The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-07-29

sAL OFFICIALS ARE
lW OPENLY CENSURED
n-Sense Business Meth
lisregarded; Worst Dis
osures Yet to Come.

|ur .harges Of bad faith, to say
bns of fraud, on the part Of the
AhInd Board IN the complaints OF
Hs ,ns begun by the Federal Gov
|aL;; on Friday against the Utah
Els npany and the Pleasant Valley
Waapany is causing quite general
LsS; about the State officials that
Eta g complimentary nature. Now
y, matter is actually in the courts
f. generally talk freely on the
be of the board while heretofore
I Cse decidedly guarded in their ez-
|Iass. Ex-Gov. Heber NJ. Wells,
[rs~t of the old State Land Board,
Ea on Groo, who was its secretary
\ atime that the frauds are al
IT, have been committed, come IN
Ehrleral share of open censure.
Ia well posted in State affairs
Saturday that the action Of
| lsl6cinls as charged In the COM
salowed either stupidity that is
|,hy of ordinary business men or
|sis ute intention to commit fraud.
|rs1tleman, vino is q Republican,
~ to the inconsistency Of Gov.
IT, retaining Mr.. Groo, who is a
t, on the board He stated that
|irIR common expression by both
la lis and Of other members Of the
|du hat no one else in the State
spm Mr.. Groo could perform the
[gao acceptably. The informant
! Taat it might have been true that
|le beside Mr.. Groo would have
I'd the work as he and the board
|gcit TO be done. The informant
"a lnteered the remark that when
L men magnify the ability Of an
|s der to such an extent as to
FG g rest OF the world incompetent
|. for the place, that it was sure
+ IN of a colored gentleman in
|iili pile.
iHorst Disclosures to Come.
Ger person equally well posted
|suhat it was his opinion that the
Of malfeasance by the
| isrd were yet to come. In his
r the greatest wrongs had been
+ ed in the manner Of the disposal
i 4 lands and Of agricultural lands
r. iduals. He stated that the ap-
W,snt and sale Of school lands had
Particularly shady and had been
b Ion in such a manner as to de-
ae State Of valuable property
r. obtaining anything near to
ley were worth. He cited an
r. in which land on a school sec
|E3wn to be coal land had been
35 cents an acre.
Ter case mentioned was where in
b;F day Of the existence of the
/ rrd, when the best of lands were
Err selection, a large tract had
< aected by a member Of the
Fn5ho had appraised 1t at the ridic-
low price of 5 cents an acre.
ss,rk was too coarse for the
/ e that time and the land was
gawed to be sold This figure
IIot pay the attendant expenses
p mg the selection and the opera
], tho board. Tho member Of the
Tho advised this course was In
! sissking or permitting n premium
|ls}yen for taking the land from
! f.
(g5non Sense Methods Ignored.
= er imposition which, while not
|la lon OF law, was a violation Of
gtal oath and IN utter disregard
mon sense business methods is
Eisner In which selections Of graz
|sr1s have been allowed. Tho
Hieprehensible as it is, has been
|sR nerally pursued, is to allow ap-
to make shoe string selections
ater courses, Stockmen have
F"spwed to make n string Of selec-
lily eighty rods wide so as to
bO[e creeks. The result was that
|ns land is rendered absolutely
.,ss to others while the owners
ofacts along the creeks can use
Acent tracts on which they hold
,.foly by reason Of their water
rsp.
81 p way large tracts havo been
f. 4 worthless to others by small
|rs mt on the part Of the bene-
|e sof the pernicious system that
Fs'Sv My been allowed but seemingly
|.Ie ed. This system has never
|sk wed, either by railroads or in
3 owning large tracts, and it
r., tredible that men OF any degree
would permit such
|rN p be committed against the
~ terpreting Official Oath.
M Snrd certainly, said the inform