The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-19

There 10 deal OF swapping and snarling
at Mr.. Cleveland and his Cabinet by the op.
position press, no matter what they DO or
propose to do A Republican administra-
ton, ia the very death hour of its existence
however, passes over to Jay Gould and his
crowd zoe. 900 acres OF public land, and the
organs emit not note OF displessure.
Senator Eustis, OF Louisiana, woke up the
Washington correspondent OF one Repub.
lican newspaper ut least, and we therefore
find in the Chosgo Tribune the following In
relation to the big steal:
The features of the day in the Senate were the
arraignment OF Secretary Teller's administration
by Mr.. Van Wyck, and the speech OF Eustis. the
new Louisiana Senator, upon the Backbone grant,
7 he latter had an sm,abit address and developed
one important new point. IL was that the Louisi.
ana LEGISLATURE had repealed the act incorporat.
ing the Backbone Company three years before the
assignment TO the New Orleans and Pacific.
that in fact the Backbone CORPORATION was dead
and the assignment imperative. Mr.. Eustis IN a
Professor OF Civil Law In the University OF Louisi
ana, and he exposed the pretense OF the late
secretary OF the Interior that the pledge OF
the President OF the New Orleans and Pacific
ttat the ttlers should DO protected was binding
Mr.. Eusiis tald under Louisiana law 10 wasa mere
nnilaleral promise-a promise in the air. without
effect. lie said great wrong had been done the
people OF louisiana and he wished 10 enter his
protest against It's communication. The title TO
the lands Illegal aud fraudulent and set up to
defraud settlers of their rights This verv lille
had been denounced by the New Orleans Pacific
Company In documents which had been presented
I'm Congress and IN the Interior Department as
utterly baseless and ILLEGAL. Everybody was per.
fecly agreed thai the Backbone Company was
nuisance and dssrace: that II never lived for
any corporate purpose whstever, but was
Yet in 1881. by one OF the most extraordinary
proceedings on record, this defunct company
made an assignment TO the New Orleans Pacific
Company, and II was upon such title that the
latter based It's claims The transfer was radically
vicious and absolutely void. The consideration
Tor II was the enormous sum OF 81. one third OF
the stockholders denounced the act before the In
terror DEPARTMENT as sham and fraud. He
glad 10 know that the Secretary OF the Interior
was going TO investigate this matter, and he hoped
that In the future there would be an sdministra
ton which would DO In the interest OF the people
and protect them from the rapacity oil rich rail.
road corporations.
The Tribune refers editorially to the de
bate and remarks further: "Mr. Teller de-
Tended his course, falling back upon the
opinion OF the Attorney General and the
House Judiciary Committee. Mr.. Van
wyck replied in Q sarcastic speech. Refer
ring to Oklahoma, he said that the Federal
bayonets were pointed against the breasts OF
the hardy pioneer, but there were no bayo.
nets to drive out the cattle syndicates or to
destroy the fences illegelly inclosing mill
lions Of acres OF public property. In the
exuberance of his sympathy for Gould and
Huntington Mr.. Teller has fastened to issue
the patents, fearful lest the next Congress
and the next Administration might not be
sufficiently subject to corporation control
The New York World gives the swindle q
timely Jolt ss follows Notwithstanding
the crowding OF the work on Sundays and
| a, nights, Secretary Teller could not get the
whole job through. which was to give the
favored corporation patents for 1,000,00(
scree. About 337 600 acres were left behind
Zone of the FIRST acts of Secretary Lamar
has been the issue of an order suspsnding
action on the remaining patents until
further notice.
ut wassn outrageous job. to.rob the people
Of these lands - parting act of Republi
can rule, IL the lands are really forfeited