, 1889-05-23
MUST SCHOOL LANDS NEVER BE
6OLD3

the benefit of the public school system. In
addition to these sections the admission
act makes liberal donation Of land for the
establishment and maintenance of scien'
ti6c school, for state normal school. for
state capital buildings and for state char
liable, educational, penal and rcforma'ory
institutions. The act further provides:
That all lands herein granted for ednca
| tional purposes shall he disposed OF only
| at public sale, and at price not less than
| SlD per acre, the proceeds to constitute
| permanent school fund. the interest OF
| which only shall be- expended in support
| OF said schools. But such lands may,
| under such regulations rs the Legislators
shall prescribe, be leased Tor periods OF not
| more than five years. In quantities not OK
ceeding one section to any one person or
| company.
There are those who advocate the in
sertion of provision in the state consti'
tuition forever prohibiting the sale of any
part of the school land and providing that
il shall be leased exc usively to actual set.
tiers and the rental applied TO the support
of SCHOOLS.
1t Is probable that those advocating this
course have not fully considered the fore
going provision in the admission act and
| il is quite sure they have failed to fully
consider the injurious effect Of provision
| 10 the constitution such as that proposed.
There are school sections near Spokane
Falls worth several hundred dollars each
il sold az suburban town property and yet
they could scarcely be leased for any price
as they are not valuable for agricul-
tural or grazing purposes. If
aispcsed of ''at public sale as pro-
vided by the admission act,
a large sum may be realized from these
sections and the interest on the money thus
secured would be available as a large per-
manent and reliable income. Other lands
in the territory are heavily timbered and
might be sold TO good advantage, but
could not be leased uuess the lessee was
allowed to denude them of timber and thus
render them vaiueess. Other lands in the
territory, to be OF value, must first be irri-
giteo at great expense, and this the state
| cannot undertake 10 do. 1t must trust to
| the Legislature to provide such strict rules
and regulations in disposing Of such lands
ar will protect the state against frauds,
and this is the best that can be done. 1t
| would be very uDwise to undertake iu the
| constitution to tie these lands up in such
| a way as to make them of no avail in
| the support OF the schools. As we'll
| might some uneasy person throw his money
in the sea to keep it from being stolen.
| The fact of the matter Is, the admission
act itself imposes unwise restrictions up
on the state 10 connection with these
lands. There are vast areas of land in
this territory that might possibly be sold
| In the coures of time for something and yet
| perhaps never can be sold for as much as
| $40 AN acre. There are rugge1. barren
| hillsides that are really worth nothing.
| There are rough grazing lands, where
bunch grass and basaltic rock alternate,
making the land of some value for stock
range, but not worth $40. Such lands
may be leased for tri1ing amount, pos
sibly. but this will be a source of perpetual
expense and as the lessee can oaly obtain
possession for five years ne could hardly
afford to make fences OF ctner improve
ments on the land, as he might If he could
purchase it outright. A person possessed
of large band of sheep, for instance,
could afford to lease several sections of
such land; but here another restriction
steps in and prevents any one man or cor
pordtion from leasing more than sec
tion.
The clause in the admission act which
prohibits the expenditure of any of the
money received from the sale of lands has
some merit and displays good intsution;
but it will no doubt in many instances
work disadvantage to the establishment
of schools. In the original construction
of school buildings the authorities should
have the cash at their disposal without
having to await the accumulation of
enough interest to erect fine editices.
School buildings are often erected upon IA
small scale and the money thus invested is
generally wasted AN the necessities soon
call for large building. Good buildings
should be erected ut the outset IN the
ground work of good school system; but
without money in bulk the authorities
will be driven into expensive makeshifts
to await the accumulation Of funds in the
shape of interest. Thus too many restric-
tions often defeat the objects aimed ut.
.