The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1907-05-03
rae FARRIS Bill.

| Duyal, entitled IAN Act 10 speedily
settle and determine the trust imposed
upon the trustees of the Internal I'M
provement Fund, and TO finally dis
I charge such trustees, is a wise meas
ure, calcula ted TO dispose Of the entire
controversy now pending, and to do 50
1 in the courts of Florida, and not in the
Federal courts. to which the railroad
! land grant claimants have resOrted
| tor relief.
A judicial determination of all of the
vexed questions which for the past
few years have caused 80 much cOntro-
yersy and litigation, accompanied by
enormous expense, seems to be a solu-
ton of the situati on most earnestly to
be desired, not only by the people of
the state whose substance Is in great
danger Of useless waste, but by the
trustees, whose efforts to administer
the fund according to their interpreta-
ton of the terms of the law have met
with constant and determined opposi-
ton.
The trustees began the controversy
by solemnly declaring that the several
legislative grants Of land belonging to
the fund to railroad and canal compan-
les for the purpose Of aiding in the
construction Of transportation lines
were imperative and void, by refusing
10 OOey the legislative requirement
that they should perfect the grants by
conveyances of the lands granted, and
by announcing their purpose to Save
the lands for the people," And this,
in the face of the fact that such pur-
poses had been declared by the Su-
preme Court Of the state and the Unit
ed States to be proper and legitimate
purposes for the execution Of their trust,
under the terms of the law creating it.
They then proceeded, by means of
forced sales at sacrifice prices, to turn
the lands they proposed to save" into
money for the purpose of expanding
the money in a wild and impossible
scheme for the drainage of lands inn
possible to reclaim without untold mil
lions of expenditure, and which we're
not likely to be needed for purposes of
and settlement for several
generations yet unborn.
This action on the part of the trus-
tees naturally caused the claimants of
lands under the Legislative grants to
take steps for the protection and ELI
forcement Of their rights, and they
went into the Federal courts, seeking
TO restrain the trustees from wasting .
the lands and their proceeds until the
rights Of all parties in interest could be
judicially determined Large sums
Of money, the proceeds of sales, are
now tied up, and the litigation is still
pending, and likely to cause much adj
ditional expense and delay before it can
be ended and the rights of the respec-
tive parties in interest finally settled.
Thus, it will be seen, the prime pur-
pose of the Farris bill is to secure, with
~ little delay as possible, from the
home courts, final adjudication of the
several vexed questions involved, viz:
First, as 10 the validity Of the several
legislative land grants.
Second, as 10 the existence of any
rust resting upon the fund to which
The land grants, or any Of them, were
made subject.
Third, as to which Of the land grants,
{ any, are entitled to priority of sat
sfactiOn; and
Fourth, as TO the legal and proper
disposition of the remnant of lands and
money remaining in the fund
For the suggestion of this simple and
effective method of forever and speedi-
y disposing of all this trouble involving
the l. ]. Fund the people of Florida are
indebted to the wisdom and foresight
Of their chief law officer, Attorney
General Ellis; and should his suggestion
be adopted by the enactment of this
bill into law, the interests of the peo-
pie would remain, very properly in his
hands as their chosen legal represen-
tative.
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Every Floridian should feel Inundated
that up to this date not a single step
that this newspaper is aware Of. and
The Legislature is now better than half
gone, has not been taken to correct one
Of the greatest public wrongs that was
ever put upon the fair name of this
State. The failure or refusal to come
TO an honorable settlement or compro-