The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1900-11-07
LATEST ILAND
GRANT ABUSE
Editorial in Portland oresonian.

Editorial in Portland oregonian.
while making a mighty show of pro.
tecting the weak and securing Justice
Tor the individual, congress has done
tor the land.grant railroad corporations
Just what it did for the corporations
that got the lions share of the Cane
Nome placers, namely, confirmed them
IN the policy of enriching themselves
at the expense of the public. Land
grant railroads are proftting uniustly
from lieu land locations on account of
such parts Of their grants as lie within
the limits Of the forest reserves. Tie
monsttoi wrong Of permitting them
TO exchange the tracts which they had
rendered worthless for tracts the most
valuable of the public domain could not
be denied. Congress admitted that
that practice could not be permitted to
continue; that there was no element of
justice in IL. So il proceeded in due
form to enact that such promiscuous
lieu locations should not continue-after
0ttober /, 1900. It was admitted that
the land.Rrant companies were taking
advantage of loose wording of the stat.
ute that 1t had never been intended
that they should gain so unjustly from
the creation of the forest reserves; that
they had no ground whatever for ask.
ing such preferment; still, an inscruta
BILE Congress gave these voracious
consumers of public bounty fair notice
that they shall have until next October
to locate the choicest areas of the public
domain in the United States and have
them for their own. Is it to be presum-
ed that they will neglect their OPP
portunity2
The Northern Pa,ifc is the largest
beneficiary of this Congressional liber-
ality. 1t is systematically cruising the
finest timber lands Of the Pacific North
west and placing its lieu.lan' scrip on
the moet valuable tracts. Thus il is ex.
changing land that it never had equipt
able right to, and much OF which it has |
robbed Of its value by taking the timber,
or which lies in inaccessible mountain
Businesses, for new selections wherever il |
may choose TO take them from the pub.
lie domain, the unsurveyed as well as
the surveyed land being laid under tri-
butte. After the first OF next October
these selections,if any thenremain to be
made, can be taken only from the sur
veyed Government land.
Unpopular as this transaction is in its
beet view, the Northern Pacific breeds
more resentment by its manifest dispo.
sition TO crowd the settlers. 1t respects
no claim that has not ripened into full
title. Many settlers have well-estab.
lished homes on land that is yet unsur-
veyed. While il is true that the settler
has first right when ,the land shall be
surveyed and becomes subject TO entry,
and that no adverse claim will hold
against that OF a settler in good faith
who makes reasonable compliance with
the law, II is also true that the corpora
ton has great over to annoy the set
tier and the filing OF the scrip on his lit
tie home is Justly regarded rs menace
to the title. The explanation Of the
company's agents that this course is
merely TO save the rights of the company
in case the settler fails shall fail 10 com
pete his title is viewed with considera
Bile suspicion; especially in such in
stances az the recent one in Clark
Washington, where the company
alleges prior grant and other techni.
calities TO cover its attempt 10 defeat the
settlers.
This is relic OF the viscious land.
grant system. II was a short-sighted,
pernicious policy TO embark upon, and
It has brought its full measure OF abuse,
distrust and scandal. IL is impractica-
BILE TO cure the mistake of inagurat-
ing the system, but every increase Of
privilege under it, every expansion OF
favor, should be sedulously guarded
against. The free gift OF an empire 10
a giant corporation does not commend
itself to land-hungry people; TO see
corporation greed further feed at the ex.
pense of the people at this late day |
arouses indignation, and justly 30. This
proceeding will greatly predjuce the
public against that wholly benefcient
institution, the forest reserve, which is
made an excuse for but is by no means
necessarily cause Of, this great abuse. |