St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-03-11

case, which contains a cross of honor.
He clutches this cross with his nervous
fingers, and at this moment his sight
grows dim, his head swims, his legs
give way, and he seems to hear voice
which says, "My son, if ever an evil
thought comes into your mind, look at
this cross it will bring you back to
the path of honor and duty"
The young man rises with lIyld face
and distorted features he casts look
to the right and left like malefactor
meditating a crime; then he hastens
with rapid steps to the Cafe de Paris.
A man is seated at the table every
one in Monte Carlo knows him-Shy-
lock, who lends money on pledges. He
has only one god, and that god is
money.
The young captain draws near the
table, and taking his fathers cross of
honor from his pocket, says, GLOW
much will you lend me on this cross T.
give francs" answers the Jew, after
having examined it.
''Take it, and give me the five francs"
He seizes the five franc piece, and
returns to the casino; he enters the
gambling saloon; he sees no one. He
is in a high fever, his head burns, there
is a singing in his ears, his eyes fail
him. He goes to the table, and sees
nothing but mass of gold and a crowd
of hands. Oh, those hands What
sight they present! Some are clinch-
ed, others seem to hesitate before re-
leasing the twenty-franc piece which
they hold between their fingers; 9th
ers, again, like devil-fish, appear to
enlace the packets of bank notes.
William Burter in his turn puts forth
his hand. "My father" said he, "died
on the field of honor on January 10Th.
On number 10 play my last tive-franc
piece-and my honor"
The ball turns, and stops at number
Is.
"AIl is at an end" exclaims William,
and he leaves the room.
Two days afterward a newspaper,
the PenseirO di Nizsa, contained the
following paragraph: "This morning,
on the shore between Villefranche and
Monaco, some sailors picked up the
corpse of a man about twentysix years
of age. In his pocket Il visiting card
was found inscribed Captain William
Burter, commander of the MOntretOut.'
1t is not known whether his death was
the result of Il crime or of suicide."-
Harper's Bazaar.
LAND swINDLEs AT THE WEST.
A lively newspaper skirmish.is going
on just now between the large land
holding corporations at the West and
Judge William A. j. Sparks, the COM
missioner of the General Land office.
He is an old fashioned democrat, and
he has gone into the Land Office deter
mined to report frauds and abuses, es-
pecially those connected with the lOca-
ton of land granted to railroads. These
grants have been abused. Early in
their history the railroads had indem-
nifty clauses placed in the original acts,
which have been still further extended
by the favorable ruling of the Land
office. This has enabled the railroad
companies to go outside of the sections
granted in case the sections originally
indicated as theirs should be occupied
by actual settlers. This indemnity
feature of the grants has been greatly
abused. All of the railroad companies
have taken advantage of it by cOnniv-
ing at the occupancy of poor sections
by fraudulent settlers employed by
them, so as to enable them to go out
side and make selections where they
pleased. The result has been that bona
tde settlers have not been able to OBJ
tain locations to any practical extent
under the pre- emption or homestead
laws nearer than twenty miles to the
land grant lines. 1t is not easy to
comprehend what an advantage a rail-
road would he to settlers who would
be obliged to live this number of miles
away from the line, unless they should
see fit to pay the extOrtiOnate prices
asked for land by the railroads. Over
2OO, 100000 acres, an area equal to the
thirteen original states, have been Civ
en- to the railroads since Congress, fol-
lowing the lead of Stephen A. Doug
lass, originated the land grant system.
Fifty eight millions alone were given
to the Northern Pacific. There is no
knowing, without Il very careful in
vestigatiOn, how many more millions
this railroad has seized upon outside
gifts grant.
The agricultural college act has en-
abled spectators to acquire large
"blocks" of land. This act was passed
in the name of agriculture and educa-
ton, to encourage agricultural colleges,
provided that 800 acres should be set
aside for every senator and represen-
tative, for the endowment of agricul-
tural colleges in their respective state.
The result of this was to throw the
scrip of these lands upon the market
in such enormous quantities that the
price for the same went down to a very
low sum. The colleges realized but
very little money, while the specula-
tors bought up the scrip and held on
to it until they have been able to real
ize large sums. 1t was not long ago
that certain ring of spectators in
Cleveland and Wall street advertised |
that they had in their possession the |
entire amount of the agricultural col
lege scrip for nine states, covering
land to the amount of 2,482 900 acres.
In the same way all the grants of
Congress have been subjected to the
greatest of abuses. The warrants is
sued to soldiers have rarely resulted
in any benefit to the soldiers them
selves, on account of the loose con-
structiOn of the laws. The soldiers
would be given scrip for their servi-
ces, and they in turn would sell to the
SPECTATORS. Not over ten per cent. of
the original holders of this scrip have
actually settled upon the public lands.
Other frauds have been perpetrated
in the name of agriculture, under what
was called a timber culture act. A
nan who would plant a certain num-
Der of trees upon a tract of the public
and for eight years would at the end
Of that time acquire a title to 100 acres.
This, like the presumption and home
stead entries, has been used to cheat
he land office. 1t is very hard to Sc
cure honest proof of the planting of
he trees, and where two or three men
combine together to make affidavits, a