Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1910-01-12
WANTS SCHOOL
LAND RETURNED
|ENATOR BORAH WANTS SCHOOL.
LAND IN FOREST RESERVES
FOR STATE.
repares Brief ON Question For Sab
mission to Department.

WASHINGTON. D. c.. Jan. Ia
re state school land sections which
Ave been included within national
brests subject to selection by the
ate. If the states governor shall
ave fled application for survey
efore the lands were placed within
he forests?
Upon this legal problem some big
bgal brains are at work just now.
18th special references to the status
/ the Idaho lands; and Senator Bor-
h is attempting to develop such
REF as win prove to the satisfac-
on OF the government that the sec
etary of the interior erred in his
ecent rulings.
The legal principles involved in
apply equally to Washington and
oregon, as to Idaho.
In the act admitting Idaho to the
mon, sections 16 and SO were given
the state as school lands. When
he national forests were created,
900, 900 acres of these lands went
nto the forests.
The superstition was that this in
lusion within the national forests
would not AFFECT the title Of the state
o the lands; but apparently the SUI
preme court and the interior depart
nent had decided that title to these
6 and SO sections did not vest in
he state prior to their having been
Iurveyed.
Surveys Not Actually Made.
Therefore, when the surveys had
hot been made prior to the inclusion
Df the lands within the national for
ests, they remained as part of the
national forests, and the state was
compelled to select other lands in
leu of those originally granted.
In selecting these lieu lands 1t was
found that much if not most of the
valuable lands had been taken al
ready, and 1t was difficult to find
lands of value equal to those which
the state would have had, had it re
tained the original selections grant
ed it by the federal government. Al
Immense area of the lands which
would have been available was founC
to have been scripp-d by the rail
road companies, chapter in the his
tory of the federal land business
which in itself would supply the tex
of an eloquent treatise on land evils
Survey Applied For.
Governor Gooding May 10, 1906
filed application with the interior de
partment for the survey of certain
sections with a view to selecting ther
for the state to make up for the los
to the state for the school section
which had been included within ma
tional forests.
But on May 20, 1905, Presiden
Roosevelt created another nations
forest, and in that forest he include
the very lands for the survey c
which Governor GoOding had mad
application. The national forest /
question was created rather rapid!
just before the power Of the pres
dent to create new national forest
in the northwest was taken ava
from him. There was no intentio
by him to include in it the LAND
Governor GoOding had desired su
veyed, but the new forest was crea
ed hurriedly and the lands were ne
ertheless included.
Law Governs Point.
The law governing these matte
was known as the act of August /
1894, and provided that the govern'
of a state might make application Il
survey of any lands he wanted to 8
lect, might deposit the money for Il
survey, and thereupon the FEEDER
government should proceed to su
yey, and the state should have Il
(Continued on Second PaKe.)