The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-11-18
HELPING THE OPPRESSED.

What the Democracy, During Its Short
Lease of Power, Has Done TO Reclaim
the Land for the People Which Has
Been Unjustly 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 a
powerful address TO his fellow citizens
of Covington, KY, from which the fol-
lowing extract is taken:
The policy of the Government of the United
States in relation to the disposition of the
public lands is of very great importance to
the great masses of the people, especially to
those who work for wages, much more i'm
porIant gentlemen, than is generally sup
posed. The possession by the Government of
8 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
Quire home for himself AID his family it
was impossible to reduce his wages below a
certain point, Prior to 1852 there never had
been granted By the Government a single
acre OF your public lands to any private cor
poration. During all the year, preceding the
war when the Democratic party generally
held majority in both branches of Congress,
i repeat there was not an acre of IOur 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
was inaugurated by the Democratic
party by a grant Of lard, as he states il,
to the Illinois Central Railroad Company In
making this statement gent emen, Mr.. Sher-
man does himself very gross injustice be-
cause he knows very well that the Democratic
party never made any land grant to the Hi
nois Central Railroad Company any other
railroad company. In l55O Congress passed
an act granting about 2.5Ji,00J acres of land.
not to the railroad company. but TO the State
of lllinois-to all the people of that great
State. With this land the State of Illinois sue
ceeded in having constructed I,32J miles of
railroad within the Central Illinois Railroad
COMPANY by which tho company was To pay
into the treasury Of the State every year II
certain percentage on net earnings, and I'M
der this contract the people OF Illinois have
already received about $lnGJ1010. and are re-
ceivlng every year large part Of the revenue
required TO detray the expenses OF their State
Government.
THIS, then was not a grant to any private
corporation, but a grant of land to the State
oil Illinois Tor the Dement, OF all its taxpayers.
They received one mile of railroad for every
l-9'i5 acres Of land. But in lS62. for the first
time in the leg station of this country, the
policy was inaugurated by a Republican Con-
gress of granting YOUR public lands TO private
corporations. There hal been. up TO that
time, granted to twelve of the States for the
purpose eu8tliDg them to construct or as
sist in constructing railr ads about 35,00lO0O
acres of land, and they succeeded in having
constructed out of the proceeds of this land
3,2W acres OF land. When our Republican
friends took control by acts passed from
1862 TO 1860, when there was scarcely
Democratic vote in either branch of
Congress. they granted 10 nine great rail-
road companies b St4, go acres of land.
These companies constructed under these
acts 4.25i miles or railroad, one mile of
railroad only for each :, 7S0 acres OF your pub
lie lands. These companies, accord ny to their
own reports have sold those lands at an aver
age pr.ce of 81 per acre. At this price thev
received for each mile of railroad instructed
by them, S.IS so. In addition to this the Gov
eminent issued its bonds, bearing interest
payable Semi-anuually, To tie amount OF S64.
6S,5l2, and delivered them TO six of these
sane companies upon which the Government
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,
OO.0DO SO that the Government gave TO them
in its own bonds at par. TO say nothing of the
interest. $3.50 for every mile of road con-
Structcd Therefore they have received from
the Government SIS. 80 in lands for each mile
of road constructed. and 50 40 in bonds for
each mile of road constructed; so thai they
have received altogether in bonds and lands
$64.26U for every mile of road constructed
And vet orr Republican friends profess to be
the friends of the working people OF this
country-profess TO he in favor of restoring
this land u the public domain, and preServ-
ing these lands for homes for the people.
Gentlemen, speak 10y the record when !
tell yen up 10 the beginning of the Forty
eighth Congress. over whose deliberations il
wis INV lbIiuli- 10 pres lG. not one acre o.
the public land had been restored 10 the peo-
pie. Applause In addition to the nine
railroad companies about which | have
spoken, there WAS Il large number of others
claiming grants under various acts of Con-
greSS passed nv our Republican friends,
ella ming about lln0JJ,O 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 il0OOO,ood acres had not construct
ed tn cir roads within the time required by
Congress- vet when | went INTO that chair
the first Monday OF December, 1855 not one
solitary acre of these one hundred and ten
millions had been restored to the people to
whom hey belonged
A Committee on Public Lands was appoint
ed, which at once BEGAN II thorough nvesti-
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 which have passed both houses
of Congress, 514>2. OJ1 acr =, IS IS square
miles of territory, twice as large a tract as
the whole State of Kentucky. Applause J
This amount of your pablo lands. which WAS
wronEfully claimed by these railroad COM
paneS we have now succeeded i'm restoring
to the people. to whom they belong, during
one Congress AMI half OF another. Besides
this. gentlemen. we have passed through the !
House of Representatives bills FORGETTING and
restoring to the public domain %. 4}JS4l acres, |
which the Senate has not yet agreed to, max |
ing an area Of 81 Is 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 |
HeA6 SESSION. DillS t'Elelilig dpOul = IUuJ /
square miles more. And thus we expect to |
go on, if we succeed in retaining control of /
the House of Representatives. in the eKecu- |
ton of this policy OF justice and right To the |
people until every acre of land improperly |
granted away and improperly held bv private |
corporations shall be restored TO the public |
domain and kept for homesteads for the peo-
pie \ single bill passed by the House at 4 |
recent session proposes to restore to the pub
lie domain over thirty-siN 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 il; in other words, has agreed TO II with |
such an amendment rs 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.