Arizona republican., 1912-04-12
(Bv Reese Lingl

NBN Reese IlHS-l
 In the consideration of house bill No. 9. being an act for the purpose of fixing compensation to be allowed for improvements made or acquired upon leased school lands. and for the appraisement of such lands and the
 sale thereof. which is now undergoing careful consideration by the house. having been reported unanimously by
 the committee on public lands with
 the recommendation that it do pass.
 there seems to be a woeful lack of
 knowledge on the part of the various members of the legislature regarding the status of school lands held under lease.
 In the enabling act, creating the territory of Arizona, sections six and thirty-six in each township were set
 aside to the territory and granted to it as school lands Upon the admis-
 sion of Arizona as a state, the title
 to these lands immediately vested in
 the state The lands were leased to
 various persons pursuant to Title 65
 of the Revised Statutes of Arizona of
 1901. Under this law the territory of
 Arizona agreed with the lessees ol
 school lands who placed improve
 ments thereon. that upon the cOm-
 ing in of Arizona as a state these lessees would be paid for their inn
 provements The law further provided
 that improvements" should be held to mean anything permanent in char acter the result of labor or capital expended on such lands in its recla- nation or development and the ap propriaticn of water thereon. which has enhanced the value of the same beyond what it would have been worth had it been permitted to re- main in it's original state" Under this promise of the territory, valuable improvements have been placed upon the greater portion of the school lands which were susceptible of irri gation. and the greater portion in Salt River valley is now under the Roosevelt project. and subject to the payment to the government for re- imbursement for the construction of the project as other lands affected thereby.
 The reclamation act. under which the Roosevelt project was construct ed, does not allow or permit of the ownership of more than one hundred and sixty acres by any person. firm. corporation or association. The les sees who have by the expenditure of time and money upon the school lands. many of whom have been so engaged for the past quarter of q nd from their desert state and made them as fertile as any in any land. have done so relying upon the prom ise which the territory made to them that they would he reimbursed for these improvements and have an op- portunity to purchase the lands which for so many years have been their homes
 Recognizing the rights of these lessees. the congress of the United States, in the enabling act. and the members of the constitutional con- vention of the state of Arizona. have practically re-enacted title ,. and have guaranteed to the lessees all of the rights and privileges contained in that act. The question confronting the legislature is not one alone of the state. for the people who have come into Arizona and helped create this magnificent commonwealth are entitled to as much consideration as those who later came within her bOr- ders and profited by the heroic sac rifices of the early pioneers.
 The issue Is a simple one. and I1n t..r~ .lf the question Shall the state of Ari zona repudiate the solemn contract made between the territory of Ari- zona and the people of Arizona. and ratified by congress. and later by l the makers of the state constitu | tion?" The answer to that question | in the affirmative means the carry-'