St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-25

| department hold up all land
the settlement of their debt to Uncle
Sam. In other words, there will be
no more land handed over to any
of the Pacific roads under their
grants until they settle. The total
amount of land granted to the Union
and Central Pacific roads was nearly
23,G00000 acres. The following table
shows the condition of the two
grants:
CONDITION OF THE GRANTS.
Union Pacific Railway Company
Acres.
Estimated area of grant,. Il, 295, 104 90
Amount patented to date. 4, 180, S95. 81
Amount unpatented. ........ 9,114, POS. 13
Amount selected to date. 6,479, 231 Al
Amount selected and now
Amount patented during
year 1894 ............. 176, 49,. 40
Central Pacific Railroad
Company
Estimated area of grant,. 9,440, 000. 90
Amount patented to date. 1856, $50. 80
Amount unpatented... 7,572, 449 .O8
Amount selected to date.... 2,357, 49,. 03
Amount selected and now
pending ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 400, 431 Ii
Amount patented during
year 1894. ................ 300, 5O7 so
Of couSe the fact that these cor
porations owe the government over
500, 1000, 600 will not prevent their de-
handing all the land covered by
their grants, but for the present at
least common sense and common
honesty will rule in this matter. The
next congress will be very likely to
pass the funding bill, and in this
event it will become a law, for the
senate is committed to that form of
settlement. Meantime the suit Of the
government against the Stanford
estate will be pushed. All these new
moves show that the government
debt can be collected in one way or
another, and that the arguments to
the effect that if the government re-
fuses to accept Mr. Huntingtons
offer it will lose all have no founda-
ton in fact. -,.
RAILROAD LAND GRANTS.
The national government, as all
residents of the Western states are
aware, has been very prodigal in it's
gifts of public lands. They have
been given for all sorts of purposes,
but principally to aid in the con-
struction Of railroads. During and
Immediately after the late war the
principal grants for railway pur-
poses were made. The following
table shows under what administra-
lions all the national grants were
made and the estimated area of each:
Acres.
Fillmore. grants to states in
trust for railroads. . 8198, 500. 70
Pierce. grants to states in
trust for railroads. ....... 49, 78 179. 70
Lincoln, grants directly to
the railroads. ............. "A, 49,, SOL 81
Johnson, grants directly to
the railroads. ;;......:.. 34,OO1 ,297. II
Grant, grants directly to the
railroads .................... 10 23f 121 60
The total grants. ........ .155 ,504 1884, so
FAILED TO CARRY OUT. CON-
TRACTS.
Many of the railroads that were
given land grants did not complete
the work of construction within the
time fixed by congress, and frequent
! efforts have been made to have con-
sic QcCidlS Tie ldnQS 1Or-
! feited. Such a bill passed the house
| during the last congress but met it's
| death in the senate, where railroad
attorneys are so numerous and watch
| full of the interests of their clients.
| Congressman McRae, of Arkansas,
| who is probably the best-posted man
in either house on all questions that
| concern the public lands, has been
aISin TorLo% 60,
| years, and when Gen. Sparks, of IL
linois, was commissioner of the gen.
eral land office during the early part
| of the first Cleveland administra ton.
| he recommended strongly similar bills.
| OF course these bills protect the men
| to whom the railroads have sold lands,
| and while the bill killed recently by
| the senate would have restored about
| 56,0O0,OOO acres Of land to the people
it would all have come from corpora
lions that have failed to keep their
| contracts with the government.
| CONGRESSIONAL PATRONAGE.
| The public generally have very little
idea of the patronage connected with
the two houses of congress. Although
| congress has passed laws placing
/
| vice under civil service rules it has
never passed a bill removing any one
of the hundreds of places in the cap
itol from the ''spoilsmen." This be-
ing the situation, whenever a change
is made in the politics of the majority
| in congress there is a new deal all
| around. Six years ago when the DEM
! ocrats lost control of the lower house
the Republicans put in their men, and
| these were turned out promptly four
| years ago when the Democrats Sc
! cured majority. Now there will be
another complete change out of which
the Republican "boys'' In Minnesota
| will be able to get a number of good
| places. Each of the seven Republican
| members will be able to place several
| of the active hustlers in his district.
| One good position certainly in the con-