The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1902-05-14

| state Land Commissioner, CHAR
les Rogan, asking for definite in
formation as TO the land laws in
force and the policy of the land
office relative to the public lands
owned by the state, we are in re-
ceipt of the following, which will
be read with interest by many of
our readers. The commissioners
says:
Complying with your request
Of recent date, you are advised
that the twenty-seventh legisla-
ture made a provision that school
land could be leased anywhere in
the state subject to sale at any
time, except in the counties em-
braced in what is known as the
absolute district. All lands with
in the absolute district are SUBJ
ject to sale at any time, if not
under lease, but lands which are
leased and situated in that dis
trict are not subject to sale dur
ing the life of the lease. The
last legislature removed from the
absolute lease district the coun-
ties of Kent, CARA, Lynn, Sour
ry, Borden, Dawson, Mitchell,
Martin, Howard, Coke, Sterling,
Glasscock, Tom Green, Irion, Me-
nard, Schleicher, Mason, Uvalde,
Frio, Kerr and Bandera, and pro-
vided that all lands under lease
in those counties should not be
sold during the life of the lease,
provided no lease should run
longer than a period of five years,
but that upon the expiration of a
lease, whether by limitation or
by cancellation for non-payment
of rent, the lands remained on
market subject to sale for n per-
iod of go days after the expira-
ton or cancellation of the lease.
This same provision also applies
to lands under lease in the coun-
ties situated in the absolute
lease district.
81 have, therefore, concluded
that hereafter / would make no
more leases, for the present at
least, except in the counties of
Andrews, Brewster, Crane, Crock
EFT, Edwards, FL Paso, Hidalgo,
jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Pc
cos, Preside, Reeves, Starr, Val
Verde, Ward, Winkler and Webb,
and that hereafter, when leases
are cancelled for non-payment of
rent, / would have the acreage
published so us to attract atten-
ton to the counties in which the
cancellations are made, with u
view Of trying to sell. The coun-
ties last above named are situa-
ted in the absolute lease district,
but they are not all the coun-
ties in that district.
The bulk of the surveyed un-
sold school land is situated in
the following counties, namely:
Andrews, Bandera, Borden, Brew
ster, Crane, Crockett, Dawson,
Ector, Edwards, Ell Paso, CARA,
Glasscock, Hidalgo, Howard,
Irion, jeff Davis, Kent, Kerr,
Kimble, Kinney, Loving, Lynn,
Maverick, Menard, Midland, Pc
cos, Preside, Reeves, Schleicher,
Scurry, Starr, Sterling, Sutton,
Terry, West Tom Green, Upton,
Vel Verde, Ward, Webb, Wink
Ter, Yoakum and Zapata.
LANDS under lease in the
above named counties are not
subject to sale under the present
law, during the life of the lease.
but if not leased, is subject to
sale at any time. Leases have
been made at different times and
a great number expire this year,
and II greater number next year,
"Public school land situated
in the counties taken out of the
absolute district, as we'll as land
in all other counties not in that
district, is subject to sale at any
time if leased since April 10,
1901. Public surveyed school
/