(159) IT has been shown in Chapters XXVII and XXVIII that the increase in population was very meager from 1872 until about 1878 or 1879, when it became evident that there would soon be railroad communication with the rest of the world, after which the county filled up with people rapidly. The increase in property valuations, however, was much more constant and rapid than the increase in population. The assessed valuation of personal and real estate and the tax levies are given herewith for several years, in order to show the growth of the value of property for these years.

     The figures for 1869 to 1871, inclusive, were copied by County Clerk W. W. Putney from the books of the counties to which Antelope County had been attached prior to its organization. The year 1872 the first assessment was taken in Antelope County proper. The figures from 1872 (160) to 1883, inclusive, show a regular and rapid increase in values, both as to personal and real estate.

     Antelope County, as stated in Chapter XXVII, was greatly handicapped as to growth, both in population and wealth, on account of the large amount of state and railroad lands within its borders that could be had only by purchase.

     These state lands referred to consisted of 32,800 acres of internal improvement lands. Under act of Congress approved September 4, 1841, there was a grant of land to each of the several states of the Union of 500,000 acres, to be used for works of internal improvement. These lands for Nebraska were selected by commissioners appointed by the governor of the state and were patented to the state October 13, 1871. Of the 500,000 acres of these lands belonging to the state of Nebraska as stated above, 32,800 were selected in Antelope County, located in the several townships as follows:

     The five hundred thousand acres thus donated to Nebraska by the general government were disposed of by the state legislature by an act approved February 5, 1869, by which a grant was made of 2,000 acres per mile to any railroad that should be built under certain restrictions, and within a certain limit as to time. Under this act four or five railroads were started in the state, and the lands were divided up among them. Two of these railroads, the Omaha and Northwestern, running from Omaha north to Tekamah, and the Omaha and Southwestern, from Omaha south to the Platte River, selected a portion of their lands (161) in Antelope County, the greater part of them going to the Omaha and Northwestern Railroad.

     The Omaha and Northwestern Railroad was built by certain capitalists of Omaha. After the road was built they sold it to the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, which is a part of the Chicago and Northwestern system, but the lands were divided pro rata among these capitalists who built the road. After there began to be a demand for the lands they were placed on the market and sold at prices ranging from about $3.50 to $25.00 per acre, the greater part selling at from $6.25 to $10.00 per acre. At $8.00 per acre, and probably that is a low average price, these lands brought $262,400.00 for principal, and probably one third as much for interest, that had to be paid by the citizens of Antelope County before they became the owners in fee simple.

     There is little doubt that the law granting these internal improvement lands to the several states was a wise one, and that it was for a beneficent purpose. Whether the legislature disposed of these lands in such a way as to insure the greatest benefit to the state is another question. At any rate, the railroads that were more than paid for by Antelope County people from the proceeds of the sale of these lands did not benefit Antelope County in the least, the nearest depot on the Omaha and Northwestern being a good hundred miles in a straight line from Neligh. The Omaha and Southwestern Railroad, mentioned as having been built with the aid of these lands, passed into the hands of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company, and with it the remainder of the state lands in Antelope County. These state grants must not be confounded with the general government railroad land grants. That is another thing entirely, which will now be taken up.

     As stated before, the Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company acquired title in Antelope County from the United States to 57,526 acres of land. These lands all lay in the southeastern part of the county and were distributed among eight townships as follows: (162)

 
     It was never well understood by most of the people of Antelope County how it came about that the Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company, a south Platte institution, whose nearest station to Neligh was one hundred and five miles distant in a direct line, could acquire title to 57,526 acres of some of the best government land in the county. The process of the acquisition of this land was peculiar, and probably the inside workings of it can never be explained in full. The Burlington and Missouri Railroad in Nebraska was built with government aid. Its starting point was Plattsmouth, on the Missouri River, running thence west along the Platte to Ashland, thence southwest to Lincoln, thence continuing southwest to Crete, thence directly west through Hastings to Kearney junction, where it connected with the Union Pacific. Its total length was one hundred and ninety and one-half miles. This railroad received a grant from the government of lands on either side of the road bed, similar in most respects to that of the Union Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and other land-grant railroads. These other roads received a donation of the odd numbered sections on either side of the road bed for a distance of twenty miles, thus making ten sections on either side of the road for every mile constructed.

     Here comes in the peculiar thing in the charter of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company. After the clause in the Burlington and Missouri charter granting the (163) odd numbered sections for twenty miles on either side of the road, there comes the clause "or an amount equivalent thereto." The grant of land to the Burlington and Missouri overlapped the grant to the Union Pacific, as the two roads for a long distance were less than forty miles apart, and for several miles east of the junction were very near together. The matter as to whom the land belonged, where the grants conflicted, was left to the secretary of the interior to decide. His decision was favorable to the Union Pacific, but he also decided that the Burlington and Missouri was entitled, by the conditions of its charter, to select other lands as indemnity, both north and south of its line of road, in lieu of those taken by the Union Pacific. These indemnity lands were selected chiefly in the counties of Franklin and Webster, south of the Platte, and in Madison, Antelope, Boone, Howard, Greeley, Valley, and Sherman, north of the Platte.

