The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-06
TO SAVE THE LANDS.
SUPERINTENDENT HILL LOOKING
 AFTER SCHOOL PROPERTY.
He Is Interesting Hinreff In Tracta Set Apart For Educational Pur- uoses,--Counties Building
 Schools.

Hon. Isaac w. Hill. State Superin- tendent of Education, is launching campaign which he hopes will save the school interests of Alabama the schooi indemnity lands. In 1908 there VIII be general menace from adverse pos session of these lands
 What the State Superintendent or Education will strive for in the coming primary is to lay clearly before the voters the importance of providing TOT the perpetuity of the sixteenth section fund There are thousands and thotfs- anls of acres of indemnity lands that remain unsold, but are liable to be lost to the educational interests beginning in 1908. as in that year the right of ad- verse occupancy begins under an act Of thst legislature.
 Efforts were made at the last session of the legislature to have the act re- pealed which allowed the adverse right, but they availed nothing. Superintend- ent Hill, and the many champions of Education in every quarter of the State will make their start earlier this time. 1t is proposed to make the land re- demption a live issue in every county in the campaign this year. Efforts are to be made to get all candidates for the legislature to commit themselves to the passage of a bill putting stop to the threatening loss of lands which
  vancement of education in Alabama. To give an idea of the growing i'm portance of this question, one has only tu be reminded that the State Superin- | tendent of Education, with the approv- al of the Governor, is very often selling l portions of school lands and selling i them for good prices. Recently a sale of sixteenth section land was made In one county at $15 an acre. There was time in the memory of Superln- | tendent Hill when the same land would | not have brought more than $S. an acre. There Is no reason for surprise at this, however, when one remembers the | steady advance of land all over the | State of late years.
 | There were originally more then 1oo.. | 900 acres of indemnity lands Super tntendent Hill said yesterday that he could not recall time when there was i such a greed for land as now prevails. l He more than any other man perhaps. can see what an absorption of lands will follow in the future beginning with | 1908, unless there Is legislation to pre- vent it.
 The hint was given yesterday that Superintendent Hill, with the further help of the legislature, would bring a stronger searchlight to play on the legality of some patents that have been issued, and do not bear all the marks of proof. Some money, he hopes, may be saved in this way.
 The indemnity lands of Alabama, which are affected by the law now in force. were granted to Alabama for educational uses in 1888 in lieu of what were valueless sixteenth section tracks or swamp lands. The twenty years of occupancy required by the existing law of adverse right will have expired with 1908, and the first pat ents could be issued m that year.
 Superintendent Hill returned yester- day from St, Stephens. Washington County. where he found that the people of that community intend to buy for $270. house to be used for school pur- poses. which is valued at about $2 900 The former sum represents the amount of indebtedness against the house which has been used as church property.
 Geneva County yesterday reported to the State Superintendent that $4d0 would be raised by its people with which, added to s100 donated by the Peabody Educational Fund, rural school house on modern plans will be constructed. The s1, 1000 originally of- fered on these terms Is about untouch- ed, save for Geneva and one or two other counties