Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1899-04-14
STATE SCHOOL LANDS.
Those on CamaS Prairie Will be Ap-
praised and Sold this Year.

praised and Sold this Year.
Under the constitution of the
state of Idaho regulating the sale
and disposition of our magnificent
endowment of school lands from the
general government, not more than
% sections can be sold in any one
year, at price not less than ten
dollars per acre. A good deal Of
these state school lands all over the
state are valueless and will be
without value for good many
years to come; but on the other
hand there are localities where
they will at present bring a good
deal more than the minimum
value Of ten dollars per acre fixed
by the constitution. Camas Prai-
RE is one of the these favored Sec
tons, and in thinking over the
matter it occurred to the editor of
the FREE Press that an appraise-
ment of the school lands on Camas
Prairie in the near future, with a
view to a sale of the same this fall,
would be particularly beneficial
move to the state, to the county,
to Camas Prairie and to Grange
vile; and that there was every.
thing to gain and nothing to lose
by urging immediate action in the
premises.
! With this object in view we
wrote to Gov. Steunenberg, ex-
officio chairman of the State Board
of Land Commissioners, calling his
attention to the subject, and
stating that with two lines of rail-
roads building to Camas Prairie
these lands would sell at higher
prices than any other school lands
in the state at tho present time.
A few days since we received a
reply from Gov. Steunenberg, sta
ting that the proposition met with
his hearty approval and that he
would submit it 20 the Board at
once, with the view of having the
school sections in this vicinity APP
praised this spring and the lands
sold in the coming fall.
Yesterday we received another
communication from G. E. Arney,
Chief Clerk of the Board of Land
Commissioners, enclosing list OF
the school lands in this vicinity
which were appraised some time
since when land values were at
their lowest, and asking us to give
the board the benefit of our judg-
ment as to whether that appraise-
ment was good estimate of Their
present values or not. We find
that the lands are worth at this
time anywhere from ten per cent
, to fifty per cent above the APP
) praised value and have SO advised
the board.
The sale and settlement of these
e now vacant and idle lands will bt
a great boon all along the line.
With the immense immigration
: setting into Idaho from the. stateI
t Of the middle west there is bount
y to be d large and growing demant
a for land available for agriculture
s purposes, and in this particula
a Camas Prairie offers the cream O
9 the entire state. The promises
: railroad connections alone, to sa,
1 nothing of the home market afford
!. ed by the new developments il
n Buffalo Hump and other minin,
y camps depending for their supple
y upon Camas Prairie, will enorm
ously enhance the values of GU
f farming lands, and the school sec
s lions will, of course participate il
f the rise.
e Thus the state gets u benefit b,
d selling its lands here at a highe
s price than can be obtained in an,
n other section; the general schoo
: fund of the state, and consequently
: of the several counties are ais
e benefited; while Idaho count
J. gets the benefit of larger popula
It ton and more taxable property
= and the towns Oh the prairie vii
also correspondingly benefit by tn
increased trade which the openia
:. of these lands will afford.
= AS matter of fact, some of tn
= very best land on Camas Prairi
70 belongs to the state, two sections
. 16 and &c, or 1880 acres in eac
:. township having been reserved b
!. the general government for schot
s purposes. On both sides of Cotton
, wood; Denver and Grangeville al
} choice sections of these schOt
, lands which are easily worth 81
!, : per acre, andif properly advertise
% and placed before the Immigrant
from the east, would be likely
bring more than that.
E. On the whole, while the idea
% all our own, we feel withol
n egotism, that the idea of havin
r these lands disposed of and opene
20 to settlement is a PARTICULAR
A. bright, timely and appropriate on
Y, and we hope to see it consummate
is during the present year of grace.
Ia D.~I.,~t,@n