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Show GRANTS TO STATES ON ADMISSION TO UNION 315 conduct the business of their offices without the aid of interpreters. Arizona was promised sections 13, 16, 33, and 36 for common schools but Oklahoma was treated differently. Sections 16 and 36 were to be for schools, section 13 of Indian lands, when opened, were to be one-third for for the University of Oklahoma and its associated preparatory school, one-third for normal schools, and one-third for a colored A & M school. Section 33 of the Indian lands was assigned to charitable and penal institutions. Both states were to receive $5 million for a school endowment. In the case of Oklahoma this sum was stated to be in lieu of the school sections it was not to have in the Indian Territory. As it worked out Oklahoma received 4.6 percent of its total acreage in place of the 11 percent it would have received had all four sections in each township come to it, whereas, Arizona received its full 11 percent plus the $5 million. Both states were also to have 5 percent of the net proceeds from public lands for schools. Sections containing minerals were denied to Arizona but if school sections contained minerals the state was privileged to select lieu lands elsewhere. Oklahoma, on the other hand, was placed under no such limitation but it was not permitted to sell its mineral lands before 1915, though it might lease them under carefully prescribed conditions. The table of additional grants beyond the school sections, the 5 percent clause, and the $5 million shows that in acreage Arizona was the more generously treated. On the other hand the Oklahoma lands were likely to produce revenue much earlier than those of Arizona, partly because of their minerals and because they had greater value as farms. Oklahoma and Indian Territory reluctantly elected to accept the offer of the enabling act, created a constitution and a government and became the state of Oklahoma on November 16, 1907. Oklahoma acquired a total of 3,095,760 acres from the Federal government. Grants Proposed in 1906a Oklahoma Arizona (acres) (acres) University_________________250,000 240,000 Preparatory School__________150,000 A&MCollege_____________250,000 300,000 Colored A & M College______100,000 Normal Schools_____________300,000 200,000 Public Buildings_____________________ 192,000 Insane Asylum_____________________ 200,000 Penitentiary________________________ 200,000 Deaf, Dumb & Blind Asylum__________ 200,000 Miners' Hospital____________________ 100,000 School of Mines_____________________ 200,000 Military Institutes___________________ 200,000 Other Institutions___________________ 200,000 a Exclusive of the schools section place grants. Arizona and New Mexico Neither Arizona nor New Mexico was willing to give up their ambitions to enter as individual states and remained as territories for a longer time. In 1910 Congress was persuaded to try again by allowing each to enter the union as separate states. Although the long enabling act applied to both territories, each had a separate section, nearly identical. Each was given four sections in each township with the privilege of selecting lieu lands in place of the sections in Indian reserves and in place of mineral lands which were denied the state. In lieu of the internal improvement, swamp, saline, and agricultural college grants provided for under earlier legislation, Arizona was given 1,446,000 acres and New Mexico 1,350,000 acres for a state university, capitol buildings, a miners' hospital, normal schools, A & M college, a school of mines, military and other state institutions, and each received 1 million acres to pay for bonds issued by a number of counties, and 5 percent of the net proceeds from public land sales for schools.93 93 Act of June 20, 1910, 36 Stat., Part 1, pp. 557 ff. |
