154 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



THE STATES AND THE RANGE 



So far as most state governments were concerned, their reac 

 tion to the range problem was to ignore it. The states had 

 acquired range land by three methods. First, they were given 

 land by the federal government to sell in order to pay for 

 schools, agricultural colleges, and roads. Later, on the insistence 

 of the states, they were given other land which the federal 

 government saw little chance to dispose of as homesteads. This 

 was done by the Desert and Swamp Land Acts, giving sup 

 posedly desert and swamp land to the states. In many cases the 

 land taken by the states under these acts was neither desert nor 

 swamp. The final method by which the states acquired land was 

 through tax delinquency. 



This is how land becomes tax delinquent. A man buys land. 

 He is unable to pay the taxes on it. In many states after a 

 certain period of time (usually about seven years) the state or 

 county takes over the land with the threat to sell it at some 

 future date. The original owner, however, usually has the right 

 for several more years to buy it from the state or county at the 

 cost of the unpaid or delinquent taxes. After this period has 

 elapsed, the state or county offers the land for sale. 



In the range country, tax-delinquent land usually is turned 

 over to the county. During the period when the land is delin 

 quent, but unsold, this land is administered by the county. The 

 usual thing for the county to do is to try to rent it for grazing. 

 The county does not care how the land is grazed so long as it 

 brings in some revenue. Many range states, when they ac 

 quired tax-delinquent lands, felt about it much the same as the 

 counties. In some cases, the delinquent land was rented to the 

 non-taxpaying owner. 



However the states acquired range land, they made little or 

 no effort to take care of it. They simply leased it and let the 

 tenant use it as he would. And many of the tenant-grazers 



