The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-11-22
cRlTICIsING THE LAND BOARD,

4
correspondent of the Tom Green
Times criticises the act of the land
board In not ooeying the law regulat-
ing sale and lease of school lands. He
says:
The beginning of section of the
law reads: Until otherwise pre-.
scribed by the board, the land shall be
placed on the market in the following
manner" This lang uage would seem
to give the land board wide discre-
ton; but the section goes on and pre-
scribes method which the legisla-
ture believed to be a most practical
and just one with the following pro-
visions:
l. A tabulated statement shall have
been made and forwarded to the sur
Yeyor OF the county or land districts.
2. The board shall have designated
some one to represent the state in the
sale of the lands in the county OF land
district.-Not in Austin.
3. Advertisement shall have been
made for thirty days, in the section
where the land is situated, and then
the land shall be considered on the
market.
The eighth section goes still further
and says distinctly the land shall be
sold at a public cutlery, and the high
est bidder shall take it.
1t is strange that the land board
should arrogate the right to abrogate
these two vital sections of the law and
say: 1--WE will not make a tabular
statement of the land; will not APP
point person in the counties to sell
the land, nor will we advertise that
the land will be on the market in thir-
ty days! Nor do we propose to sell
before the court house door in the
counties where the land is situated, at
public cutlery"
1t is not taken into consideration
that the land department has not been
supplied with sufficient amount of
clerical force to provide for all the
requirements of the law to be put into
operation. But this same correspond
ent continues to present his points as
follows:
the board, that the law is cumbersome
and expensive.
In fact, the law is plain, easily exc
cuted, and could have been in effect
months ago, if this "autocrat of Texas
dirt" had not been so much puffed up
by success in his arbitrary undertake
iDgs as to consider himself above the
reach of law and reason.
AS to expense of agents to execute
the provisions of the law, we would
ask which will cost the state at large
the greatest sum: For the land board
to employ one agent in each county
and pay him, or for 500 citizens in
each county to make land-buying
pilgrimage to our capital?
1t seems the land board is making
the grave mistake of considering
itself an Independent speculator in
land, which is on the advance, and
failing to realize the fact that their
course is in direct ,antagonism to a
| liberal and just way of dealing.
Their present plan, if pursued,
would lead to twice the evils that ex-
| listed under the old law, which was
bad enough. Our idea now is, how
ever, that the present squirt is only "a
play" as we say, to prove by its abor-
tive outcome that the law is ineffi-
Gent.
1t would not be very soothing to
our law makers to say in effect:
Heres your law; we knew when
you made 1t that 1T was worthless,
so we kept it without even
trying it, until we could get you to-
| gether again. Now go and make one
I to suit us and We will try it for you
otherwise we will put it in a pigeon
| hole"
That kind of treatment might suf-
flee their fur. So the land board makes
this break which will probably not
amount to more than compelling hun
dreds of citizens to remit hundreds of
thousands of dollars to Austin, at
| great risk and expense, to lose the in
tereSt for several months, to be har-
raised and kept unsettled about bust
ness arrangements for several m )nths
more, and to suffer various other in
convenienceS and losses, which our
executive officers do not seem to take
into consideration.
The law provides for clae sifcation
of lands; for advertisement of sales
or leases; for public auction so as to
secure the best prices; for long de-
ferred payment of principal in case of
sale, so as to give the school fund good
investment; for reasonable rate of
interest; for an advance of the mini
mum price as lands advance in value.
This correspondent thinks had the
law been put in force as it stands on
the statute books, the school fund
would have realized ten times the
amount in lease money and interest
necessary to pay agents, advertising
bills, and all other expenses incident
to its execution in the manner con
templated in its provisions. He fur
Iher says, that the legislature "il its
liberal intent not to hamper the board
by making these provisions rigid
has been misconstrued, until, if
the land board persist in it's action
the law is worse than nullity.'
THE STATESMAN joins the Times cor.
respondent in the wish that the schoo
fund may be made to prosper; il
thinks every channel should bt
'opened to the people by which they
may acquire these lands with the
greatest advantage at the same time
to the fund. Certainly the lands
should be advertised as directed by
law, and they should be offered openly
in the local markets, where it may be
expected there will be the greatest
amount of competition. The land
board is presumed to execute law; at
least that is what the officers compris-
ing it were elected for.
| THE New York Times, says the
Avalanche, is mistaken in sup
posing there is any chance fol
building up Republican party in the
South by purifying the federal ser.