The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-03-27

Jews of the stockmen az a body, it
oes apprehend, as it has before ar
'ued, that the land board have made
mistake vital to the interests of the
tate, SO far as concerns securing rev.
nue. to the best advantage present or
from the free school,
and asylum lands. If
,ents an acre was too low, s cents Is
too high. and consequently |
N intermediate rate, say 6 cents,
would have been wiser. So far there
have been no applications to lease at 8 |
cents; and even supposing the lands
are leased as they must be rather
slowly at that price, what Is gained
over their being more promptly leased
at 8 centsp The successful principle
In all trading Is to hold articles at a
fair value, not above the views
and wants of purchasers, and there
s nothing In the world so idle az idle
capital or idle resources for procuring
it. A bank that stops lending money,
even on Al securities, because there
Is panic in a community. or will not
lend to good parties because 1t wants
only first-class borrowers, may not lose
money directly on its loans, but it is
losing all the time, In not doing the
amount of business and gaining the
revenue its capital demands.
So 1t seems to be q business mistake,
If no other, the land board are COM
hitting In raising rentals so high as
virtually to be banking on the future.
1t Is all very well to take care Of &C.
tual settlers, but 1t Is not 80 necessary
to oe legislating for those who may or
may not become settlers, and can take
care of themselves. Providing for
actual settlers, present or In future.
aud doing 1t at the expense Of the
stockman, by raising, even to doubling
leases at bound, by single fiat of
the board, cannot be defended on any
principle of justice and fair dealing.
The stockmen have some rights by
virtue of their large interests involved,
and the board will no doubt, sooner or
later, probably at their next meeting.
should they have no applications to
lease at 8 cents, discover that they had
better recede In some measure at least
from their present position.
In all this THE STATESMAN speaks
In no partisan sense. It is as much
the friend of the actual settler as of
the pastureman. It could not be
otherwise in the interests Of the peo-
pie of all sections Of the state whose
welfare as a whole It proposes to
serve upon the p!ainess principles of
Justice. It does not believe that the
march Of civilization or impetus to
immigration Is sensibly affected by
the wires of 1.-THE pasturemen.
One interest must give way to anoth-
er by tho force Of relative intrinsic
values. Nor does it believe that the
state is likely to be divided. for q gen.
Grafton at least, or that any better
class Of men will engage In the nefari-
Gus work Of fence cutting. Leasing
the land only gives the pasture men
control of them for q season, a few
years at most, and In due time, If it is
to the interest of actual settlers, as q
superior interest to that of the stock
men, the latter will have to purchase,
or finally give way to them. Which
ever is, relatively speaking, the supe-
rior interest as between the parties
themselves, is the superior interests of
the state, and neither can prevail over
the other, except some way to the
states advantage either to the reve-
nues or actual settlements.
The STATESMAN does the board the
credit Of believing that, In their fldu-
ciary capacity as agents Of the school
funds they are acting for the future
as well as present welfare of the state;
that Is, so far as the immediate inter-
est are concerned, they have associated
them in the account with its more re-
mote advantages, and have aimed to
strike fair average Of the rental
values of the lands for the several
years period the leases are to run, and
have fixed the price at what they con-
slider q fair interest on the minimum
purchasing price, which is 81 per acre
for such land. OF course the natu-
rally expected increase In demands BY
the time the leases expire also enters
in the calculation. The argument
Of the board, however, Is to the
profits Of cattlemen grazing q COW
and raising yearling calf worth go
or 8l2, or even 90, upon eight acres, at
eight cents, or sixty-four cents for the
years grazing. has no moro to do with
the question than has the raising of a
bale of cotton worth $50, on an acre
Of land leased by . farmer at eight
cents, or 88 has to do with it. It
would be the most specious assump-
lion to argue that men should pay
rents according to the profits they de-
rive from the use Of lands, instead of
according to the revenues which the
'tate fails to receive from them In
heir unutilized condition, or what such
ands can be leased at from
The railroads or from private parties.
Eight cents may cut but poor figure
n the profits Of stockmen IL is true
'ut 1t is figure that has to be danced |
It double-shuff1e In the grand finale |
ind roundup. with lower prices in |
In the meantime 1t is
iinted that the land board are only
Waiting till their next meeting for
lids to see If their experiment at eight
ents works well, and that IL 1t don't
hey may change their rulings and ex-
'eriment,at some other figure.
The Business Outlook.