Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-01
TOLAR'S LAND BILL.
It's Provisions Explained by DR.. TOlar.
False Impressions Corrected.
why the Bulk of Our School Lands Remain Tn
sold-Ihe Present Law Too Hard on the
Man of Small Means.
Special to the Gazette.

from AuSIl0 10 the 81 LOUIS 1IepIDIlc-O VI
the 2lst, which places him as the leader
of the free grass party of the house, and
asking for an expression from him on the
matter, the doctor said
The constitution of Texas on the ques-
ton of public free school lands says it
shall be the duty of the legislature to es-
tablish and make suitable provisions for
the support and maintenance OF an eff
ficient system of public free schools, and
provides that lands herein set apart TO
the public free school fund shall be sold
under such regulations and at such times
and on such terms as may be prescribed
by law
1t provides that the comptroller shall
invest the proceeds of such sales in bonds
of the state, or of the United States, or
of the county bonds of the state. or in
such other securities and under such re-
strictions as may be prescribed by law,
and that the state shall be responsible to
the school fund for all such investments.
1t provides that the principal of all such
bonds and other funds, and the principal
arising from the sale of the lands, shall
be permanent school fund, and
all the interest desirable therefrom, and
the tax is authorized and convertible
from the general revenue shall be the
available school fund, which shall be ap-
piled annually to the support of the pub
lie free schools. To the available school
fund has been added the money realized
from lease of the school lands, not pro-
vided for by the constitution. l have
prepared this bill after considerable study
of the question, and on the presumption
that the trainers of the constitution con-
templated- that the lands should be put to
interest; that they should be made to
yield the greatest possible amount to the
particular fund TO which they were set
apart to the end that the children of
the present generation as well as those of
the future, might be benefited.
The law now in force was enacted with
the view of the settlement of the country
and at the same time place the lands III
the reach of the poorer classes for sale on
terms that were at the time thought to be
| most favorable to that class. The practical
workings of the present law, as very dill
igently enforced by our land commits
sioner, proves that the conditions of sale
are such as to bar the sale of lands ex-
cept to a class who are well-to-do in life,
and as a result the bulk of these lands
are still unsold, and do not yield any rev.
enue to the fund for which they were set
apart The report of the commissioner
of the general land office discloses the
startling fact that 500 ,493 acres have
been forfeited for nOn-payment of inter-
est for the years 1867, while during the
same period only SIS ISL acres have been
sold, which leaves net in favor Of sales
of 279 ,258 acres. Now at this rate of
sales it would take thirty-three years to
place the lands set apart for the support
and maintenance OF public free schools
in position to yield a revenue TO the
available fund as contemplated by the
trainers of the constitution. The con-
ditions of sale of lands under the present
law are such as will restrict the sale of
lands to class of people worth not less
than $4,000, and the man who undertakes
to acquire these lands under the operation
of the present law Gas many have dOne)
without a suficiency for the improvement
of his home and maintenance of his
family for three years, and to pay inter-
est promptly, hazards the risk of having
his home swept from under
him by forfeiture. The object
of my bill is to remedy
existing evils by placing the lands IN
reach of the class OF our Texas people
who desire homes. Three fourths of the
farmers, mechanics, laborers, profess
sional men, in fact three-fourths of the
people of Texas do not own foot of land.
Ninety per cent. of these people are
looking forward TO the time when they
may own lands and happy
homes on the beautiful plains
and valleys of West Texas and the Pam
handle. Under existing laws they are
barred from purchasing of the public
lands because of the conditions regulat-
ing the sales and holdings.
MY bill provides for the sale of these
lands to citizens of Texas only, and at
the minimum price now fixed by law,
on forty years credit and per cent. in
terest 1t provides that an actual settler
(purchaser) may sell or transfer his claim
after having lived on same for twelve
months and made improvements to the
value of $500. This is the only condition
of transfer until paid out in full. An
actual settler may pay out at the end of
three years and procure patent. A pur-
chaser may procure patent after
paying interest for ten years consecu-
lively by paying up balance of principal,
but cannot transfer at all until his land
is patented. Under the operation of my
bill 400 600 citizens of Texas would buy
each q section or less of land in less than
eighteen months from the time it was
open for sale, and the available school
fund that would accrue from said sales
would increase our school fund suffi-
GENTLY to obviate the necessity of sup
Elemental taxation for school purposes.
Under this bill these lands would be put
to interest promptly and our own Texas
people would have an opportunity Of Sc
curing homes on terms that could be met
by the poorest as well as the well-to-do.
A son of one Of the fathers whose blood
paid for these lands in the days that tried
men s souls, lost his land by forfeiture
for nom payment of interest and is to-day
without home for his family. He
would be glad to have a home on these
lands, but can never acquire home I'M
der the conditions regulating the sales.
The tenant farmers of Texas
produce the bulk of the bread
stuffs and cotton of our state.
What could we do in the great state of
Texas without this class of people? The
same OF the laboring classes and all other
classes who happen not to be ahead in the
world The object of my bill as whole
is to place these lands on the market in