The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-01-26

O esced. The railroad got that trac
This went on day after day, wee
+ after week, and month after month
. The railroad practically was mad
, Judge and jury as to its own propert
' rights, made the selections, classified
, lions and pronunciamentos, and reape
the harvest. The railway compan
had its own way and bagged all tn
game"
The result was inevitable, lucrativ,
to the railroad, disastrous to the stat,
and public The Northern Pacific go
rid of all its many millions of worth
less acres, and received valuable anC
salable agricultural and timber land,
in lieu thereof. 1t was mastery STRAIT
egy-or rascality-upon the part O
the railway company; it was impover
ishment and swindling as a conse
quence to the people. The public
poor, misguided, unsuspecting Great
ure that it is-thought when it had
secured the passage of the law that
government was in charge of the elias
sification. 1t would surely protect
and defend the interests of the people.
Poor, deluded, defrauded, unsophisti-
Gated, honest publicl Never was a
public so thoroughly jobbed, hood
winked, defrauded and robbed.
The government, though nominally,
was not in actual charge of the CLASH
fication and segregation of the min
eral lands of Montana. It was the
Northern Pacific Railroad that was
actually in charge and control, and
which manipulated and managed the
entire business from beginning to end
An Indifferent government, confid-
ing and trusting public, and shrewd
designing corporation, INSCRIPTIONS
and greedy, tells the whole tale. The
public was unconscionably boncoed
and plundered, and the profits and
loot went into the Golfers of the
Northern Pacific Railway Company,
less the expenses of the manipulation
and management, and the brokerage
of the grafters employed by it.
In the course of several years the
appropriations by congress for these
mineral land commissioners were ex-
hausted, and there being no further
money to spend on their "phony"
work, the commissioners went out of
business. The so-called classification
in most of the districts had been COM
pleted. In the most important dis
trict in Montana, that containing the
greatest mineral resources, an extern
sive tract of land remained unclassi- |
fled. 1t contained much valuable tim
Der and was of mineral character.
This tract had been left to the last |
because the commissioners hated to
award it to the railroad, on account |
Of the glazing nature of such an act. |
Congress refused to further extend |
the life of the commission, or appro-
pirate the usual money to extend its
work.
At this emergency in the railroads
its trusty United States SEN
ator came to it's rescue. During the
expiring hours of congress, when all
was hustle and confusion, he managed
20 tack on an amendment to a bill
Up for final passage, that saved the
lay for the Northern Pacific Com
)any. By means of that amendment.
he remaining tract Of unclassified
and was put in the hands of the
hybrid Notwithstanding mineral
expert, heretofore alluded to- and the
ailway company, in jiffy, got Just
Exactly what it wanted, with neatness
md dispatch.
That this entire classification of
he Northern Pacific land grant in
Montana, as to its mineral or non
mineral character, was farcical, delu- !.
i've and absurd, and manipulated to
he benefit of the Northern Pacific
railway Company, is now a matter !
f general notoriety in that state. The
retended examination and classified 9
ion were perfunctory and worthless.
o put it mildly; not to say fraudu-
emit and predatory. The railroad =
eaped all of the benefits and profits, =
nd the public was despoiled, de- =
rauded and cheated to the top of its :,
ent. The people of the state only :,
-oke up to the real significance of :
ne fraud perpetrated upon them by :
ne schemers and rascals, after the
lischief had been done, and the rail-
'ay had gotten away with the plum :,
err
Only recently test case came up =,
efore the land office at Helena, in g
-hich the merits of this so-called :.
Justification were inquired into .,
estimony was taken, and the evil :,
snce displayed such glaring negli- :
ence and incapacity upon the part y
the mineral land commissioners of =
lie Helena district, that the Northern =.
acific Railway was glad to settle. >,
he evidence was a stencil in the >,
ostrils of the public, and an eye Il
)ener to the public who had been o.
spoiled. n,
The case mentioned is known and n
,scribed as n
CONTEST NO. 1891 is
orthern Pacific Railway Company,
Contestant, re
VS.. la
I'm A. Rowand, Contestee. fiji
The evidence is all on file in the ST
,deral land office at Washington, al
d a complete record thereof can IN
found at such office, and, also, in ao
e land office at Helena, Montana. 81
lie record furnishes most interesting si
d instructive reading. 1t shows tlt
at the railway company took keen
d active hand in the work Of classi- an
alton, and had its agents actively
gagged, at all times, in Assisting" at