Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-10-21
MOST Of LAND GOOD
FOR CULTIVATION
Assistant State Engineer
Points Out Availability Of
Forfeited Lands

Editor Capital Journal:-I was pres
ent at the conference held some time
ago at the Commercial club to discuss
the matter of disposing of the Oregon
& California Road Grant Lands. l was
much surprised at the unchallenged as.
sertions of many of the speakers that
only q very small part of the lands in
this grant is susceptible of agricultural
development after the timber has been
removed. While l am not as familiar
with the lands in the Oregon & Cali
fornia grant as some of those who spoke
at the conference, yev judging from
what do know of the lands in par,
ticular and the Willamette valley and
the country to the south in general, it
is incomprehensible to me that a large
proportion of these lands are unfit for
agricultural purposes Many elements
must be considered in determining
whether or not land is tillable; topog-
raphy alone does not govern. Land
that is very steep in the Willamette
valley, for example, may pay better to
farm than level land in the arid part
Of the state. Climate, fertility of the
soil and market facilities are important
factors in determining the suitability
of the land for agricultural purposes.
Lands, which twenty-five years ago
were regarded as valuable for pasture
only, are being eagerly sought today.
Much of the thousand dollar an acre
Hood River lands in the early nineties,
would doubtless have been classed as
non-tillable. With excellent climate, fer
tile soil and adequate transportation ia
cilities in favor Of large part of these
lands, | am convinced that too much
weight has been given their somewhat
adverse Topographic conditions and their
agricultural possibilities grossly under.
estimated.
That this question is of great import
ance is borne out by the fact that the
department of justice has seen fit to
send its representatives out to inspect
the lands. 1t is probable that eongres.
sional action will hinge on this point If
valuable for agriculture, due considera-
tion will be given the states claim that
this land should remain on the tax roll.
On the other hand if they are valuable
only for timber and grazing, they will
make fine addition to the forest re-
serves.
We may expect action by congress,
depending upon the representations
made to it with reference to the char
acter of the lands, as follows: including
the lands under the forest reserve or
requiring the lands to be disposed of
according to the terms of the original
grant to actual settlers in not to exceed
l6O acre tracts at $3.50 per acre; or
providing that the covenant be removed
and the land turned over to the railroad
company to dispose of in the manner
and at the time and price it sees fit.
In exchange for states support Of
this plan, q few dollars might be ex-
tracted to fatten the states exchequer.
The lands would be sold at their value,
greatly to the benefit of the company,
to the detriment of the prospective set.
tier and the state would be in the posi-
tion of having sold its birthright for
mess of pottage. While the right of
congress TO remove any restrictions on
the sale of the land imposed by the
original grant is generally admitted, it
is generally conceded that it is not
within the power of congress to impose
other restrictions, such as the payment
of money to the state. 1t is therefore
questionable whether the state would
secure even a slight financial advant-
age through an alliance with the South
ern Pacific.
Oregon needs more settlers, more
land under cultivation, and if the Ore.
gon 4 California lands are made to
serve this purpose, they must be dis.
posed of in accordance with the terms
of the original grant.
PERCY A. CUPPER.