The Ordway new era., 1906-12-14
Will HOLD LAND.
EFFORT TO BUY RouTT COUNTY
COAL LANDS BLOCKED.
STATE INDEMNITY LANDS

Offer Of Ten Dollars an Acre for One
Hundred and Twelve Thousand
Acres viii BE Refused-state to
Hold Coal Lands and Lease Them.
Denver.-The Republican Monday
morning says: Gov. Jesse +. Mcdonald
does not believe In selling the school
lands of the state unless agricultural
lands 10 actual settlers who will be
bound to make improvements. Coai
and mineral lands should be held for
the state and leased to those who are
In position to develop them. Several
times in the last eighteen months ef-
forts have been made to purchase
school lands which failed because of
the firm stand taken by the governor
and the superintendent OF public in
struction. In Utah all the lands of any
value are gone and the revenues there
from are infnitesimal. The coal lands
have been secured by the big coal COM
panies, subsidiary to the two great rail-
road corporations.
Last week Governor Mcdonald
nipped n project to dispose Of liz, 900
acres OF coal land near Hayden. In
Routt county. to a combination that
wanted TO exploit them.
For some weeks the scheme had
been brewing. Bernard l.. Castor OF
Omaha made u proposition to purchase
the land at the government price OF SO
an acre. He seemed to be in Il hurry
to secure the land. He stated that OFF,
cials of the Burlington railroad were
interested with him and that the land
would be developed at once and be pre-
pared for heavy coal shipments as soon
as the Moffat road reached the Hay
den fields. Governor Mcdonald be-
lieves In going slow in such matters
and stated that the question would
have to be carefully considered and
the rules OF the land board carried out
to the letter.
Mr.. Castor said that a good part OF
the land was what is known as indem-
nIty sections-land traded by the fed
eral government to the state govern
ment for land taken by the former
which contained mineral or which
might be required for forest reserves
hnd that as the indemnity land in ques-
ion contained coal and had been
known to be coal lands ut the time It
WAS given to the state some ten or n
dozen years back. the state was in
way to lose It: but that the corpora
ion behind Mr.. Castor was willing to
shoulder the chances.
Last Wednesday the matter was
Brought up. William Cowdery, super
intendent of the mineral department OF
the land board. filed brief report that
the proposition was fair.
The day following. Mr.. Castor and his
| attorney. Tom Harrington. appeared
before the board In support of the plan
to purchase the land at $40 an acre
| the price set by the federal government
| for land more than twenty miles from
In RAJ
supported this proposed sale on the
ground that the states title was not
certain on account OF Its having been
| known that the land contained coal
outcroppings at the time 1t was given
to the state. Secretary of State Cowie
was non commital, although 1t had been
asserted that he was favorable to tho
sale. Governor Mcdonald and Miss
Craig opposed the transaction and iu
fell through.
| The price was too low even had it
been the policy OF the board to sell IT.
outright Governor Mcdonald had been
investigating and found that coal lands
| In the territory named were worth a
| great deal more.
| In all the state owns about $3.50. 900
acres OF public land OF this about
| 100000 acres are in Routt county. and
n great deal of 1t will soon be most
valuable. AS soon as the Moffat road
reaches the lands there will be devel-
opments on large scale. Already in-
dividuals and corporations are at work
getting ready.
It has been the policy of the present
administration to make the public
lands valuable through the leasing sys.
| tenn, and in limited trackages by the
sale of agricultural lands to settlers.
A number of the counties In which
large acreage of school lands are situ-
ated have been most anxious for tho
development of the land Sold. 1t IS
subject 10 taxation: in the possession
OF the state 1t adds nothing to the reve,
nues of the county and naturally the
taxpayers in the counties SO affected
feel that the land should be doing
something toward the support Of the
county.
Under the present administration mo-
coal land has been sold. Leases for
eight and ten years have been granted
under strict terms. The state land de:
partment receives about 100000 per-
| annum royalties from coal leases