The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1909-06-18
INDEMNITY LANDS TO Be SOLD
WHEN VALUES ASCERTA|NED

Guthrie. June 17.-That the indem
nifty and public building lands will be
sold by the school land commission
ers as soon as the value on the lands
and their improvements can be sat
isfactorily adjusted was announced
by Governor Haskell last night to a
committee of school land lessees who
had apr ared before the board The
committee representing the lessees
were j. Il. Tlash, Hobart; c. H. Hyde,
Alva; w. VI. Anderson. Waurika: I.
S Paris, jefferson; w NJ. Draper,
Geary; II. C. Scott. Bramen; A. p.
Stuard, Kremlin; L. d. Brownlee.
Kingfisher.
This committee had appeared be.
fore the board for the purpose of
working out plan for the correction
of appraisements on both lands ana
improvements. The lessees admitted
that the appraisement on most of the
lands for the purpose of sale was ap-
proXimately correct but that for the
purpose of farming that much of it
was too high, and cited many IN.
stances where rentals on school land
would be from s400 to So 200 per
quarter on land that was to say the
least only ordinary land. but that 1t
had high commercial value on ac-
count of il being close to some town.
The presentation made by the les
sees showed conclusively that an ag-
ricultural value should be placed
upon the school lands for the pi:.
pose OF collecting rentals thereon
The lessees of the state have com.
planned bitterly of the value fixed up
on their improvements by the ap.
praisers and the board of commits
sioners announced that the following
plan would be adopted to review the
appraisements and to give equal jls
tice to both the lessees and tne
state.
Each lessee who feels aggrieved
over the appraisement OF either lonu
or improvements will be required 20
make out a schedule corroborated by
two neighbors and send TO the board.
The board will then appoint au ad-
justor for each county who does MT
reside in the county, also two good
men, one a democrat and one republi-
can, who live in the county These
three will sit as board of arDRra-
tion and decide between the lessee
and the state on all differences OF ap-
praisement. The finding OF this
board is subject TO review by the
board of commissioners on either the
application of the lessee or the state.
This method for reviewing the ap-
praisement is perfectly satisfactory
to the lessees so their committee an.
nounced, II is also absolutely fair to
the state and school land fund
The question as to what constitut-
ed improvements on school land has
been vexed one, and some have
maintained that wells, breaking, tame
grasses and even orchards were
not improvements upon which the
lessee could be given credit. This
was working serious hardship up
on the lessee OF the state, who in
good faith had placed these improve
ments upon the land, and the omit.
ting of them from the schedule was
not benefiting the state, because N
case OF sale the purchaser OF the land
instead Of the state would be bene-
fitted by the low price placer dpon
the improvements.
The board decided that all OF these
things constituted improvements and
that in case OF sale, the lessee
should be paid for the same.
The following schedule of appra's-
ing the improvements was fixed by
lhe board:
For placing prairie land t. n
thorough state of cultivation. from
two TO four collars per acrt ,
For placing grub or stony land in
a thorough state OF cultivation. the
maximum price to be twenty dollars
per acre.