The Daily Morning Astorian

THE ASTORIA LAND GRANT.
The Present Status of The Legislation Concerning it.
WASHINGTON, April 15.-Representative George of Oregon said to-day, concerning the status of the Astoria land grant forfeiture bill, that he is provoked at the delay of the house in not resuming consideration of the bill. The amendments offered by George to exempt the road bed and the right of way over public lands along the completed portion to McMinnville from forfeiture and sale, as the bill provided, and to protect the rights of individual purchasers in reasonable sized tracts, and good faith settlers, whether claiming from the company or the government, and to correct a gross and careless blunder in the reported bill, confirming to the Oregon and California company the unearned part to Astoria without building another mile of road, are manifestly just and fair and in accordance with the disposition and feeling of the house. The committee has practically accepted them and no further trouble is apprehended on that score.
The remaining amendment offered by George was to omit earned lands along the route of the road completed twelve years ago, from Portland to McMinnville, from the effects of forfeiture. This amendment will be submitted to a vote of the house. He feels satisfied that it will be carried, from general expressions among members. Although the report of the committee was unanimous, yet the investigation already had has caused a halt, and several members of the committee have not only announced their intention of voting for the amendment, but of also speaking in its favor. With the bill thus amended, as desired by George, it will be substantially the same as the senate bill reported by Slater, except that the senate bill contains no guarantee for settlers. It will probably pass the house without opposition. George announced when the bill was before the house that with the adoption of this amendment he should support it.
The bill presented by Mr. George differs materially from the bill drafted by the Astoria Chamber of Commerce and forwarded to Mr. George for introduction last November. That bill was worded as follows:
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled.
"That all lands which were granted by congress in the year 1870 to the Oregon Central Railroad company to aid in constructing a railroad and telegraph line from Portland to Astoria, and from a suitable point of junction near Forest Grove to the Yamhill river near McMinnville, in the state of Oregon, and which has not been patented by the United States to said company under said grant which has expired by limitation, are hereby declared forfeited to the United States and transferred to the public domain, and this includes all such lands within twenty-five miles of the proposed line of said road, on either side thereof, both in Washington Territory and in Oregon, and these lands shall hereafter be disposed of as other public lands of the United States."
Upon receipt of that bill, Mr. George wrote in reply that the above bill had been amended by him and introduced. He says:
"It seems to me that the bill as sent was taking away what we already had without any guarantee as to the future. Whether or not congress will be disposed to continue any guarantee may be a question, but I thought it best to provide for the settlers in these lands and for the creation of a fund composed of the proceeds accruing from the sale of said lands, and the even numbers also, during the next ten years, the same to be set aside and given to the first company that will build and equip the uncompleted portion of the railroad," etc.
As understood here, there were three bills: the one that the Astoria chamber of commerce sent and intrusted to George to put before the house as it was; the one that Judge Payson introduced and which was unanimously recommended for adoption by the committee to whom it was referred; and the one that Mr. George drafted and introduced. The one now before the house, and the delay over which "provokes" Mr. George, is top-heavy with amendments. There is one in particular which evinces Mr. George's kind consideration (for the railroad company) and which affords interesting precedent for future congressional action if successful. According to this novel pleading all that a railroad company need do when given a conditional grant is to select the easiest part of the route, that which is most thickly settled, and where the land is of greatest present value, build that, and thus "earn" the contiguous land and let the rest go; if that be proper action it greatly simplifies similar legislation concerning other grants. However, the bill is before the house and may come up at any hour. It is probably the best that can be done under the circumstances, and in the absence of fuller information concerning the details of the bill as finally offered for congressional action, further comment is deferred.