East Oregonian : E.O., September 23, 1915, ROUND-UP SOUVENIR EDITION, Page Page Fifteen, Image 15

East Ore gonian Round-Up Souvenir Edition
Peti.l'eton, Ore g on, Tliurday, September 23, 1915
The Oregon-California Land Grant Problem
1
f iV'
i
Twenty Paget
(Continued from Page .)
adopted looking to the final adjust
ment of the controversy.
diurarUT of Ijurwl-t.
The totnl acreage claimed by the
company la In round numbers 3,308,
809 acres of which 805,000 acre
hare been Bold and 128,000 acres are
In dispute covin an undisputed and
unaold balance of 2,375,000 acres of
which i, 000, 000 acres appear to have
been patented to the company.
About 1.600.000 acres of these lands!
are reported to be timbered and
about 776,000 acres are noii-tltnbcr-d.
It would appeur from the. evi
dence offered by the government In
the forfeiture suit that these lands car
ried a stand of about 71 billion feet
of merchantable timber but Informa
tion I have received from other reli
able sources and which I deem wor
thy of consideration would Indicate
that 4 4 billion feet Is a fair esti
mate. It would probably be safe,
therefore, to take middle ground and
place the figures at 2 5 billion feet.
About 1,815,000 acres of these
lands aro without and 1160,000 acres
within the boundaries of our national
forests. All but about 60,000 acres
of the lands within the national for
ests are said to lie timbered. Of
those outside the reserve about one
million acres are reported as carry
ing merchantable timber whileaboutr
00.000 acres can be classed as non
timbered lands.
A wide difference of opinion exists
as to the extent of the acreage for
settlement. 1 use the word "settle
ment" rather than the word "culti
vation" for the reason that If only
ten or twenty acres of plow land li
found on a quarter section the entire
tract can be classed as a unit f It for
settlement"
Hon. I. H. Hinghiun of Lane coun
ty, who has been In position to know
something of the character of the
lands In his locality says:
There Is a very large percentage of'
theso lands nut adapted to asrlcul-j
tural purposes and never will be. A
very small portion may be used for
agricultural purposes, but It conslpts
largely of Isolated small tracts along
creek bottoms, nnd I feel that settlers
will be very backward about trying!
to make homes on this land, as there
is not enough of It In any one place to!
permit anv considerable number of;
... . . '
roads would be a very heavy tax o
the settlers" ,y uhhU the c0n!ng of g()lle friendly '
, ' .W,; V ' T? '"'-" '! 'he removal of the re-1
raalilnnt i. r nnlliriu, nniltifu (inn Unit'
u J
has had every opportunity to lea'n
the character of the lands In his
county, says:
The value of this land Is very
greatly exaggerated. The agricultur
al possibilities of the mountainous
land is over estimated. I am in a
general way very familiar with most
of the grant land lying In Douglas
county and will stale without hesita
tion Ihut seventy-five per cent of the
unsold grant In this county Is no
worth anywhere near $2.50 per aire.
Ho far as 'actual settler' or actual
settlement Is concerned It Is entirely
out of the question. The land for the
most part Is wild, rugged, mountain
ous land covered with an Inpenetra-
le growth of salal, vlnemaple, buck
brush and fern. Except along some,
f ih. r.k hotoms the soil Is light. ,
thin and rocky. Nothing of value can
be srown on this class of land. All
the grant landa fit either for agrl- and removed.
culture or grazing were sold years if we would demand a more llber
ago." a! policy at the hands of the govern
On the other hand others who ment, one which will make for the
have been in position to gather re- greater Interest of the state, then
liable Information bearing upon these
lands and upon whose Judgment l.ly outlined by this conference
have reason to place reliance, say presented to congress through
that a million acres are fit for settle- delegation.
mejiL It will no doubt be safe, there- j As I view It, any suggested policy
fore, to again take the middle ground should provide for the early classtfl
. ani assume that 500.000 acres will cation of the lands; for the opening
An Old Time
m '
.
be found "fH for setllcmpnt.'' This
area would 1 sufficient to provide
homes for over J000 families, allowing
ISO acres to eaarh.
No matter by whom the disposi
tion of the land Is undertaken the
situation plainly calls for a careful
classification of fho lands not only
ati to agricultural possibilities but as
to timber and mlm-rals. Such Infor
mation gathered atd made nvallablo
to the public would aid greatly In the
early development of the resources
covered by the grant lands.
