Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-10-18
REPORT or INTEREST
LAND COMMISSIONER GIVES AC-
COUNT OF STEPS TAKEN DUR
I'M HIS STEWARDSHIP.
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
From the CSpitoi City, the Various
State Institutions and From
Many Different Parts OF
tho Sunshine State.

Pierre.-In the biennial report just
filed with the governor, of Land Com
missioner F. F. Brinker a detailed his
tory is given Of the two years admins
tration, and some important recon
mendations are made. When taking
office two years g Mr.. Brinker found
much work before him. The people
had recently approved a constitutional
amendment providing for a law for
leasing state lands for farming pur-
poses, and agreement had been entered
into for the exchange of the state lands
in the forest reserve for a compact
body; congress had provided for the
opening of Mellette and Bennett coun-
ties, in which there IA $4,000 acres OF
school lands which had been allotted
to the Indians, Inc for which lieu
lands had to be selected in other
places; and last, there was no compre-
hensive law defining the duties of his
department.
Under his suggestion the school
land lease law was enacted, under
which these lands are not rented at a
oA2AAOll LII lolC " SlSA SouA1Iy (, Jul SoSA
tract is appraised and a rental fixed
according to value. The total rent
ais for the past year amounted to
$329,731.96, an increase of $52,79S.64,
in the face of ~unfavorable conditions
for agriculture. $4,000 of this came
from lands leased for farming. Mr..
Brinker states hat additional revenue
could be secured without injury to the
lands by a minimum rental of 50 per
acre, together with a bond or a half
payment in advance, and providing for
a 20-year lease, enabling the lessee to
put up permanent improvements in
stead of the present fve-year limit.
The department sold 19, 216.S3 acres
in 1911 at an everage of S52.0S, and
~22,450.4S acres in 1912 at S47.23, the
lower price in the latter year being
because of the large sale of rocky land
in Day and Marshall counties.
The great work of the department
was exchanging of the forest reserve
school lands for compact bodies of
lands in Custer county, in the Harvey
Peak reserve, and III Harding county,
In the Short Pine Hills reserve. There
is over 200, O0O,O 900 board feet of mer-
charitable lumber in the Harney Peak
tract, and the commissioner urges the
creation of a state department of for
estry to properly preserve it from fire
and pillage. This would cost much
less than the revenue.
The state has filed on 8 0,645.99 acres
in Mellette and 27,32S.O7 acres in Ben
n ~ o@,,~<3o,L ~ Snl1r.-{Ar, 1onI, CL-~
H. Bates, government allotting agent
on the Pine Ridge reservation says
that they are a quarter of a million
acres short of enough land for the In
dians OF that reservation; hence Mr..
Brinker feels that it is imperative to
make selections for the state in other
places, and to that end recently made
a long automobile tour through the
west part of the state inspecting avail
able lands. The same general condi-
tons obtain in the Rosebud, Standing
Rock and Cheyenne River reservations,
and the commissioner recommends
that the state be permitted to select
its lieu lands in n body rather than
being limited to two sections to a
township.
The permanent school fund amounts
to S9,O37, 1880, derived from the sale
of 1876, 096.76 acres. The sales of en-
dowment lands brings the fund under
the direction of this department up to
S1O,143,S31.23. OF this $3,916,S74 is
still out at 6 per cent on deferred pay
ments on lands, and the balance S.
226,s56.36, is loaned out, mostly at 5
per cent. Applications are on hand
for several hundred thousand dollars,
for which there are no funds. This
fund has had a decidedly beneficial eff
feet in keeping down the rate of in
terest within the state. $4.4S was APP
portioned from this interest for every
school child. This is the largest pro
rata ever, and also represents the larg-
est net gain.
Together with endowment funds for
educational and charitable institutions,
1862, $40 was collected as rental and in
terest, making a grand total of $7,574,-
901 since statehood. Some $2S, 2S6.1O
was granted in extension to renters
who were unable to meet their obliga-
tions owing to the short crop of last
year.
sarker's Sentence Cut.