The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1908-04-19
SPEECH OF SPEAKER MURRAY
ON SALE OF SCHOOL LANDS

The following boo the speech of Hon.
Wm lI Murray on the sale OF the
school lands House HIl SD. l51
~ want to .ay Mr. Speaker and
gentlemen of the House, that 40 man
is more thoroughly convinced of the
necessity of selling these school Lands
than am. but this bin cannot be-
amended from the floor TO suit my
opinion don't know how YOU feel
about it. but am going to cover brief
ly the Gfcr nj proposit ON, aud
wan. to say 20 YOU that after all, it is
the detail that effects the citizen. Hell
would be a good country & it were
not for the details-the fire. pitch.
forks. etc.
Now, want to So. that | am op.
posed TO the supcrnumerary number
Of parks admit with the gentleman
from Comanche that It is unconstitu-
tional the way it. is drawn It can be
made constitutional by the state max
ing the purchase and paying to the
3 hool land funds out of the other rev
cnuc OF the state. a sufficient amount
TO reimburse the school land funds for
the park lands without that, you can
not divert these lands from the school
funds to pleasure resort. believe
in a pleasure resort. but one In each
county Is too many, In my judgment.
| want To say again. ! am opposed
to provision thar would provide now
for the sale of lands as pasture or
grazing lands, because, when you
open II up to pastures the appraisers
viii make pasture lands out Of agri.
cultural lands that good farms could
be made of and homes established.
Il am also opposed to the provision
that would admit OF whole section
Of land being sold to any one man
am opposed to that bill again
where 1t does not prescribe that the
lands now uuoccupied to be sold
wherein it does not require actual
settler upon the land when they buy
It, The argument made for the
sale of these lands in my section was
HOME OWNERSHIP
First. would sell the lands rum
ming through period OF ten years.
beginning two years after the pas
sage OF this act In order to enable
the board of appraisers under the
law to make the appraisals. | would
first sell thereafter within the next
two years, all the available agricul.
tural land that could be sold of on
lands for public building or
building purposes. would ap'
praise the land with reference
to whether 1t is grazing land
settle upon quarter section of that
land, and there were enough on that
quarter section TO give him a farm,
let HIM appraise and when they get
through taking quarter sections, they
will have appraised IL themselves
without the necessity of the depart
mcut. In the meantime the land sur
rounding them supposed To be graz
ing lands let them be leased annually
for grazing purposes to the surround
quarter is left the next year a u m
may come along during the term of
that lease, settle upon the quarter
and begin 10 establish him home.
at the end of that annual lease peri.
cd. Put in your bill provision that
at the end of a ten years period, all
lands occupied may then be sold for
grazing purposes MARK what tell
YOU, there will be but few sections
left as grazing land. You will have on
every section home established in
Oklahoma. Go to the Panhandle of
Texas, as big as all out doors. and
cross the line into Oklahoma where
there is almost a settler upon every
quarter section of Oklahoma, while
in Texas it is four to ten miles to
the nearest house by reason of the
policy Of the state OF Texas in sell
ing their school lands in too large
bodies.
Now, that Of course would interfere
with the stock men; mean the cattle
men 1t does not interfere with stock
raising and II you have the homes,
encourage the citizen TO purchase bet
/ ter stock, | undertake. to say that five
/ head OF blooded stock 10 every farm
/ in this state would be- worth more
/ than the thousands OF 'dobies' upon
the plains, and in the pastures now
rented out by the stock men know
that that element will not like this
. provision. hut Oklahoma has not de