The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-02-28
ADVERTISE ALL LAND SALES
Fight on 10 House Against KCoy
Bill For Publicity
Mr.. ROSS LAUGHS 1T THE SCHEME
BUT THEN THE LAND COMMITS.
SIONER is REALLY NOT TO BE
CONSIDERED.
Mr.. ROSS LAUGHS At THE SCHEME

OLYMPIA, Washington, Feb. 2S.-
State Land Commissioner E. w. Ross
is making a desperate fight be-
before the house committee On state
granted school and tide lands to pre-
vent the endorsement of the Mccoy
bill providing for wider publicity in
handling state lands. The bin pro-
vdes that the state land commission
er shall have fixed days in each month
in the advertising and scarcely any one
oueside applicant knows the land is to
be sold When the sale is held the
applicant bids the appraised valuation
through the various county auditors.
Provision is made for the publication
of circulars descriptive Of lands offer
ed for sale, which shall be exhibited
| in the offices of the county auditors,
| and which shall be given to all appl-
cants for information. Any persons
desiring to do so may become subscrib-
ers to these bulletins, which are to be
issued monthly
Ample Information.
Through this method of publicity it
is believed that all possible invest
ors would be kept posted on the state
lands that are offered for sale, and as
description of the land, coupled
with the states cruise would have
to be given, any bidder would be as
well informed as the big buyers who
send out their own for a private
cruise.
1t is a fact that at present the bid
ding for state lands is largely per-
functory. There is no real publicity
! and the auditor is compelled to sell it
to him.
When McCoy's bill was brought up
before the committee Ross made an
effort to prevent its endorsement. He
declared that it would require three
months time and would cause unlimit-
ed confusion in his office if he were
compelled to follow the provision of
the bill. Mccoy insisted that the
burden upon the land commissioners
office would be slight and the benefits
to the people of the state would far
more than offset the little additional
expense involved.
Ross insisted that the state was
now getting prices for it's state
lands and ridiculed the theory that
publicity would bring greater compe-
titiOn.
Nothing Doing.
The session of the Ross investiga-
tion committee today was unimpOrt-
ant. G. w. Rowan of Castle Rock,
declared he had been told by Ernest
Achan of st. Helens that John Rob.
bins and sons had been sold sec
ton of clear timber land worth
$4,000 at $45. Rowan declared that
Aschan had been all over the land
and knew the timber. He added that
Robbins could raft the shingle poles
down the Toutle to the Cowlitz, and
thence to their single mill without
any difficulty.
Rowan declared it to be current ru-
NOR in Cowlitz county that Ross COM
pany. the Silver Lake Logging Rail-
way and Timber company. had eth
err purchased outright or through
some other parties state timber land
at favorable prices, but he could not
give the committee any details.
F. B. Barnes. secretary of the Ross
Timber company, declared that neither
he nor his company had purchased
state timber lands since Ross wen,
into the land commissioners office and
that Ross stock holdings had not
increased since that time.
A. J. Blethen, publisher of the Seat
tie Times. was called to tell what he
knew of the facts On which articles
in his paper were based. Colonel
Blethen could give the committee lit
tie first hand information.