ment, without actually purchasing the State lands, thus creating a landed monopoly which is giving the State a bad name abroad, discouraging its present inhabitants, and deterring immigration, the surest and greatest source of wealth in all new States.

Fourth-The lamentably defective character and corrupt administratíon of the laws concerning the assessment of real estate, whereby large bodies of private lands held without improvement by unknown owners not residents of the counties escape assessment and taxation altogether, while where the owners of large tracts of the most valuable lands in the State are known, their lands are assessed at merely nominal rates, while the smaller adjoining tracts of their poorer neighbors are assessed at full rates, and the burdens of supporting the Government are thus whenever possible shifted, as far as corrupt officers can do it, from the shoulders of the rich to those of the poor, who are least able to bear them.

It is manifest to every reasonable man that the continued existence of glaring evils of the character above stated, and a system of legislation so defective and oppressive in its operation, tends directly to impoverish the State, to drive population from it, to deter immigration, to divert capital from legitimate channels, to discourage and break down manufactures and productive industry, and to lead to still greater corruption or willful negligence in the administration of all laws, no matter how wisely drawn or beneficent in their intention and real character.

A LAND REFORM PROMISED.

Both of the great political parties which are represented in this Legislature are pledged to a reform of our land system, and if before adjournment they fail to keep these pledges will be held to a strict accountability by the people who trusted them. Already, as some of these evils are not confined entirely to this State, but traceable to improvident and short sighted national legislation, the indications are that a third party may shortly make its appearance with a broad land reform platform, disturb the calculations and plans of existing parties, and if it does not decide the result of the next presidential campaign, may yet ultimately control the policy and sway the destinies of the entire country.

NECESSITY FOR A LAND REFORM.

Ex-Governor Haight, in his first biennial message, speaking of our land laws, said:

"Our land system seems to be mainly framed to facilitate the acquisition of large bodies of land by capitalists or corporations, either as donations or at nominal prices;" and he regretted that any portion of the public lands had ever been disposed of except to actual settlers."

In his message to the present Legislature he also said:

"In the case of the swamp and overflowed lands a system of reclamation may perhaps render their concentration in large bodies in the first instance necessary; and, indeed, in the case of uplands, where large tracts have been acquired by purchase, the fault is chargeable to the system and not to those who avail themselves of it to purchase land."

Even this admission as to the swamp lands, guarded as it is by a "perhaps," may be denied, since these lands were once concentrated in the hands of the State, and had a comprehensive and wise plan of reclamation been devised by competent engineers appointed by the State and provision been made for carrying it out with funds to be raised by sale of the lands when reclaimed, or bonds, the payment of which was guaranteed by a lien and taxation upon the lands to be reclaimed, such taxes could have been paid quite as readily by a large number of small owners and actual residents as by a small number of large owners, who expect to reap immense profits over and above the cost of an imperfect, partial, and defective reclamation which now threatens in many cases to be injurious to the lands of owners of adjoining tracts, never previously or very seldom subject to overflow. Accordingly, we see no reason why even the swamp and overflowed lands might not also have been reserved by the State for sale in small parcels to actual settlers only, who would occupy and improve them under conditions similar to those of the national homestead and preemption laws.

RECOMMENDATION AS TO SWAMP LANDS.

And so believing, we recommend that even now, notwithstanding the bulk of the swamp and overflowed lands in the State are already disposed of, the remainder, whether the quantity be large or small, shall be reserved hereafter for sale in small tracts to actual settlers only, and that the law for their management and sale be amended accordingly. If this is done, as owing to the droughts of the past two years a great demand exists for this class of lands, and their real value is properly appreciated, we believe no difficulty would arise in disposing of all the State may have remaining upon the terms suggested, and thus at least any further monopoly in this direction, through the inducements held out by State laws, would be prevented in the future.

IMPORTANCE OF PROPER LAND LAWS.

Ex-Governor Haight, in his message to the present Legislature, also said: "Our State laws on this subject deserve a harsher criticism, if possible, than that made two years ago," and the facts concerning their operation as ascertained by such examination as your committee has been able to give the subject abundantly justify his remark.

In this connection we would call attention to the fact that the reports of the State Surveyor General and State Land Register utterly fail to afford to the Legislature the information necessary to convey a clear idea of the actual operation either of the office itself or of the laws there administered. Nor do they comply in this respect with the plain requirements of the law. The impression prevails that far more evil than good results from the operation of the existing land system, and the few and disconnected facts that occasionally become public, notwithstanding the remarkable and improper reticence of this department of the State Government, abundantly confirm this impression and lead us to believe it well founded. No more important office exists, and the operations of no other department of the Government so deeply and permanently affect the welfare of the State as that of the Land Office. Taxation may be fixed too high and extravagant expenditures be made by one Legislature, but the next may change this and adopt an economical policy for the future. But when a land monopoly is permitted and

encouraged to grow up, and title actually passes from the State to private parties, the beneficial control of the State over so much of its original resources is to a great extent forever gone; for actual titles and vested rights cannot be recalled or disturbed, and thenceforth the adoption of a broad and wise policy for the disposition of what was once the property of the State is out of the question, and remedial legislation, to cure as far as may be existing evils which are not unavoidable, and prevention of an extension of the same or similar evils for the future, are all that remain within the power of the Legislature.

