The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-11-29
DEFENSE OF THE SALE
Governor Receiving Numerous Letters
as to Value of Land

Age-Herald Bureau Hotel MADISON, Mont
gomery, November 2S.-(Special)-In reply
to questions sent out by Governor Johnston,
| numerous letters have been received at the
executive office from prominent coal opera
tors in Jefferson county, purporting to show
that fair price was obtained for the Uni
versity lands recently sold to the Sloss-
Sheffield company.
w. 7. Underwood writes:
my opinion being asked as to the value
of the s,4O0 acres of University lands sold to
the Sloss-Shefield company. beg to say
that unless there are local conditions of
value, of which l am not informed, the
price of $3.50 per acre paid for the same
was fair and reasonable"
J. B. Darlington, general manager of the
Cahaba River Coal company, has the fol-
lowing to say:
IT see by the papers that you are being
criticized for selling some lands near Cor
dova at $3.50 per acre and regret exceed
ingly to see 1t. for / cannot but think the
people who are now condemnng you are
totally unfamiliar not only with coal lands
but their value. I am interested with 9TH
ers in a tract of 10000 acres not far from the
lands sold in the same county, and would
be only too glad to make sale of my in
terest at rate of $40 per acre, though think
ours are as good as that you sold, and that
you should be commended rather than CEN
sured for making the trade. have had nj
teen years experience in trading in mineral
| lands in Walker county to aid me in franz
ing an opinion"
In letter addressed to Hon. ]. NJ. Cald-
we'll at Admission, Walter Moore OF the Ivy
| Coal and Coke company says: Referring
| to the newspaper controversy and attacks
upon the board of trustees and the COVER
| nor, with reference to the sale of university
| lands in Walker county in townships 10 and
16 and ranges and 7, l beg to be permitted
| to congratulate the board on the wisdom OF
the slae and the handsome price realized,
| and to say further, that If in the judgment
| of the board OF trustees, and 1t can be le-
| gaiiy done, and they desire to reinvest the
proceeds of that sale in other mineral iands,
| l amin a position to furnish them large
quantity of lands in the same section or
| country and part of which is located in the
same townships and ranges and all OF
which is equally as valuable If not more SO
| than the lands the university has parted
| with. and is certainly more advantageously
| bodied up, at 50 per acre.
| T. NJ. jackson, general manager of the
1
| pany, writes as follows:
| 81 have been in hopes / would see you
| for some time. 1 want to talk to you about
| this land sale discussion. What are the
| university people stirred up about any way?
| So far as 1 have been able to learn. the
| trustees have done nothing more than make
| a sale of certain lands at $12-50 in the ter
| ritory adjoining that of the American Coal
| company's property. I should think that
i $3.50 an acre for these lands was big
| 40 er,t hat for hon,
| as a whole, 1 see need of kicking from
| anybody. From what l have been able to
| learn without a personal investigation a
| large portion of this land is not worth any,
| thing like the price paid fcr. it,
ST had a talk with Colonel Fits in Tusca-
| loosa recently. He was so wild in his i'm
aginations about the value of coal lands
| that | could not discuss thing with him
| to any degree of satisfaction. All l have
| got to say is, that If the lands sold for
$12.5O an acre. very good price was obtain
| ed for them, and the University has no
| right under heaven to be calling on the tax
| payers, when they can sell other lands for
$3.50 an acre and help to provide for any
| deficit"
r. H. Pearson says: 81 have noticed with
very great regret the criticism of you and
the trustees for selling the University lands
! and / feel sure that such attacks are I'M
| Just to you and without good reason. The
| chief objection seems to be that the lands
were sold for less than their market value.
at am now and have been for ten or fif-
teen years interested In mineral lands in
| Jefferson, Blount, Walker and Fayette
counties I think I know the selling price
of such lands in those counties. and 1 am
very we'll acquainted with the value OF
the lands sold by the trustees. l do not
hesitate to say that in my opinion Sl25t
was a fair and reasonable price for these
lands, and as much as the board could rea-
sonably expect to get Indeed the price is
above the average selling price for lands In
that locality"
7. II. Friel, writing under date of Novem
her a. says: "In view of the controversy
in the press with regard to the recent SAT-
of certain lands belonging to the UNIVERSE
ty of Alabama, and the allegation thai
these lands were disposed of at a very low
figure, it has occurred TO me that possibly
the board of trustees of the university
may determine to reinvest the proceeds
of the sale in other lands, and i beg t
say that / can furnish to the university
anywhere from ten to twenty thousand
acres of equally as good coal iands AZ
| Walker, jefferson and Blount counties, al