The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1914-08-13
Governor Haines'
Land Policy

corning the clever manner in which
Governor Haines has outgeneraled his
opposition and beat 'em to it, in
regard to a number of important
and popular policies. The governors
land policy Is an illustration. The
idea of selling off our marketable
agricultural land and applying the
earnings of the funds thus created
to defraying the expenses of our
state institutions has been advanced
from time to time ty different per-
sons of prominence in the state, no.
tably by Editor Pecotte of the Haley
Times and Land Commissioner Geolt
A. Day. The proposition is a
sound one and 1t has been seized on
by number of aspiring politicians as
an issue" for their campaign. AS
might be expected, when used mere
ly for the purpose Of securing votes,
their ideas were superficial 1t re-
manned for Governor Haines to pre-
sent a matnred plan to utilize this
idea, and this plan was embodied in
a plank in the republican state plat
form. Governor Haines not only
proposes to sell these state agricu!-
tural lands, but he proposes to sell
them on forty years time at a low
rate Of interest, thus embodying an
element of the farm credit"
theory.
It Is a well known fact that the
state Of Idaho has an immense area
of marketable agricultural lands that
would sell at from $40 to $50 an acre
and even higher. The state is unable
to dispose of these lands at the pres
emit time, for the reason that there
is constitutional provision that
limits the sale to twenty-five Sec
tions annually. This is less than one
section for each county and it would
take a century or two to thus dis
pose Of the lands. Many acres are
leased at from 25 cents to so cents
per acre, which If sold at six per
cent interest would bring in annually
so cents to 1925 an acre for inter-
est alone. The wisdom Of selling the
lands off at more rapid rate will
be apparent.
Some authorities have estimated
that these lands would bring $780,
100000 and find a ready market.
This sum of money, at six per cent
interest would produce 81 800, 900,
which is more money than the legisla-
ture appropriates for state purposes
annually. BY the adoption of Gov
'ernor Haines' policy it would be but
a few years until Idaho would be a
,taxless state, SO far as state taxes
are concerned.
The most interesting and valuable
point in the plan of Governor Haines
is to sell these lands on forty years
time. The state can use only the
earnings of these funds for the sup.
port of it's state institutions. The
principal sum derived from the sale
of the lands must always remain in.
tact In view Of the fact that the
state would have to loan the princi
pal as soon as the payments were
turned into the state treasury, it is
far better to give the homeseeker a
long time in which to pay for the
land, the state at the present time
being principally interested in the
interest item, which can be used fol
the support of state institutions
The governor proposes to go farther
than this and to apply this same prin
ciple to all sales row under con
tract. There are several thousands
OF citizens in the state of Idaho who
have purchased state land en- con
tracts ranging from ten to eighteel
years. The governor would give
these people the same privilege al
new purchasers. OF course al
would have the privilege Of paying VI
at any time they saw fit.
Tho long time payment idea ha'
two distinct advantages: One is tina
it gives the home-builder who pur
chases state lands all the time h.
desires to make his payments to thu
state: while on the other hand i
would undoubtedly enhance the mar
ket value of the states holdings be
cause such attractive terms could b.
had nowhere else. 1t would also b.
a great advertisement for Idaho ant
attract many homeseekers to tn
! state.
We have heard much in the las
few years about a farm credit sys
tenn and our national congress ha
been trying to work out the problem
While others have been theOriZine