The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-23

In the weller of political recriminations and
charges now burdening the governmental struct-
ure of the country there is coming to the sur
face a great contest against powerful western
railroad interests that should receive the UNI
divided attention of the workers and farmers
of the country.
The Departments of Agriculture and Interior
are challenging the right of the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company to acquire approximately
three million acres of Government land in Idaho,
Montana. and Washington, claimed by the rail
magnates under the provisions Of the land
grants made by Congress in 1864 and 1870.
The demand of the company is further
strengthened by decision of the Supreme
Court in 1921 that 'the Government could not
reserve as against the railway company any of
the land" within certain specified limits. Much
of the land in dispute is heavily forested and
the Government has spent vast sums in pro-
tecting and administering it.
These lands were given away to the builders
of the continent" to help them construct rail-
ways. The Northern Pacific has received more
than 1876 million dollars from the sale of these
lands, tho the cost of the roads construction
has not exceeded seventy million dollars to date.
Besides. the railroad has failed to build 1507
miles Of its line within the time specified by
the grant Thus, if the Government were really
anxious to enforce its own law the granted
lands would be subject to immediate forfeiture.
But let no one have any misgivings as to
what the Government will do. The belated at
tempts of Wallace and Work to save this vast
tract Of land from the railway kings is in all
likelihood an eleventh hour political gesture to
help the Administration make up its record"
for the coming election campaign and counter
act some of the oil stencil. ),
The story of-the development of. Amer can
railways is a story of the governments giving
away tremendous areas of land to the railroad
capitalists The free land gifts, thru Federal
and Texas grants total $4,000 square miles
an area in excess of the six New England
States, the five Northern Atlantic States, the
three Southern Atlantic States. and the District
of Columbia. The land given away to the rail-
way corporations by the Government is 100000
square miles in excess of the area of Germany
or France before the war.
Today, these gigantic empires of land are
part of the investment of the railroad capitalists
Today, the workers have to pay the capitalists
high tribute in low wages, huge dividends, in
tolerable working conditions in order to guaran-
tee these captains of transportation a "fair"
rate of profit. Today the farmers must pay
exorbitant freight rates to save the capitalists
from losses on their heavily inflated invest
ments, a large portion of which is this very
land belonging to the masses of the country
and given away for nothing to the railway
barons
And TO-DAY the government Oh Cne united
States is putting at the disposal of these capital
lists who have looted the country as no other
employers have in the history of the nation all
its military, judicial, and financial power to
guarantee fabulous profits to the rail corpora
tions and to perpetuate unbearable freight rates
for the farmers and open-shop conditions for
the workers.
Revealed in the light of these facts the suit
Of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior
against the Northern Pacific does not bring
much hope to the working masses.