La Junta tribune., 1916-08-26
CoLORADO'S LAND BOARD.
Higher Prices for State Lands Under
Republican Administrations
One Great Record.


who do not agree with Mr.. Vivian in
| MS political views, nor do they al
ways approve of his campaign meth
/ ods. but when II comes TO conducting
one of the states biggest departments
IN thoroughly busIness-like and
efiicient manner they have to take
| OF their hats to the statesman from
| Jefferson county.
| During the last biennial period
when Volney Hoggatt was register
he sold 9l.2l5 acres of school land at
an average price per acre of s7.35.
In the thirteen months Mr.. Vivian
has held that position, prior to June
so, 1916, there were sold s6,446
acres at an average price of $l0.66
an acre-an increase per acre of
1891. AS the state still owns D.
100000 acres this increase price rep
resents the enormous sum OF sl0,-
100000.
| Not only has Mr. Vivian demanded
and received a higher price for the
land he has sold. but he has been un-
usually diligent and successful in
collecting rentals, deferred payments,
etc, The total receipts of the office
FOR the first seven months in 1914
were s435, 5,040.24; in 1915 they were
s+7S.765.95; and or the same
months in 1916 they we're &57s,-
57424.
Every school district IN the state
profits from this marked increase in
revenues.
The school lands of the state are
a trust fund OF the children OF Colo
| rado. Sections Is and 36 OF each
township were given by the United
States government to the people of
Colorado not to be exploited or given
away but for the support of the COM
mon schools.
At the time OF our admission to
statehood we pledged as a people in
our state constitution that the
| school fund would forever be kept in
| violate. The land board. years ago.
adopted the plan OF selling the sur
face and reserving the underlying
minerals and beds OF coal. and a law
was passed that these lands were to
be sold to the highest bidder at
public sale. This ruling of the land
board and this law were passed for
the protection OF our trust fund and
IN keeping with our constitutional
pledge.
Time alone can demonstrate how
many millions of dollars this under
wing coal will bring to the school
llnd.
But along came Volney T. Hog
gatt. He took away the laws pro-
lection OF selling to the highest bid
der and sold to that purchaser who
met certain conditions, which he.
himself fixed. OF course. he who
liked the conditions could also de-
ride who best met those conditions.
This man further advanced the
idea. and recommended the same In
his report to the governor. that all
this school land should be sold In a
short period of time and that the un-
DERIVING minerals and coal should
be sold with the surface. The first
suggestion he put into practice and
the state lost In land sales. as COM
pared with the values received by
Mr.. Vivian. s3.31 an acre on total
OF 9l.2l5 acres. He was discharged
by the governor berore he could put
his second plan into practice.
As the surface IL OF far less COM
parative value than the coal, oil and
minerals underneath. with the car
rying out OF Mr.. Hoggatts plan there
would have been an opportunity for
speculators to have grabbed all OF
these coal and mineral values.
Mr.. Hoggatt and the people back
OF him Justified themselves on the
ground that when the land was sold
1, would begin TO bear taxes. but the
purchaser OF school lands only pay
taxes on his equity.
They also got bill through the
Legislature. which the governor We
toed. providing that only three per
cent need be paid down ON a pur'
chase. The taxes. therefore, dcrIv
ed from n three per cont equitS
would not amount to much.
II will he seen from the abov'
facts that the state had n very mar
row escape from the wholesale loot
ing OF Its mos, sacred fund.
To Mr.. Vivian and Governor Carl
son great credit for checking thii