Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-03-10
LAND REFORM.

LAND REFORM.
If ever State has had violence done
il in the matter of its public lands that
State is Mississippi. 1t has been liter
ally honeycombed with speculative
jobs. Millions have gone glimmering.
And yet, i'm swamp, internal improve
ment, forfeited tax and the several
school lands, there are more than half
million acres left. Besides, the
LEADER is in informed by member of
the Legislature, who has made this
matter a study through series of
years, that the government still owes
the State, under the act of 1850, any
where from one to three hundred thou
sand acres. These lands, judiciously
handled, ought to net the State mill
ion and half to two million dollars.
The State still has nearly as much
pubic land to look after as the
government owns in Mississippi.
The government pays a corps of of
ficers more than ten thousand dol
lars annually to look after and dispose
of its lands in the State, the fees from
the sales more than paying this ex-
pense by some by $4,000, which clearly
demonstrates that the State land of
flee will more thon pay its new ex-
penses.
The Constitutional Convention, after
appointing a special committee to in
vestigate the matter, adopted the COM
mittees recommendation providing for
State land office and merging of all
the States lands now scattered in three
or four departments are to be
abolished into one Office, the Commits
sioner to be elected by the people in
1855 as other State officers, and made
it mandatory upon the Legislature in
this session to put this ordinance into
effect. The same lobby that fought
this much needed reform then, some
of whom have Toasted and fattened by
a job upon internal improvement lands
bought from the State at fifty cents
per acre right along by the side of L.
N. o. & L. lands another job)-bring-
ing from Sc to S15 an acre, are fighting
it now But the reform is so palpably
necessary, and should have been put
in force 30 years ago, that their inter
ested opposition does not seem to be
very potential. since the public lands
fnD I@{I II
OF incorruptible legislators, have unan-
imously reported that the land chap
ter in the new code "do pass" This
chapter absolutely checks speculation
or spoliation. 1t provides for the fix
ing of the price of the several lands.
and breaks the commissioner of his
office if he takes advantage of the in
formation gained while in the pay of
the State, and buys land directly or in
directly. It provides further that no
one persOn-and he must be a bona
fide citizen of the State-can buy more
than $50 acres in any one year; and,
like the government, that the sale of
land before or after the hours pre-
scribed by law shall be illegal, which is
manifestly just as it opens and closes
the doors to all alike, leaving no chance
for fraud or favoritism. This reform
of the Constitutions Convention, adj
mirably detailed in the new Code, will
become law and stand as a monument
to the wisdom of the Constitution
makers, unless the lobby is powerful
enough to defeat it. But the LEADER
serves notice now and here that the
lobby had better have a care. Sam
Jones says RECORD is fearful
thing, and the LEADER thinks it has
record evidence at hand to make some
mighty interesting reading.