In arriving at some definite plan
or policy looking to the solution of
this great problem which faces you
today there appears to be but three
nvenues of approach:
1. Through the railroad company,
2. Through tho federal government.
3. Through the slate.
Should congress fall to take the ac
tion suirifcstpd by the supremo court
we will be left to the, tender mercies
of a railroad company which will
have lcs reason than ever to change
lt past policies ts Its tax burdens will
undoubtedly be lightened by reason
of til ,';':, I', Mil,:: lo l!ic i:',V, t that
I f 1
i U,-
i r c
- 1 in - i - f nt mi f inn i- i i n i - " - - ' -- ' "11
Sometimes They
.
J" company win oe in a position,
... ,,
KITH tilinM Uhll'h nil IireVenl 1! frum
lealm.ng the full value of the lands, j would result in a large revenue for
Should the federal government de- the school fund and insure a reduc
clde to satisfy the clulm of the rall- tlon of some of the company's tax
road company and take upon Itself burdens.
the admlnlnlratlon of the grant we
may, unless congress legislates to the
lomitto, epen u.ee ponces nu
opted which will be about as follows:
1. All timbered lands and such
non-timbered lands as are not suit-
,able for settlement would be added !
to our national forests and the non-
timbered IiiihIb adopted to settlement
w oulil be opened to entry to bonaflde
settlers; or
2. Only Vuch timbered and non
timbered lands as are unfit for settle
ment would be reserved and the bal-
ance wouia De open to settlement
the non-timbered tracts at once and
the timbered tracts as soon as the;
timber thereon could be disposed of
ome feasible plan should be careful
and
our:
Rabbit Drive in Umatilla County
V
'
to entry of every acre of land suitable
for settlement; for the early open
ing to development of all mineral re
sources; for the sale of all merchant
able timber In appropriate sized
tracts to the highest bidders, giving a
reasonable time for removal, thus
adding taxable property to our rolls;
for the payment of the claims of the
several land grant counties for taxes
due and unpaid for the past three
years; and for the turning over to our
state school fund all unexpended rev
enues derived from timber sales that
we may have ample funds to develop
our irrigation projects and assist our
small farmers and struggling settlers
throughout the state with needed
loans nt low rates of Interest.
I am well aware of the fact, how-j
ever, that It would only be through'
the best of good fortune that these j
concessions could be secured nnd it
If, because of tho difficulty we would
likely have III securing such favorable,
action nt tl,o hnnds of conirress once,
the government bad taken over the'
grant that I have been prompted to .
advocate the i, , .U Mi !( hi of the land!-;
i, : '. ' I ' !i i ii.aUy 'ii'trnuin -
Mi V
Do This Way
sum or J2.60 per acre and g ve up: j ., t .
, i h- .,,,,11, !" n e people as
edly find it to Its Interest to let title
pass to the state rather than to the
T.i1f,lvi1 irfiOurnmAnf f..f -iifh tflllnn
nances and conditions I deem it good
lustrums and for our best interest that
the BXate uffer lo uke 0Vfr the grant
and reimburse the railroad company,
Such a program would be greatly slm-
pllf led if congress could be Induced to
advance the funds necessary to satis
fy the claims of the railroad and
an ait repayment until the state could i
secure the funds through the negotla
tion of timber sales.
It, however, congress, should be
found unwilling to advance the funds
it would, In view of our constitution
al restrictions as to state indebted-
ness, devolve upon the friends of such
a movement to devise means for fl
nancing the undertaking.
I would suggest that this might be
done, through the organization of a
holding company to consist of the
governor, secretary of state, state
treasurer, attorney general, a repre-
sentative of our farmer organizations,
a representative of our labor organ
izations, and a representative of our
commercial organizations.
This holding company could, with
the consent of congress, take over
t; '
the grant, nnd after pledging It for
security for the funds necessary to
satisfy the claims of the railroad com
pany, deed the lands to the state for
the benefit of the school fund.
The grant, of course, would be ta
ken over by the state subject to the
mortgage indebtedness which could
be cleared in due time through tho
sales of timber. Under state owner-:
ship the control of the grant would
pass to the state land board, and as
It could undoubtedly be handled with
little or no Increase of force In that
department the cost of administration
would be reduced to the minimum. !
