Arizona republican., 1915-01-23

tors at nominal prices, etc. While this committee mas no desire to approve of that sort of a course. it does believe and recommend that the general land policy to he adopted by the state should l De to acquire and pass as quickly as possible to actual settlers and cultiva- tors all of the lands So long as they remain In the hands of the state they Will be unproductiVe and the state will derive no revenue. When under culti- Vation they become productive. Their value and the values of their produc- tion become subjects of taxation. Set clement of the lands give rise to com munities with their social and business | centers, covering town sites and city 1 property, stocks of goods. factories, i etc, all of which will be subject to tax ation. Three to five dollars per acre now for lands in possession of actual l settlers will yield the state more real money and greater actual benefits than will fifty dollars an acre twenty years 1 hence.
 The appropriations made in the en- abling act one million acres of land 1 for the relief of Coconino, Maricopa. 1 Yavapai and Pima, Che latter embrac- l ing Santa CruZ) was to meet an imme- diate and urgent necessity. All of those l counties are bearing heavy burden of taxation to meet interest and provide 1 sinking funds to liquidate issues of bonds made under the territory to aid in construction of railways, some of 1 which were never built. Every month of delay adds to the burden imposed. ! It is a burden upon this generation of l taxpayers, and the remedy should be applied right now. To defer acquisi- ton and sale of those lands through a period of ten to twenty years and then parcel the proceeds out among the counties interested would serve only to reimburse one generation of taxpayers for the losses of another. Moreover, within that time the generation now paying may pay out more money than will be realized from the sale of the lands even should there come to pass the most irridescent dreams of the land commission as to their prospective values
 The committee believes that the vote of the people in November rejecting an ! initiative enactment that the state should embark in reclamation projects should settle that question and there is reported resolution condemning the 1 proposition of the state land commits sion for such projects.
 The question embracing disposition of the school lands is so diversified and variant in the several counties that to formulate policy of sale and dsposi- tion that would be equitable and fair to all the counties, particularly to Mar icopa county at this time, would be i'm possible in the time at the disposition of this conference. This committee finds itself unable to agree upon a pol icy, so no resolution can be submitted
 Respectfully submitted,
 ALLEN T. BIRD
 RUDOLPH KUCHLER
 R. c. CRESSWELL
 Committee
 We, your committee appointed to formulate an expression on the report of the state land commission, beg leave to present the following set of resolu- tions:
 Resolved that the state land com mission should proceed to acquire title to and sell at the earliest date possible the one million acres of land appropri- ated in the enabling act for relief ot Maricopa, Yavapai Coconino and Pima counties, (the latter including Santa Cruz in order that the bonds involved may be retired and acrued interest ant eliminate the burden of taxation nov imposed upon those counties to pay in terest and provide sinking funds. B, it further
 Resolved that the sense of this con ference is that the general land polio, of the state should be to acquire title to the lands coming to the state a quickly as possible and part with then to actual settlers and cultivators a soon as may be. carefully guardinl against their falling into the hands o spectators, in order that the state ma realize it's legitimate revenue from tax ation of the lands and improvement with taxation of town property adjacen that will follow. Be it further
 Resolved that the sense of this con ference is that as the people vote down at the last election a prOpOsitio that the state plan and execute recla nation projects, the recommendatio of the state land commission for sue reclamation projects should be ignored
 Resolved that it is the sense of thi