The Great Land Grab Ends: Northern Pacific's Grip on Washington Territory Loosens
A landmark federal decision strips a massive railroad monopoly of its indemnity lands, opening vast swaths of Washington to homesteading settlers.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A telegram received from Delegate Voorhees brings the welcome intelligence that by a decision reached yesterday by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the indemnity lands claimed by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company were thrown open for settlement. Little by little the giant wrong is being righted. This is by far the greatest yet won in the contest for free lands in the Northwest. It throws open to settlement the disputed lands, two strips, each ten miles in width, connected with the lines of the company, whether built or proposed. In short, it restores to the public domain near one-third of all the lands claimed by the Northern Pacific in Washington Territory. The legality of this order of Commissioner Sparks cannot be questioned. There was no law authorizing the withdrawal of the ten-mile strips. It was made upon the strength of an executive order, and the validity of the action has been questioned. The withdrawal of the entire body of land contained in the indemnity lines was an arrogant, illegal, and fraudulent action on the part of the company.
“Little by little the giant wrong is being righted; little by little the people are coming to their own.”
This 1885 victory over the Northern Pacific's land hoarding echoes today’s fierce battles over land use and density in Seattle. Just as settlers once fought for access to land locked away by corporate interests, modern residents continue to contest the 'ownership' of the city through restrictive zoning and corporate property concentration.
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