The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-11-24
HELPING THE OPPRESSED.

HELPING THE OPPRESSED.
What the Democracy, During Its Short
Lease of Power, Has Done to Reclaim
the Land for the People Which Has
Been Unjustiy Donated to Corporations
by tho Republican Party.
John G. Carlisle, Speaker of the
House of Representatives and one OF
the most prominent and eloquent Of
American statesmen, lately delivered q
| powerful address to his fellow citizens
OF Coyington, KY, from which the fol-
| lowing extract is taken:
The policy of the Government of the United
States i'll relation to the disposition of the
public lands is OF very great Importance to
the great masses of the people, especially to
portant, gentlemen, than is generally sup
posed The possession by the Government o.
large area of arabic lands has contributed
| perhaps more than any one other fact to
keep up the wages of Amer can labor in this
country. So long as the citizen might &C.
| CURE home for himself and his family it
was impossible to reduce his wages below a
certain point. Prior to 1862 there never had
| acre of your public lands to any private cor
poration. During all the years preceding the
| war when the Democratic party generally
held majority in both branches of Congress,
| repeat, there was not an acre of your pub
| lie lands granted to any private corporation.
| 1t is true that Mr. Sherman has frequently of
late made the statement that the policy of
making land grants to railroad corporations
party by a grant of land, as he states it,
to the Illinois Central Railroad Company. In
making this statement. gentlemen, Mr.. Sher-
man does himself very gross injustice, be-
he hot "a in
party never made any land grant to the llli-
| nois Central Railroad Company or any other
railroad company. In 1850 Congress passed
an act granting about 2,500,0O) acres OF land,
not to the railroad company. but to the State
of Illinnis-to all the people of that great
State. With this land the State of Illinois sue.
ceeded In having constructed 1,32) miles OF
railroad within the Central Illinois Railroad
Company by which the company was to pay
into the treasury of the State every year a
certain percentage on net earnings, and I'M
der this contract the people of Illinois have
already received about $4,000 900, and are re-
ceving every yeara large part of the revenue
required to defray the expenses of their State
Government.
THIS, then, was not a grant to any private
corporation, but grant of land to the State
of Illinois for the benefit of all its Taxpayers.
They received one mile of railroad for every
l.965 acres OF land. But in 1862, for the first
time in the legislation of this country. the
policy was inaugurated by a Republican Con-
gress OF granting your public lands to private
corporations. There had been, up to that
time. granted to twelve of the States for the
purpose enabling them to construct or as
sst in constructing railr ads about 81, 00l 00o
acres OF land, aud they succeeded in having
constructed out of the proceeds of this land
| lo.92S miles OF railroad. or one mile for each
1920 acres of land. Whom our Republican
friends took control by acts passed iron
| 1852 to 1865, when there was scarcely
| Democratic vote in either branch OF
Congress, they granted to nine great rail
road companies 81, ss4,s $50 acres of land
These companies constructed under thess
| acts 4,21i miles Of railroad, or one milo o.
railroad only for each 1850 acres of your pub
| liclands. THESE companies according to theiI
age price of S. per acre. At this price the,
| received for each mile of railroad C instructed
| by them, gas 900. In addition to this, the Gov
| eminent issued its bonds. bearing interest
| payable sem-annuaiv, to the amount OF S64.
| 623,512, and delivered them to six of these
| same companies. upon which the Government,
! has been paving interest every six months
| from that time to this, so that to day these
J six great corporations arc indebted to the
people of the United States more than 500,
! 030.000. So that the Government gave to then
| in its own bonds at par. to say nothing of the
| interest. Sc, 400 for every mile of road con
| the Government S3S 900 in lands for each milo
| of road constructed. and 2i46O in bonds fol
| each mile of road constructed; so that they
| have received altogether in bonds and lands
| s64.26O for every mile of road constructed
| And yet our Republican friends profess to be
| the friends of the working people of this
| country-profess to be in favor of restoring
this land to the public domain. and preserv'
| ing these lands for homes for the people.
Gentlemen, Ispeak by the record when
| tell you up to the beginning of the Forty
| eighth Congress, over whose deliberations il
was my fortune to preside. not one acre OF
| the public land had been restored to the PEG
| pie. [Applause.1 In addition to the nine
! railroad companies about which have
spoken, there was large number of others
claiming grants under various acts of Con
claiming about ll0010,0O acres of lands, be
sides those to which have referred, making
an area five times as large as the whole
State of Kentucky. These companies claim
ing those 1l0.00O,0O0 acres had not construct
ed their roads within the time required by
Congress- vet when I went into that chair on
the first Monday of December, 1888. not one
solitary acre of these one hundred and ten
millions had been restored to the people to
whom they belonged
A Committee on Public Lands was appoint
ed, which at once began a thorough inyesti'
CATION of these subjects, and the result is
that I'D to the present time we have succeeded
in fOrfelting and restoring to the public do
main, by acts which have passed both houses
of Congress, 30, $4,000 acres. or 7S,S1S square
miles Of terrtory twice as large tract
This amount of your public lands. which was
wrongfully claimed by these railroad com
paneS, we have now succeeded in restoring
to the people, to whom they belong. during
one Congress and half of another. Besides
this. gentlemen, we have passed through the
House Of Representatives bills FORGETTING and
restoring to the public domain IS 49,. 94l acres,
which the Senate has not yet agreed to. max.
ing an area Of 6O12s square miles. And there
are now on the calendar of the House,
with favorable report Of the Committee on
Public Lands, awaiting action of the House
next session, bills FORGETTING about 2).000
square miles more. And thus we expect to
go on, if we succeed in retaining control of
the House of Representatives, in the execu-
tioA of this policy of justice and right to the
people until every acre of land improperly
granted away and improperly held by private
corporations shall be restored to the public
domain and kept for homesteads for the peo-
pie. single bill passed by the House at q
recent session proposes to restore to the pub.
lie domain over thirty-six million acres of
land which the House claims have not been
earned by the railroad companies now claim
ing it, but the Senate has refused to concur
in it; in other words, has agreed to it W til
such an amendment as will make the bill for
felt only two or three million acres OF land,
giving to the railroad company about thirty
two million to which it is not entitled.
Mr.. CLEvEL AND'S HONESTY.