The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-08-27
BROKE ALL
RECORDS
Sale of Oregon Lands
Were Large.
FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30
Over Eighteen Thousand Entries Were
Made Embracing Over Mil
lion Acres of Land.
FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30

The state of Oregon witnessed the
greatest activity in its history in the
settlement and sale Of its public
lands for the fiscal year ending June
3. 1898. The year broke all records,
both as to the number Of entries, the
amount OF land disposed of, and the
cash receipts from sales, combined
with fees and commissions collected
at local land Offices.
During the year just ended there
were in all 1874 entries made in
Oregon. embracing a total area OF
1,S44.69S acres Of land. The enor-
nous aggregate Of funds derived from
sales. fees and commissions was
s2,055 .230. nearly four times the
amount collected in 1902,
Reclamation Fund SWelIed.
The unprecedented gains are appar-
ent when these figures are compared
with those of 1902, when there were
but 1872 entries in Oregon, cover
ing 1,297.099 acres of land. In that
wear sales. fees and commissions
amounted to $59S.281. These re
turns mean that the state Of Oregon
last year contributed in the neighbour
tCOd Of 100000 Of the reclamation
fund. or twice as much as the state
contributed in the two years pTeced-
ing, when it turned in more than
$500, 0O0
The reclamation fund gets ali the
cash receipts, with the exception OF
money for expenses Of lana service,
and the ) per cent diverted to edu-
cational purposes.
Unfortunately statistics Of dispo-
sal and sale Of public land in ether
| the showing of Oregon cannOt be
compared with other western states.
Last year, when Oregon broke all its
previous records as to the number OF
entries and amount Of lands disposed
| of. it stood second only to North Da-
| kota. having transacted more land
| business than Washington, Idaho,
| Montana. and, in fact, all western
states, save that one. 1t cannot yet
| be determined whether Oregon in
the past year distanced North Dako-
| ia, but certainly, in view of it's enOr-
nous strides, it has yielded second
place to none. and has more than
euualled the returns of North DakO
| ia. as shown year ago.
Showing Indeed Remarkable.
| Remarkable as is the showing made
| by Oregon last year, it is the more
remarkable in view of the damper
that was thrown over the land at
| fairs of the state as result Of dis
closures of extensive frauds by in
spectOrs Of the department. These
inspectors took unusual care in eX
aiming all entries to establish their
validity. and of which tended to re
tard the public land business.
Enormous withdrawals were made
both for forest reserve and irrigation
purposes, which caused al Outcry
that the government was interfering
with the settlement and development
Of the more desirable sections Of the
state The facts ana the figures
seem TO confirm the declaration Of
the interior department that tempo
rary Withdrawals do not Interfere
with legitimate land entries.
New Settlers Credit to State.
Although figures, SO far as availa-
Bile. do not classify the entries made
hot I
new entries are reported is the best
evidence that Oregon is attracting
settlers in no small numbers, and
home-builders and citizens Of the de-
sirable class are seeking out the
state where they can establish homes
under the most favorable circum-
stances. There is a guarantee that
| the new settlers are desirable citi-
zens from the very fact that all en-
I tries. particularly those of the first
! half of the year, were most carefully
examined to determine whether the
entrymen were acting in good faith
and in their own interest, rather than
in the interest of others.
May Hasten the irrigation Work.
The fact that Oregon has now con-
! tributed between $4,000, 900 and So
600, 900 to the reclamation fund will
no doubt serve a. an incentive to the
interior department. to hasten its ex-
animation of proposed irrigation pro-
+ iects east Of the Cascade mountains,
! in order that the state may soon re-
ceive some practical benefit from it's
otherwise active land business