The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-09

introduced in the Senate the following resolution:
 Whereas, at divers times, various railroads and other corporations have re- ceived a large grant of public lands of the United States under and by virtue of acts of the Congress, containing con ditions to the effect that such lands should be sold to actual settlers only or in quantities not exceeding, for any one pur
 chaser, limit fixed by the act relating thereto, or at price per acre not greater than an amount mentioned in the act au- thorizing such grant, to the end that such lands might promptly become homes of the citizens of the United States, and Whereas, It is currently reported and widely believed that the department
 of justice has information to the enect tha. certain of the corporations aforesaid
 or tijeir alleged successors in the title,
 having obtained colorable title to large
 tracts of land within state or states
 of the Pacific slope by virtue of the
 grants above mentioned, and still holding considerable portions thereof. have vio- la ed or evaded the equitable and salutary
 conditions as aforesaid imposed by the
 Congress upon such grants for the puollc
 good; yet the Senate is not advised that
 any action has been taken by the depart ment of justice to enforce the said condl-
 ticns. or restore the said lands to the public domain; now therefore. be 1t
 Resolved, etc., That the President be
 reuuested. if not incompa tible with the public interest, to inform the Senate what | Information if any has been received, and | any action if any has been taken by the | de pertinent of justice. with respect to the | matte IFS or things in the preamble to tms | resolution set forth.
 i "'And pressed vigorously for immediate | action
 Joint Resolution.
 .'The resolution being laid over, Senator l T;llman introduced the same day fur
 ther and joint resolution containing the
 same recitals, but concluding as follows; | Resolved That the Attorney General | he. ard is hereby directed, authorized and empowered to take such proceedings | or institute such suit on behalf of the | United States as may be necessary, apt or | exredient to insure a compliance with the | atove mentioned conditions, or to restore
 the said lands to the public domain or | to ra1ort to the Congress why such acton | as aforesaid has not or should not be | taken.
 .On February 15 Senator Tillman wrote | to Messrs Reeder & Watkins. A photo | graph of this letter is also attached as | exhibit D5. In it I call your attention | to the facts that he speaks again of MT. 1 Lee as his agent, and of the correspond | ence carried on through MT. Lee. He l states that what he has done in stirring up the land grant investigation is entire | ly apart from any personal interest he has | in the matter and adds:
 | Purchase of Land.
 | "'And although I would not have had | my attention called to it but for the in- | vestigation as set on foot in connection | with the proposed purchase by me of | some of the timber land in question. Or | course if I decide to make the tender | and go into the lawsuit. I will bear the
 proposition in mind, but l would have l YOU understand that nothing l do here Tn i the Senate will be done because of any | nersonal purchase of any of the land. If | I can succeed in causing the government
 to institute suit for the recovery of the | land and make it easier for others, as
 well as myself the italics are mine), l | sl1ali do 1t without regard to the dealings | with your firm. l still want to get some | of the timber land, if it is possible, and | as it is probable that MT. Lee or some | other representative of mine will be In | your country in the next two months, we | will leave the matter of payment for the i initiatorv steps and subsequent proceed 1 tags in abeyance for the present Any : contract w might make will be entirely
 apart from and in point of my work
 here in trc Senate I will be glad for | YOU to hold in reserve eight Of the best | quarter sections of which you have denn- l ite information, and I will in the mean ] time press the investigation and other
 work here which will facilitate the hnai
 purchase and in effect obviate the neces-
 sity of your making any case in the
 courts at all M
 Date of the Letter.
 This letter in which Senator Till
 man requested that eight of the best
 quarter sections be held in reserve for
 him was written just four days before
 he announced in the Senate that he 1 had not undertaken to buy any land in | the west It is unnecessary to com ment upon his proposition made in | this letter, to use his influence as Sen | ator to force the government to in stitute a suit, which would make 1t easy for him personally to secure