Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-01-08
OUR STATE LANDS.
REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER
HAVING THEM IN CHARGE.

| HAVING THEM IN CHARGE.
Investment of the Permanent Fund
| -Suggestions as TO obtaining Lieu
Lands In In de mnity From ndian
Reservations Advise That the
Duties OF the Board he Hereafter
| Discharged by the COminissi0ner.
The report of the State Land Com
missioners has been printed and is now
ready for distribution. The report
shows that the total value of school
lands in the last two years i'll this
State is $1G4 ,S5S.5S; there have been
S,072.75 acres sold at an average OF
$2O.42, Following are the transac-
tions of the board relating to the
permanent school fund:
January 4: 1895. skagit county fund. uoo ~
ing bond, per cent 80. .........$ LOCO OO
July l6, 1896, King county district No.
81, per cent 49,. -. ............. loo OO
Bonds previously bought ........ 6O4.5OO W
Warrants bought, 1886 ............ 2i2,soa 16
Securities In permanent fund ....... .ssls,Soa 46
The suggestion is made by the
board that the State should first Sc
cure from the General Land Office lists
of all the lieu and indemnity lands ap-
proved; that it should then secure
complete lists of all the lands lost to
the State in all sections 16 and So,
and then provide for the selection of
lieu and indemnity lands from the
Colville, Yakima and other Indian
reservations rs fast as they are sur
veyed and the Indian lands have been
allotted and prior to their opening to
public filing. The legislation is urged
to appropriate about $1,000 to cover
the expense eff publishing notice of ap-
plication to the Interior Department
fer certificates showing that the State
land is rightly classed as non-mineral
land. In this way alone can jumping
of valuable lands as State mineral
lands, and consequent expensive liti-
CATION, be avoided by the State.
Comparative tables in the report
show that out of $4,000 acres to be
selected, SIS, S,49O.5S acres have been
secured in unsurveyed townships,
which are to be selected as soon as
the surveys are made, for which pro-
vision has been made. This makes a
total of 657, ,210.5S acres, or 35,210.59
acres in excess of the grant, a margin
in which is necessary to cover selec.
tions rejected by the Secretary of the
Interior for various reasons.
The average value per acre selected
which rose from $9.O6 in 1892 to $10.-
10 in 1894, was $11.18 in 1896; the
value for timber land being based on
25 to 80 cents per 1000 feet for first
class timber, while the cost of cruising,
selecting and making reservations,
which in 1892 was 10 cents an acre,
| has been in 1896 reduced to 65
cents.
In conclusion the Commissioners
say that they have now practically
completed their work, and concur in
the suggestion of the Commissioner of
Public Lands, that the board be con-
solidated with that Office, and, as the
constitution requires that lands Of
fered for sale shall be appraised by a
board of three members, if the Office OF
the cruiser be retained, that the ap-
praisals and such plats as the law may
require, may be made by him and ap-
proved by the Commissioner of Pub
lie Lands and any two of the State Of
ficers.
Commissioner Forrest says in his re-
port that nearly all oyster land ap-
plications have been disposed of, and
the most difficult part of the work in
connection with the other classes OF
tidelands has been done, so the much.
desired objects of completing the
records and classifying the Office into
departments can be successfully ac-
complished in the near future.
The work of the Office has been di.
rected towards the completion of q
plat index of all tidelands disposed of
but lack of help in the engineering
department has rendered it impossible
to bring the work up to date.
He suggests that the law governing
the school land leases should be
amended to avoid the present vexa'
tions and unnecessary delay after the
bids are received and before the leases
are issued; that the valuable timbe,
belonging to the State should be pro-
tected in some way, and it is suggested
that forest guards should be provided
in localities adjacent to State timber
and they could be compensated by
contingent fees in cases of arrest and
conviction of trespassers.
There is at the present time a bal
lance of 100000 in the treasury be-
longing to the tideland fund. From
the sale of tidelands at Seattle anG
Tacoma this amount will be greatly
increased, and he suggests that some
provision should be made for the USE
of this fund, that it does not remain
idle and unremunerative to the State.
The fees collected in the Office o
Commissioner of Public Lands ant
paid to the State Treasurer for th'
two years ending October 80, 1896
amounted to $4S9.78.
CONSUMPTION is most common il
Belgium; Scotland and Canada.