Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-06
How Congress Came to the Aid
of the Western Timber
GrafterS
GrafterS


and donkey engines.
Capitol log rolling part bust
timber corporations they Job with
money, tools and donkey Congressman.
Witness a round, unvarnished tale of facts:
Among the railroad corporations which obtained grants of
land the public domain in that period Of Congressional
rupon thevng following the of the Civil War
Oregon California Railroad Company with lines running
Portland through fertile valleys and mbered
hills of Oregon This corporation granted
million hundred and sixty thousand and of that i'm
nene area the timber standing
this continent
provision of this grant peculiar it. The of
Congress stipulated that the California Railroad Company
should sell these lands ONLY TO ACTUAL SETTLERS IN
LOTS NOT TO EXCEED 100 ACRES TO EACH PURCHASER
AND AT A PRICE NOT TO EXCEED TWO DOLLARS AND
HALF AN ACRE
The stipulation plain and concise The penalty
stng forfeiture of the grant
The Oregon and California Railroad took over the land and
promptly proceeded ignore violate stpuaions
grant segregated the land into lots any that suited
its and sold these lots whatever prices could
obtain and the price always in and frequently
twenty times excess of the figure fixed by
gress.
In the year 1908 Joint resolution Senate House
directed the Attorney General of the United States bring
forfeit titles railroad those
holding by purchase lands embraced the grant
The suit pressed to trial and the Government
August 1912 of Congress approved
provides that individuals corporations claiming by purchase
from the Oregon and California Railroad Company land
in the original grant procure decree of final for
fixture and reoban title to the land by paying two dol
lars and a half to the United States.
The usual verbiage fumadidde which distinguish
statements efforts to write English when Travelling birth
with not absent from the full text of this act but
the essence is stated
Having log rolled this bill through Congress the timber
grabbing corporations busy a boy pre-
serving pantry peonug the Federal declare
ties forfeited and then eganing title by paying the Govern
$3.50 for their immensely valuable and illegally
obtained tract of timber One corporation alone the O. Smith
Lumber Company has just obtained in this way the United
District Portland possession
of standing timber
was the express direction of the Act of Congress estab
fishing the original grant that these timber lands should be sold
actual settlers only and lots not exceed 100
Because the railroad did sell these timber lands lots
thousands of to timber corporations the grant de
cared forfeited and having obtained forfeiture this showing
the Government turns around and by virtue of the Act log roll
ed through Congress by the timber gaers year ago conveys
identical timber grabbers identical public
timber lands in lots of the identical illegal size
So that the stands
The railroad keeps the money obtained from the original
illegal sales
The timber gabbers again possession immense
they illegally got from the railroad.
The Government gets less than hrieth the of the
lands.
The actual settlers the common people, get nothing
again By virtue of this same act log rolled
the interest of the timber bbers the small owner
bought his 16Oscre parcel in good faith and paid
for it years ago, LOSES HIS LAND UNLESS HE GOES
THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS INVENTED BY THE TIM
BER-GRABBERs TO CINCH THEIR GRIP UPON THEIR IL.
LEGALLY OBTAINED HOLDINGS
He go file stipulation forfeiture to the
Government and buy back his land from the Government
original price of $3.50
And whether he paid the railroad company So or
$50 for his land THE RAILROAD KEEPS THE MON
PAID IT and he pay the the price
originally fixed by Congress in the grant to the railroad
In short the Government of the United States
feited Oregon and California Railroad COMMANDS land