Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1886-07-02
Northern Pacific Forfeiture.
Statesman.

'NttNN'iiittii.
1t seems to us that there are tqui-
ties attaching to this matter which
the Senate ignores. The grant was
made when all the region be-
tween tie Cascade mountains and
Western Minnesota was wilderness.
Not dollar in money was voted,
but grant of lands was made,
which lands at that time were utterly
valueless. Men were induced to
subscribe for the stock of the CON-
pany because of the belief that with
the completion of the road the lands
would become valuable. Those sub
scribers are scattered all over the
Eastern States. The eastern end of
the road ran through region which,
at the time, was considered almost
valueless, many were ruined through
their connection. In 1873 to 1877
came depression, and work stopped.
But as soon as possible the company
resumed operations and pushed the
line through toward Puget Sound.
The proposition is to take away the
grant upon which people were in
duced TO invest money, because
through causes which stopped
thousand other enterprises the
Northern Pacific Company was for
long time delayed. We do not be-
lieve the proposition is an honest
one. Senators seem 20 lose their
heads in contemplating this matter.
They seem to forget that if those
lands lands are of any value it is due
solely to the fact that struggling
company made them habitable; that
| if the road had never been built they
would be precisely as they were when
the grant was given. The Govern
ment would lose nothing because
the price of the Government land
was doubled by the building of the
road. Because the road was built
the Government has been able to
sell tens of millions of acres of land
which, without the road, would not
have been in market for years. OF
course the settler pays double price
for tho land, but if he does it is be-
cause he can make money by doing
so. The proof of this is that by
moving few miles back from the
railroad he can get oil the land he
wants at the Government price. But
he prefers to pay twice that figure,
because the road places him and his
products within three days of the
ocean on either hand, and gives
him profit from forty acres in
one year sufficient to pay for 160.
Suppose the road was not built. If
he wished to make his home in the
west, he would have to travel from
the East by team, lose years work
for bare subsistence. Now for $50
he can be placed on the spot in two
or three days. The first years crop
he can raise will pay for bis farm at
double the Government price, and
furnish him living also. Is the
road there a misfortune to him, and
is he really swindled by it? And
now grave Senators in their place in
the Senate insist that because the
railroad company was unable under
the pressure which a general chaos
in business caused, to complete theil
contract, on the day, it must be held
to the letter of that contract, and TO,
stretch of hundreds of miles the
Government and the settler shall bt
given the advantages which the
building of tho road conferred
while the men who subscribed theil
money to build the road on the
strength of obtaining their profits
from the sale of the lands, shall bt
swindled out of what is their homes
due. The argument that railroad
companies have invented pooling
and thus nulifed competition ant
because of this should lose their jus
dues, is simply the argument of dis
honest blatherskites. The first is th'
} apparent willingness to do wrong
, because some ono else has done
, wrong; the second is that becaus
| Congress has not the integrity t,
pass laws compelling railway com
| panies to fulfill their honest obliga
tions as common carriers, it would
t if it could, be base enough to do
t dishonest act to get even. By ever
rule of equity the Northern Pacifi
9 is entitled to all the land named i
r the grant as fast as they complet
their lines, because it was on thi
proposition that men were induce
/. to invest the money to build the roa
1 over hundreds Of miles OF WORTHLESS