County Commission Battles Northern Pacific Land Grab
King County officials call out the railroad for attempting to claim massive timber and coal holdings through fraudulent charter claims.
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The King County Commissioners have sent a resolution to Washington D.C. protesting the Northern Pacific Railroad's recent application to have 10 miles of its Puyallup branch accepted as part of its Cascade branch. The commissioners argue this is a ruse. The branch was built solely as a coal road and was never intended to be part of the Cascade line. By pushing this through, the railroad aims to forestall congressional forfeiture of its unearned land grants, seeking to secure over 40,000 acres of valuable timber and coal lands by 'trick and device' without having laid the necessary track to earn them. The resolution demands the President annul the appointment of commissioners for the line and that Congress act to prevent this transfer.
“We believe the appointment of said commissioners could only have been obtained from the President by the practice of deception upon him by said company.”
The struggle over Northern Pacific's land grants captures the Gilded Age tension between public interest and corporate monopolies. This fight for accountability and against 'trick and device' land claims echoes today’s ongoing local discourse regarding the ownership of public resources and the influence of powerful corporate entities on civic policy.
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