The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-11-18
HELPING THE OPPRESSED.

HELPING THE OPPRESSED.
What the Democracy, During its Short
Lease of Power, Has Done to R"c aim
she Land for the People Which Has
Been UnJustiy Donated to Corporations
by the Republican Party.
John G. Carlisle, Speaker of the
House Of Representatives and one Of
the most prominent and eloquent Of
American statesmen, lately delivered .
powerful address to his fellow citizens
Of COvingtOn, KY. from which the fol-
lowing extract 10 taken:
The policy OF the Government of the United
States In relation to tue d spO5 ton OF tue
public lands is OF very great Importance TO
the great masses OF the people. eSpec ALL to
those who work for wares, much more lm-
porLant, gentlemen. than 10 generally sup
posed The posses 8 on by the Government oe
large area OF arabic lands has contributed
perhaps more than any one other fact to
keep up the wa es Of Amer can labor IN this
country. SO long as the tI2on might ac-
quire home for himself and his family IL
was impossible TO reduce his wages below a
certain point. Prior To lSB2 there never had
been granted by the Government a single
acre OF your public lands to any private cor
poration During NIL the years preceding the
war when the Democrat c purity generally
held majority in both branches or Congress,
! repeat there was not an acre of your pub
lic lands granted to any private corporation.
It iB true that Mr.. Sherman has frequently OF
late made the statement that the pol cY OF
making land grants 10 railroad corporations
was inauguIated by the Democratic
party by grant of land, as he states 1t,
TO the Illinois Central Railroad Company. In
making this statement, gent emen, Mr.. Sher-
cause he knows very we'll that the Democratic
party never made an land grant to the ILL
nois Central Railroad COMPANY or any other
railroad company In l5O Congress- passed
an act granting about 2,5D ,O0I acres OF land.
not to the abroad COMPANY, but to the State
Of lllin ,ls-to ali the people OF that great
state With this land the state OF Illinois sue.
ceeded in having CONSTRUCTED l,32 miles of
railroad within the Central Illinois Railroad
Company by whicn the company was tn pay
Into the treasury OF the State every year
certain percentage on net earnings. and UNI
der this contract the people OF Illinois have
already received about $lJ.0M 900, and are re-
ceivinR every year large part of the revenue
required to defray the expenses of their State
Government,
Tn 8, then, was not grant to any private
corporation but grant OF land to the State
Of Ill nois for the benefit of all its taxpayers.
They received one m le OF railroad for every
l,965 acres OF land But IN 1852 for the first
time In the leg slat on OF this country, tho
policy was inaugurated 10y Republican Con-
gress of granting our public lands to private
corporations. There ha heen, up to that
time, granted to twelve of the States for the
purpose enabling then to construct or as
sist In constructing railr ads about $500 1000
acres of land, and they su ceeded in having
constructed out Of the proceeds If tn land
1913 miles Of railroad. or one mile for each
B2lO acres of land. When our Republican
friends took control b. acts passed rom
1852 to 1866, when there was scarcely q
Democratic vote in either branch OF
Congress, they granted 10 nine great rail-
road companies 49, ,S64 $50 acres of land.
These comPan es constructed under these
acts 4,25i miles of railroad, or one mile OF
railroad ONLY for each 7,73O acres of your pub
lie lands. These cOmpanieI accord ng to their
own reports, have sold those lands at an aver
are price or IL per acre. At tn 8 price they
received for each mile OF railroad Q Instructed
by them, S}8 $40 In addition 10 this the Gov
erntnent issued its bonds. bearing interest
payable seml-annuallY to the amount OF $64,-
6si5l2 and delivered them to six of these
same companies. upon which the Governments
has been paving interest every six months
from that time to this, so that to day these
six great corporations are Indebted to the
people of the United States more than $780,
0O0.0OO So that the Government gave to them
in It's own bonds at par. TO SaH nothing of the
interest," SEA for every mile OF road uon-
structed Therefore, they have received from
the Government $3S $40 In lands for each nll0
of road constructed. and 50 ,460 In bonds for
each mile OF road constructed; so that they
have received altogether In bonds and lands
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 preserY.
ing these lands for homes for the people.
Gentlemen, speak by the RECORD whom
tell you up to the beg Ining of the Forty
eighth Congress-. over whose deliberations Il
was my fortune to pres de, not one acre Of
the public land had been restored to the poo
pie, Applause In addition to the nine
railroad companies about Whoh l have
sDOkon, there was lar0e number OF others
claiming grants under various acts of Con.
hliOQn
ella ming about 110,0)0,0O acres Of lands, be-
sides those to which have referred, making
an area Ave times as large as the whole
State OF Kentucky These companies claim
ing those III, 600 900 acres had not construct
ed their roads within the time required by
Congress- yet when went into that chair on
the first Monday of December, 1883, not one
sol taty 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 investi-
cation of these subjects, and the result is
that up to the present time we have succeeded
in forfeiting and restoring to the public do
main, by acts wh,ch have passed both houses
of Congress, 80, AZ 900 acr g, or T8 8T8 square
miles OF territory, twice aB large tract as
the whole State of Kentucky. [Applause
This amount OF YOUR publ lands, which was
wrongfully claimed by these railroad COM
panies we have now succeeded in restoring
to the people, to whom they belong, during
one Congress and half Of another Besides
tn 8, gentlemen. we have passed through the
House of Representatives bills forfeiting and
restoring to the public domain 80, 43J. .y41 acres,
which the Senate hks'nOt yet agreed to, max.
ing an area of 90, l28 square m les. And there
are now on tho calendar of the House,
With favorable report of the Committee on
Public Lands, awaiting action of the House
next session. bills forfelting about $1,000
square miles more And thus we expect to
go on, IL we succeed in retaining control Of
the House of Representatives. in the exeou.
tion of this policy of justice and right to tho
people until every aore Of land improperly
granted away and improperly held by private
corporations shall be restored to the public
donna n and kept for homesteads for the peo-
pie. single bill passed by the House at q
recent session proposes to restore to the pub
llo domain over thirty-slx million acres Of
land which the House claims have not been
earned by the railroad companies now claim
Ing 1t, but the Senate has refused to concur
In 1t; in other words, has agreed to It with
fG..t only two or fhraa m illnn anraa of land