Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-25
OUR SCHOOL LANDS.
A Scheme by which the School Fund is
Being Defrauded.

Being Defrauded.
EDS. RECoRD-UNIoN Please To inform
me through your columns whether the sale
OF State school lands does the public schools
much II any good. If so l fail to see it.
There is under my observation several in
stances in which parties have purchased
school lands and paid 20 per cent. down.
and have their own time in which To nav
the balance by paying a very low rate of in
terest per annum. The parties referred to
go right 10 work and cut and haul the tim
Der all away, and If they are lucky enongb
to get the timber all cut and hauled away
ID ID one year, OF course they have to pay but
~ per cent. down and one years interest.
and they have got all they want of the land
ana never pay anything more on il. They
nave got all the value of the land cut and
hauled OFT; then how do our public schools
receive much benefit from those lands? Is
that the law which controls those lands?
IL SO, 1t Is very unjust law. In my opin-
ION the purchaser should not be allowed to
cut the timber and haul it away untll the
last dollar is paid down for il. | think
that this IS only practiced by parties pur-
chasing those lands, because they are not
iholested IN SO doing, or does the law up-
mold that kind of stealing scheme?
fiease INFORM NE through Your columns,
and obiige, yours truly w
Nevada City, January Is, 1856.
Suryeyor-General Wiley, being interro-
gated by RECORD UNION representative
concerning the alleged practice. saws: "Of
course, the State school fund receives the
moneys paid for all school lands, and the
interest derived from the investment of
such moneys Is apportioned and used for
the maintenance of the public schools
OF the State. But the evil of which your
correspondent complains has indeed been
a great enc, many thousands of acres of the
choicest understand of the State having
been despoiled of their valuable product,
the applicants only having paid 20 per
cent. OF the purchase money therefor. I'm
fortunately the laws of the State were such
as TO permit of this great wrong. When
person holds certificate of purchase
(Which IS issued upon the approval of an
application and payment of the 20 Der
cent? he has the prima facie evidence of
title, and the consequent right to sell, assign
or convey his title 10 the land or its products
to any one.
" All Acts of the Legislature of this State
providing for the sale of State school lands
should have provided for the payment in
iuil OF the purchase money paid for timber
lanes, upon the issuance of a certificate of
purchase, and the price per acre should
have been twice or four times what it is,
and has been. But it was not until March
Is, 1888, when the Legislature passed what
was known as the Britt bill, that payment
IN luli was required, the price per acre re-
manning 81 25
Occasionally it is reported that persons
who have merely filed an application for
school lands are engaged in stripping them
OF Their timber. 1t is the duty of any one
discovering this vandalism to report the
transgressor TO the District Attorney of the
county in which the land is situated. and
the duty of said attorney to proceed
against the vandal as provided in the Act
OF March y, 1863, as follows:
SECTION l. Any person or persons who shall
cut down any timber growing or standing upon
any swamp and overlowed, tide, or marsh or
school lands belonging To or claimed by the
state, or who shall destroy or carry away any
TIMBER. wien cut down, TO the purpose of sell
ing, or IN any other manner disp0siDg of the
same Tor money or any valuable thing shall
upon conviction in Court of competent iuris,
diction, be fined in any sum not exceeding one
thousand dollars nor less than fifty dollars or
Imprisonment in the county Jail not less than
twenty-five or more than one hundred DAYS or
both such fine aud Imprisonment, ct the discre-
ton of the Court: pP0ridcd however that moth
ing in this Act shall be so construed as to pre-
vent any person tom removing and selling any
wood which they may have cut or caused to be
Guy previous to the passage OF this Act, ON any
lands belonging to or claimed by this State
SECTI0N ,. All fines collected under the pro-
VISIONS OF TINS Act shall be paid into the County
treasury OF the county where the lands are stu
a'ed, aud placed to the credit of the School
| fund, II the lands upon which the trespass was
committed were school lands, otherwise to the
credit of The swamp Land Fund
Relative TO the sale of timber lands.
permit me 10 state that it would be wise
precautlon Tor Congress and the Legislature
| OF this State to enact stringent laws. hay
ing for their object the preservation of the
remaining timber lands of the State The
sources of our water supply will gradually
be affected by this wholesale dispolation of
lands OF their luxuriant protection of tim
Der, and the day soon come when we will
be compelled to resort to the restoration of
the forests we have permitted TO be des-
troyedn