The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-03-26
THE GOVERNOR TELLS
OF THE LAND DEALS

has failed to do so.
Upon assuming the Office of COVER
nor of New Mexico 1 found matters
relating to the public lands of New
Mexico in a very confused and uasat-
isfactory condition. 1 have used every
effort since that time to remedy that
condition and bring order out of cha
os. In such attempts 1 nave at times
been seriously Handicapped both by
/ the dilatory and undecided methods
pursued in the commissioners Office
and rendered in some degree neces-
| sary by the Territorial and Federal
laws. and latterly by the uldoubted
desire of certain men to hamper and
embarrass me in every move l have
undertaken for the settling and clear
ing up of these Territorial land mat
/ terS.
BY the act of June 21, 1898, about
million and a quarter acres of laid
were granted to the Territory for
educational institutions in addition to
sections 16 and Sc. which were grant
ed for school purposes. Some of these
lands could. under the act, be sold.
and some of them leased Only. A
clause in section 10 of the act provid-
ed that mot more than one section
of land shall be leased to any one
person, corporation or association of
than one quarter section of land shall
be sold to any one person, corporation
or association of persons" The law
provided that all these lands SHOULD
be selected by the governor, the sur
veyOr general, and the solicitor gen
eral, acting as a commission, known
as the United States Land Commits
| sion. 1t provides that all leases made
under the provisions of the act should
be subject to the approval of the
secretary of the interior, as well as
all investments made and securities
purchased with the proceeds of sales
FOR leases; also that it should be IN
lawful to cut, remove or appropriate
! timber growing on lands leased under
| the provisions of the act
These are the principal provisions
of the said act of congress which re-
strict the territorial government in
the administration of the lands. and
it may be said without much exag-
geratiOn that. since the act was pass
ed in 1898, the general course of legis-
lation in the territory and the trend
of the administration under such leg
islatiol has been toward the evasion
in one form or another of such Testric
tive provisions.
Various acts have been passed by
the territorial legislature relative to
the administration of these lands, the
main one being chapter IA of the laws
of 1899, chapter SO of the laws of
1901. chapter rs of the laws of 1908,
and chapter Ill of the laws of 1905.
All these laws are long and verbose
and much confusion has resulted both
in the minds of the territorial officials
who have attempted to enforce them,
and the people who have attempted
to act under them.
The first duty in connection with
the act of 1898 was the duty of the
United States land commission to Sc
lect the lands. and naturally it was
supposed that the lands selected would
be CHOSEN for the purpose of obtain
ing for the institutions, for the sup
port of which they were granted, the
largest amount of income possible.
1t is generally known that such was
not, in all Instances, by any means
the case. The selection of lands in
the valley of the Pecos and other
places, which are now of high value
was urgently recommended. and the
recommendation not acted upon. Par
TALLY was shown in the selections
and large areas of land, sparsely wa
tered and very inferior even for graz
ing purposes, were selected upon the
recommendation of people who desir-
ed to control the land when purchased
for purely speculative purposes. No
attention whatever was paid in many
instances, in the selections made, to
the restrictive provisions of the act
of congress as to the selling and leas-
ing, that is to say, that land was not
tnen selected and has not been since
with view of selling it in 16O acre
tracts or leasing it in $40 acre tracts.
1t was not contemplated that these
nnYrld ho m in
country. or that If they could be en-
forced that they would be enforced;
that such was the point of view of
some members of the territorial gov
ernment at least is evidenced by the
fact that on May 13, 1901, an option
to purchase "all the timber lands be-
longing to the territory in northern
AID central New Mexico. was given
to one man named Edmund ]. Burke
and said option spread upon the min
utes of the board of public lands. A
draft of five thousand dollars was de-
posted as a bonus, in this arrange
ment, either at the time the option
was made or sixty days later when IT
was renewed How this sale was to
be consummated if the option had
been taken up, does not appear, but
1t seems that the intention was that
through certain influential men from
outside the territory, who were inter
ested in the matter a law should be
put through the congress of the Unit
ed States enabling a consummat1on
of the sale-for the benefit of the ter
ritory. This arrangement was not
consummated, although various appli-
cants who applied for timber lands
already selected or to be selected
were put OF pending the life of the
option. Previous to this, namely Au-
gust 5, 1899. the board of public lands
of which the present commissioner
was a member, instructed the locating
agent of the board to proceed to the
Sacramento mountains and locate for
the purpose of selection by the board.
a large area of timber lands the locat-
ing agent being instructed to make
such selections in accordance VITA
the desires Of the engineer OF the par
ties who were to purchase and who
later did purchase the land
!, 4>k