Omaha daily bee., 1885-02-21
SENATOR VAN WYCK,s VICTORY.

SENATOR VAN wYCK'S VICTORY.
Nebraska may well feel proud Ct the
rscoid made In the United States tenste
by General Charles II. Van WICK. For
The frat time In her history Nebraska is
represented in the national legislature by
a man whore fame is not clrcumscribed
by the boundaries Of this state, No man
on the floor OF the United States senate
is more generally recognized as the cham
p'on of the people 10 their strugyle
with monopoly and organized capital
Although he has often %grappled single
h1nded and alone with the defenders and
adv oc of chartered highway robbery,
he has come out of every combat with
glory to himself and honor to his state.
His latett and most brilliant achievement
is the victory won in the fight over
the Texas e Pacific land grant
fo1feiturs bill, which restores
10, Gee, 600 acres of land 10 the
public domain. The unsubsidized press
of the country, from Maine to California,
accord, to Senator Van Wyck the highest
praise for the ability, y'gor, perseverance
and tact displayed in carrying this meas.
urs through the senate in splte of the
great pressure brought by the land
robbers and the natural t,ndency of a
large maj ority of that body to shirk
their sworn duty. Although the house,
which Ia moro sensitive TO public senti.
ment, and less under corporation
influence, had passed this land
grant forfeiture bill mora than a yer ago,
the senate had staved eff action with a
deliberate intent to ~pigeon-hole and
smother this important measure. 1t was
mainly through Senator Van Wyck's
efforts, ~ q member of the commit tee on
public lsnde, that this bill was finally re-
ported back to the senstc, and it was
upon his motion that it was given
a pla:e cn the special cal
endsr. But even then the
senatorial railroad attorneys managed by
trickery to have it displaced aud sent
back to ths general calendar where it
would have b:en buried under a noun
tain of other bills. With the holiness
which chars c~terizes his conduct in the
discharge of public duty Senator Van
W,ck called upon Mr.. Edmunds, the
presiding officer, in open session
to explain why this bill had
been taken from the special calendar,
and rather than undergo the %caustic
scoring in store for him at the hands of
the Nebraska senator, MI. Edmunds had
the bill replaced on the special calendar.
When the bill was reached the brass-
collared senator's deliberately choked 1t
off by voting to set it aside and take up
the labor bill. Undis mayed by this
back.set,. Mr.. Van Wyck resumed the
offensive 6nd tiually had the
bill forced upon the con-
alteration cf tn, senate in the face of the
saesking support OF Senator Plumb, who
as chsitmsn Of the committee on public
lands, had been instructed to report and
advocate It's passage. By his aggressive
and telling thrusts Senator Van Wyck
held at bay his co leagues on both sides
of the senate chamber who appeared
snxi3us to load down and kill the bill
with amendments, and after q most brill
liant running debate forced its passage
through the senate. Thus the American
house of lords has for once bean com.
PEELED by the dauntless and aggressive
fight waged by one of Its members,
backed by public ssntimentand sustained
by the press, to restore to the publ,
domain an immense land grant acquired
by ftaud and hsld contrary to all justice.