The Great Land Heist

It is stated that the recent report of Commissioner Sparks of the General Land Office is almost completed and will soon be made public. The report will announce officially what the combined press of the United States has been announcing for the past five years: that the land grant railroads, without any exception, have been robbing the Government with a boldness and recklessness such as has not been seen since the gangs of France broke the power of the robber barons. The public domain has been divided among the thieves with a disregard of law, justice, or the power of the Federal Government that is incomprehensible. Every land grant railroad, Commissioner Sparks discovers, holds lands far in excess of the amounts to which they are legally entitled. It is unnecessary to tell the people of Washington territory how these frauds were accomplished. They have seen the work going on under the eyes of government officials whose duty it was to interfere in behalf of the people, but who closed their eyes to frauds which even the blind could see. The General Land Office has been for many years a perfect sink of corruption. The rulings of the General Land Office from 1870 to 1885 were uniformly in favor of the corporations and against the people. The wheel has turned. Now let the people have their rights. Let us see how much of the public domain can be wrested from the grasp of the rascals who have seized upon it.