Congress Moves to Reclaim Northern Pacific Land Grants
A House committee votes to restore millions of acres of public land to the domain, challenging the Northern Pacific Railroad's long-delayed construction promises.
Washington, Feb. 28.—By a vote of 7 to 4, the House Committee on Public Lands agreed to report favorably a bill to forfeit all granted lands contiguous to that portion of the Northern Pacific Railroad uncompleted by July 4, 1879. It is not known exactly how much land the bill will take from the company, but the number of acres is variously estimated at from 30,000,000 to 40,000,000. Nearly the entire Northern Pacific grant west of Bismarck, if the bill passes, will be forfeited. The House has overwhelmingly declared in favor of a sweeping forfeiture of all railroad grants not earned in the time required by law. The Senate has taken no action on the subject, but while it is more conservative, it is very sensitive regarding public sentiment, and will very likely pass the forfeiture bill, although in a modified form.
“The Northern Pacific Company has had the land grant for twenty years, and has, so far, not considered it worth taking—if building a railroad were a condition essential to its taking.”
This battle over land grants highlights the early struggle between federal corporate largesse and the public interest in land use—a tension that persists in modern debates over corporate tax incentives and land development in the Pacific Northwest.
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