Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 11.djvu/146

136 During the first half-dozen years under the state govern- ment the public interest in the state's lands received scant attention. Private individuals were able to get an extension of time in the payment of sums due on school lands bought and others secured confirmation of titles to school land tracts. 1 Not until 1864 was there any law prescribing the powers and duties of the constitutional "board of commissioners for the sale of school and university lands and for the investment of the funds arising therefrom". It required another act two years later before this board seemed to be able to take hold of its task. 2

The territorial method of sale to highest bidder, while not wholly discarded when selling was renewed, rarely brought sale prices above the statutory minimum. It was, however, impracticable to fix a uniform price for the lands of the dif- ferent grants. For the swamp and the tide lands not only were special terms of valuations necessary, but also other spe- cial conditions of sale. As the lands of the internal im- provement grant and those of the agricultural college grant were located in solid blocks in widely separated portions of the state with conditions as to altitude, climate and accessibil- ity quite distinct the terms and conditions fixed for the dis- posing of them would advisedly be different from those gov- erning the sale of common school and university lands that lay scattered and close in around the settlements. But as sales and settlement progressed and only scattered remnants of the several grants remained, all becoming about equally accessible, the adoption of fixed and uniform terms for all lands in a free and easy state policy would be quite likely.

Dual Line of Officials and Irresponsibility in Oregon's Land Department— The administrative agency upon which the people of Oregon have relied for the handling of their heritage of public lands is now known as the "state land board". The makers of the state constitution selected the governor, secre- tary of state and state treasurer to constitute this board. They

1 Laws of Oregon Territory, first regular sess., p. 82; pp. 105-6. 2 Acts and Resolutions of Leg. Assem., fourth regular sess., pp. 27-30.