The People vs. The Northern Pacific Railroad

The people of Eastern Washington, in mass meeting at Colfax, declared: Whereas, the Northern Pacific, Central Pacific, and other railroad companies have formed a combination not to compete, and have established through freight rates that discriminate unjustly against the interior; and whereas, the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, in order to have its lost rights to the grant revived, must necessarily have the old grant renewed, which in effect amounts to a new subsidy; and whereas, the railroad corporations of the United States, grown powerful by combinations of immense capital, hold in their iron grasp the rights of the public—therefore be it resolved, that the confederated action of these great railways constitutes the most gigantic monopoly ever known. In Seattle, the sentiment was equally strong: On July 2, 1864, Congress granted the Northern Pacific lands to aid in the construction of a railroad from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. Nearly twenty years have elapsed, and not one mile of road has been built west of the Cascade range in Washington Territory that is honestly intended to be part of said line. Millions of acres are withheld from entry and settlement to which the company has no equitable claim—lands worth more than $7,000,000 being withheld in this county alone. The people of Seattle and King County pledge themselves to urge an unconditional and absolute forfeiture of all lands along the Cascade division of the Northern Pacific.