The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-08-11
the House, and the President now has it in

1 VI
| in our financial condition have been such
| that the Treasury is not mere place to re-
| ceive revenues and pay them out. 1t has
connected itself with the banking interests
| of the country. 1t has connected itself, to
| speak more properly, with the financial sys-
| tenn of this country. At present silver
| basis is threatened, and the Secretary of the
| Treasury has determined that every dollar in
| the Treasury shall be the equal of every
other dollar, and therefore is boarding
money in the Treasury in addition to what
| the Republican party had reserved there for
| the purpose of maintaining the equality of
| the various kinds of dollars. This 1 am not
complaining of. What am pointing out to
you is the tremendous difference between
Democracy before RE election aG ana Democracy
There has been another subject with
which Congress ought to have dealt; one of
the most important subjects for a free pee
pie. In addition to the States which we
have there is vast region beyond the g. Mis- is
and which is being rapidly settled by our
people. That region is divided into terrific
ries. There are the Territories of Dakota,
of Washington, and of Montana, knocking
at the door, of the, Union. FIVE hundred
thousand inhabitants people the Territory of
Dakota; five hundred thousand American
citizens in one territory are today without
vote in the American Union 1t has always
been the policy of this country when suffi-
cient number of people occupied territory
so as to form State, to give them admission
into the Union. The Territory of Dakota
has not only been refused admission; it has
even been refused hearing in the House OF
Representatives. 1t has been smothered In
the committees. The same is true OF Wash
ington, and of Montana also. Here are peo
pie in these growing territories fit to become
members of the sisterhood of States, and
they are refused admission. But the action
concerning another territory has been more
90 Md enTrCn and
feeling of the people of the United States.
A great many years ago, when almost all the
territory beyond the Mississippi was an un-
ploughed wilderness, certain set OF relilg-
ionsts got possession of what is now the
Territory of Utah. Perhaps there never
was more cunning and skillful man than
the head of the Mormon church All OF the
valuable land in that territory was sklllfully
seized upon by that far-seeing statesman, as
l should call him if his purpose had been
needs irrigation. every stream and every bit
of land capable of irrigation was taken pos.
session Of by the church. The leader OF
this church made only one omission; ne left
out the mineral lands. He had no idea OF
mines. and no idea of their value, But for
that there would not be today GENTLE IN
the Territory of Utah. When mines came
to be discovered, when. the sacred thirst
for gold took possession OF men,. the
Gentiles came in, and they now I've IN large
tion of the whole country began to extend
westward, people began to investigate this
question of the condition of affairs in Utah,
and the first Republican convention declared
itself against those twin relics OF barbarism,
slavery and polygamy, nevertheless the solu-
tion of the problem was exceedingly difficult,
but in the last Congress Senator Edmunds
hit upon plan and passed a bill the good re-
suits of which are now visible in the. terri
tory. That pointed ont the way for the fu-
ture, and in this last Congress he introduced
and passed stringent bill through the Sen
ate. 1t came into the House. After lying a
long time in the committee on judiciary, that
bill was brought into the House with amend
ments which made it better, 1 am bound to
say. But there 1t rested; upon the calendar
it stands to-day. 1t never was reached
there never was an effort made to reach it.
Instead of passing that stringent bill in
stead OF accomplishing that good work for
that territory; instead of wiping. out the
crime of polygamy in that fair land, the
crime remains the criminals rear their
heads unblushingly, and it is the honest men
in the territory who are put to open shame.
That was one action. With ample oppor-
tunity; ample control of time, and with forty
majority, there is the old pretense of doing
something and nothing done.
| have seen in the newspapers much glory
claimed for the forfeiture of lands formerly
allotted to railroads. No credit of that sort
belongs to this last Congress. The question
myself reported the bill forfeiting i3,OOO, 900
acres eff land claimed by the Texas and Paci-
fic. Itwas most Just forfeiture and passed
had been offered to the Texas and Pacific to
induce it to build Southern line. 1t trefused
to build the road for the land demanding
subsidy in addition. While the Texas and
Pacific was thus urging its demand for a
ing that it needed neither subsidy nor land
to complete the road. Then this second
company and the Texas and Pacific traded
and tried to hand over the land. But Con-
gress said no and did righteously.
AS to the Northern Pacific the courts long
ago determined that the offer made to rail-
roads with limitation of time remained
open until Congress actually acted. Con-
gress did not act upon the faith of this the
road went on and built from Bismarck West
Every section of road was examined and APP
proved by the President then in office, by
President Cleveland as well as his predeces-
sors. Money had been borrowed in large
sums on the faith of this non-action of Con-
gress and this positive action ON the
part of the President, In the ex,
not been built. The land coterminous
with this unbuilt portion of the road the
Senate voted to forefeit. This bill expressly
reserved the right to make any other forfeit
ure deemed legal. Instead of passing this
bill, which would have restored to the public
domain lands about the legal title Of which
there wonld have been no dispute, for the
company would not have contested, the
HOnse substituted bill to foreit all the lands
west of Bismarck earned as well as uuearned.
Such forfeiture would have merely been
harvest for the lawyers. That greatest of all
curses a disputed land title, would have set
tied upon the whole of that vast region, just
now the resort of hardy settlers. No other
result could have followed except a complete
stop to the progress of the country. What
was the result? No lands at all were for
feited and the whole matter is hung up in
conference committee. The people of the
United States want the land which belongs
to them and nothing more, least of all do
they want pretense of forfeiture which
brings no land into the market for the settler.
There has been much talk lately about this
giving lands to aid railroads. When the
scheme was entered upon it had the approval
of both national conventions. The first land
grants had the support OF the great name of
Stephen A. Douglass, and is not to be con-
demned because at first it was Democratic
measure. The land was then all offered at
$1.25 per acre and nobody wanted it. Nobody
could get at it. The alternate sections were
offered to railroads, but the other sections
were reserved and have since been sold at
So. 80 an acre. Hence the United States re-
ceived the same money for half the land that
it would have got for the whole. The treas
True he paid more for his land, but it was
worth more, because of the railroad. Lands
which settlers bought for $3.50 per acre now
sell for $40, 800 and even $50 an acre. As to
the effect on the country, compare map of
the lands beyond the Mississippi in 1860 with
the map of the same lands today. Avast en-
pire has sprung up with thriving towns and
Villages. The rusult has justified the expen-
ditpfs pfs and d}tbAnghho 20, thhe We must
not be blind to its advantages nor to the wis
dom of that early day which projected it.
Perhaps you think the President has done
his whole duty. There are Democrats who
do not As they look upon the Republican
officials which survive they are sure he has
not Naughter) His action, if | may ven-
| ture to crfticise it,-although ! don't really
| feel that it belongs to me to do it. Naugh-
teri. His line Of action has been to avoid
| his party as conscientiously as he could. On
| the silver question the Democratic party
| votes against him. On all phases of the
money question they vote against him.
/ do not know that they sustain him
in anything except his pension vetoes.
| Gaughter). | do not like to open that
| subject. because each case turns upon
| its own facts, and l do not profess to have
known them all, or to have known, great
| many of them, but do want to tell you of
| one that do know. had occasion to pre-
| sent to the House bill for man whom | do
| not know, and whom | have never seen, but
| his case seemed to me to be just. 1t was the
! case of a soldier who had come out of the
war apparently sound, but number of years
| afterward was stricken with a nervous dis
| order which entirely prostrated him for
| years. During the period of his prostratiOn,