Show i S 'S SAYS STATE LAND LANDIS IS NOT TOO HIGH J Interests of All the People Demand De De- J mand Higher Price 5 Board r Contends c i I oU W t-W REPLIES TO PROTEST MADE MADES S Only Five Fh Per Cent cut of or nu Buys s 's I I. I Land All and All Concerned In Ial Larger er Receipts Receipts- 5 S At the m meeting mating of oC the state board hoard 5 o ot of land commissioners held yesterday yester yester- day that bod body drafted a letter Jetter copies copieR of which have been heen mailed to all the count county commissioners of ot the state In reply to the meeting of or protest held April 9 In relation to the raise of or the theS S price of tate stale lands land from 1 50 to 2 n an acre aCI In which th the members state stateS state'S S 'S the they will not reconsider I their position josi- josi S. S tion In the matter The letter lettel Is signed by W. W J. J Lynch 5 John IX D. Dixon W W. D. D W W. H. H Thain and H H. N. N Hayes and h is 5 addressed rf to A. A J J. Evan Evans Eans chairman and m members of oC the mc meeting convened to protest against the thc action of oc the state board of oC land commissioners In I raising the thc price of or selected land inn The TheS S letter in iii full Is IR as nl follows S SS After due consideration of or the S S questions raised lI b by your meeting held at Salt La Lake City Apr April 7 i. i we Wl S submit the following Ila reasons for the tho 1 position taken by this board i S. S I The Th state land board Is a s servant r of ot and amenable to the p people ople and amI Is gov governed b by the laws enacted b by the i 5 people through their theil representatives which said laws must be applied to toi i all the people concerned Indiscriminately t t tely Int and In the thA Interest of oC the public pub pub- t P lie lic In general S The acres acre o of land granted grant grant- f 3 ed rd to the state of oC Utah for fOI the till mainS main'S maintenance main maln- S 'S ten nce of various public Institutions t have hae been disposed ed of or and all of oC the tho theland 45 1 land remaining that may now be 10 selected se so- 5 7 I. I 5 b by the thc state from the public domain domain do do- 5 5 main consists of about acres acresS S of or Indemnity school lands which to together together to- to f gether with with something over acres of or state land to be appraised S and sold comprise the aggregate ate amount of or land now at the disposition of or the state Would All Go for Grazing S The far greater proportion of oC land S now being applied for is wanted for forI I grazing grasing purposes and while we reS re'S re- re S 'S of alize that more mono revenue It by wa way taxation would be hereafter derived b by the state from th the sale of tumble tillable lands we have ha hano no power under the 5 5 law to discriminate in price between n nI I applicants PP dependent upon the purposes pur pur- 5 5 poses for tor which the land when purchased pur PUI chased is to be u used ed and we Wf- are aff firmly firm ly y convinced d that your OUI contention that the advance In the tho price of or land landt t will curtail the amount to b be purchased purchased pur pur- chased ed for tor agricultural purposes I Is not well laken taken for 01 the reason that the grazers e would In a very ery brief r ieS period pe pc- ie- ie S riot Iol of time take all the land that r. may na now be selected elected by the tate state 55 5 6 should the price be reduced thereby rr rit entirely r W depriving the agriculturists of an an opportunity to purchase land and andS S we do not consider I that 2 O an acre acreS S Is 1 high hish for lands that can be used for agricultural purposes especially especial in view of or the easy terms of purchase e afforded by the state 5 Not t to exceed 5 per cent of or the people of the state are purchasers of or state land while the whole population I IS I interested In the re revenue derived Since the advance In price priceS S the lands have ha been selling at the rate rato 5 of or about ac acres es a a. month with very eh few complaints on the part of I S the purchasers ors which said ald advance means practically a month additional ad nd- revenue to the UH state tato and eventually eventually even even- a total gain of about 2000 to the public funds that are arc now so In Inadequate a large proportion oC or which will go to maintain the public S schools arid and we are satisfied that there wI will vill continue to be a read ready demand at the advanced price for alt all the land the state has to dispose of oC Justified B By General Advance 4 S While U your contention that much of or the beet best lands of the have been sold at the lower price is largely true nevertheless we con consider ld I that the general advance In the market marketS S price of or lands throughout the state justifies the Increase we have made mado madeS S in lii the price of state lands 1 We Ye believe that our predecessors In office were wore men o of good Judgment 5 and ability and In fixing the price of ot land did what the they thought was for forthe forthe rori i the best Interests of or the state under S the th then n exl existing lIng conditions and while whileS S It would have havo been easier for tor us to have pursued the same policy n a sense of or duty under the thc changed conditions S impelled us to tho the action we have taken and from the favorable comments comments com corn ments received from leading citizens of nf different portions of or the state tate we believe that our action Is cn endorsed b by bythe bythe the people In general enera and beg to re remind ye- ye mind you ou of or the fact that your our meetIng meetS meetIng meet- meet S Ing called for the express purpose of making a protest against it It was far from unanimous In its request for a n. J restoration n of or the thc former price of or land and nd we are arc of the opinion that had your meeting consisted of or an nn equal and fall Cah representation from the respective S counties of or the state slate our position would have been sustained by It Wherefore In consideration of the theS S foregoing and in the Interest t of oC tin lilt public schools if Jf our state stat and li In 1 keeping with what we wo conceive t to be bc our duty as servants of or tho the whole people people peo peo- pie we have decided to maintain the i present price pric of or lands |