Omaha daily bee., 1885-03-09
THE BACKBONE"
Secretary TGllGr'S Course Relative TO
That Grant,
Senator Van Wyck's Resolution and
Speech.

Washington Special to st. Louis Globe-D Dem.
ocrat.
Senator Var Wyck's rs solution in re,
gard to the backbone land grant patent,
created quite a stir. Iu speaking of the
re,olution this evening the senator said
SIT cannot be claimed that the interest,
of legislation might auffsr through delay
Just look at 1t. The New Orleanr, Ba
ton Rouge 81 Vicksburg railroad com
pany obligated Itself to finish the %railroat
In five years. Under the terms O
the grant it was to have beer
finiahed by 1876. When tina
time rolled around not a roc
of the road was built. The line was mo-
ever definitely located, but the company
had Issued millions Of bonds based upor
the lands granted to it. Five years more
elapsed and the company took no stel
toward building the road. Still not a
rod of line was constructed. Before
that time, however, the New Orleans &
Pacific railroad company was organized
The company came before congress and
insisted that the grant nf the New Or
leans, Baton Rouge and Nicksburg road
should be forfeited and transferred to it.
Congress was willing to make the for
%feiture, but would not assent to the
transfer; that Is, the public
lands committee of the house
was unanimously In favor of such
action. Then the New Orleans and Pa
ciic proclaimed that it would build it,
road without any land grant, and 1t did
go on to build In order to make a connec-
tlon with the Southern Pacific to the
gulf. Subsequently, however, the com
pauy adopted the tactics which they at
tempted to consummate with the Texas
Pacific, that is, they tried to force an as.
signment of a dead grant, hoping to have
1t Iegalizsd either by the affirmative &C.
tion of congress or a refusal to forfeit
the original land grant. The grant YVES
transferred from the old corpo ration tc
the new, but not until the later had con
structed q portion of its road. The
cd road during ten years had
not even made a definite lota-
ton CT it's line. In the Forty
eighth congress, just adjourned, eff
forts were made to perfect the grant.
The house public lands committee report
ed in favir of forfeiture, but Legislative
trickery, inspired by a prominent demo
cratic politician, obtained from the judi
ciary committee of the house an opiuior
if the forfeiture If declared. would not be
legal. The senate public lands commit
tee reported a bill forteiting a part o
the grant, but the short session and pres
OF business prevented action upon 1t. AT
the session was drawing near an end, ant
fearing an attempt to secure patents fol-
the lands, a majority of the public landl
committees of both houses joined Ii
a protest to the secretary of the interior
against any such action. This protest, Of
request, fer that Is what 1t was, was no
unreasonable, as the corporation had fol-
tsn years done nothing to earn the grant
and a few months delay in the Interest
of the public domain, In the interest O.
the people, was not unreasonable. Thi
Pacific over again. When the Southern
and Texas Pacific were ready the formsl
did all In its power to have the grant o
the Texas Pacific forfeited, but finally
the Southern Pacific got the grant trans
ferIed to 1t, and then the corporation
maintained that the giant wss vetoed
But Congress declared the TexN
Pacific grant forfeited, and IL
truth there arc better and lega
grounds for the forfeiture o
the backbone grant, as that of the New
Orleans, Baton Rouge & Pacific is called
than for the Texas Pacific grant. 1t wa
ali Outrage to take the settlement Of th!l
question out of the hards of congress
Clerks of the Interior department wsr,
kept at work night and day, and even OF
Sunday, for the purpose of getting theil
patents ready to Issue before the late ad
miniAtrat!on went out. If there Is any
explanation that can be made for such
course, I want to hear 1t, / want tn,
country to hSvs 1t. The land had beer
kept from the market for fifteen years
and no harm could come from permitting
1t to remain 80 a while longer. AS 1t Ia
zoo, OC0 acres of laud have been turned
over to this corporation in the fscs of tn
emphatic protest of the public lands CON
r~nittees of congress"
Senator Van Wyci chsrsc' e,ized tb'
course of thu interior department 10 thi
matter in ssrong language. He can no
conc i've, he says, If any reason for tn
undue haste shown to issue the patents
that il, of any reason which would keel
the public interests in View.