The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-06-21
A GREAT CASE,
lNVOLTING THE TITLE TO SIX MIL
LION 4CRES OF LAND.
One Sixth of Georgia's Area-The Far
Reaching Effect of Land Case Go
ing On in Dooly County.

Six million acres in dispute! This is the
meaning of q case which is to come up III
Dooly superior court.
The case shakes the title of more iahd
than has been III dispute since the famous
wild land sales of 1871, under the ultec-
ton of Attorney General GoIdsmitl. AZ
that time Il sixth of the land OF Georgia
was sold under execution for taxes, ana
the title TO the whole of that vast area WAS
attacked and shaken by yesterday pro
ceedngs. From the nature OF the proceed
ings and the Judgment rendered by the SUI
premc court in a similar case III 1889, there
is little doubt that the whole of the enor-
NOUS transaction by VIII n II sixth OF me
land surface of the state was forced TO
sale will be repudiated by the courts and
an almost endless chain of titles thrown
into confusion and litigation. The WhoIe
vast fabric OF. the legal process hlVoNlhS
the sale OF six million acres of land under
the act Of 1874 is tOttering on Its base ana
likely TO fali, because of one tlaw at the
foundation Of the sale. This flaw Is the
lack of legal notice. the insufficient adYer-
tisemcnt of the sale
TO make this clear it will be necessary
to 60 back Il lttlv. For some time prior
to 1874, it was evident that a good deal of
land in this state was not returned Tor tax
alton. Various attempts were made to
reich and tax The umeturned lands known
as wild lands Finally the legislature i'll
1874 passed one Of the most radical meas
urcs ever spread upon the statute books.
Ii provided at the tax receivers i'll each
county should make 10 the comptroller
general Il return of all the lands hitherto
unreturned. and that the comptroller gen
eral should advertise these lands for sale
for taxes, and should issue executions
against the and have the sales made if
taxes were paid on the lots after they
had been advertised thirty days in Il pa
per published at the capital of the state.
The theory was that after the great land
lottery iii the early part of the century,
2 great mauv lots were never taken in pos
session by ,.e p;Srtes drawing them aad
after ;, SeneraIons We're gone, there was
40 roeoI4 oI any claim. In this way and
I'll other ways much of the land of the
state was uuUccupied 1t was proposed TO
sell tIu@ land for taxes and for that pur-
pose the law above referred to was passed.
tnuer us operation something over TWEEN
~ thousand los, averaging about three hun
dred Hrrgs each, We're sold in 1871, and
thou lds of people were dispossessed.
mere Is no question that cruel wrong was
done IN some cases by the operation of this
law. 1t was impossible for the tax re
Ceiycrs to know beyond doubt what lots
We're mreturncd, for in many cases lots
1pIoScd 30 be unTCtUrned wild lands were,
an reality. parts Of Worn out plantations
and woodlands, returned il bulk 10y the
y.
County lines had changed and sometimes
land lot numbers acre dCl Heated, where,
as IN the case Of what was originally one
county q half dozen had been carved out.
n ms lcltgr 10 the comptroller general,
Mr.. Allen j. Bcl then land clerk. spoke
OF the number of errors which had una
FoidabIy crepC into the list of lots made
out Tor advertisement and sale. in the ad-
vertlsement itself, Comptroller General
Goldsmith called attention to these errors
ha cd
when satisfactory evidence of the mistake
was submitted.
SO this vast area Of land, dotted with in
Vulnerable homes and occupied by Il people
poor IN Jhe main, but honest and worthy
was forced TO sale upon an imperfect legal
process. SlA million acres were sold aud
many of the lots containing several hun
dred acres of land brought only the few
dollars of tax which had been assessed
upon them. LII was q cruel piece OF legsla-
JoH, aud one 10 which Il kind Of Odium
has always attached The law was
not executed for three years after its pas
sage. and IT Is said that the delay was due
- Governor Smith TO Vsnon the thing was
so Gbhurrcnt and The legal process of exc
Guui --sthe law appeared 50 defective that
he lnsJrucJct the comptroller general to
stop ing advertisements which he had in
serJed.ln The Constitution for the sale of
these lots in 1879. However this may be
gle execution Of the law Nsts delayed until
1917, when the comptroller general af-
Ger 19ur weekly advertisements OF tie sale,
ISSUED. TAX executions a&uasL upwards Of
evenly Thousand lots and 7orced them to
There arose such an outcry as has seldom
Desl heard II Georgia. I4f Indignation at
ths gigantic safe almost approached III in
ten@'y Ihat WINCH was C$ated 100 years
ago ty the odious Aazoo fEaud. The comp
trotler generalNS{ta srcung under the compuI-
sloi OF q StaJuJei out he was made To bear
I4ie pfunt oil the iG'iue against the law.
iha lu1lEnah' people s9oWered upon Inn
ieJitfs Of bitter deGu"gT uon, applying to
state n His ,e(ri tn r,sf =" olrio ,,5e
epi,bels ana the diresF threats OF personal
vengeance.
almost the whole uIium of work that had
beer. iuausuratod in the legislature which
passed 'he radical and cruel measure that
made this sale Imperative So crude is the
Ieg;SajiCn and So mauifes+fv unvisa does II