Seattle Commissioners Fight for School Lands
The Board of County Commissioners petitions the federal government to block fraudulent 'coal land' entries on property reserved for public education.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At the meeting of the Board of County Commissioners yesterday afternoon, a resolution was adopted regarding Township 24, north of range 4, east of the Willamette meridian. These lands, reserved by Congress for the use of schools, lie near the City of Seattle and are worth between seventy-five and one hundred thousand dollars. Large parts of section 16 have been entered by parties under the false pretense that they are 'coal lands.' The Commissioners have applied to the General Land Office for a suspension of the patent issuance, arguing these entries are fraudulent and that the land is not coal-bearing. They demand to be heard to present evidence of this scheme.
“These lands lie near to and adjoining the City of Seattle, and are of great value as future city and suburban property.”
Public land management and the protection of common resources have been central to Seattle's history since its founding. This 1883 effort to stop the privatization of school lands mirrors modern struggles over the usage of public assets, public school funding, and land speculation in a rapidly growing metropolitan area.
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