Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1906-05-05

legal determination OF the rights of the
parties and of the state, and leave them
wiser but poorer because of their ex-
perience.
There is no power on earth that can
exercise any jurisdiction over sections
16 and SO which passed to the state by
the admission act, except the legisla-
ture of Idaho and the state land board,
and those tribunals can only exercise
the power over said lands within the
limitations of the constitution of Idaho,
The government of the United States,
however desirable you may consider
such action, cannot include the states
school sections in the forest reserves
or exercise any jurisdiction over them.
In my judgment it is well for the state
that this is true.
l am convinced that am acting in
the best interests of the states present
and future in the course am pursuing
in this matter, and believe that the
people of Idaho, with few exceptions,
will, when they understand the situa-
ton, agree with me, and will cooperate
with me in any effort on my part, or
on that of others, to preserve these
lands to the state. If private lumber
companies; Scrip 1ocators, or lieu land
solicitors have laid a hand upon ANY of
the school sections of the state they
have done so in violation of the law,
and there IS but one plain duty resting
upon the executive officers of the state,
and that is to recover any loss which
the state may have suffered by reason
of the cutting of timber upon these
sections, and to dispossess any persons,
whether it be those claiming under the
railroad land grants, stone and timber
selections, homestead selections, or any
other class of claim. If the state
officers do less than this they fail in
their duty: / am justified in believing
from the information which I have re-
ceived that the state has already been
damaged to very large extent by the
cutting of timber upon school sections,
Which have been attempted to be taken
up since the admission of the state,
utdor various claims of title, and the
matter is so serious that the legislature
should investigate this question at the
earliest possible date. Every school
section, the title to which passed under
the admission act, should be taken up;
identified, and an abstract of title made
of it, and the facts as to its possession
or any adverse claim made to it ascer-
tanned and the states rights fully pro-
tected in the matter.
The rights of the state involved in
the foregoing consideration afnotnt to
many millions of dollars, and the sooner
the questions of sentiment in regard
thereto are laid aside the questions of
the states legal rights taken up, the
better will the people be served and
their rights protected.
have not undertaken to discuss the
states rights to free and untrammel-
ed field for selecting such lands as it is
entitled to select in lieu of other lands,
or under its general right to select
lands for the several purposes enum-
Grated in the admission act, as 1 dc
not desire to confuse the two classes of
lands l will only say in leaving this
question for the present that the state
was granted large areas of land subject
to selection, the title to which rests
upon an entirely different basis from
that of sections 16 and SO, and which
| do not mass until sl1ch ee1action 10 mo IL
and approved. These selections only
being available upon surveyed lands,
propose to attempt to obtain a yer,
much larger appropriation for the sur
vey of Idaho lands, in order that tn.
field of selection may be available with
in which the state may exercise tn.
right to this second class of lands.
Bear in mind that the state canno
give title by consent, nor can it waiv;
its rights to these lands It canno
trade them away or dispose of then
other than as provided by the constitu
ton of the state.
Government is not question of polic,
but is question of law. The laws ar
made pursuant to the policy of tn
people; but until the policy is enacte,
into law it is not controlling in deter
mining the. rights Of either the govern
ment or the people.
YOU speak of the. proposed amend
ments to the land laws as promisin
new conditions. The proposed amend
pepte ara NOT RI bo oopo;da~ol =. 49,