The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1902-11-05

az HANANNNAf VI NAAt HNNnNt A1h -
board has made The most effective
arguments in favor OF selling the land
Extracts from the pape!s s Of both ha q
been published in The leader and in
many Of the territory papers. There
are two sides 90 The question and
enough meri in either 20 make the
necessary excuse for any politician 20
do he polite thing. The advocates
Of sale talk much about perpetual
government tenantry. The tenan s
luige their right to own the homes
they have improved From the Ian $
nov ooing leased the territory mas de.
rived only tithe OF what 3, shou
a lsssee he's what is called prefer
ence right for renewal a the expirs-
/ ion Of his thee SEA lease. These
lease have been sod fcr as much as
$1,000 Much school LAND which u IN
private hands would easily rent for
two dollars or more an acre. yields
the territory from twenty hvs to fifty
cents an acre including the bonuses
The great proportion OF he lana IS
leased at ridiculously Tow fgu es. IN
many parts of the Cherokee strip the
rental paid for school lands is IT,
than the taxes on less desirable farms
adjoining them.
A comprehensive scheme for pro
tecting he stste's interests in tho use
Tor disposal Of its valuable lands Of
f7rs some stateamen strong enough to
carry it through an oppo aiunity TO
ear undying fame
Mr. Elder in a pamphlet calls aeen-
ton 10 the school funds OF Kausa3,
Nebraska. Missouri and Other western
states Kansas /; a conspicuous ex-
ample II sold 8 million acres OF land
for Z million dollars AS Kansas has
developed and progressed the rate Of
interest has steadily decreased In
terest was once 10 and - per cent.
Now money in large sums on gill edge
security goes begging at less than 8
per cent. AS result the income of
the Kansas state Agricultural college
from its share OF the funds, actually
decreased from $71,sOs 10 for the
years lSS5.sG to Sol 6S7S so In 1886
A Mistake Kansas Made.
Mr.. Elder quotes Governor Martins
message to the legislature of 1885. IN
pat as followe mo interest o. Kan
sas has been so reclSlessly and i'm
proyidently managed as the state
school lands. more absurd system
It would be difficult to devise. Under
its malign influence the permanent
school fund has been deprived OIL
probably one-half the amount tha
should have been and under a proper
system would have been realized from
the lands sold
Two years later Governor Martin
again discussed the question, show
ing that almost no fact eating TO the
land was on record in any state de-
partmynt neither the amount OF land
told nor unsoid. nor the principal or
interest due on lands sold on time
The determination or This ques
ton said the Kansas governor, in
wolves probably 4 or 8 millions Of dol
lars. yet a. has been treated by every
legislature 70 ten years past as If lt
were a matter OF no Interest TO the
state or rs people"
Within year Governor Savage Of
Nebraska hae pardoned state treas
mer from the penitentiary tn ough
whose embezzlemeuts he state lost
z million dollars of school money
g. the way Of contrast with the
state which sold all their public
lands Prof El1rr cites the well known
instance Of the reservation of a block
Of land in he hear Of the city Of Chi
caeo. Section 1G reserved for school
purposes included that part Of Chi
caeo from Madison cteet south to
Twelfth street. and from State street
west 10 Halstead A block az State
and Madison streets was reserved
from sale These, with a few more
tracts acquired later. are now held by
ne Chicago board Of education The
ground rent amounts 10 y million dol.
lars annually and ig turned into the
school fund 10. the payment of teach
els' salaries. The ground alone .s
leased" ays Prof Elder IN present
ing his argument and the lessees put
up their own buildings costing hun
dreds of thousands of dollara OIL
these the Chicago Tribune pays $50,
GOO a year for onehfth Of an acre.