Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1906-08-04
FACTS ABOUT LAND ENTRIES.

or Utah from recent attacks of local
journalistic Jackanapes. Red-headed
lines in yellow newspapers may sell
more papers, but they cannot discredit
men whose regulations for civic hon
esty are as firmly established as are
those of the members of the former
state land board.
There has been vast amount of
ignora 20 displayed in recent discuss
ions Of the procedure of that board
but that its transactions were not in
strict conformity with the law and the
regulations of the government land
department has not been charged, even
by the vilest of the muck rakers,
though yelled insinuation and inuendo
have been worked to the limit.
So far as are concerned the suits in
stituted by the government to set
aside the patents to lands alleged to
be coal lands which were obtained as
grazing lands, it is to be hoped they
will be successful and the coal COM
panies be made to pay the coal land
price for them. Truth has no inten-
ton of defending fraud or of Guessing
over the improper methods of grasp
ing corporations, but the manifest at
tempt on the part of a portion of the
local press to distort the facts and
heap opprobrium upon faithful public
servants is so glazing as to occasion
resentment on the part of the right
thinking portion of the public.
The facts are that when statehood
came Utah had been a territory so
long that the natural flow of all
streams of water had been appropri-
ated and all land within the state
which was regarded as of value for
agricultural purposes had been en-
tered under either the presumption,
homestead, desert or timber culture
laws of the United States, thus prac-
tically limiting the state selections of
land to grazing lands, and even the
choicest grazing lands had been talk
en-. The grants to the state under the
Enabling Act consisted, first, of four
sections in each township for common
schools, aggregating about six million
acres, a large part of which is abso-
lutely worthless and could not be CIV
en- away, much less sold. Second, the
grants to the public institutions,
amounting to about one million six
hundred thousand acres of land, which
were not designated, but were to be
selected from the public domain.
AS to the six million acres of school
lands, the legislature provided that
these lands should be appraised and
then sold at public auction at not less
than the appraised valuation. In every
case the sale has been advertised fol
four weeks in newspapers published OIL
having general circulation in the coun
ty where the land is situated.
AS to the grants to the public insti
tutions which were to be selected, the
state found itself confronted with this
situation: Practically the only lands
left from which to select were graz
ing lands, and the most valuable Of
these were scattered over the state II
irregular tracts and none of them were
deemed to be Of much value. Il
would have been very expensive fol
the state to have sent out agents tt
discover and select these lands be
cause of their irregular quality. One
! section might be worth $1.50 an acre
and the adjoining one worth nothing
which would have necessitated a care
full inspection of each tract selected
and q correct location of the section
lines, which in mountainous countr.
is extremely difficult. People living IL
the vicinity of the land, acquainted
with it's character and possible pros
pective purchasers, would know from
actual experience which were the mos
valuable tracts, and if given the or
portunity would themselves select tn
land thew desired to purchase withou