The state herald., 1907-06-14
Switched Land Values.

Talued at $50 per acre in place of some
applied for at $3.50 per acre, has been
discovered In the office of the State
Land Board, and when reported in due
time by Register John F. Vivian to the
board, will undoubtedly be rigid in.
yestlgation. By singular coincidence
the juggling of this land occurred i'm
nediately prior to the deals involving
Frank Gyllensten and j. NJ. Blee,
which were ordered investigated b.
The board and the sales Cancelled.
The present discovery, however.
shows deliberate switching of sew
sral pieces of land on an application
liled by George NJ. Davis Of Center,
Colorado, under the date of November
l5, 1904. The application originally
called for the purchase of the south
east quarter of section SO. township
10 north, range east, school land;
also northwest quarter of section II,
north township 40, range east, in
ternal improvement land, described as
grazing land for $3.50 an acre.
When the application came before
The board the land had been properly
appraised and was ordered sold at
1880 per acre, that being good price
for It..
But after the application had been
passed upon upon fayorably, the origi-
nal description was crossed out by pen
and ink and the following substituted:
Southeast quarter of the northwest
quarter section s, township 40 north,
range S east. The latter land, COM
prlsing about AIS acres, was easily
worth $50 an acre. as 1t lies near Cen
ter. Rio Grande county, in the grain
belt, while the original land for which
1t was substituted, lies further south
east in the same county.
The substitution as shown in the ap-
plication on file in the land office was
apparently written in the same hand
writing as the original application. No
record of the valuable land ever hay-
ing been applied for appears on the
records, and the only reference to it
Is in the minutes of the meeting of
November %, 1904. which contain the
description and have the following no.
tation:
at appearing that no good reason
existed why these lands should not
be sold, II was moved and seconded
and carried that the application be ad-
yertised and the lands sold for $3.50
an acre"
About one year later. November s.,
1905, the following record appears:
"The register reported that in com
pliance with the order of this board and
after due advertisement lin the Monte
Vista journal and Denver News), he
had offered for sale on November 4,
The southeast quarter and northeast
Of section s, also the northwest quar-
ter OF section S. township 40 north.
and range s east; that Geogre NJ.
Davis was the highest and only bidder
at $3.50 an acre. and that the land was
accordingly sold 10 him"
There Is on the files OF the land
board a record of the transfer OF the
land In question to James l., Hurt by
George NJ, Davis. after the alleged sale
had been cousummated Hurt had
been leasing It at 75 cents per acre at
the time II was switched onto Davis
application.
II Is likely that the land board viii
Investigated the entire transaction and
hll fholA WIN H' W i'''f'A l'N7
session OF the land, although Register
Vivian did not care to discuss the mat
ter In detail, lie said that the state
had probably lost 10000 through the
manipulation OF this valuable land and
is unable TO account for the apparent
boldnecs Of the substitution. The i'm.
proyements on the substituted land
were placed at sl.S75. but when II was
appraised April 20. 1908. by Thomas
a. Curry for the land board, the i'm
proyements were placed at $500. 50
there is quite large discrepancy here
also.
At the time the land went TO Davis
an application for renewal OF his lease
was on file by Hurt The latter failed
TO get the lease. hut afterwards took
the land from Davis by purchase, II
is believed there Is now some litigation
on between these parties and that
IL what led TO the exposure of the sub
stitution.