     When Mr. A. E. Touzalin was Burlington and Missouri Railroad land commissioner he told the writer that he did not know, neither did the directors of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad know, how these words "or an amount equivalent thereto," came to be inserted in the charter. Doubtless some one knew how it came about. It could not have been an accident. One William T. Steiger whose headquarters were in Washington, is mentioned in the patent from the United States to the Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company, as the agent of the Burlington and Missouri Railway Company, who selected the lands for the company and who represented the railroad company at Washington in the matter. This is not quite correct, however, for these indemnity lands were all selected by J. D. Macfarland, at that time a head clerk in the Burlington and Missouri office at Lincoln, but who afterwards became Burlington and Missouri Railroad land commissioner. It can scarcely be doubted, however, that this William T. Steiger had charge of the manipulations at Washington by which this indemnity deal was accomplished. At any rate, soon after the business was consummated by which (164) the railroad company became possessed of these lands, and before the lands had been appraised and placed on the market, Mr. Steiger received from the Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company a grant of several sections of fine lands in Madison and other counties.

     The people of Antelope County were never satisfied with this deal. It took from the government lands in that part of the county most easily accessible and that was first settled, a large body of lands that were among the best in the county. They did not believe it a "square deal" to give to a railroad that was more than a hundred miles away, and that did not benefit the county in the least, enough government land to make homesteads of one hundred and sixty acres each for three hundred and fifty-nine families. These statements show how Antelope County was handicapped for many years. But this is not all. Soon after the Burlington and Missouri Railroad Company acquired title to these lands a suit was brought against the company in the United States court to annul the title, it being alleged in the petition that the lands were acquired by fraud. This case was carried finally to the United States Supreme Court, where a decision was rendered February 19, 1879, in favor of the railroad company.

     During all the time this suit was pending, and for several years thereafter, the company failed and refused to pay taxes on the lands. After the land suit had been decided in favor of the railroad company they made several offers to the county to compromise by paying a portion of the taxes. These offers were accepted by Madison, Boone, and several, if not all, the other counties, where the company owned lands. Antelope County, however, steadily refused to listen to any kind of a compromise. On May 5, 1879, the county board entered into a contract with C. J. Phelps, W. A. Marlow, and J. A. Grimison, attorneys, to employ said attorneys to collect by suit the taxes against the Burlington and Missouri lands for the years 1873 to 1878, inclusive, agreeing to pay said attorneys (165) ten per cent of the amount so collected. Several efforts were made by these attorneys to induce the railroad company to pay the taxes without suit, but without success. The best offer made by the railroad was to pay sixty per cent. of the amount. This offer on April 5, 1881, was rejected by the board. Finally, on March 10, 1882, the board of commissioners instructed the attorneys to begin suit against the railroad company. The suit was accordingly begun in the district court for Antelope County, but was taken on petition to the United States Circuit Court at Omaha. At a session of the United States Circuit Court for the district of Nebraska, held at Omaha on the 22d day of November, 1884, Judge Elmer S. Dundy presiding, in the case of the County of Antelope versus The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company, a decree was rendered in favor of Antelope County for the taxes for the years 1873 to 1878, inclusive, amounting to $30,230.20, and declaring all other taxes for the years named to be illegal and void. And further, that the taxes for the years 1879, 1880, and 1881, and interest thereon, amounting to $12,925.12 were legal, making a total of $43,155.18 due the county for the years 1873 to 1881, inclusive, and directing the railroad company to pay said amount to the court within five days of the date of the decree. This order was complied with and the amount was turned over to the county on December 10, 1884. The amount paid to the county for the years 1873 to 1878, inclusive, was seventy per cent of the amount claimed by the county as due. The amount for the years 1879 to 1881, inclusive, was paid in full in accordance with the county's claim. On December 31st the railroad company also paid the taxes for 1882 and 1883, amounting to almost $12,000, thus making about $55,000 collected from the railroad company for taxes in the month of December, 1884, and covering the years from 1873 to 1883, inclusive. Immediately thereafter the lands were placed upon the market for sale. The payment of these taxes placed the county in excellent financial (166) condition. The buying of these lands, however, from the railroad company by the people of the county, cost about three quarters of a million dollars, principal and interest, which they had to pay for 57,526 acres of land that they ought to have had free from the government. This was not thought by the people of Antelope County to be a "square deal."