Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1885 — Senator Harrison and the Land Grant. [ARTICLE]

Senator Harrison and the Land Grant.

Senator Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, cast a vote a week ago to-day which challenges the condemnation of bin constituency, regardless of party. It was to lay aside and, so, practically to killgthe bill for the forfeiture of the Texan Pacific Railroad land grant. It will occur to the logical reader to question how, since there is no Texas Pacific Railroad, can there be a Texas Pacific land grant? There is no Texas Pacific Road or Company, and yet there is a Texas Pacific Railroad land grant of 14,309,760 acres. Why this should be so only a Republican United States Senate seems to know, and our Senator Harrison appears to be oMftpfeuous m that outrageous haowtedge. Briefly, this is the Sttaation: On was.made to the Texas Pacific Rail wa y Company of 14.709,760 acres oi public lands, twenty alternate sections on each side of the proposed road being allowed per mile, with the right to the company of up deficiencies ten miles oeyond these limits in certain territory, while in other territory no limit was prescribed. In California the company might cure the deficiency within twenty miles of the granted land* Not a stroke of work has ever been done to earn this grant but, notwithstanding, it is hela for the company by the Interior Department. Not only the!4,309.76G acres embraced in this grant are thus withdrawn, but as the nterior Department can not tell which is railroad and which is public landuntil the grant has been selected and surveyed, all the Government land within the limit of the grant is also practically. withdrawn: and as a consequence of the refusal of the Senate to declare the grant forfeited the public is denied the right to settle upon about 4‘,000,000 acres of the public domain.

The Southern Pacific Rail road, a competitor of the Texas Pacific at the jutset. is built along the line which the'Texas Pacific projected, he Southern Pacific was built without any land grant and in opposition to the Texas Pacific. t was the boast of the Southern Pacific men—the Huntington gang—when appealing to ongress for charter and right of way, that they asked for no grant of public lands. They employed agents and attorneys to go into various States, and with this argument in their favor as against the exas Pacific, to influence legislature to memorialize Congress that it cede charter and right of way privileges to the Southern Pacific Company. Not only this, but it was further held that the Texas grant had already passed, it was by claims of independence for itself and by thus discrediting the Texas Pacific Company, that the Southern Pacific secured its desired privileges and completed its construction But later the Huntington ring received a pretended assignment from the < exas Pacific when, presto, change! it sets up the proposition that the Texas Pacific grant had never lapsed, and that by virtue of the transfer the Southern Pacific was entitled to the i exas Pacific land grant. So the ‘ exas Pacific transfers 14,309,760 acres, not an acre of which had it earned under the terms of the grant, to the Southern Pacific, which had bargained with the Government that it desired no grant, ihe transfer, therefore, is, ab initio, void, just as entirely so as if the ndianapolis Street Railway Com cany had made it. The Southern Pacific has no more title to the lands under it than if the transfer had come from a corporation of ghosts. There isn’t a backwoods jus tice court in Indiana that wo’d

not throw out a claim so absurd as that of the Southern Pacific in the premises. Yet here is the United States Senate, and an ndiana Senator active in the scheme, virtually sustaining the claim, which is nothing less than an attempt to rob the Government of more than 14,000,000 acres of public domain. What do the people of ndiana think of Senator Harrison’s attitude in the matter.—lndianapolis Sentinel. The other days merchant traveler operating for a Philadelphia shoe firm boarded a train on the Alton roadiat Joliet, and was soon attracted by the charming face of a Sucker lass wh > got on at Pontiac. He thought he saw that she was a sweet, iaaocent ycung thing who had Bever been around any, and he weeded his way to where she sat and insinuated himself into her society. ‘lt is a very stormy day.mhs * said the merci ant tiaveler. I ‘ls that so,’ she asked, with a<reat show of interest. Here. HMtoed, was a sweet example I of rustic innocence. Storming like all the furies and had been for nine consecutive hours, and yet she seemed to know nothing about it ‘Poor, credulous, simple thing,’ he thought. ‘Shell be madly in love with me in fifteen minutes.’ Xloing far?’ he inquired. ‘Oh, an awful long way!’ ‘How sweet and childish!’ thought the gripsack man. ‘How far are you going?’ he , asked. *Oh, away off!’ ‘To St. Louis?’ ‘My, yes, and further than that" t ‘lm awful glad. ’ll h»ve your company a gCod, while then,’ said he, ‘and I know ‘we shall be great friends,’ ‘ hope so,’ she replied. ‘You have beaus, don’t you?’ the drummer suddenly asked. ‘No. 1 used to have, but—’ ‘Ah! nevermind. I’ll be your beau on this trip. Now, tell me your name, please.’ ‘M a t i 1 d a—Matilda Haw — well, it used to be Hawkins, but it is Jordan, now.’ ‘What! You are not married?’

