The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-04-02
THE INFAMY OF IT.
An Infamous Act Perpetrated by the Re
publican Party.

We are gradually getting more light
on the last act of infamy of the Rcpub-
lican party, perpetrated as it was step
ping down and out OF power. The
ruling passion strong in death has had
one more dazzling and brilliant Illus
tration. We refer TO the last land steal
of 100000 acres of Government land
The Washington correspondents are
gradually getting at the true inward
ness of the big S3,O0O,O 900 swindle. We
published dispatch last Saturday from
the Chicago Tribune, which gave ont
the impression that the matter was all
right; quite innocent, in fact; the usual
thing expected, of course, from party
that had piled up monuments of big and
infamous swindles. The New York
Worlds correspondent has been looking
the affair up, and he uncovers some
very interesting details. According to
this account, it seems that several weeks
ago large additional force of clerks
was put on for the purpose of making
out these patents, so that they could al
be signed and is ;ued before the change
of the Administration. These patents
were all signed. There never has
been, in the history of the Department,
any patents issued for lands where Con-
Gress had assumed jurisdiction to raise
the question of the propriety of the title.
This backbone grant has been one OF
the most notorious of oil the isolated
grants. Il was passed by Congress in
1871, and was originally made to the
New Orleans, Vicksburg & Baton Rouge
Railroad. The condition was that this
road should be completed within five
years. This company never turned over
spoonful of dirt, and never did any
thing beyond the issuing of some bonds.
which were palmed off on coniiding
public.
This railroad on paper transferred the
grant to the New Orleans and Pacific
Road, and here now is where Jay Gould
comes in. This road then sold its
charter rights to the Texas Pacific, but
reserved the assigned grant and trans
ferred it to 1.-The American Improvement
Company" Gould and Others owned
nearly all this stock. which was a sort
of Credit Mobilicr affair. The IPOrId' S
correspondent concludes lis inveStiga-
ton as follows:
The Backbone grant is upon exactly the
same footing rs the Texas Pacific. which was
forfeited by the Senate tho other dav. For a
number Of years the people who held this
Backbone grant have tried to get Congress to
confirm it. The grant has been rejected Il
number of times and no Secretary of tue In
terror before Teller would ever consider what
was part cularly a proposition to help steal
these lands for the benefit of the railroad lob
by. Whether there is an investigation of this
or not, Mr.. Teller will he called upon TO ex-
plain on the floor of the Senate his extraord,-
nary course in this matter. There il not much
doubt that this Gould and Huntington con-
sp.rlcy also contemplated the theft of the
Teas Pacific lands. If il had not been for
the Senate action the other day in FORGETTING
this unearncd grant there is reason to sup
pose that the Interior Department would have
issued patents for the fifteen millions of acres
OF these lands.
This outrage was perpetrated by the
last Republican Administration the day
before Clcveland's Inauguration. 1t
was the elimination of a giant conspir-
acy and colossal swindie all along
the line. What an appropriate cap
stone to the monumental infamies OF
the Republican party And they hope
to get back into power at the end OF
four years. Not if the American peo-
Dle are awake. Indiana State Sentinel