596 THE IMPENDING REVOLUTION. 



land grants were made to some of the companies, on the 

 condition that they saould construct their lines within a 

 prescribed limit of time, and that some of these companies 

 had not constructed any part of their line, and had thus 

 forfeited their grant by not complying with the conditions 

 thereof, these lands were still withdrawn from the public 

 domain and not subject to settlement. During all this 

 time Congress, one branch of which was Republican and 

 the other Democratic (with the exception of two years, 

 1 88 1 and 1882) had done nothing to restore these lands to 

 the public domain, until, as Secretary Lamar says in his 

 report, in March, 1887, a law was passed authorizing the 

 Secretary of the Interior to adjust the land grants. It 

 would seem that the above delay was almost criminal 

 negligence upon the part of Congress, as a bill declaring 

 the forfeiture of said lands and their restoration to the 

 public domain could have originated in either branch. In 

 the meantime the courts have decided that in the absence 

 of a prohibitive clause in the terms of the grant, the rail- 

 road companies can continue the construction of their lines 

 and the selection of their lands until Congress delares the 

 grant void. The delay of Congress to take action has 

 thus lost to the people millions of acres of said lands. 



Thus, while Congress was filibustering for political 

 effect, millions of acres of land were passing into the hands 

 of the railroad companies, under the decision of the 

 Supreme Court, as they continued the construction of their 

 lines and the selection and sale of the lands thereunto ad- 

 joining. When it is claimed that any party or administra- 

 tion has restored 100,000,000 acres of lands to the public 

 domain it is simply an exaggeration of the truth, and with- 

 out foundation in fact. Acts have been passed, effecting 

 to some extent, millions of acres of public lands which 

 had been withdrawn from the public domain, and the diff- 

 erent railroad companies cited to show reason why the 





