward on the
line until land is found, whether so or $50
miles. The Southern Minnesota company
finished it's road to WinnebagO City. and
took land in both Rock and Murray and
even in Pipestone county. The White
Bear & Saltwater company for
road built from Saltwater to White Bear
took lands 100 miles west of the built road.
So has every company building roads for
the last thirty years taken lands by the
same rule, and the rule has been affirmed
by the supreme court of the United States.
1t seems hardly necessary OF proper to
reply to charges made by an irresponsible
correspondent, but when circulated with a
sort of approval by the GLOBE the public
might suppose that no answer
could be made to them if
those interested remained silent.
The name of Gov. Wakefield is brought in
to give strength to the SANDERS. I venture
that Gov Wakefield never has and never
will give any support to the conclusions Of
the correspondent. The resolution he in
troduced in congress was one of inquiry,
not in his own account but to please some
one who knew as little as the CORE
spondent. In conclusion, 1 beg to
say, that in twenty-five years ex-
perience with land grants, never
knew company which built its road thai
did not richly earn all the lands it got and
to be still loser by building the road.
never knew of any lands improperly GER
titled or patented, and particularly as to the
companies with which have been con-
nected, they have done their whole duty
and all the lands they have were awarded
them by public officers in discharging up
rightly the duties of their offices.
E. F. DRAKE,