The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-10-12
THE SITE is BOUGHT.
The Way Clear for Erecting the
New University.
MONEY IS ALREADY AVAILABLE.
GOV. McGraw Buys in the Union Bay
New BE Sold and Work Begin.

The lands in section is. township 25
north. range east, embraced in the site
selected for the state university near RAJ
VIENNA park. were sold yesterday NJ public
auction by the state land commission to
Gov. McGraw, who was Instructed by a
law passed by the last legislature TO bid il
in for the regents of the state university.
The only persons present at the sale were
Gov. Mctiraw. State Land Commissioners
George ID. shannon, T. NJ. Reed. ir.. and
Erastus Brainerd and one or two on
lockers.
The land was sold in several parcels and,
IS they were offered for sac. the gov.
ernor bid the appraised value for
them and they were knocked down to
him. In one case. however. one of the
bystanders. learning where the lands were
located and being somewhat familiar with
their market value. bu. not with the
nature of the sale and the backbone of the
bidder for the state. started In TO outbid
the commonw wealth of Washington repre-
sented by the governor. aud ran the price
up from $50 TO about Sis per acre, when
he got tired Of raising Gov. McGraw's bid
and dropped out. So far rs the state is
concerned. the sale was only red tape
proceeding and was gone through with
merely for the purpose of complying with
the constitutional provision that all
public lands shall be sold 10 the highest
bidder at public sale. In this case the
purchase price is merely transferred from
the state university fund TO the common
school fund.
This sale clears the way for the letting
of contracts and beginning of construction
on the buildings to be erected on the new
site AID for The sale of the old one, where
the university now stands. When it was
decided TO remove the institution to build
ings TO be erected on new site and TO sell
the old site in order TO raise funds for the
purpose, it was necessary to clear the title
of the old site first, as it was given by
private donors on the condition that it
should be used only for university pur-
poses. Thus, N case it ceased To be used
for that purpose, 1t would revert to the
donors. To remove this obstacle, the
donors were induced TO give quit-claim
deeds on the condition that before the old
site was sold the university regents should
have acquired title to a new site within six
miles of the old one. The law appropriate
ing the school section TO the purpose hay-
ing been declared invalid, the sale was de-
layed until a new law could be passed and
complied with. By the purchase made by
the governor yesterday the university re-
gents acquire title to the new site and by
thus complying with the conditions of the
quit-ciam deeds are set at liberty to sell
the old site.
The regents do not need to wait until
they can make this sale before beginning
work on the new buildings, for the legis-
lature has appropriated $4,000 for the
purpose, which is now available, besides
setting apart 100000 acres of the land
grant for the institution. They will pro-
coed to have plans drawn and advertise
for bids for the work and, though these
preliminaries will occupy several months.
construction will begin early in the
spring. The old site will not be sold until
an improvement in real estate gives
assurance that at least the value set upon
II. $4,000. can be obtained. The site
comprises about $40 acresTronting on the
west side of Union bay, Lake Washing
ton. and extending around the head of the
bay in front Of Ravenna, with fractional
10: on the east side. On the west the main
part of the site also fronts on Lake Union.
north of the portage.