The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-15

oA tHeSe landS Tn all parts or the state.
 First Serious Consideration
 This is the first time in the history of the state that this important ques- tion has received the consideration that it deserves.
 ''The sixteenth section lands were granted to the state of Alabama by the united States by an act of Congress approved March 3. 1S19 Paragraph ] of section of said act provides as follows:
 That the section numbered Is in every township and when such section has been sold, granted or disposed of other lands equivalent thereto and most contiguous to the same shall be granted to the inhabitants of such township for the use of schools "On March ?, 1927, eight years sub sequent to the original grant of these lands, Congress enacted a law relative to their sale, which provides as fol- lows:
 Section l. That the legislature of the state of Alabama shall be, and is hereby authorized to sell and convey in fee simple all or any part of tho lands heretofore reserved and appro- priated by Congress for the use of schools within said state and to invest the money arising from the safe there of in some productive fund. the pro- ceeds of which shall be forever ap- piled, under the direction of said leg islature, for the use and support of schools within the several townships and districts of county for which they were originally reserved and set apart and for no other purpose whatsoever; provided said land, or any part there . of, shall in no case be sold without the consent of the inhabitants of such townships or districts to be obtained in such manner as the legislature shall by law direct and, provided also that in the apportonment of the proceeds of said fund each township and dis trict aforesaid shall be entitled tc such part thereof and no more as shall have accrued from the sum or sums of money arising from the sale of school bonds belonging to such township or district.
 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted that if the proceeds arising 10 the township or distric. from sad fund shall be insufficient for the support of schools therein 1t shall be lawful for said legislature to invest the same as hereinbefore directed until the whole proceeds of the fund belonging to such township or district shall be adequate to the permanent maintenance and support of schools within the same
 Alabama Enacted Law
 "In accordance with this act of Con- gress the legislature of Alabama en- acted a law on January 2S. 1928, pro- viding for the sale Of these lands and all subsequent legislation on dis sub ject has been modification of this law of 1928.
 Both Of these acts of Congress and the act of the legislature were ap- proved prior to the establishnent- of a system of public education in Ala bama
 When the sixteenth section lands were sold, under the act of 1928. and subsequent acts. the proceeds of said sales were paid into the state treasury and upon the amounts so paid in the state pays per cent interest to the school fund of the respective town ships.
 Alabama has an area of 51,54O square miles of land.
 Tn the original grant of Congress in 1919, 136 of this area. or 1431 2-3 of land, was granted to the state for school purposes.
 Now Owns 2S4,324 Acres
 "Of this original grant, the state now owns 262,969 acres of sixteenth section lands and 21,355 acres of ineemnity lands, granted in lieu of sixteenth sec ton lands, making a total acreage of 2S4,324 now owned by the state less than one-third of the original grant
 This makes 631,o42 acres that have been sold or disposed of in some method, many of the sales being illegal.
 For the sale of these sixteenth sec tions to June 1, 1912, the state has received S2.012,071.20, which consti- tutes the sixteenth section fusd and for which the faith and credi- of the state are obligated 10 pay 6 per cent interest, a little over $120,00o, to the school fund annually.
 ''Tens of thousands of acres of the lands were heavily timbered and thous-- ands of acres contained fine mineral de- rosits, and the foregoing figures make poor exhibit for the original magnificent grant of the United States to the State of Alabama: and with adequate laws for their protection and prosecution, these lands would be worth millions of dollars today.
 Such laws were never enacted by the legislature. In fact, great negligence, earelessness and recklessness have char acterized the sale, management and su- pervision of the sixteenth section lands.
 Millions of dollars worth of timber,