Bisbee daily review., 1912-05-21
SEEKS 10
 SAVE SCHOOL LANDS
Senator Introduces Bill in Interest of Property
 in Arizona

The following is taken from the Congressional Recoro or May 12,l telling of the introduction in the senate of a bill of much interest to Arizona:
 Mir. Ashurst. I introduce a bill to further assure title to sections l6 and 36, heretofore reserved to sew eral states in aid of the public schools l ask to have 1t read at the desk. It is a short bill
 The bill (S. 67S6) to further as-
 sure title to sections 16 and 36, heretofore reserved to several states in aid of the public schools, was
 read the first time by it's title and
 the second time at length, as fol- lows: Be it enacted. etc. That all lands
 heretofore by any act of congress for the purpose of being applied in aid of public schools in the terri tories, and states and territories erected out of the same, which were
 public lands and were free from any valid adverse claims initiated prior
 to the date of the approval of any act of congress, so reserVing such lands in aid of public schools, shall belong to the particular state in which such lands are situated and shall be applied in aid of the public schools within such state, and all such lands, whether surveyed or unsuryeyed. so reserved, within na- tional forests now existing or pro claimed shall be administered as the said national forests; but at the close of each fiscal year there shall be paid by the secretary of the treasury of the United States to such state, as income for it's common-school fund, such propor- | tion of the gross proceeds of all the national forests within such state as the area of such lands hereto fore reserved within such state for school purposes may bear to the to. l tai area of said national forest. Mir. Ashurst MT President, I de sire to make a brief explanation as | to the purpose of the bill which l have just introduced.
 In the year 1878 the congress of : the United States section 1S46, re- yised statutes of the United States reserved in Arizona and all the other territories all of sections 16 and 36 of the public lands, with the | view that when the territories were i erected into states such sections 16 and 36 should be applied for the benefit of the public schools.
 ! Some years ago the then secre- ! tary of the interior, in my judg- tment without warrant Of law. be- gan to dispose of and administer i the unserveyed sections Is and 36 that were lying within forest re serves or national forests as part
 and parcel of the forest reserves
 or national forests instead of treat
 ing them as school lands, thus de- priving the state Of Arizona, or rath-
 CT the common-school system of the state of Arizona of the income, issues, rent, profit, and use of these particular school sections. At that time I happened to be the district attorney of CocoHino county, one
 of the counties or Arizona, within
 which are situated large number
 of these unsurveyed sections 16 and 36, and I prepared an opinion where in, after careful investigation of the law upon the subject, I held
 that sections 16 and 3G, whether
 surveyed or unsurveyed, could not legally be used or treated by the for. est service or uy the department of the interior for any purpose, bs
 cause they were reserved by COZ gross for the common schools
 am exceedingly anxious to see 10 it that the identical sections 1s
 and 36 as were reserved in 1878
 shall not be lost to the common schools in Arizona, for at this time
 nearly one-half of. all Arizona is | included within sonic kind of q re
 serve, and if these sections 16 and
 36, or any of theHt be lost selec-
 tions of land equally as valuable as
 lands that were granted in 1878 will | be difficult.