The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-03

If the voters Of the state, after en-
of the Republican party and finding
themselves unable to check or STOP
either by effort within or force with
out, the ever accelerating tendency to
profigacy, extravaganza, corruption
and jobbery, shall decide this year to
submerge all differences of opinion as
to national matters and converge their
forces in a united assault upon and
overthrow of Republicanism in the
state, they will be doing only what that
party has given them ample provoca-
ton for. 1t is a good time, before NOM
mating conventions of this opposition
shall have met, to recount some of
these Qualifications for a revolution.
The most striking, as it is the most
monumental of these, is the squander-
ing of the public domain. Few realize
what this has been. The mind is I'M
able to grasp the fact the figures stand
for. One reads in the state statistics
that these grants amount to over ten
million acres, but the figures convey
to his mind no definite sense of guam
tity. 1t is worth while to try to pre-
sent these figures in shape that their
meaning can be readily comprehended.
Deducting the surveyed waters of the
state, its area is SO, 335,367 acres. Of the
swamp lands of the state there have
been conveyed under grants made by
successive legislatures to railway COM
panies alone 1,994,272 acres, with 1885,
O16 acres still applicable to grants I'M
filled. amounting to 1,633,94S acres
more, leaving a net deficiency of lands
to fill all the grants of S37,932 acres.
The swamp lands conveyed and those
applicable to untitled grants thus
amount to 2,79O,2SS acres. OF what are
known as congressional grants there
have been conveyed to the RAILWAYS
S,12O,717 acres, making a grand total
of 1871 ,O05 acres.
This is one-ffth of the total area of
the state. 1t is one acre in each five
and one township out of every five An
amendment to the constitution prohib-
It's bond issues and taxation in aid of
constructing railways in excess of <
per cent of the assessed valuation.
which would be about per cent
on the real value These grants
amount to 20 per cent of all the land.
Again, the number of acres in the state
assessed for taxation in 1894, aside from
city lots, YVES SO,654,4T2 The area grant
ed to railways is equal to one-third of
all the assessed acreage of the state.
Still the mind gets but a confused idea
of, the significance of these facts. Let
US reduce the area to definite limits
The 1921 ,005 acres are equal to 43O
congressional townships, each six miles
square, or to 15,4S0 square miles. How
much is that? What portion of the
state will it embrace? If we begin at
the southeast corner of the state. go
up the Mississippi river to its junction
with the Minnesota river. thence IN
that to the northwest corner of Red
wood county, around its west limits to
Cottonwood county, down its west line
10 NoDIeS, along It's north line to Pipe
stone, entirely around that county and
south to the southwest corner of the
state, and thence east to the southeast
corner of the state. we will have a
territory which is but fifteen square
miles n excess of the area conveyed
and conveyable to the railways of the
state under Republican rule since it be-
gan its career of prot1igacy in 1854
Thus presented, thus made compre-
hcnsible to the dullest mind capable OF
examining a map, the reckless squan-
dering Of the domain of the people is
an arraigpment of that party that
should have long ago procured its COM