THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 179 



operations, and would produce a feeling of insecurity 

 which would be very dangerous to the entire banking 

 interest of the country." 



The warning thus plainly uttered was not heeded. 

 The same unsafe manner of doing business was con- 

 tinued, the banks and trust companies involving 

 themselves deeper than ever in the operations of the 

 railroad gamblers. 



Numerous roads were planned, as the time passed 

 on. Large quantities of the public lands were filched 

 from the people with the connivance of Congress. The 

 press of the country again and again uttered its pro- 

 test against these misappropriations of the national 

 property, but Congress, with characteristic contempt 

 of the popular will, continued its land grants. It has 

 been publicly declared that the corporations have so 

 thoroughly bought up the National Legislature that 

 the people have no chance of protection in their pro- 

 perty when the masters of the Honorable Members 

 demand its appropriation to their uses. The New 

 York Herald, of September 22d, 1873, thus states the 

 view of this question held by a very large and re- 

 spectable portion of the American people, regardless 

 of party feeling : 



" Instead of checking the extravagances of a popu- 

 lar assembly, the Senate has taken the lead of every 

 phase of extravagant legislation. It has become the 

 fountain of jobbery and corruption the source of land 

 grants and dishonest reserve proposals. The country 

 would be amazed to know how many Senators are the 

 paid attorneys of railway and other corporations at- 

 torneys paid to 'practise in the Supreme Court.' The 

 country does know that the most notorious men in our 



