The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-11-19


These agents would not | ]
'nly be self-sustaining from fees but {
hey would save the people applying
% purchase and lease, because they
low have to pay land agents large
ees to have applications made and
forwarded to the land board, at least
.hree times as much for each section
as would be necessary to make these
local state agents self-sustaining. In
many instances where the school Sec
lions of equal value with the alter
mates the owners of the alternates de-
sire to exchange for the school sections
in order to get their lands in solid
bodies. Such exchange might be adj
TO the state in a great
many cases but this policy l can not
heartily recommend, but in case such
a thing should be desired by the state
these agents could make report on
the quality of the lands. Six local |
agents assigned to districts west of |
the one hundreth meridian would be |
sufficient to attend to all the states |
lands.
LEASING THE SCHOOL LANDS.
The school and public lands should
be leased subject toEincidental sale to
actual settlers and the duties and re-
qulrementS CT the actual settler, and
the lessee should be definitely, defined
both parties should know exactly
what each should do. AS it is now a
man will purchase $40 acres inside
pasture and turn loose whatever
number of cattle he may desire. In
nne case the party made application
Tor $40 acres but had not complied
with the law by building and fencing
but had turned loose in the pasture
che thousand cattle and horses. In
another, the party owned 5000 head
of cattle and claimed the right TO turn
them all loose itSlde. A certain sheep
! man was grazing his sheep inside a
pasture without owning land and
suit was instituted to eject him, but
the pasture man failed
and this man. is still inside.
Laws tc regulate all such in a
speedy manner are badly needed, and
the legislature should use caution in
defining what the rights Of each
should be. When two or less sections
are leased to one individual, such
Lease should be absolute for the term
of years leased, provided the party
leasing enclosea the land with fence,
but the law should guard against
fraudulent leases under this rule, by
ranch owners through their employees,
as is now the case of purchasers as
actual settlers. If such a provision
should be placed in the law, severe
penalties should be enacted for the
punishment of any party that would
| rent two sections for other than his
own use. and no person should be per-
mitted to lease directly or indirectly
for the use of another; for such viola
tions OF the law the penalty should be
fixed and the certainty of inflictlng
the punishment should be the object to
be obtained. When lands are leased
subject to purchase the rental should
be less than wheE the lease is absolute:
if parties leasing are to be continually
annoyed by actual settlers they should
have cheaper rents. The rate Of rental
should be fixed at price per acre that
would permit the stats, without doing
the lessee an injustice, to tax the lands
in the hands Of the lessee for general
state purposes. If the necessary land
laws are enacted and strictly enforced
leasing the lands and making them
taxable, the school fund will receive
enough money annually to carry on
the free schools without taxing the
people for that purpose, and the state
receive a large revenue for general
purposes. The school fund and the
state government should both derive a
benefit from the school lands. The
laws leasing the lands should be liber-
al and the terms easy, but the GER
tainty of enforcing them should be
| hopG III laiaS1 and the Ryec ue
fixed that will insure "A coDvittion in
case Of violation.
Every person using the state lands
should be made to pay for them. Make
the rents and terms easy, and then no
lenient policy should be tolerated.
SALES.
Land should be sold in quantities of
not more than $40 acres to actual set
tiers, and NONE OTHERS without COM
petition, and if only 800 acres were
sold the country would settle up as
rapidly.
Com etitive sales work a hardship
to the immigrant hunting land for a
home. He cannot always be present
on the day of the sale, and if he en-
ploys an agent to represent him the
business is unsatisfactory, because he
leaves instructions that the agent
must carry out, and often the instruc-
tions are known where the land is sold
and little strategy on the part of the
home people can defeat the object of
the immigrant, and the settlement of
the country retarded.
The purchaser should be required to
reside on the land for at least one
year, and for three years might be
better, before he is allowed to transfer
his claim. This would prevent fraud
ulent purchases. To require an ap-
| plicant to swear that he will settle
the land and then permit him to trans
fer as soon as he makes his first pay
ment, which he has to do at the time
he makes his purchase, defeats the
object of the oath and opens the door
to fraud. From what I have learned
from the records in my district, and
from the conduct of the parties apply
ing for land as actual settlers, and
taking the iron-clad oath, believe to
prescribe an oath to be taken is bad
! for the morals of the country, for the
most of them openly disregard 1t.
The legislature may enact strict land
laws and sell GAO acres to actual set
tiers, only then man with money will
get all the land he needs by purchasing
from others that may settle as his
neighbors. The United States sell
lands in tracts of 100 acres to actual
settlers, and under that limitation the
/ people exist and become prosperous,
and if we sell four times that much
our people will not suffer for lands,
they have always managed to get
enough to do them, even under the
SuricIest laws.
When settlem Mt is made, proof
should be filed with the local state
agents and forwarded to the school
land department, and when he has
lived on the land the time required by
law, proof of that fact should also be
made by advertising in newspaper,
giving the names of the persons by
whom he expects to make the proof
of settlement. The school lands are
becoming more valuable every day and
we need not be in a rush to get rid of