The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-03-12
DEALING WITH SCHOOL LANDS.

We have received n copy of the West
Jersey Press, with marked article.
the sender suggesting that il is "a good
text for an editorial on the way school,
capital, and university lands have been
| frittcrcd away in Utah And so it is.
The article rccites the excellent man
agcmcnt by Minnesota of her school
land grants, the school fund now IN
hand in that State from this source
amounting at this time to S2l 100000,
with 100000 acres Of school lands as
vet undisposed of; some 10000 acres Of
this being mineral lands, which the
State Auditor of that State estimates
will yield S250,o0o000 to the State in
the next fifty wears. Of which the school
fund will receive $17 100000 and the
university fund $4,000 900, the balance
going into the swamp land fund, the
income from this going In equal parts
TO the school fund and the fund Tor
the maintenance of State institutions.
An enormous endowment, truly. demon
strating the honesty and wisdom which
has guided the State officials of Min
nesota from the first in this matter.
Through this far.secing and honorable
management the school system Of Min.
nesota will eventually have an endow-
ment compared with which all The great
private gifts TO universities will be
pauperlike.
The New Jersey paper compares this
magnificent supervision of Minnesota
with tho sQuanderinG of like gifts of
school lands from the Nation TO Michi-
gan, Wisconsin and Iowa, all OF which
might now be as well off as is Mime
sofa but for wastefulness and dishon-
osiy in handling the school lands. II
compares, also, unfavorably, the short
sighted policy of New Jersey with re-
spect to its riparian lands, which were
much more valuable than the school
lands OF Minnesota; but some Of the
most valuable rights were frittered
away, either by direct grants or by
leases in perpetuity. The sale of these
lands "now worth hundreds of mil
State Treasury only some $6,250000, -
The case of New jersey and of the
other unfortunate States whose former
mismanagcment leaves them now to
mourn and envy the riches Of the Min
ncsota IS school fund, is exactly the case
of Utah. Here, too, VIC had magnifi-
cent grants for public schools and high
er institutions Of learning, The uniyer
sity may yet realize heavily on It's salt
land grants. but the common schools
have been shamefully impoverished
The lands granted for common school
purposes in this State were extremely
liberal, four sections in each township.
At the time when Utah was admitted
as a State, much of this land was ex
trcmely valuable, and it should have
been disposed of at its true value, not
at mere fraction. The occupants of
such lands had received very decided
benefits by way Of escape from taxa
tion for great many years, and while
having lust claim for their improve.
ments. it is doubtful If on the average
these would amount to as much as the
total of the taxes they escaped. The
outcome of the whole matter is that
Utah is IN the class of States that have
frittered away q magnificent common
school endowment, to Subserve personal
interests, and that the public has been
deprived of an enormously rich hcri.
tage TO minister TO personal greed 1t
is a burning shame but we can sec no
help for il now.