The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1909-04-30
AGNES JUST REID.
THE STATE TO GET ALL OF IT'S
LANDS.
Special Grants and School Lands that
Have Been Lost to Forest Re- :.
serves to be Recovered.

i sF p
Idaho is in a fair way to soon Sc
cure all or at least the greater par
of her special and indemnity grant
lands due from the federal govern
ment, says the Gooding Leader.
/ The last legislature passed a bill
appropriating $4,000 for the sur
vey OF the federal lands in the state
lands that have as yet not been sur
veyed by the general government
The government will eventually
pay for the survey, but by advance
ing the money now to pay for the
survey the state can have perpet-
ual 60 day right to make it's selec-
tions for its grant lands due from
the government. When the govern
ment has the survey made, stetlers
have the first chance, and the state
rights are secondary; If the state
makes the survey, it has the first
chance so days head OF the settlers.
Counting all the school lands in
the present reserves of Idaho, the
state Is several hundred thousand
acres behind. This condition was
forced on the state without it's Volt
ton; and until very recently it was
impossible to get settlement, OF
an order for lieu selections to be
made. Sections s and SO, all through
the forest reserves that cover forty
per cent OF the state, are involved
in this indemnity or lieu land settle
ment, a princely area that the state
EoI In fS,f - 1resr ~
serves at one time.
While some Of the land belongs
to the state, and now embraced in the
forest reserves, is of little value,
there are vast areas that are of the
best there is in the state. Magnifi-
cent forests, rich mineral lands, fer
tile valleys suitable for agriculture
and for home making, are embraced
in this domain. The unsurveyed, un-I
appropriated lands yet in Idaho do
not offer as good land, taking the
whole acreage. But since the state
can not hold these surveyed sections
in the forest reserves, and can get
no revenues for them even If 1t did
maintain its title, lieu lands are to
be selected as rapidly as possible, to
put the state resources on safe,
sound revenue producing basis,
State Land Commissioner George
Day, who has been doing some quite
effective work for the
state, has selected about 80, 900 acres
for the state since the first of the
year. He will be on hand to make
his 60-day priority selections from
about 200, 900 acres of lands mostly
in Bingham and Bannock counties,
which will be surveyed under the new
state appropriation. No bona fide
'squatter" or possessory right set
tier now actually on these lands, will
be disturbed by the state selectors;
It will be the state policy to encour-
age settlers to this extent. New
'sooners" who may rush in imme-
dately on the application of the state
or a survey, will receive little con-
but the settler who has
rome in early to make home will
10 respected in his rights.
AS instancing the great and BUSH
less-like growth of the state land
BOARD, the school lands are being
eased so rapidly that whereas fourj
ears ago they paid almost nothing
d the way of revenues for leases,
hey now pay close to $40, 900.
fuch Of this land has been used be-
ore, but before the present system-
ling OF the land board business 1t
yas impossible to make them pay a