Arizona republican., 1914-07-18
OF
 LAND BY STATE . ARE APPROVED
Three-fourths of 100000 Acre Grant for Benefit of University Now Patented to State-Process is Out lined

The state land commission yesterday
 received from the general land office at Washington notice of the patenting to
 the state of 40,5SS99 acres of the com | missions selections, making 14S,76S.14 acres pate1te to date.
 i This list of approvals included noth- | ing but lands selected in partial satis- | faction of the grant of 100000 acres for | the benefit of the University of Arizo-
 na, and is said to comprise an extra | ordinarily choice lot of selections Of l the 40,39S99 acres, 12,242 are in Sul- phur Springs valley, S.331.S6 in the vii cinity of Tucson, 13,425.13 in the Santa | Cruz valley near Toltec. and 6,400 in the Higley or Queen Creek district. All l of the lands are considered to have 1 quite distinct reclamation possibilities by means of pumping, and large DOT | tion lie in well demonstrated localities InasmuCn as the public is not gen. erally informed regarding the process l by which the state secures title to lands selected in satisfaction of the congress sional grants, a brief outline of the same may prove of interest It will be | noted that the process is complicated, l and involves not only a great amount of intricate and delicate bookkeeping l but requires the most constant and careful attention on the part of the state officials, to avoid unnecessary delays, prevent confusion, clear up con- 1 flicting claims and bring the lists, as the different lots of selections are called in land office parlance, to patent
 as nearly as possible
 The Enabling Act provides that the lands granted to Arizona shall be se- lected by a commission composed of the governor. surveyor general, or oth- CT officer exercising the functions of
 surveyor general, and the attorney general of the state As Arizona has
 no surveyor general the first state leg islature clothed the chairman of the state land commission with authority to exercise the functions of that off cial. But after arranging that detail it was obviously impractical for the commission named to actually select the millions of acres granted to the state, so it was made one of the duties of the state land commission to make examinations in the field and report to the governor, chairman of the com- mission, and attorney general, it's findings and recommendation as to the lands to be selected. These selec- tions are made by the most careful personal examination, by members of the commission, each forty-acr legal subdivision being inspected, not only because the United States land office regulations require it. but as well in order that rough, rocky, alkali and other undesirable tracts may be elim- mated. The commission figures that the elimination from it's selections of forty acres of worthless land constitutes | a saving equal to the value of forty | acres of good land which may be taken l in it's stead. The commissioner mak- | ing the investigation must also swear i to the non mineral character of the land selected, and that he found no one living thereon.
 I As a result of these examinations l lists" comprising not more than 6400 | acres, or ten sections, each, are pre- pared, designating the particular grant 1 for which the land Is selected, and after
 being executed by the governor, chair
 man of the state land commission and the attorney general, are filed in the local United States land office. After | (Continuad on page Three,