Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-01-14
SCHOOL LANDS.
An Intending Actual Settler Dissents
from the Land Boards Ruling.

hQm Nub Aduu DVAIu ANulluRs
FoRr WORTH, Tx Jan. u.
To the Editor Of the Gazette.
The question Of the disposition Of
the state school lands, especially the
wstered lands, is engrosslng the atten-
ton Of many thinking men in the
state, aud few lines from one who has
made the disposition Of these lands q
study for the past year may not be
smiss.
The land board, having placed the
cart before the horse, to use common
expression. by Withdrawing the wa
tered lands from the market TO actual
settlers, and compelling them to take
the high and dry and almost worth
less lands or take none, as is now the
case, it cannot be expected now that
they (the board) will change front on
this question, as we regard them in
about the condition of the man who
swore the morse was sixteen feet in
stead Of sixteen hands high. He con-
tended that having so sworn he was
bound to stick to IL.
This we infer is the position of the
land-board, and nothing can be ex-
pected Of them.
What Texas most wants to-day to
make her the most populous and pow
erful. as she now is the largest state in
the Union, is immigration.
To the wisdom of our legislature that
meets at Austin to-day the people of
the state look, and we hope not in
vain, for o practical solution of this
school.land question, which shall
place the state on the "high road TO
prosperity"
The watered lands must be placed on
the market TO actual settlers only, at a
| fixed price, and the amount OF land
limited that each settler can purchase
to one section, or $40 acres. This plan
will settle the valleys first, and make
the school lands in the rear of the
watered sections, on the uplands,
worth more money than the watered
lands are worth to-day. This plan has
been adopted in every Western and
Northwestern state, and all can see
how rapidly those states have been set
! tied. First come, first served, should
be our greeting to the immigrant.
| Our present policy of Withholding
our best lands from the actual settler
L Ot only prevents him from coming ia
the state but it will cause many now in
the state to seek other and more favora.
bic locations outside of Texas.
Whether the land board il refusing
to sell watered lands actual settlers
with view Of selling them or leasing
| them to the stockmen. or holding
them until the dry lands are taken
expecting to sell them at much higher
figures, or holding them indefinitely
for the benefit of the school fund,
care not. Whatever the argument In
favor of Withholding them from the
settler, the result will be the same II
stops immigration, and stops it effect
ually.
The writer Ia now in Texas with 1
view OF making II his home and ha
been at considerable pains anC
expense to visit sections of tn,
Panhandle, the plains and Tia,
PecOs valley country, with view Il
actual settlement, not only for him
self and family, but many others VIII
VIII follow, and we find the presen
policy Of the land board as we havr
indicated. 1t bars us out, and Jules
speedily changed will keep thousand
: away from the state. We are satisfied
that the sections of the state meu
TONED are susceptible of cultivation
> and in them we can make a success
farming and growing stock on sma
, scale, Notwithstanding the stOckmel
/, would have us believe we will starv
, out. We are ready to come and try il
, il the present legislature will give u
the proper encouragement, and all v
, ask is chance to buy and pay fc
simply one section of watered land |
the family.
Although born and reared north {
Mason and DiXon's line, we are full
satisfied, after freely mingling wit
the people of the state, that we ca
live here In Texas as free from soci,
and political ostracism and with s
much personal security az we could d,
+, sire.
: We are more than pleased with th
climate, soil and productions of III
state and with its people, but the pol
cy OF the present land board is intolel
able and must be changed at once i
order TO settle the state aud make
what ii was designed to be, the Eu
pire state not only of the South but
, the whole United States. Very +,
specially, ACTUAL SETTLER.