REPORT OF SURVEYOR GENERAL.

The omissions in the report of the State Surveyor General are far more noticeable than the scanty information it contains. The facts which might clearly exhibit the actual workings and evils resulting from the present system of regulations for the management and sale of lands belonging to the State, and perhaps suggest or point out such remedial amendments as are required, are carefully withheld. The number of applications made for each of the different classes of State lands, and the quantity applied for, are not stated. The actual number of persons who made such applications and the number of acres each obtained, or the far smaller number of persons whom these applicants actually represented, are not given. The amounts of money actually paid on account of these applications for land, or on account of the purchase price thereof, or for interest, are not given. Neither are the results stated of the system of collections from delinquents by District Attorneys of the various counties in the State for which the law provides. No means are afforded for ascertaining whether this system has resulted in a prompt collection of the money due to the State, or a mere license to local officers to extort exorbitant costs and fees from poor settlers, and a freezing-out operation which has deprived the latter of their homes and improvements, and thrown their lands into the hands of the larger speculators who were engaged in concentrating them in large tracts held in few hands, to control the plans of reclamation, where these lands were swamp, to their own advantage with utter disregard of the rights of the poorer minority owners, many of whose lands needed no reclamation or were already sufficiently protected. The amount of land that has been forfeited to the State under this system, and what subsequent disposition has been made of it, is not stated; neither is the cost to the State and the defendants in this litigation given. In what counties lands of either class have been disposed of, and in what quantities, are not stated. Where the lands are that are not yet disposed of, and that are therefore open to those who might desire to purchase and occupy them, is not stated. The receipts of the office, which it would appear from the law must be various and large, are not stated; nor is there any information as to its expenditures. There is no statement of the number of actual settlers dispossessed or compelled to buy their homes again from interlopers under the operation of the law regulating the disposal of the school lands, which worked an actual forfeiture of the rights of the occupant if he failed or neglected to apply for title on or before a day certain, and gave his land to any one who by mousing over the records discovered his situation, and without notice to him filed an "application" for his homestead. This he did on the theory that the occupant evidently did not want it because he had failed to apply for

title up to the instant the law of forfeiture went into effect. (Sections fifty-two and fifty-three.)

Yet all of these are matters which might well have been fully stated in the report from this office, that the Legislature being thus fully advised of the actual workings of the law, might judge what amendments are required to secure the real interests of the State, discourage mere unproductive speculation, encourage the actual settlement and improvement of land, and protect the occupation of the many small owners against rather than facilitate the concentrating operations of the few.

RECOMMENDATION AS TO FUTURE REPORTS.

We therefore recommend such an amendment to the law regulating the office of the Land Register and Surveyor General as will compel the publication of a full statement of its operations immediately upon the opening of each session of the Legislature, and obviate the necessity for investigating committees at every session to obtain with great labor and expense the information necessary for the purposes of intelligent legislation.

This report states that "the land laws are not as perfect as they might be, but with a few slight alterations they can be made to work well." If the amendments required are so few and simple, it would perhaps have been as well for the officer who had four years experience in their operation, and a liberal salary meanwhile from the State Treasury, to have pointed out precisely what and where such amendments were required, and the reasons for them, and the benefits they would create. But there is no hint on the subject, and the Legislature is left to discover what is required as best it may without light or assistance, or by means of investigating committees.

THREATENED MONOPOLY OF MINERAL SCHOOL LANDS.

There are, however, two important hints in the report which require the immediate attention of the Legislature. The first is that a monopoly similar to that already existing in the swamp and overflowed and dry lands of the valleys is now rapidly growing up upon the mineral lands of the mountains and foothills that are covered by the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in each surveyed township, and that the rights of owners of mining claims within these sections are now, in many cases, liable to be destroyed and taken from them as were those of actual settlers upon other school sections of valley townships. The recommendation is made "that occupants should have preference, and that purchasers should be limited to smaller quantities than three hundred and twenty acres, where rich placer mines and quartz leads are found." A careful examination of these two short sentences will show any miner who happens to have a claim that possibly may be upon a school section the danger to which he is exposed, and the Legislature the importance of immediate action to prevent a monopoly of such mining lands as the State may already own or hereafter become entitled to.

RECOMMENDATION AS TO STATE MINERAL LANDS.

We accordingly recommend the immediate passage of an Act withdrawing all sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections which are mineral in their character from sale, until suitable legislation can be had to protect