The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-04-09

How rentals on state Land r de-
termined is set forth in an interesting
article prepared by 1. M. Brandjord,
register of state lands, for the infOr-
nation Of the public.
The minimum annual grazing rental
on state lands, Mr.. Brandjord says, Is
equal to ga per cent of the grazing
valuation, but in no case less than $40
a section, and for agricultural lands,
5 per cent of the sales valuation, with
a minimum of so cents an acre.
Mr.. Brandjord's article follows:
The lands Of Montana belong to
our public schools and to various
state institutions; they are held in
trust for the benefit of those schools
and institutions.
The supreme court of the state has
laid down the general and fundamen-
tai rule that this trust must be so
administered Gas to secure the largest
Measure cf legitimate advantage to
the beneficiaries."
The Enabling act, the constitution,
and the statutes regulate the manage
ment and administration Of these
lands, including their leasing. Under
the provisions of Section 1 of Article
IL Of the constitution, "nOne Of such
lands, Nor any estate or interest there
In, shall ever be disposed Of except in
pursuance Of general laws providing
for such disposition, nor unless the
full market value of the estate or in
terest disposed Of, to be ~ascertained
in such manner as provided by law,
be paid IT safely secured to the
state" These plain and wholesome
provisions apply both to selling and
leasing.
Sections 1883 and 1895 Of the 1921
codes provide that the minimum rental
shall not be less than 5 per cent of
the appraised value of the lands.
On May 2, 1925, the attorney gen.
eral Of the state handed down an Of
fic;al opinion explaining the legal
basis for determining rentals, which
is to the effect that the plain pro-
visions of the constitution and the
statutes mean what they say.
At its meeting on May 9, 1925, af-
ter a careful consideration Of the
opinion Of the attorney general and
the practical questions involved, the
state board Of land commissioners
unanimously passed the following
resolutions:
"BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS
BOARD, That the basis for the
rental Of grazing lands, CLASH
fled as such, shall be Ga per cent
Of the value of such lands as APP
praised for grazing purposes, but
that no section of grazing lands
shall be leased for less than $40
per section per annum.
"BE TT FURTHER RESOLV-
ED, That the basis for the rental
of agricultural lands for agricul-
tural lands for agricultural pur-
poses shall be 5 per cent Of the
value placed on such lands as the
basis # sale; but that no agricul-
tural lands shall be leased for less
than 30 cents per acre per annUm.
"BE 1T FURTHER RESOLV-
ED, That the basis for the rental
Of agricultural lands for agricul-
tural purposes shall be 5 per cent
of the value placed on such lands
as the basis of sale; but that no
agricultural lands shall be leased
for less than so cents per acre
per annum.
The value Of state lands for agr
culture and for grazing is determine
by the state board of land commits
sioners after examination and repo.
by the state land agent or his de-
uties.
In calculating the minimum rent
that can be charged for state Ian
we simply multiply the appraisI
value Of the land by the rate as abo'
fixed. At 6H per cent Of the valu
ticn, the rental on grazing land a
praised at $1.5O per acre will amou
to $50 per section; 50 land will bril-
a rental of $50; and SO land will
suit in an annual rental Of $3.50 Z
section.
At 5 per cent Of the valuation, s
land will bring an agricultural rem.
Of so cents per acre; s15 land y
bring Is cents per acre; and $50 la