Year: 1872

PUBLIC OPINION IN F4 VOR OF THE ST


CROLY GRANT


The widespread interest felt i'll the re
newal Of the ST. Croix land grant founded
on the widespread conviction that said
renewal would be eminently just, is best
shown by quoting the language of promi-
nent papers on this subject. The Milwau
kee News in a second powerful editorial
on the subject says:


There these lands have remained while farms have
been opened and villages sprung up beside them, while
mills have been built on their streams, and they have
been crossed by roads leading III every direction
School houses bridges, and other public improvements
have been constructed, and these wild lands in
the midst of civilization. They have of course, great
" enhanced in value. They worth from s. to S25
an acre as they lie, without the stroke of upon
them, or a furrow being turned in the SOIL They
have acquired this value by being taken out of the
market and reserved from sale, for railroad purposes,
and because the people have gone in and settled
around them in the expectation that the railroad
would be built Their value has increased to at least
five fold on average, throughout the whole tract,
in excess of the government price In other words,
these two million of land. at dollar and quar-
ter an acre for which they would have been sold by
the Government, would have brought two and half
million dollars to the federal treasury Now they
worth twelve and half millions, and they have grown
that value because the people had faith that they
would be devoted to the construction of a railroad,
and have settled the country by reason of that faith





All this does not in the least, initiate against the
Democratic doctrine to which adhere that the
policy of granting the public lands to railroads ought
to cease. We opposed to further grants of public
lands for railroad purposes unless the circumstances
shall be wonderfully peculiar and uncommon. But we
oppose the revocation OF gift once made to US by
Congress which has grown such value in our hands,


,II,,jt
into the possession of land sharks into the hands
foreign monopoly of the most powerful character


And if some say that Milwaukee is in
Wisconsin, and can well afford to argue in
favor Of Wisconsin rights, hear the Chica-
90 Post, which certainly has no cause bat
that of mere abstract justice, to serve in
favoring the renewal, in such words as
these:


There an application before Congress for the re-
yiva of the St Croix land grant, which has much
inherent Justice in it that the objection we have so
often urged in opposition to munfccnt land grants
for mere specializing purposes does apply At the
time the grant accorded the country proposed to
be trayersed did not warrant the undertaking. AMI
the chances for realizing the full benefit Of
the grant, slim enough. 1t is only recently that
company of gentlemen interested the development of
the country through which the road passes and con
stituting peculiarly home association have underta-
ken to build the road. They have completed twenty
miles beyond Hudson the st. Crox, and New
Richmond but they are ovcrtsken by tie lapse of
the grant through its time limitation


1t is proposed by the opponents of renewal that
the lands shall to the government, but that
they shall be bestowed upon another and more power
ful organization, more richly endowed, and already
subsidized to the ful extent of the most abounding
generosity. We shall be disappointed if Congress Is
prevailed upon by the stronger party in this to
forget Justice. The Minnesota and Wisconsin delega-
tion, whose constituents Immediately affected bv
this measure, unit in its favor, and that ought
suffice. As question of merit it will stand of it
self As such, we trust Congress will consider and
pass upon IT,


When the press without distinction of
party or state are thus moved to argue for
the renewal, that voice of the people ought
to be heard in the national councils, and
the signs Of the times in this matter make
it highly probable that the renewal will be
had. And hence we are not surprised to
see the following in Tuesdays Pioneer:


Senator Pomeroy, from the Committee on Public
amendment a bill to extend the time for the compile
ton of the St Croix and Lake Superior railroad


And the latest news is that the House
Committee on public lands have agreed to
report favorably on the grant SO all
seems well thus far.