El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-11-02

NEW MEXICO has an area Of 122s5S0
~ square miles. It is the fourth
state in the union in size; It is as
large in area as all of the New Eng
land states, New York and New Jer-
sey combined. In round figuers It
comprises $4,000, 900 acres About Co.
10000 acres Of this land. It is said.
has now gone into private owner
ship, from the people forever, am
sorry to say. and mostly IN uncon-
scionably large tracts.
Therefore, in all OF New Mex
fco. of national public land. there
Is left out of the vast area, only
about 25,OCO 900 or so acres, and
II is said this Is constituted
largely of valueless sand hills,
barren mountain tops, and forest
reserves
of course, congress made a grave
mistake when our nation acquired
New Mexico from Mexico, in 1S4S, that
il did not, instead OF recognizing the
titles to the land grants. condemn
them and pay for them at about 50
cents an acre. which It could easily
have done at that time, and thus made
the entire area OF the state. save the
small portions that were occupied
along the river valleys national pub
state cursed With Big Grants.
Because Of that mistake, the state
IS today cursed with these vast iand
grants. ranging IN trea. from a Few
thousands OF acres up to as high as
nearly a couple Of millions OF acres
This mistake OF congress was com
plemented in 1856. when It made the
grant Of the alternate or checker
board sections Of public land 10 me
railroads. building through the ter
ritory, for 20 miles on each side OF
The tracks. and which donation never
resulted in the building Of a mile OF
railroad.
Those two things-the Spanish land
grants. and the checkerboard grants
to the raflroads-could not have been
in those early days, helped by the
ueople Of New Mexico as can be seen
Later. the Santa Fe railway Sc
cretlv foisted on the then territory
Of New Mexico. through a bargain
VIII, the secretary Of the interior
something like 100000 acres OF Ari-
IONA forest reserve scrip, which took
that much OF our public land. and
one owner in the Pecos valley gol
with that scrip in one single 1ody,
| go. 900 acres. which he has inside OF
one fence. This could have beer
helped and perhaps prevented: haa
/ the neoDie Of New Mexico had any
| knowledge that il was going on, but
/ It was done secretly.
Z LAM AnF ElADNANs
with the aid Of the late delegate
Ferguson, 7 laid the foundation for q
donation OF land for our common
/ schools and institutions, which. witt
/ the 1000. 900 acres later given by
! congress to pay the railroad debt OF
/ santa Fe and Grant counties. made 2
| donation Of land to the state - Of
about 1850. 600 acres.
] This was enough II properly man
aged. to have sustained all OF our
common schools and educational and
other institutions forever without
much. II any. additional tax on the
] people at all
This immense donation OF land
/ Is being wasted and practically
given away to mcnOpoiists aud
speculntorS. much lower than the
minimum price fixed by con-
sresg for the same. That Is in
All cases where congress per-
r,fffed it to be sold.
In 1912. those interested. secured
/ the passage OF a law in our local leg
/ isIature providing for the sale where
the same could be sold, OF all this