The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-24

There is no subject affecting the inter-
ests OF the timber men in mississippi now
more interesting or fraught with inn
portant consequences than that of the
disposition of the timber on the sixteenth
section lands.
Years ago, when this state was first
surveyed for settlement, every sixteenth
section was reserved from homestead and
set aside as the nucleus of a permanent
school fund for the state. 1t was pro-
vided that under no circumstances could
these lands be sold Under the system OF
, administration then adopted and since adj
hered to- these lands were placed under
the control of the county boards of SUI
pervisors, to be used in any legitimate
way for the raising of school moneys
with the one limitation that they were
not to be sold.
Throughout all the timber country the
policy was adopted of leasing these lands
on ninetynine year terms, the lessees
taking them with the object of removing
the timber. That was some tifty-iVe
years ago, when the yellow pine of this
section, especially in the interior, could
hardly be given away. The lands were
leased at $1.50 per acre or thereabouts
In many cases the lessees removed the
timber and many of the sections are now
as bald and bare as the prairies of Kan
sas In other cases the lessees refrained
!
trees were constantly enhancing in value
Recently the supreme court of Missis-
sippi rendered q decision with reference
to these lands and leases that threw con-
sternation into the camps of the lessees
and lessons alike. The rulings of the SUI
preme court were thus
The lease of sixteenth section lands
does not carry the right to remove the
timber.
Fallen timber, not being n part of the
soil, may be removed, but not by the
lessees, since the lease or the land does
not carry the title to loose personal
property lying thereon.
These rulings are to be reviewed by
the supreme court of the United States,
but in the meantime they stand for the
law of Mississippi.
They mean that wherever timber has
! been removed from sixteenth section
lands by the old lessees the lessees may
be compelled to pay for the same, and
already Writ Adams, the interchangeable
back tax collector and revenue agent of
the state. has had his agents around
gathering the data necessary to the COM
mencement of proceedings for recovery.
Those sixteenth section lands are to be
found in every township throughout the
i timbert belt, and the amount of money
/ involved is enormous to compute. The
extent or the recONerleS Will be limited
only by the ability of the revenue agent
to get at the records
Timber Is Being Sold
But another feature of the situation
has now come up for settlement In
many of the counties the boards of SUI
| pervisors, actuated by a desire to raise
as much revenue as possible for the
| schools of their counties. are making
sales of fallen timber on sixteenth section
| lands already under lease.
The lessees of these lands took them
! for the timber on them, and until this
| recent decision was rendered always sup
posed that the timber was theirs, to do
with as they pleased. But now they he
| hold this property being sold right under
| their noses. Natural ythey object.
They take the position that though
under the judicial decision the boards of
supervisors may have the right to sell
! this fallen timber the purchasers of the
same have no right to enter upon the
land to remove the timber without the
consent of the lessees. In other words
| they hold that the fallen timber cannot
be sold to anyone except ne lessees, fof
| that is what their argument amounts to.
This contention has brought on one