New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-01
PRICE THREE CENTS
SPARKS GRAVES SYMPATHY.
WASTING AWAY UNDER HEAVY LABoRs
BUT HE STILL REMAINS vIRTUoUs-soNR. FACTS
ABOUT WHAT HE CALLS STEAL"
TBY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRfRryNR

BUT HE STILL REMAINS vIRTUous-soNE. FACTS
ABOUT WHAT HE CALLS STEAL"
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.
WASHINGTON, May 81" General" W. An
drew jackson Sparks sympathy, and II his own
account carefully prepared and given to . reporter
Of The Sunday Herald and published to-day, Do
correct, he deserves it. In the nrst place,
the burden Of work and responsibility laid upon
his massive shoulders is heavier than any man
Of lower rank less towering abilities could hope to
bear. The General said
The public domain is looked upon as the legiti.
mate prey Of land thieves, railroad rings,
corporate rings and sharks Of all kinds.
The territory that is looked after by this officer
extends from Key West to Behring's Strait The dincul
ties of communication and the nricaces of the business
cannot be overstated. There nearly 400 employees
connected with this Office. Under this Administration
there have been only three changes. and Of those
messenger There 21s land offices, and there
have been only six changes in these Out of seventeen
Surveyors Generals offices there have been
two changes OF inspectors, examiners, special
agents of timber depredations and fraudulent
land claims nearly hundred In ALL there have been
very few changes With all this vast territory under
my charge, and this army of and varied qualities
Of entries, obliged to audit own accounts
expected to hear many important, many OF
them those which before the Supreme Court With
all this under the charge of one man, 1t can
readily be seen to be herculean task. am at work day
and night getting the business well In hand"
"we, General how do you find things r. asked the
porter.
"They could scarcely be worse. have hardly taken
step that have not found something wrong. have al
ready detected and stopped two grand land steals"
"What were theyr'
One was being attempted by the Southern Pacific
Railroad The territory that being reached out for
twenty-five miles by forty miles, and contained
100000 territory large as the whole State Of
Rhode Island prevented this and thus saved to tae
honest settlers OF this country $500 homeseads OF l60
acres each"
he will be informed that he has the area OF
Rhode Island by exactly onefourth but In SO doing he
characterized as grand steal the claim OF the south
Pacific Railroad Company 20 the lands IN question
Southern Pacific Railroad Company led its map OF aed:
mite location under the act granting public aIa IN aa Oh
quircd by said act and the company therefore
"earned" the lands. In September, 1871, the Texas
map covered some 100000 acres of
cam aa@ of sss souhs9s the
each other for distance Of about twenty miles me
southern California; and its land grant was declared
forfeited by Congress last winter In March the Acting
order restoring to sale and entry all the lands
5s d T.' Ia Pacific na s% sss
In controversy the Texas Pacific and che South
% n o Conditions the granting
act As to the land in dispute the Acting Commissioned
did not decide OF the Southern Pacific at ALL buc
simply instructed the land officers TO suspend sale aud
entry thereof until the claim Of the Southern Paclnc
should been passed upon and determined by tho
Secretary Of the Interior. 49,,
Phese are the plain facts In regard to matter when
"Generalr Sparks, who puts himself on par with the
Supreme Court, denounces grand steal. IL may
not be improper TO remark that who have travelled
through the region which the General has already
divided in his mind into 1880 homesteads," whcn
under the hands OF "honest settlers" are 70
blossom as the rose, declare that 1t does not
contain an acre OF land which be made 70 sustain
animal life that it desert OF sand wholly destitute OF
water or vegetation several hundredfeet below the Level
of the sea that railroad locomotives have o be pro-
vided with supplies or water to carry them over
that part OF the route that bird could not
4 the tract without carrying its rations.
! General Spdrks's jerenlade closes as foilows:
The thieves and corporation rings have dicovercd
that they neither nor buy me There lisa vast
do. have been overwhelmed by callers ana
by work am strong physically, but have never
been In place that told uDon my strength Thero
are very m1ny things yet TO do, and expect many
more remarkable disclosures than have yet been made
is barely possible that by his allusiol to thieves
who have tired scare" him. the doughty General
means TO refer Colonel De Alma, who was compelled
TO collect his salary in manner rather ir-
regular and unusual. Ii would be interesting
10 know what corporation ring" have trled
to buy the commissioner ant how much they offered
II he would satisfy a reasonable curiosity on these
points people would he willing probably to regard
his rcmarks containing many more reularkaDle U.s.
ella han have been made"