The Elbert County tribune., 1906-12-13
Will HOLD kND
EFFORT TO buy RouTT COUNTY
COAL LANps BLOCKED.
STATE INDEMNITY LANDS


Hundred and Twelve Thousand
Acres VIII Be Refused-state to
Hold Coal Lands and LEAFS Them.
Denver.-The Republican Monday
morning says: Gov. Jesse f. Mcdonald
does not believe in selling the school
lands OF the state unless agricultural
lands to actual settlers who will be
bound to make improvements. Coal
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 infinitesimal. 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 project to dispose OF 900
acres OF coal land near Hayden, in
Routt county. to combination that
wanted to exploit them.
For some weeks the scheme had
been brewing. Bernard l.. Castor OF
Omaha made a proposition to purchase
the land at the government price OF $40
an acre. He seemed to be in n hurry
TO secure the land. He stated that ON
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 good part of
the land was what Is known as lndem-
nifty 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
and that as the indemnity land in ques,
tion contained coal and had been
known to be coal lands at the time 1t
was given to the state some ten or
dozen years back, the state was In n
way to lose IL: hut that the corpora
ton 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 a 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 SO an acre
the price set by the federal government
for land more than twenty miles from
a railroad. Attorney General Miller
supported this proposed sale on the
ground that the states title was not
certain on account of its having beer
known that the land contained coal
| outcroppinRs at the time it was given
to the state. Secretary OF State Cowie
was non commltal, although II had been
asserted that he was favorable to the
sale. Governor Mcdonald and Mish
Craig opposed the transaction and It
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 n
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
a 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.
1t has been the policy of the present
administration to make the public
lands valuable through the leasing sya.
TEN, and in limited trackages by the
sale of agricultural lands to settlers.
number of the counties in which
large acreage of school lands are stu
ated have been most anxious for the
development of the land. Sold. 1t Is
subject 10 taxation; in the possession
of the state 1t adds nothing to the reye-
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 tho
county.
Under the present administration no
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