The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-01
CLoUGH's SIDE OF TT.
Republicans Reply to the Circular
of Gen. Pope.

OF Gen. Pope.
The Appleton Tribune of today, will
publish the following editorial, which,
as it has been forwarded to the var
ious Republican papers of the state,
may be assumed to be practically an
official statement Of Gov. Clough's side
OF the matter under controversy. The
editorial says, speaking of the late
Pope circular:
This SANDER is directly chargeable to Lind,
because 1t is being published by his general
agents politically, who have undertaken to
make him governor.
'They state that between the date Of the
passage of the Hastings & Dakota forfeiture
Dill, introduced by Senator Young, in the
legislature of 1895, and the date of the sign
Ing OF the same by the governor, that he
fraudulently decided away to the railroad
company all lands covered by the forfeiture
and thus made the bill a nullity.
Mr.. Young, the author of the bill, has
given US information about the matter, with
which many of the people of this vicinity are
already familiar but which other communi-
ties may not know. The grant to the state,
for the benefit of the Hastings & Dakota
company was made in 1866. consisting of an
original and an indemnity belt of ten miles
on each side of the road. The company
| failed to operate it's line after construction,
but sold it out to the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St Paul company, and for that reason, in
1887, its charter declared forfeited by
the supreme court. Within the time allowed
by law thereafter for disposing of it's prop
rights in the land grant, both as to the lands
already decided and those to be acquired to
Russell Sage, of New York. its vice presi-
dent
This assignment was claimed by Mr.
Young and other competent attorneys to be
illegal as to all the lands in the indemnity
grant not therefore legally selected by the
company; these lands comprised about 60 900
acres in Swift and adjoining counties. 1t
was upon this theory of the law that Senator
Young and Representative Jacobson secured
oh oyjc fo fr1ra ~ tie
last session of a bill FORGETTING, so far as the
state could do so, all the rights granted to
the state in the original congressional act Of
1866. and directing the governor, on behalf
of the state, to execute REIMBURSEMENT Of
all these unsettled indemnity lands to the
general government, so that they might be
was introduced, Hoke Smith, the Democratic
| secretary of the Interior, had, in the fall of
1894, certified to the state, for the benefit Of
Russell Sage, as such assignee of the Hast
ings & Dakota Railroad company a small
! quantity of the land embraced In this in
demnfty grant being in all about 5000 acres,
| leaving still uncertified of said lands about
5000 acres. Under the original United
States law, when the grant was made it was
declared to be the duty of the governor of this
state, whenever any Of said lands were so
ment, to deed the same to the railroad COM
pany. Under the law, which the governor
when he took the oath of Office swore to
obey, this tract of 5000 acres should have
been decided to the company in December
1894 or January 1885, the signing of such a
deed being an act of the governor. over which
| he exercised no discretion whatever, but
which was compulsory duty imposed by
! law
1.-THE land, in fact. was not decided prompt
! ~, as both Gov. Nelson and Gov. Clough
declared. that, unless the signing Of the deed
was obligatory, they would not execute it,
each declaring his unmeasured sympathy with
| they might get the land instead of the COM
pany. The fact that this 900 acre tract was
! awaiting the governors signature was well
known to the author of the bill before the
| after consulting Attorney General Childs and
| ex-Attorney General Clapp as to his duty
ard being advised that ne was officially
! Gov. Clough signed the same, and he has
also promptly and cheerfully executed the
REIMBURSEMENT to the general government of
| the remaining $4,000 acres. under the legis-
lative bill. Lind's committee now. with in
! famous malice and a desire in their hearts
to besmirch an honest man for political eff
feet, inform the people of the state by a
private circular that in this transaction Gov.
! Clough stealthily and fraudulently decided
to the railway company all the lands covered
| by the bill, after the act passed the legis-
lature and before he signed it.
Both Gov. Clough and Gov. Nelson ac-
| lively aided the passage of this bill. in the
| hope that it would be effectual to secure
! these disputed lands to the settlers thereon
But as Lind and his friends have tried to
gain political advantage out of this false
| eiit~i We Con HCiIdiH from TeIn'nQlDS Lnenl
! that the forfeiture bill and Gov. Coughs re-
hnquishment Hereunder. passed and executed
as they were. in good faith, were both
brought to naught by the ruling of the Demo
cratic secretary of the interior Hoke Smith.
In the fall of 1895 he officially rejected the re-
nnquishment; and insisted that he would, in
the face of it. still bestow all this land on
the railway company. Gov. Clough did All
he could to secure the land to the settlers
not only overrured the official acts of the
governor, but also overruled a decision fay-
orahle to the settlers made by the last Re-
publican commissioner Of the general land
Office Gentlemen your miserable slandeI
is fearful boomerang: if you had been wise
| you would have let 1t alone
We still have hopes that, with Repub-
ncan administration at Washington and a
wiser secretary Of the interior, Gov. Clough s
REIMBURSEMENT will vet be accepted. and the
settlers get the lands"