The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-06-23
NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD
LANDS.
Speech Of Hon Wilkinson Call,
delivered in the United States sen
aIe, May -, tSSti.


United States certain of the lands granted
To the Northern Pacific Railroad tom
pany To aid in the construction of "A rail
ROAD from Lake Superior to Puget Sound,
and to restore the same To settlement,
and for other purposes
Mr.. CALL said:
Nix. President: | scarcely think
u matter OF this great Importance
should be passed upon IN a short pc
riod Of time ani without full and
deliberate discussion, as will he the
case il the bill should be passed in
the morning hour.
This isa proposition To confirm IN
stead Of forfeiting a railroad grant,
the larger part of upward of y $780,,
900 acres of public land. The
amendment proposed hy the senator
from Nebraska forfcit> very large
proportion, am not prepared to say
how much, but all the grant which
va. not earned within the time speci
fled in the granting act. The llrs-
tlon then is clearly presented be-
tween the rights ana interests of all
the people of the United safes on
one side sought Ia be- protected by
the amendment ot the senator from
Nebraska, and the interests "f the
few persons who own aud control
the Northern Pacific Railroad Com.
pany on the other side.
The question therefore before the
Senate is whether it will adopt
the principle of the House bill or
whether it will adopt lh" principle
of "a forfeiture Of tn. lands bryonl
tn. present point of completion, and
az ! said, it involves great many
millions Of acres Of III" public land,
aud the righ, of hundreds of 'h"ns.
ami, of the people of the United
States to homes and subsistence for
themselves ami their wives ami
children.
the whole question Is before the
Senate whether lh" demand of the
people. aud their rigbtful and
Just demand, that where a
IA railroad company has failed u
comply with the provisions of the
law the Congress of The niteh state,
shall declare that the law which ere.
ate,l the grant aud hlrh provided
that at certain period ot time the
gran, should expire, AMI the land
should belong to the public domain
and he open To settlement aud ocru
patton by the people under the home.
stead laws, shall he observed, or
whether Congress will make a new
grant of perhaps a hundred million
dollars or more of the public money
in the form of 4 land grant to a
few individuals.
Rad from report made by the
Committee on Public Lands of the
House of Representatives. IN regard
10 the amendment which the Srna
tor from Nebraska offered:
Your committee hereby adopt a. their
report the report Of the Public Lands
Committee made to the House of Repre-
sentatves in the Forty-eighth Congress.
the legal status remains the same. and
Your committee therefore have con.
cludei to present that report, as II
stands, as their report to tins Congress
Your committee have given the sub.
jet matter 1T this grant -
The grant to the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company
patient, careful and thorough consider
alton. They ARE satisfied that the grant
WAS one in prm-entl upon condition sub.
seIIlent that by breach of such cundi-
tlon the grant along the entire linz 80
Tar IA 1t WAS ulcomplete'l on the ltl day
II July, 1919, is, and has been since said
date, subject to forfeiture, and that jus
tice to the United States anl her citizens
nov require that forfeiture and rt~to.
ration Of the lands To the public domain
should I've declared by act of Congress.
To accomplish that result and at the
same time protect purchasers of the
company's title prior to January !, 1851
and actual settlers and owner. OF val.
uable improvements ON the odd sections
adjacent to the uncompltted poItions Of
sald road who settled or made said i'm
proyenIents with bona fils intent to So.
cure title through the company, yonr
committee have prepared substitute for
-ait bills. and herewith report the same
to the House and recommend its passage.
The bill now proposed to be pass
ed by the Senate and called up on
the motion of the Senator from Or.
tgon san entirely different bill, and
gives to the railroad company mil
hons of acres of the public land be.
yond that contemplated in this re.
port aud recommended by it.
In view Of the fact that the conclu-
zion to which your committee have ar
rived was earnestly conibated by learned
counsel In elaborate arguments and
briefs, we deem 1t proper To refer some
what minutelv and in detail to what We
consider the moet mat.rIal points of the
case, especially a. it was urged that the
grant to this company was IN rcrtan
features an exception from the Other
wise unbroken line Of forfeitabIe grants
an isolated example Of unparalleled gen
ero.,ty on the part Of the United States
In giving away millions OF acres Of til"
public domain without any provision for
re,uming its title even upon absolute
failure Of the company to fulfil it- part