Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1896-01-14
SOME LAND NEWS
COMMISSIONER BAKER ANSWERS
QUESTIONS OF THE covERson.
Quantity of Land Sold and Leased
and the Eject. of the New
LAW.


Lahu commissioner Baker to-day gave
Out Tor publication the following letter
winch he to-day sent to the governor:
Dear Sir-four favor under date OF
December 81. 1895, In which you ask
me to give you briefly and by estimate
as early as you ID can, Information as
to the following:
l. me quantity OF land sold. both In
acres and amount under the act of 1896.
as compared with the same period OF
time last year
z. The same Information as to leases.
.. MY opinion generally as to the evil
or beneficial operation OF the law" came
uly to hand.
Answering your questions In the or
DER put by you. | Will state that there
was sold during the period embraced
between August /, 1894. and December
81 Of the same year. i04.53O acres of
mnd, including among the classes
enumerated In the act of 1887 and
amendments, at total sum OF $2l7,-
sil.75.
!. will be seen, therefore. that II we
We're TO determine that all tho credit
Tor the large Increase of the sales and
leases was to be regarded as dircofly
dHe to the popularity of the new law.
fully answer your third question, In
considering, however, the evil or benen-
cial effects of the new law, II must not
be forgotten that the section of coun-
try In which, by far the larger portion
OF the lands embraced in last school
land law Is situated was blighted by
great drought covering at least two, II
not three years prior to the passage OF
the law, and much allowance therefore
must be made for that when we come
to draw the comparison between the
two statements both as to the leases
and sales. However, I am constrained,
from actual knowledge OF the condi-
lions In that section of the state. to the
belief that II the present law had not
been enacted there would not have
been half as many sales or leases un-
der the old law as there have been UNI
der this one, Besides. hundreds, II not
thousands of poor people would have
been compelled to lose their all, their
homes, because the drought had re-
duced them to the possession Of MOTH
ing else. Considered therefore In the
light OF the present condition OF the
revenue, and in the light of mercy to
these poor people the benefits OF the
act is not only most marked and PROF.
er. but II goes a long way towards
meeting the expectations of Its movers,
and certainly ought not TO receive any
thing else but satisfactory Endorsement
from those who opposed, and whose
children are now the benenciaries ur-
der 1t,
on the other hand. II has to a cor
siderable cNtent--how great ] cannot
tell-invited CorfeittIres OF old sales, In
that by making defau'. In payment,
and having the forfeiture declared, they
can repay at lower price and lower
| rate OF interest While this is to be re-
GREETED In some cases, vet In the over
! whelming majority OF cases the poor
people in the hope Of getting the land
at n price and interest which they
1 might be able TO pay. have made al
most superhuman efforts. both In la
Dor and onomy to raise the money to
, redeem and rebuy their homes, which
| would MS I say. have been lost under
7 duly to hand,
/ on the whole, therefore, | do not hes
/ itate to say that the benefits accrulng
/ to the school fund and to the people et-
| fected by II. vastly outstrip any eVil
| thore may be In its operations.
There were leased during the entire
| wear of 1885, 1,5s3, 06S acres at four cents
| per acre. amounting to S63Sg2I5, or
| which 1856 $50 acres wore leased during
the last five months OF the year lsVl'
for the sum Of $40 1920, fFhe univerS-
ity leases during this period are not In
cludad in the reports herein compared,
bernuse of the transfer Of this fund by
the last legislature to the exclusive
! control OF the university rcgents)
There were leased during the year
1895, 1880 acres for the total sum or
! about Slla, 2Gg0O. of which about 2l5i,-
| es7 acres were leased at three cents
amounting to S6L6i0Ol, while nearly
ali the balance was leased at four cents
! thcre heing a few thousand acres leas-
( ed at Ave cents, The said 2,l54.667 acres
were leased the last FIVE month of 1885