Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1921-01-28
Finances For
Investigation
AreRequested
Property Worth Mil
lions May Be Saved
Liljeqvist Advises
Committee

The states title to thousands Of
acres of swamp and overflow land
valued at several millions of dollars
is the stake for which the state
land board Is playing in asking for
an appropriation of $4,000 to con-
tinue Investigations and carry on
necessary litigation for regaining
possession of these lands. l.. A. Lii
jeqvist reminded the committee, an
appropriation of $25.000 was made
to the state land board for inyesti-
eating alleged frauds in connection
with the possession of swamp and
other state lands. AS a result Of in
vcstigaions carried on under the
act of 1919, he declared, $125, 900
had already been brought into the
states irreducible school fund
through q compromise entered into
with the Pacific Livestock com
pany This ne pointed out was five
times the total amount allotted for
the work, of which $4,000 had been
diverted to surveys In connection
with the exchange of state lands
and some $4,000 still remained In
the hands Of the land board.
In addition to the $4,000 col
lected from the Pacific Livestock
company as a result of investiga
tlons by the attorney generals Of
flee Lilieqvist declared that these
Investigations had revealed suffic
lent indication of fraud in connec-
tion with the possession of other
thousands Of acres of land would
be regained for the irreduclble
school fund IL the Investigations
could be continued and necessary
litigation carried out. 1t was for
this purpose, he exriained, that the
state land board was asking for the
$4,000 appropriation at this time.
Thirty-slx thousand acres of swamp
lands in klamath county he indi-
Gated came under this latter head.
The state had also been called upon
to defend It's title to thousands of
acres of swamp land in the Warner
valley which was being claimed by
riparian owners. Malheur lake
alone, he pointed out, contains
1000 acres of land worth more
than million dollars. to which the
states title had never been made
certain, and another 10000 acres
in Silver Lake needed attention to
preserve the rights of the state,
Some objection was raised by
members of the committee to APP
propriating money from the gen
eral fund for prosecuting investi-
cations which resulted only to the
benefit of the school fund. The |
school fund they argued. should |
be willing to foot the bill for the |
Investigations. LilIeqvist was asked /
to advise the committee as TO |
whether such a procedure were
possible under the state constitu-
tion IL so to draft "A bill covering |
the point.
When Lilieqvlst proposed to pre-
sent to the ways and means COM
mittee In behalf of the state land
board, arguments against a bill by
Ahgbh 'NAcAipNAhb iuiN PhO bAN'Sa /
used in public construction work |
from payment of state royalties,
Representative Kay objected on
the ground that it would not be fair
to the committee which has tails
bill under consideration.
John NJ Mann, city commission
er of Portland, appeared before |
the committee with an offer to turn |
over the entire plant and equIp-
ment OF The Cedars, Portiand'a
detention hospitaI. vafued at $65,-
1856 to the state without cost IL the |
state would operate the plant. If
the state did not care to accept this
Mann asked that AMI
equivalent to $500
per day per inmate from counties
outside Multuomah county, be
made toward the maintenance OF
the institution, This, it was est-
mated, would aggregate $4,000.
There was no apparent disposi-
tion on the part of the legislators
present to accept the offer OF the
Institution, which, 1t was agreed.
was now being operated far more
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