OCR Text |
Show UTAH IS TO OBTAIN TITLE i TO MUCH LAND. H A bill Is now before the house of H representatives, having passed the United States senate, providing for , the clearing of title to Utah of large , tracts of school land In this state I which are now held by the govern I ment under withdrawals I W. J. Lynch of the state land board j presents the state's side of this land I controversy He says that if tlv' bill Is passed Utah will be able to patent i man thousands of nrres PPblcb hereto J fore have been open to dispute tbrougb J withdrawals by the federal govern I ment or through coal or mineral right 1 In other words, the state's right can I be made absolute and the land dls posed of by the state without any fed enl strings upon It whatever Conse quently great tracts of agricultural ij and grazing lands will be subject to J sale by tho stale or to profitable J leases wbicfa will result in an In creased revenue from these lands, this revenue to revert to the aiious school funds that participate In the owner- j ship of the lands Ij ;' Heretofore much of the land has I j i been allowed to stand idle so far as I Lj any financial good to the state has I n been realized Purc hasers from the I I j state have had to lake the risk nl I jj; , having the federal government with- I i draw the land or of granting patent l ij to sori.e other ( v. t il..- .o r M l mineral or coal of any justifiable char- j Mil lj acter upon the land The purchasci ilj on this basis in the post has had no i remedy In case such a contingen. y . Iji arises unless by a special act of the i legislature his money or a part of It Is returned Numerous Instances have occurred In Utah where alter the land boai jj has carefully checked over the re l ords ot the land office ami finding no i entries or rights or record on i ertain ' school sections has sold iheBe sections jijil at public sales, only to learn latet j I, that the secretary of the luterior has allowed mineral or homestead entries . on these very same muds so r.s to de j prive the state purchasers of all or j j a portion of the land that has been I j sold to him. Hon lo bring aboul i la I clear title to these lands under whic b ! jjj the state can dispose of them freely ; i and with no danger of federal Inter ference has been one of the most serious problems the western states hae had to contend with Under the enabling net. and otb-r acts since then, the state of Utab has four sections out of ever town-MR town-MR ship to be set aside as school lands. In lieu of aid to public schools the j revenue from these lands goes to the i various schools participating In the I lunds With a clear title, the state' land board will be able to make these lands, which total many hun j dreds of thousands of acres In extent, pay Increased revenues for the schools It Is eipeeted that the proposed law which has passed the senate will settle the longstanding controversy between the state and the forest service ser-vice as to what school lands in the forest reserves belong to the state ! The state was given 7UU0 acres of disputed dis-puted forest lands by decision of the ! forest service only last week. With j tho new law In i-ffec l It Is believed ' that n total of 60,000 acres of the same classification will be restored to I the state. Anticipating this added available wealth in school lands, the leg'.jlators j should proceed to strengthen our land laws and Improve the rules under which the state laud board operates I Many complaints are heard in I criticism of the methods employed in j the sale of state lands |