The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-07-06
Govt Land Lost and Reclaimed.

Because of their failure to comply
with the conditions through which
millions upon millions of our Govern
ment lands we're given by the Repub.
lican party to railroad corporations
Congress at this late day recommends
the forfeiture OF about $4,000, 900
acres.
A recent report from the committee
having the matter in charge states
that in the SO different grants allowed
our railroad companies there is pro.
perly reclaimable I55 million acres,
because of non compliance with origi-
nal agreement that they made in
order to secure the land. Having thus
secured, under false pretence, every
alternate section along the line of their
roads, they proceeded to sell to who.
ever would buy before fulfilling their
own part of the contract and thus
perfecting their own title. The cum
ming part of the transaction was to
encourage innocent buyers to invest
in the land the Republican party pre-.
sented TO them. These sales answered
the double purpose Of putting money
into their pockets and restraining the
Government from ever attempting to
reclaim the lands because of the pity
it might have for innocent buyers.
Now, no matter if the railroads thus
specially favored did not perfect their
title Gt is not at all likely that they
ever intended to fully comply with
their part of the agreement, the sole
object being to get possession of the
Government land), how can these
lands now be reclaimed by the Gov
eminent to-day without doing great
injury to innocent buyers who pre-
sumed their titles were good, of
course ? The report goes on as follows /:
" In many cases the construction of
the land-grant roads appeared to have
been purposely delayed until the
country through which the roads were
projected had been settled sufficiently
to justify the building without aid.
"With the exception of few Of
the earlier grants, the railroad COM
panies seemed to have considered the
grants as merely gratuitous, not made
for the benefit of the people, but for
their own benefit, and they delayed
the fulfillment OF their engagements
until, by settlement of the country,
the value OF the grants had been
greatly enhanced"
"The neglect and failure of the
land grant corporations to comply
with the terms Of their grants has
been so open and notorious, in the
| judgment of the committee, that as
between the Government and them
no injustice would be done if the en-
tire grants were declared forfeited,
except where, within the time specified,
bona fde effort was made to construct
the roads, and failure to complete the
work within the time only resulted
from causes which honest effort could
not surmount"
Under the operations of this bill,
the Northern Pacific railroad would
lose $4,000, 900 acres OF land the
Southern Pacific 100000 their
California and Oregon branches
1000, 900 the Chicago, St. Pau,
Minneapolis & Omaha 1900, 900 and
the St. Vincent extension of the
St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba
road, I,ooo, 900. twenty-five roads in
all would be affected by the bill, but
in the majority Of cases, particularly
of those of the south, the forfeltures
would not average more than half a
million acres each.