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Show U. S. Land Purchasing Office Here In connection with the Government's Gov-ernment's Program to purchase certain tracts of private land in Washington countv an office ha recently been opened in the Arrowhead Ar-rowhead Hotel at St. George, Utah. The program is being carried out by the Land Policy Section of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. Mr. P. V. Car-don Car-don of Logan, Utah is Regonai Director for Utah and several Ot the other Western states. A. L. Taylor has been placed in charge of the Washington County pre ject with C. Carlyle Rich an Howell L. Cannon as field assistants. assist-ants. Warren Ship has been engaged en-gaged as clerk. The Washington county project is the first one approved for Utah. It has been felt ifor some time by State and National Planning Boards that certain lands which have passed into private ownership owner-ship are submarginal in character char-acter and the best interests of the general public would be served by giving owners of Buch lands an opportunity to dispose of them to the Federal Government. Govern-ment. Such lands will then be placed under some Governmental Agency for administration which will contribute the highest use of the lands for the welfare of the general public. Owners of private lands within the project area will be assisted to resettle in more favorable locations lo-cations by the Rural Rehabilitation Rehabilita-tion Corporation if they desire such assistance. Under the program the matter of selling will be entirely optional with owners of private lands. There is no inclination on the pare or tne u-overnment to condemn con-demn private lands or to compel owners to sell their holdings. The policy is rather to give those within the project area an opportunity op-portunity to do so. Lands, improvements and water-rights will be purchased. The owner may retain such improvements improve-ments and water-rights, however, and transfer them to other property prop-erty outside the project area if he desires. Prices paid will be nominal and will be based upon an appraisal ap-praisal of each individual tract. In making such appraisals an attempt will be made to arrive at the actual value of each tract. The factors which cause the land to be classified as sub-marginal sub-marginal indicate that such lands are less valuable than lands not so classified. The problem of privately owned own-ed submarginal land is not confined con-fined to Washington county but occurs in several of the counties throughout the state. On account of climatic and other favorable conditions Washington county was selected as the first place to under take such a program which may bo extended to other counties if it proves to be successful suc-cessful here. Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Tobler and son, Wayne Gates and Mr. and Mrs. Lonzi Sullivan arrived hero Saturday night from Duchesne. Mr. and Mrs. Tobler are gue-sts at the home of Mrs. Tobler'a parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wellington Welling-ton F .Gates in St. George and Mr. Tohler's father, George Tobler Tob-ler in Santa Clara. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan are guests at tho Charles Sullivan home here and are visiting ber parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Tobler at Overton, Nevada. |