‘No! I poisoned my fifth husband the other day, -and you—oh! you look so sweet.— You look as if strychnine wo’d make such a beautiful corpse of you. Come, now, won’t you marry me?’ The drummer excused himself, and the jolly Pontiac girl and her beau, who sat behind pretending to be asleep, laughed all the way to Bloomington. One of Mr. Lincoln’s annoyances was the claims advanced for having first suggested his nomination as President? One of these claimants, who was the editor of a weekly paper pub’ished in a little village in Missouri, called at the White House, and was admitted to Mr. Lincoln’s presence. He at once commenced stating to Mr. Lincoln that he was the man who first suggested his name for the Presidency, and pulling from his pocket an old, worn, defaced copy of his paper, exhibited to the President an item on the subject. “Do you really think,” said Mr. Lincoln, “that announcement was the occasion of my nomination?” “Certainly,” said the editor, “the suggestion was so opportune that it was at once taken up by other papers, and the result was yonr nomina ' tion and “Ah! well,” said Mr. Lincoln, with a sigh, and assuming a rather gloomy countenance, “I am glad to see you and to know this, but you will have to excuse me. i am going to the War Deparrment to see Mr. Stanton ” “ W ell,” said the editor, “I will walk over with you.” The President, with that apt good na- ■ ture so characteristic of him, i took up his hat and «aid:— f‘Come along.” When they reached the door of the Sec-

retary’s office Mr. Lincoln turned to his companion and said: “I shall have to see Mr. Stanton alone, and you must excuse me,” and taking him by the hand he continued, “good oy. I hope you will feel perfectly easy about having nominated me: don’t be troubled about it; 1 forgive you.”—Ben. Perley Poore in Boston Budget.

Sam Randall, Jr., is, politically speaking, ‘a chip of the old block.’’ He is only 12 yrs. of age, but has already established a reputation for political cleverness among the boys of ’ apitol hill by having one of his chums appointed a page ip the House. The young man is now rejoicing in an autograph letter from the President elect. He is probably one of the few persons in Washington thus honored. Before the election Sammy addressed addressed Mr. Cleveland an [epistle assuring him of his [warm support, while regretFthat the boj s of Capitol made it rather hot for him |by their enthusiastic support of Mr. Blaine. Sammy was somewhat chagrined at not getting an early reply, but excused it on the suggestion ot his father that it was indiscieet in candidates to write letters. A week or two ago, however, he wrote Mr. Cleveland again, reminding him of the previous letter, and hoping now an answer might be expected. The President was informed that the Blaine boys of the hill were now singing .very small—in fact, were not so “flip” as they had been by a long clialk. Mr. Cleveland’s reply has been exhibited to nearly everybody at the Capitol. Sammy received a handNiffle aptflogy for the neglect to answer the first letter, and is congratulated on his efforts to Secure a great Democratic victory under the adverse surroundings of Capitol hill. He is cordial] y invited to be among the first to welcome a Democratic President to the White House. Sammy says he !? g £ ing to Btand on ttle White House steps when the new President drives up from the Cadi to 1 on the 4th of March and cheer* for Cleveland and Hendricks.

It is sometimes dangerous to be ignorant of the constant changes in slang, Thiess’ Concert hall is the most gor - geous temple of music and beer in town The orchestra and the beverage are no doubt worthy of their popularity, but the quality of the auditors and drinkers cannot be altogether commended. At one of the numerous tables,last Sunday evening, sat a typical girl of the garden. Her black satin had more gloss,, her hat a wider brim, her hair a yellower bion de, and in all respects she was fashionably intense to a degree seldom found in entirely circumspect belles. She was the sweetheart of Billy Charity, the hired ‘bouncer’ of the establishment; but the relationship was notapparent to a stranger, although lie managed in the course of his duties to keep near her. A sauntering fellow dropped into a seat by her side. That was no breach of Theiss etiquette Nor did she frown upon his offer to buy drinks. ‘ Y ou’re a daisy,’ he remark’d, with gallant intent,- as the glasses clinked. Her face crimsoned, and she threw the beer into the starch of his shirt front Then she told Charity what he had said, and the . _:e er, d- awing his club of peace, whacked the chap damaging!v. A free fight ensned, the police came in, and Charity was subsequently fink But my object in forcing s concert-garden episode upon your attention was to tell you that; in the rapid evolution oi slang, to call an East-side girl a daisy is no longer complimentary,but the equiv lent of charging her with being a thief.— Cor Utica Observer.