The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-09-01
lAND-GRABBERs SCORED.

Railroad and Other Monopolies, and
Greedy Thieves Generally, DO Not Like
the Administration.
The first gun of the Indiana cam
paign, on the Democratic side, was
fired by Judge LsGs Jordan. of In
dianapolis, in an earnest and able
speech lately delivered at Lebanon.
After referring to the fact that the
navy contractors, steamship compan-
les, Pacific railroads, land and timber
thieves ct al. were all opposed to the
present Administration he proceeded
to show the reasons for some of this
opposition:
The conquest Of our vast public donna in by
and it was all accomplished under the rule of
party which in its infancy said in its Chi
cago platform that lands should not be grant.
ed to corporations but reserved for actual
settlers No hayward boy ever so soon de-
parted from the good resolves OF youth BE-
fore the Republican party had reached man
hood in fourteen years, it had given away to
corporations 192,OSl, 155 acres OF your land
| Future generations will be amazed when they
| read of these princely gifts and Will compare
| them with no favorable opinion to the gifts
made by conquering Kings to their 9cnera!s
country, be they Republicans, Democrats,
Greenbackers or Mugwumps, have not yet
had their eyes fully opened us to how tavishly
the Republican party has made gifts OF dne
| public domain to favOrite friends. 1hs las,-
| 0S1, 155 acres would make nine States the size
| Of Indiana II is twice the amount of land in
! Great Britain and more than in France orr Ger
many. 1t would make 4, SoO, ZOO homeSteads OF
forty acres each.
Prior to 1851 not foot of public land h ad
been given to corporations, and it was only
the DE- tba party in ISL
| that halt was called in these princey gifts.
So scandalous did these gifts become that
even leading Republican newspaper OF the
West, in a lucid moment OF honesty, de-
| nounced Congress for making gift enter
prise of the public domain, and compIi-
| mented distinguished Democratic member
| of Congress from Indiana for never having
failed to oppose vigorously every one OF
| these measures of public plumber y The rail-
| roads have been selling these lands mt an av-
eFage price OF S4.N per acre, and you can
| make the calculation yourself and determine
the enormous pile they will receive if allowed
to keep them all
But since the books have been opened it
has been discovered that the raliroud com,
panies were not satisfied with the strict terms
of the act OF Congress and the amount al
lowed In them but have had decisions made
by the General Land Office that gave them
millions OF acres not contemplated by the
acts. Every demand made upon that office
was promptly hOnOred, and because they can
not control the present COMMISSIONER r.
Sparks-the whole brood have been bounding
him down, and their allies, the Republican
| press, have Joined in the cry.
The grant to the Union and Central Pacific
railroads, forty miles wide from the Missouri
river to the bay of San Francisco, Gnd that to
the !Atchison, Topeka s. Santa Fe is also forty
miles wide. The Atlantic and Pac tic is eighty
miles wide, and that to the Northern Pacific
is one hundred and twenty miles wide in the
l fnrinG
| enough for the grasping sharks, SO they go tC
the. General Land Office and are allowed tc
select what they call indemnity lands outside
Of these limits. In many cases these lands
had been entered, patented and settled, and
at the command OF the sharks the owners were
, driven Off and made beggars.
If, during the coming canvass, you near
some wheezy Republican speaker ask: "Whet
, are you going to open the books?" tell him
the books have been opened and disclosed the
. inhuman and brutal treatment OF the west
orders through the General Land Office
while 1t was administered by Republican
! officials. ''". -
despOtic and cruel rule of landlOrdism. RICH
here In our own land have been practce(
! outrages on the Western pioneer that have
, no parallel in the Green Isle. They have beer
robbed of their homes by great Govern
, ment. which had received pay for it, aad al
| this done in the interest Of the great railroad
corporations. Thanks to Democratic Ad
,ninistration, this has all been stopped: ,,
But the railroad companies TO-DAY are hold
ing on to 960O00OO acres more than they arr
entitled to, being territory large enough tt
make three States the size of Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois. They have not earned thes
lands, but are holding on to them with ,
death-like grip. The struggle is now going
on in Congress and the eyes of the Western
people are turned to Washington. The BIZ
Democratic House says this bioated CORPORA
ton has 30, 900 acres more than they hav,
I any right to, while the Senate, looking
through Republican glasses says the amour
, to have the Senate acknowledge even thi
last number. Justice travels with leader
heel but strikes with an iron hand" and
( hope the day is not far distant when all these
entry.
J But the railroads are not alone in thei
\ raids upon the public lands. They have for
midable rivals in the land monopoly com
s panies which are organized all over the Terri
s tories. These companies have carried Of
their stealing of the public lands with perfec
3 employ wild, irresponsible scoundrels t
mount their horses and galIop over tne prai
ries, and then return and file claims for all tn
s land they have passed over. These claims ar
which are composed largely. of foreigners
By such outrageous frauds Scotch an
: English landlords have obtained estate
I in our country which surpass in extent an
. fertility those held by them at home. An En-
glish syndicate holds 100000 acres in Texat
> aud the Holland Land Company 45u0, 900 acre
in New Mexico Among the English Lords
e scr S the Duke Of Sutherland $4,000 acre'
Lord Houghton $1,000 acres. and Lord Dur
raven, in Colorado 10000 acres Special agent
: have found that an English firm has obtaine
/ lands in California The books have nc
: been fully opened and read but SO far it ha
( been found that foreigners own D,HLe9o
tions have been laid for carving out sewers
:; Irelands in our own country. These startlin
d figures confirm the plea that It was time IT
D open the books" discharge the book keepe
S eral Land Office. Should your local Republica
. newspaper ask: "When are you going to ope
!, tbs books2" give him some OF the facts hav
! furnished you, and, my word for it, his orga
O will cease to grind out the question. 1t is tn
g examination of these fraudulent entries ths
has raised such howl all along the Repul
L lican line. In one year, ending March 81, lSo
e 2223 Of these entries were Cancelled or held u
acres reclaimed for bona dde settlers. Thi
; does not include the large number of entire
e which have been Cancelled for fraud whic
has been developed by individual contest
9 and the books are being opened every da.
i The great reform goes on, and Mr.. Sparks!
a making the sparks fly wherever his hand
!. reach.
It The cattle kings have had q regular picni
C and have taken possession of the remainde
- of the public lands not gobbled up by tn
railroad corporations, the land mpanles an
! the English lords Criminal and civil suits
4 ffty-six cases were brought the first year {
= the Administration against these robbers, an
8 possession of 1,6322, 1916 acres recovered. ]
D forty other cases fences were reno we'd frol
around SCI, i80 acres. The cattle kings al
: about as lawless as their bulls, aud the stron
J, arm of the Government had to be evoked t
n drive them out of the Indian reservations. s
= The railroad companies, the land companie
3 the English lords and the cattle kings Ope