Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 April 1885 — Forfeited Texas and Pacific Railway Grants.. [ARTICLE]

Forfeited Texas and Pacific Railway Grants..

Indianapolis Sentinel: The Sentinel has received the following information from the General Land Office: „ • «—- “You are advised tli&t the lands granted to the Texas and Pacific Railway Company, which were declared forfeited and restored to the publtc domain by the act of Congress, approved February 18,1885, are the sections and parts of sections, designated by odd numbers, within forty miles on each side of the line of general route of said company’s road through the Southern part of the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and within twenty miles on each side of said line (outside the limits of the grant for the Branch Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad) in Southern California.

“Said lands are now subject to entry under the pre-emption, homestead and other general laws relating to unoffered lands at the local United States Land Offices of Las Cruces, New Mexico Territory; Tuckson and Prescott, Arizona Territory, and Los Angeles, California, and are rated as double minimum land ($2.50 per acre) under the pre-emption and homestead laws, except in cases where settlement was prior to the date of receipt at the local office of the order withdrawing them for the benefit of the railroad grant.”

The above described lands embrace some of the most fertile and most desirable of the public domain, and udon much of which the Texas and Pacific Railway Company had placed a high price. Actual settlers, who propose taking up Government lands in the Southwest, will do well to turn their steps in the direction of tliess forfeited strips, which are thrown open to the public for pre-emption or homestead claims after having been practically reserved for many years past, during which time most of the remaining desirable lands in the vicinity of these have been taken up: What a contrast to this action of Secretary Lamar is that of his predecessor, Senator Teller. The former, with the interest and welfare of the people at heart, compels a powerful railroad sompany to disgorge a big slice of the public domoin, which it had not earned and was trying to absorb without complying with the terms of the grant. Ex-Secretary Teller while in office was, on the other hand, the friend and champion of railroad corporations and land grabbers, and kept an extra force of clerks busy, nights and Sundays included, making out patents for 700,000 acres of public lands in Louisiana conveying them to a railroad company which had*not even pretended to carry out the provisions of the stipulations—had not built the road, nor does it expect to. A more infamous steal was never perpetrated than this act of Senator Teller when that champion of monopolies was Secretary of the Interior. Nor did his infamy stop here. He is found guilty of having taken from the Indian tribes their reservations, directly in violation of the titles given them in treaties, which our Government is bound to respect, as determined by recent Supreme Court decisions in the premises. Had the Government remained in the hands of a Republican administration another four years there wonld have been little left of the public domain at the end of that time —it woilld have gone almost bodily into the capacious maw of powerful railroad corporations, through such ourageous land grab proeesses as that adopted by Senator Teller and his ilk, and as characterized the several Republican

administrations for the past twenfy years.

Indianapolis Sentinel: The Monon stockholders now have a set o£ officials watching over their interests of whom they may well feel proud. As one of the employes of that road aptly remarked to a Sentinel reporter the other day, “They pull right along together.” The directors of this road in time past were very unfortunate in their selection of the heads of the varirious departments. They brought together men who could not agree on any one subject, and naturally enough the road suffered considerably thereby. A lack of harmony among its higher officials will injure any rond, to a certain extent, and its effect on the L., N. A. & C. was only too apparent. Mr. William Dowd, the recently elected President, is a careful and cautious man, and being jxissessed of a thorough railroad education, having went up the ladder step by step, is of course well fitted for the position he holds. There are few, if any, better General Managers than Mr. Dowd’s right hand bower, J. B. Carson, who is well liked and respected by the employes from one end of the line to the other. With such men as these managing its afiairs it can not help but prosper.

Ibid: An official of the L., N. A. & C. says that when the company has completed all of the contemplated improvements the Monon will, so far as its physical condition is concerned, compare favorably with any other road in the United .States. In improvement alone it is estimated that the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago will expend $2,000,000. Several elegant passenger coaches are now in the course of construction and will be placed on the road in a few weeks, besides a number of freight cars and new locomotives. The Indianapolis division will come in for its share.