White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1926-03-12
A DOLLAR FOR A DEED
SAYS COMMITTEE


you deed to your tract" This was
the word that came to settlers on the
f, state tracts here the first of the week
from Earl Barnes, state director Of
conservation and development. Pre-
ceding the request for the dollar,
the letter went on to say that the COM
mittee, which is made up of Mr..
Barnes, G. ]. Morrison of Colville and
Andrew Semple of Spokane, after an
investigation had concluded that this
was tie best way to clean up the
whole matter. A blank was enclosed
On which the settler was to indicate
whether he would accept or reject
the offer. And a stamped and adj
dressed envelope was lalso enclosed
in which to return the reply. Nothing
to do but fill out the blank and return
liz. fs
And the settlers-well, if there are
any of them who have not accepted
the Spokesman has not heard about it.
Oh yes, there are, too. c. F. Wooten,
down near Hartford, is said to want
more than just the deed. But most
of the others are accepting the states
proposal. Who wouldn't? If the
state or anybody else offered you
$4,000 or $4,000 worth of property,
wouldn't you take it? OF course you
would.
Each settler has paid the state
sums varying from $500 to $1,000 but
it is doubtful If the average will run
over $780,, Under the states pro-
posal the settler will get 20 acres of
land; pump and motor and well
valued at around $1,000; buildings
that cost $1,5oo tract and in a
great many of the cases, other i'm
provements in the way of fencing, ir-
rigation pipe, ieve'ing, ETC., all of
which were paid for by the state are
now presented to the settler for
what he has paid the state, plus the
one dollar.
The liberal terms of the states
offer exceeded the greatest hopes of
all the settlers, except those whose
imagination has been well developed.
1t is estimated that the state has
spent on an average of $4,000 on each
of the sixty odd tracts that have been
taken, and if $3.50 is the average
amount paid by each settler the
states loss on the selected tracts
alone will run around S225,000.
The state still has about 40 tracts
that have not been taken. Mr.. Nor
rison and Mr.. Semple are here this
week appraising these tracts as well
as the other state property, which in
cludes pumps and motors, irrigation
pipe and farm tools. They say that
as soon as this work is completed the
tracts and other property will be Of
fered for sale after due notice in the
newspapers. The tracts, they say,
will be sold separately at public auc-
ton and that this sale will take place
in the near future.
When this sale is completed the
state will be out of the valley, and the
land settlement scheme that promised
so much in the beginning will be as
the baseball writers say, "in the
books" In this case the entries
will be in red ink.
Il number of local people say they
intend to bid on the unaffected tracts
When they are put up tor sale, espe-
cially if the appraised value is any
where near the price put on the tracts
that have been taken.
EVERYBODY is glad that the big party
is over. With the ordinations and
recriminations that have been banded
back and forth for the last year, or
more, the state of the public mind
here has been anything but peaceful
and harmonious. But we have had a
nice winter and it looks like we were
in for another good crop. Even in the
short time since the settlement the
state tracts seem to have taken on
more value, prospects for everybody
appear brighter and it is even thought
that the water table, that sagged bad
ly during the last irrigation season,
will soon begin to rise.