The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-09-19

agents will be happy, but if he does not,
DeleVe that the land agents will try f.
run him on their own hook The Want
to see that land office latch string once
more, and they swear that they will
see it.
A HARD JOB.
"A hotel clerk has good deal to stand
IN his dealings with the public" remarked
a diamond front gentleman yesterday at
the Driskill, who halls from Fort Worth
and sharpens his voice by melodious cries
of front" 'That which forcibly re.
minds me that such is the case happened
few weeks ago." continued the narrator.
L mad about 20 passengers for the south
bound Katy at o'clock a. m. Accord
ing to custom l rang up the transfer
Office about o'clock and found that tbn
train was two hours aud forty minutes
late, so L did not wake the passengers,
concluding, as usual in such cases. that
would let them sleep until T O'Clock
ana they would still have plenty of time
10 catch the train and would have Two
hours more sleep. Along about 6 O'Clock
several OF the passengers came down the
steps; proclaiming in injured tones that
l hau let them oversleep themselves and
lose los; tnelr train. Matters were ex-
additional sleep. Finally an old fellow
came stumbling down the stems as mad
as March hare and demanded to know
why did not wake him at 5 O'Clock as
ne had told me to. Your train was two
nours ana forty minutes late and I con-
iIluaed TO let you Sleep said I. We'll,
TOOK mere, young man, my business is NOT
yours, nor is yours mine remarked tbe
Qld gentleman. 4 do not want anv train
l told you to wake me at 5 O'Clock and
you should have done it. If I want 70
get up at O'Clock it's nobody's business
put my own. Hereafter when tell Won
~ wake me at a certain hour you wake
me ana don't think for me- but let me
ho my own thinking Well, You had
, netser Delleve did feel cheap. The old
man sIormed around there considerably
ana ana had to take my medicine like y
little man. The next time he comes 70
town. however you can bet I am going
10 wake him on time, train or no train !"
AN IMPORTANT LAND MATTER
Recently Judge J. J. Faulk of this civ
went to Chambers county with reference
to some land matters. He returned
rrluay and yesterday l engaged him in
ject. He said: -'' W.
IL had an outing, indeed; landed in
Liberty safe and sound; saw the beauti-
fu;; rice fields near by, yielding from 20
TO oo bushels per acre. Ex-senator Doug
lass and Mr.. Neyland have a rice farm
OF $40 acres in sight of Liberty that is
proving to be bonanza. If this new in
dustry proves to be permanent, and no
doubt it will, this part of the State will
deeyTelop into one of the finest portions
OF Texas; had trip through the coun-
ty from Liberty to Wallisville. in Cham
6ers county, in hack with Senator
douglass. lit would do you good to hear
him eXpatiate on rice farming. He is
now practicing law for recreation. But.
yet, this reminds me that by the assist
ance. of Judge Hightower the senator
and his partner, sMr. Jackson, did me I'D
in good style in land suit / had pending
in the Wallisville court.
You ask the nature of the suit. Or
dinarily / shouldn't hardly think it proper
to answer this query, but the question
involved in the case being one of general
Importance and affecting many sections
of school lands of the State, it perhaps
will be of some general interest to the
people. Suit was brought for section 50,
containing 64O acres of land sold by
Colonel McGaughey in 1898 as a de-
tached and isolated section, under the pro-
visions of section % in the acts of 1887
and 1889, which law was fully complied
with by the purchaser. No school lands
joined or touched this section, except
sections 90 and IS, which was sold in
the year 1882 under the acts of 1879 and
1881, laws of Texas, and the law, in
making this SALE was fully complied
with and interest kept fully paid up till
February, 1898, the principal, interest
on these two sections were paid off and
natent issued and now OH account of this
last sale, section 80 remained over 10
years isolated and detached from any
other public lands on the market, and as
such, was sold. On the 18th of April,
1895, Hon. A. ]. Baker, present com
missioner and successor to Colonel Nc
Gaughey, Cancelled the sale to section 80
and put it on the market again. When on
the 10th of same month it was sold to
another party as an actual settler, against
whom this suit was brought for posses
sion of same. The court, in its ruling,
sustained Colonel Baker on the ground
that the sale to sections 90 and 90 did not
segregate them from the school fund
because not fully paid for at the date of
the sale of section %. You should re-
member that section % of the acts of
1887 and 1889 provides that all sections
of school lands which are isolated and de-
tached from other public lands situated
in counties organized prior to 1873 Save
three may be sold to any one except a
corporation. And in 1893, Colonel Nc
Gaughey. in looking over his books, found
sections j6and 5Shad been sold more than
10 years and being then the only sections
touching section % think, correctly con-
strued it to be detached from any other
public school lands, but his decision was
overruled, and this ruling don't affect
this sale only, but many others, and am
told by officials who ought to know that
it will cause loss to the school fund of
S250,OOO. Besides, if it stands, there is
manifest injustice done to the citizen
who relies and acts on the RULINGS of q
public servant to their great injury and
loss. Certainly, the State means right
to her citizens, but just as long as the
ruling of one administration is the law
only for the time being and is made
only to be overruled by subsequent, ad,
just that long our land
titles will remain in jeopardy and Will be
a source of trouble to Texas as well as
great hardships on her people. -,
'"This vascilating policy should be
stopped. We should have some perma-
nency in our land titles and the quicker
we begin to make laws in this direction
the better for Texas.
Eyes, certainly, l have appealed the
case and have no doubt but that l will
win it in the higher court"