Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 October 1877 — A GREAT GIVE-AWAY. [ARTICLE]

A GREAT GIVE-AWAY.

The Hundreds of Millions of Acres of Land that Have Heen Wasted in Subsidies. [Fr<Jtn the New Yortr Sun.] The official figures of grants of lands to railroad companies obtained under the forms of law, without reference to acquisitions outside the law are astounding in the aggregate. An empire has been voted away, larger in area than Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, and Indiana, if massed into one vast domain. The following table made up at the Interior Department bya Republican Sec • retary, tells the story of Republican legislation during the years of its exorbitant power ; NUitr.. Year. Corporation. Acres. 1862-70 Union Pacific, Central Pacific, and Kansas Pacific.... 35,000,000 1864-70 Northern Pacific.... 47,000,000 1866 Atlantic and Pacific. 42,000,000 1871 Southern Pacific.... 3,000,000 1862-64 Central Pacific 245,166 1871 Texas Pacific 13,400,006 1862-71 Wagon roads in the Northwest 4,(XX),000 Wisconsin.. 1866 Breakwater and ship canal 200,000 Michigan... 1865 Portage Lake ship canal 200,000 Michigan... 1868 Portage Lake ship canal 200,000 Michigan... 1866 La Bois ship canal... 100,000 Alabama.... 1871 S. Alabama railroad.. 576,000 Alabama.... 1869 Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad.... 897,920 Louisiana. . 1871 N. 0., Baton Rouge and Vicksburg R.R 1,600,000 Arkansas... 1866 Cairo and Fnlton.... 966,700 Arkansas... 1866 Memphis and Little Rock.. 365,539 Arkansas... 1866 Little Rock and Fort Smith..... 458,771 Arkansas... 1866 Iron Mountain B. B. 864,000 Missouri.... 1866 Cairo & Fulton R. B. 182,718 Missouri.... 1866 St. Louis and Iron Mountain 1,400,000 lowa 1866 Burlington and Missouri Biver 101,110 10wa..1864 Chicago and Bock Island 116,276 lowa 1864 Cedar Rapids and Missouri River.... 349,406 10wa....... 1864 McGregor and Mis- . souri River 1,536,000 lowa 1864 Sioux Oity and St. Paul 256,000 lowa 1864 Sioux City and Pacific 580,000 Michigan... 1866 Jackson, Lansing & Michigan (regraut) 1,052,469 Michigan... 1865 FHnt and Pere Marquette 686,828 Michigan... 1864 Grand Rapids and Indiana 531,200 Michigan... 1865 Bay de Noque and Marquette 128,000 Michigan... 1865 Marquette and Onontagbn 243,200 Michigan... 1862 Chicago and Northwestern 375,680 Michigan... 1865 Chicago and North western 188,800 Wisconsin .. 1864 West Wisconsin 675,000 Wisconsin.. 1864 St. Croix and Lake Superior 350,000 Wisconsin.. 1864 Bayfield branch 215,000 Wisconsin.. 1862 Chicago and Northwestern (regrant). 600, (XX) Wisconsin.. 1864 Portage and Superior 750,000 Minnesota.. 1865 St. Paul and Pacific. 500,000 Minnesota.. 1865 St. Paul and Pacific branch.//.. 725,000 Minnesota. 1865 Minnesota Central.. 290,000 Minnesota.. 1865 Winona and St. Peter 690,000 Minnesota.. 1864 St. Paul & Sioux City 150,000 Minnesota.. 1864-66 Lake Superior and Mississippi 800,000 Minnesota.. 1866 Minnesota Southern. 735,000 Minnesota.. 1866 Hastings and Dakota 350,000 Kansas.... 1868 Leavenworth, Lawrence fc Galveston 800 000 Kansas 1864 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 1.200,060 Kansaslß64 Union Pacific,Southern branch. 500,000 Kansas..... 1866 St. Joseph and Denver 1,700,000 Kansas 1686 Fort Scott and Gulf. 17,000 Kansas 1866 Southern br’h Union Pacific 1,203,060 California.. 1866 Placerville and Sacramento... 200,000 California.. 1867 Central Pacific, Oregon branch. 1,540,000 California.. 1866 Stockton and Copper0p01i5.......... 320,000 Oregon 1870 Oregon and California. 1,660,060 Oregon 1865 Oregon Central... ... 1,200,000 Total acres not reserved for free homes, in round numbers 176,000,000 Total number acres in land grants, including prey’s years, in round numbers,. .1295,060,000

These are facta of record officially reported, and cannot be disputed. But this is not all, by any means. In two years, between July, 1862, and July, 1864, in the midst of flagrant war, Congress voted $65,000,000, by bonds payable in thirty years and bearing 6 per cent, interest in addition to the lands* and, according to the last report of the treasury, the balance of accumulated interest against the roads exceeded $25,000,000. So that the actual advance to six corporations from the treasury was more than $90,600,000 in cash. Lobd John Manners, the English Postmaster General, has appointed Miss Creswell, daughter of the late Postmaster at Gibralter, to her father’s post. The salary is $3,000 a year. Lord John believes in the Government appointment of women, and has appointed a large number of them to offices in the Postoffice and Telegraph Departments.