Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-07-28
The Territorial Land Grants.

The last session of congress passed a
bill, which was approved by the presi-
dent on June 81, entitled San act to
make certain grants of land to the ter
ritory of New Mexico, and for other
purposes" That act sets aside sections
16 and 36 in every township of the ter
ritory for the support of the common
schools, or, where such sections contain
mineral, have been sold, or have other
wise been disposed of or set aside by the
government before the passage Of the
act, other lands equivalent, in legal
ter sections, may be selected in lieu
thereof. Other sections of the act grant
lands for territorial institutions, a ter
ritorial university, for water reservoirs,
for irrigation purposes, and for the i'm
provement of the Rio Grande in New
Mexico. The lands granted to the COM
mon schools amount to 4,232, 900 acres;
to territorial institutions, 1,343, OsO acres,
including 500, 900 for reservoirs and 1oo,-
600 acres for the improvement of the
Rio Grande, and exclusive of the saline
lands, which cannot now be estimated;
a total of 5,576,O4O acres, aside from the
saline lands.
The law also provides that the gov
ernor, the surveyor general and the
solicitor general shall act as a commits
mission to select the lands, acting under
the instructions of the secretary of the
interior. On July 9 Solicitor General
Bartlett wrote to the secretary of the
interior for the necessary instructions,
but so far has not succeeded in securing
them. However, he has received from
the general land Office at Washington,
under the date of July 20, the instruc-
lions which have been issued to the reg
listers and receivers of United States
land offices in the territory. which are
Of no use to the commission, except the
last section, which is useful in that it
proves that the gift OF possibly 5000, 900
acres of land to the territory has a string
tied to it. The section referred TO reads
as follows:
IA. The fees required by the seventh
proviso of section 1858 U. 5. r. S. must
In every case accompany all lists of
selections, except for agricultural col
leges, and the payment of the fees must
be noted on the several lists.
Now, under that ruling, the question
arises: Wherein are the public schools
to be benefited and the territorial in
situations to receive any aid from this
magnificent land grant? Setting aside
the lands allowed for the agricultural
college, the fees for entering the lands
selected by the commission, if it yer re-
ceives it's instructions to begin its work,
will amount to 800, 900 or Whereabouts.
If the territory had this amount of
money to spend on its common schools
and territorial institutions at the pres
ent time, orany prospects of having tnat
sum in the neal future, it would hardly
invest it in lands. But New Mexico has
not the money to enter the lands, if the
fee of So for each quarter section must
be paid in the local land offices.
One provision of the law granting the
land to the territory appropriates 3d.
900 to defray the expenses of the com
mission and pay for the selection of the
lands. If a part of the appropriation
can be paid for entering lands selected,
then the commission should organize at
once, select $50, 900 or 400, 900 acres of
the best lands, and allow the balance of
the grant to remain public domain until
congress makes an appropriation suffi-
cient to pay the land office fees, or I'M
til such time as the territory will be
able to pay the expense itself. Unless
such an arrangement can be made, so
far as the benefit New Mexico will de-
rive is concerned. the bill would as well
new have been passed.