If such a plan should be followed
nnd tho state come Into the owner
ship of tho grant the non-timbered;
lands fit for settlement should be
thrown open to entry at once to bona;
fide settlers nt little or no cost. Such
non-timbered tracts ns were found
unfit for settlement should be held
by the state with a view of reforesta-,
tion. ;
Tho timber on the timbered lands
should bo appraise! and In due time
.i.iM !n suitable fb'.cd tracts to highest
i : !.:; a:: ! u .va.'.u.'U ih.it it lie re-
moved within a certain pervod. Ah
faht as the timber was removed from
a tract of land It should, if suitable'
for such purposes, be thrown open to :
settlement. Lands unfit fr settle-1
ment from which the timber had j
been removed should be hell for the
purpose of reforestation. j
In the consideration of the conten-!
tluns of the railroad company we,
should keep in mind that the court In
enjoining further sales of the land,;
had this to say of past Illegal sales: I
"In view of the disregard of the.
covenants and gain of illegal emolu-:
nieuts, and In view of the govern-'1
ment'ii Interest In the exact observ-i
ance of them It might seem that re
strictions upon the future conduct of1,
the railroad company and its various'
agencies is Imperfect relief; but the
government has not asked for more ",
II also said:
"This suit was brought, it is al-1
leged, to determine the rights and ,
remedies as to the unsold lands and
that subjequently other suits will be ,
instituted as to the sold lands, rights
and remedies as to them being lnS
effect reserved. Therefore, the
de-i
cree in this suit shall be without pre
Judlce to any other suits, rights or
remedies which the government may
have by law."
In analyxing the claims of the rail
road company with a view of arriv
ing at the amount which is Justly due
thm U'tt BhMllH IfAan In rnilnd lha 11.
legal sales which have been made an I S
remember that It had m the begin-
ning a no greater equity In the grant
than $8,000,000; that its receipts
from sales, leases, etc., amount to
over $5,000,000, leaving a balance due p.
of less than $3,000,000; that If the,:
prevailing rate of assessment and tax-t
atlon had been applied to said equity t.
of $8,000,000 during the years 1872 ?
to 15,15 Its tax payments would have
equaled if not exceeded the amount
it claims it has paid to date; that thei
administration expense of the com-j:
pany claims to have incurred was efg
its own making and cam be properly
charged as against its equity In thes
lanils. These facts, however, should!'
not stand in the way of the state?
making, liberal allowances to the
company should negotiations be en-
tered into with a view of purchasing
the grant.
In conclusion let me suggest that!
whatever plan may be submitted to
you by the governor of our state j-
annum receive your most careiui eon
chief executive and by virtue of his
office, chairman , of the state land
Tioard, his hands shoulfl be upheld
and he should be given every oppor
tunity to advance those policies which
tn his opinion wfll make for the best.
interests of our people.
,,llot Rock "te 'considering a propo
sitinn made try J. B. Sparks to install
an electric plant in that town. At
present there is no elecrri'lty in that
Twv farmers oT the 'M.lton-Free-
w aiUir section were convicted durin"
the inonUi of appmpriatinr water to
"nice; thty were not en-itled. S.
Eaton paid a fine of $25, while it cost
Dave Wallingfora B0.
Does the
Work of
Actual
Horses
ID. L.
Plow
Agents for
The Holt Manufacturing' Company
Walla WallaWasl,
L v 1
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v
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iscermns: Women
. Everywhere
FIU'T Ko Underwear has
ever been made of better value
ut iwisiiunmii, in ihhik:, is in,
und in finitm.
SECOXD Every woman ho
once wears -MUNSIXGWEAE"
I ALEXANDERS X: I
Merchandise of Highest Quality Only j
Pay
TURN OVER 50 ACRES OF EARTH EVERY 24 HOURS
WITH THE NEW HOLT CATERPILLAR
Plow Deeper and Cheaper
W t-VWI
Mv .-' .vl r'V-r. f - "7
SMI
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...
1 t ....
..-ft".. - - . V .
.i- 1 s
i i j 1
rks:J l"i A'
Demand (iSI0SIJ0'UiAI
recognizes its superiority and
will not be satisfied with any-
ining less.
,
cavil gamieiu is cut Btpar-
ately And from individual pat-
terns by hand.
- f.':'
For Sale by
TH & COMPANY
- s f
.'.-'V . r
Garments are built (not
stretched) to fit
Complete stocks now on dis-
PlaV at J"51 tne Prlce y,u
wisb.
to pay.
Call
and
See
the
New
Engine
PmShm Q