Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-08-30

City s. ST. Paul railway lands. The
plain fact is, the State refused to ac-
cept the grant, and reconveyed the
land to the United States on request
made by Land Commissioner McFar-
land, Republican. This Adm1nlstra-
ton has no claim to having accom-
plished it.
The document also claims the resto-
ration of Is, 253. S47 acres, forfeited I'M
der laws passed by Congress. These
laws were passed by Republican Con-
crosses, long before the present Ad-
ministration came into power, and it
is therefore claiming credit for results
flowing from legislation adopted years
ago. and which results would have
been accomplished under any admins
tration, Republican or Democratic. A
change in administration does ISt an
null laws. The correspondent above
quoted says:
The claim of restoration includes the nom
inal area OF lands once purported TO have been
granted TO eight Southern railroads, while not
an acre OF laad ever passed to the grantees, no
lands whatever were conveyed. none were
Withdrawn from the public domain and every
acre-so purporting to have been granted-was
disposed Of b. the United States many years
ago.
This circular also makes the STU
pendous claim that 2,132, $50, 900 acres
of railroad indemnity lands have been
restored. This claim is falsehood.
Not an acre has been restored. Or
ders of reservations were issued. and
time allowed for the companies to Sc
lect what was their due from the unse-
lected lands. The railway companies
did this, but there was not enough in
the tracts named from which selections
might be made. The enormous figures
above represent the area granted above
the area there was to grant. Not an
acre was left to be restored.
The statement is made that 81, AGO.
COS acres have been restored of entries
under presumption, homestead, timber
culture, desert, and mineral land laws,
Cancelled in regular course of examina-
ton and proceedings in the General
Land Office for abandonment, illegality
and other causes. These figures are
enormously over-estimated, and the
proof is found in the Commissioner
own report for 1887, where he says:
Under the timber culture laws relinouish-
ments OF entries and the making OF entries for
the purpose of selling ACCOMPLISHMENTS is a
business of great magnitude and an unqualified
abuse OF the privilege Of the laws. The same
tracts of land are entered and relinQuished over
and over again. Generally, in each case anew
entry is filed simultaneously with the presenta
ton of REIMBURSEMENT of the former; and
the process goes on Indefinitely. Meanwhile
the lands are held from settlement and remain
uninhabited, unimproved and uncultivated.
The falsifer who got up the circular
has counted each tract every time it
was entered and Cancelled. 1t will be
seen that a big total can be made with
comparatively few quarter sections.
There is no means of ascertaining the
real area of land restored under this
inflated item.
As will be seen, the enormous total
which is shown in this circular shrinks
into insignificant proportions when the
wind" and falsehood are eliminated
from it, and the miraculous land-saving
of the Democracy, like the party itself,
is shown to be fraud and sham
ToLedO RI1de