Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-06-25
SENATOR GEORGES GREAT
SPEECH.
treat

uSllftEcu d spttCH W OO'OAhmShV
grants to railroads, that has attracted
wide attention and been most favors-
bly, received by the press. We of
Mississippi do not boast Of Mr.. Georges
~eloquence, but of his ability to array
facts and construe law, we do feel
proud.
The way in which the Senator was
constantly interrupted by both Demo
Gratis and republicans, the former to
encourage and the latter to break the
force sof the logic, shows that
the speech is regarded by Sen
ators as one Of the ablest delivered
On the important question. The great
length of the speech prevents our
publishing it, but w quote a little of
it, and urge our readers to get it and
read the whole of it.
In referring 10 the record of the two
great parties touching the granting of
public lands to corporations the Sena-
tor said:
| alluded to the former policy of the
Government on the subject Of railroad
grants; and in this connection l may
say hat from the time of General
Washington to the 1st of January,
1860, no more than 100000 acres
of the public lands were ever granted
for railroads, canals, or other public
Improvements. That embraced the
whole Of it; and from that period to
about 1875 the enormous quantity of
over l~79,000,000 acres Of the public
land was granted, and granted 10 pri-
vate corporations, whereas the former
grants were nearly always to the States
in trust for the people of the States, for
their use and benefit, and not to corpc-
rations. But about that time a change
came over the policy of the Govern
ment, and, according to the statement
Of the Commissioner of Railroads,
1882, 768 acres have been donated in
aid of railroads.
Mr.. Maxey-I will state to the Sena-
tor that my recollection is that the date
Of 1873 was the last grant. There has
been no grant since 1873, 1 think.
Mr.. George-Very well. Then tair-
teen years cover these grants against
seventy FIVE years; 10000, 900 acres in
seventy-ive years; 1906 900 in thir-
teen years. That shows the change
which came over the policy of this
country about the beginning Of the
year 1861.
That amounts to 28l,176 square
miles-a very large amount. 1t is very
difficult to comprehend it at once: SO /
will make ONE comparisons. 1t is
just eight and a halt times the size of
the State of Indiana. 1t is four times
as large as the New England States
combined. 1t is larger than all the
five great Northwestern States carved
out Of that magnificent donation of the
State Of Virginia t)Rthe States of this
Union. 1t is twice as large as the
empire of Great Britain, larger than
the Republic of France, larger than
the Empire of Germany, larger thar
any European empire except Russia
alone.
What l desire to call attention to is
the gift which has baen made by the
Government of the United States, by
the agents and trustees of the people
OF the United States, out of their com-
mon property for the benefit Of COL
poratlons.
The value of this land is sometimes
spoken of as Insignificant. 1 shall 90
into that more fully hereafter; but at
this point | desire to say that, taking
the average price at which the rail.
roads have sold these granted lands, as
shown by the Railroad Commission
reptr.s, "a so per acre, the present
rris value, ia unimproved value
amounts to $773, 796, 1893. That is the
gSatpi.y which the Congress of the
Uaesa STAKES. simply the agents and
trusises Of the people Of the United
States, have taken from their property
and donated to private individuals.
That is the general scheme, prof.
gate and wast9ful in the extreme. But
when we come to the particular grant
now before the Senate we find that the
waste and prollgacy has been even
greater than the general average. The
grant was in the States 1880 acres OF
land for each mile of railroad built; in
the Territories it was 25,600 acres; and
in order to secure to the railroad com
pany the full fruits of these prodigate
and wasteful grants Of the public do
main a strip Of land extending from
Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean,
about 1000 miles in length-120 miles
in width in the Territories and 100
miles in width in the States-one-half
Of that land was reserved from settle
ment and Improvement by the Ameri-
can people, reserved from the location
Of the road TIL now, reserved now.
On one-half of that magnificent en-
pire, extending from Lake Superior to
the Pacific Ocean, 100 miles in width
in the TeTyitories-and it is almost all
IN the TeTritories-not one American