Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/118

 110 F. G. YOUNG 1886 "Wagon Road Warrants, payable out of Swamp, Overflowed, Tide, 5 per cent U. S. Land Sale and other Land Funds" 33,500.00 1888 "Wagon Road Warrants, payable out of Swamp, Overflowed, Tide, 5 per cent U. S. Land Sale and other Land Funds" 15,500.00 Wagon Road Warrants, accrued interest to Jan- uary 1, 1889 18,695.57 All of the above listed warrants bore ten per cent interest. 1890 Warrants bearing 8 per cent interest "Swamp Land Warrants, payable out of the Swamp Land Fund, Principal" $20,205.96 Accrued interest to January 1, 1889 6,359.87 From 1892 until 1898, inclusive, this outstanding warrants account stood as the nominal sum of. . . 669.95 But the 1900 report has an "Outstanding Swamp Land Fund Warrants Account" caused by state's selling as swamp lands tracts to which it was not able to give the purchasers title and so repaid them with these warrants : 8 per cent interest warrants 30,925.38 6 per cent interest warrants 5,994.50 Had the projects promoted by this peculiar financiering been well-advised, securing the construction of greatly needed public works, and had the outlays been applied economically and efficiently, the policy of the state with its land funds might have been justified. But almost without exception the schemes were pure frauds and the moneys obtained from the lands were the same as thrown away. The verdict is justified that pronounces the internal improvement land grants to Oregon a curse to the state.