Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-01-26
Delegate Fergusson's Bill 10 Grant New Mex
leo Public Lands.

The bill. introduced by Delegate Fer
gusson in the house of representatives,
to grant to New Mexico in advance of
it's admission to statehood. public lands
to aid its common schools and higher
educational institutions meets the cor
dial approval of our people and, no
doubt. will receive the approval of con-
gress and the president.
Had congress given the territory this
aid 40 years ago, as it should have done.
backed by II liberal appropriation of
money to found our educational system,
there would not be u greater percentage
of il%literacy in New Mexico today than
in the most favored western common
wealths.
Other civilized nations when acquir-
ing territory with foreign populations
have established systems of education,
which in many instances have been
compulsory, but u great government
has thought it wise to visit us only with
the tax collector and the Office holder.
TO some extent. this has been largely
our fault as. until within the last few
years, the territory has not made such a
demand upon congress for such aid.
Our delegates have all been urging
upon congress bills for our admission to
statehood, and the reply has always been
the same, Prepare your people for citi-
zenship by educating them in the En-
| glish language and we will admit you,"
but all aids to education have always
| been carefully withheld, while the money
realized from the sale of public lands in
this territory, elsewhere given to the
states to assist in educating the people,
has been turned into the federal treas
ury.
Thus for half a century have our peo-
pie been ~.ungenerously treated, and in
the meantime nearly all our most valu-
able lands have been sold or granted to
railroads or have been taken up under
the public land laws. until with the ok
ception of the large grants recently de-
cided by the land court to be public do
main, much of the remaining is arid and,
comparatively speaking. of no immc-
diate value.
Should the pending bill not be prompt
ly passed. all of the choice lands in the
recently rejected grants will be appro-
priated, and when we are admitted. if
that long wished for day ever arrives.
the territory will find itself stripped Of
all valuable lands and we will be de-
privcd of that support for our educa-
tional institutions which has laid the
foundation for the grand systems of cd,,-
cation, the pride of IL more favored
commonwealth.
1t has been suggested that New Mex
leo in the pending bill is asking far
too much. If we were to criticise the
pending bill W. should say that it did
not ask for enough. Every acre of pub
lie land in the territory should be grant
ed for educational and other public pur-
poses. and then. in value. we would not.
for reasons above stated. receive the
half that the other public land states
have received for such purposes.
1t may be said that school lands are
reserved from occupation. Such reser-
walton. however. does not apply to grants
under the laws of Spain and Mexico.
nor to unsurveycd lands: and our terri
tory has been so sadly neglected that
much of the public domain is still UNI
surveyed today, 50 that the most valu-
able lands are being appropriated and
our schools thus deprived Of their Just
and legitimate support.
Not only the lands should be donated,
but the 5 per cent of the proceeds of all
the sales of lands for the past 80 years
should be returned to New Mexico as it
has been returned to all the states for
educational purposes.
1t is not true, at stated by the free
silver men. that statehood is withheld
because it is learned that we would
the free coinage Of silver. Silver
Is a recent issue. New Mexico was re-
admission more than 40 years ago,
on account Of the alleged illiteracy Of
It's population. and every time We have