The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-11-11
SCHOOL LAND
FUNDS JUGGLED
NO MORE INDESCRIMIN-
ATE APPORTIONMENT
OF INTEREST.
Law is Money Shall be Used On
ly tor Benefit of Congress
sional Township.

Indianapolis, Nov. 9.-Ther
is to be no more indiscriminate
apportioning OF interest derived
from money obtained from the
sale of congressional school
lands, according to Robert ].
Alley, state superintendent OF
public instruction, who is count
ing largely on the operations OF
The new public accounting law to
assist him in enforcing the law
covering this question That the
system of apportionment is rath7
er loose and not according to
law in a very large per cent OF
the counties has been disclosed
20 the state superintendent by
he annual reports from the cOun-
ey superintendent OF schools,
which are now being received.
The congressional school
funds are derived from the sale
OF lands originally set apart by
ngress for public school pur-
poses. In each congressional
township of 32 square miles, one
section, mile square, was des-
ignated school section, and by
an act of congress, all revenues
derived in any way from the land
in the future shall be reserved fol
common school purposes. The
same act of congress requires
that the revenues shall be appor-
toned for only that part OF terri
tory bounded by the six-mile
lines OF the congressional town
ship in which it is situated.
Failed to Observe Act.
Up to 1895, the county audi
tors failed to- observe the act OF
congress and the revenues deriv-
ed from the lands were placed in
the general school fund and APP
portioned irrespective of the con-
gressional township boundary
lines. At that time a law was en-
acted by the legislature requiring
that the auditor in each county
establish separate account for
all congressional funds in which
his county shared, and to retain
these funds intact, apportioning
them according to the congress
sional provision.
Subsequent cases decided by
the supreme court have upheld
he statute, but the auditors have
Jf late years, lapsed into the for
mer method of disbursing the
-evenueS generally throughout
their respective counties, some OF
them because they were unac-
quainted with the law and were
merely following the, methods
adopted by a predecessor, and
some OF them, it is believed, be-
cause they found, it easier not to
meet the requirements of the
law. The question came up in
recent meeting OF the auditors
OF the state, when it was disclos-
ed that an undesirable condition
existed concerning this question,
and an effort was made to have
the officials set right on the mat
ter.
Some, when they returned
home and began to examine
heir records, discovered that
the accounts had either been
badly handled, or had been de-
stroyed presenting difficult ques-
tions in the matter of establish
ing proper accounts as required
by the act of 1865. The auditor
OF Clay county found that all
records OF the sale of congress
sional township lands had been
destroyed by fire in the fiftics
and that he had on means of as
pertaining what moneks right
fully belonged to the congress
sional townships in his county.
He made an examination in
this city, but failed to find any
data by which he could make
correct apportionment, since the
congressional revenues had long
since been merged in the COM
mon school fund I'm such a case.
and 1t IS not yet known how
mary similar ones exist. it will
be necessary to establ I'll IN ar
bi'rarv cnportionment as far a
can be made from which to make
the separate accounts.
From Other Source:
TIE conn ION school fnDo de-
i.ved from ne state a.l from
ether sources applied &c leraily
10 the county is appor.;one, 10
;he civil 'p.,nships on tie ba>l,
II the school, enumerati 1. hence
out OF the fund the cities iare
better than the country. square
mile for square mile. Since the
auditors have thrown the congress
sional revenue into this fund and
have apportioned it on the sam,
basis, the cities and towns nave
benefited from the distribution