The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1895-02-02
Don't Reduce the Price ofstate Lands.

] Governor Mcconnell has sent mes
sage to the Legislature recommending
that body to memorialize Congress Il
remove the restriction on the price al
which the lands donated to the Stat; Stat;
may be sold and permit the State tt
sell them at auction. The argumen
used is that the Government is oferinI
to sell adjoining lands in the State q
$l.25 per acre, while the State is no
permitted to sell any Of the lands sell
ected under the act donating to oul
public institutions for less than $40 pei
acre. We will have to take issue witt
| the Governor on this question as We
cannot see anv Immediate n necessity fol
forcing this magnificent heritage O.
Idaho at the present time and III fac
/ believe that it would be a wise policy
on the part of the State never to dis
pose of any of these lands but to hold
and lease them to bona fde settlers by
system of perpetual lease which gives
the occupant the benefit of all the i'm
provements they might place upon
them and as complete an enjoyment OF
the occupancy as if they owned the
lands in fee. At least such dispose
ton of the agricultural lands might be
made, while the lands selected princip-
ally for the value of the timber upon
them would eventually give the State
magnificent income by disposing of
the timber by stumpage upon some
sys m similar to that adopted in Min
nesota and, we believe, in some of the
other Northwestern States.
To place our lands upon the market
now to be sold to the highest bidder
would simply mean, that while the
Government is offering similar lands at
Slips per acre, that those sold by the
State can only be disposed of at less
figure, and heopportunities for jobbing
which it would give the Commissioners
who have charge of them would be so
immense that it would not be three
years until the disposition Of the lands
would be the leading theme of discus
sion in State politics. Idaho, Wash
iDgton alone excepted, has the finest
timber domain of any State in the
Union. The men who have made vast
fortunes IN the timber business in Wis
consin, Michigan and Minnesota are al
ready casting covetuous eyes upon them
and the moment it were announced
that the State would dispose of any part
of them at the best price it could real
ize, combinations would be formed to
gobble up great tracts of them, pres
sure would be brought to bear upon the
State officers which would be difficult
for many Of them to Withstand. Mon
ey would be used unsparingly even to
control elections, and the end would be
that this splendid heritage would pass
out of our hands for mere pittance of
its ultimate value.
The agricultural lands would not, per-
baps, be frittered away SO rapidly, but
ultimately they would pass out of the
of the State after pretty much
the same manner as the timber lands.
The argument used by the Governor
that the progress of the state is retard-
ed may at the present moment have
some foundation; but Idaho can afford
to go little slow now in consideration
of greater prosperity which will fol-
low outstanding her splendid resources
in view of the bearing it will have upon
her future. By leasing all of her agri-
cultural lands at very low rate of in
terest upon value of $40 per acre
and upwards, giving transferable and
perpetual lease-hold TO the occupants,
30 that all its betterments will be the
property of the holder, idaho can
eventually acquire an income sufficient
to pay all state and school taxes and sup
port her educational eleemosenary and |
penal institutions upon an endowment
which will be truly magnificent. Per-
nit her lands to be sold, giving the au-
thority to any board of officers, either
elected or appointed and it will simply |
open gap for corruption and incapacity
which would eventually rob the state
Of great portion of hersplendid endow-
nent.
Any person who has care for the
future of idaho should de-
youtly wish that the Governors reco-
nendation in his message should not
,e needed by the Legislature, or that if
he memorial be adopted that greater
wisdom will prevail in Congress and no
uch permission be given the state.