TAX LANDS AND FORESTRY. 13 



chased State lands in large quantities, at $.50 to $1.00 per acre, were 

 holding these same lands at from $7.00 to |15.00 per acre. The same 

 may be said of such people as Geo. A. Hart, of Manistee, who is hold- 

 ing his lands at flO.OO per acre; Granville W. Browning, who has per- 

 sonally purchased over 30,000 acres of State lands at an average of 

 about |1.00 per acre, and is now selling these lands for from |8.00 to 

 $12.00 per acre. 



Another matter which was forcibly brought to our attention while 

 making these investigations, was the fact that certain dealers and specu- 

 lators are apparently able to at any time obtain any State lands they 

 may desire. We come to this conclusion because we find that certain 

 dealers have sold State lands from days to months before they had ac- 

 quired a title from the State, and unless they felt sure of their ability 

 to get what they wanted, when they wanted it, it is reasonable to sup- 

 pose that they would not have made these sales. 



These facts, in addition to indicating that certain speculators have 

 apparently an inside track in the Land oflSce, would further go to show 

 that the State is exercising no supervision over its appraisers, for in all 

 of these cases speculators were assured a handsome profit before they 

 were even obliged to pay any money to the State. 



These investigations are sufficient to make it apparent that the present 

 system, law and methods are not ideal, and that it is advisable to try 

 some radical change which holds forth a reasonable prospect of public 

 benefit from a different use of, and method of dealing with, the forfeited 

 tax land. 



The report of the committee, which conducted the investigations re- 

 ferred to, and the report of the special examiners, will be found in full 

 with a more detailed statement of results in the appendix, and are re- 

 ferred to as a part of this report. 



(3) Loss of opportumty to assert and hold control of conditions 

 affecting streams, waiter supply, stream-flow and manufacture and dis- 

 tribution of power. - 



No natural resource of the State is of greater importance than the 

 water in our streams. Its utility is for needs that are many and vital : 

 for stock an'd for irrigation in rural districts ; for the supplying of urban 

 communities for domestic use; for fire protection; and for development 

 of power for street lighting, transportation and manufacturing. The 

 use of streams for purposes such as these, requires the impounding 'of 

 the water, and this in turn involves the overflowing of the immediate 

 banks, and of more or less land in addition, within the limits of what is 

 called the flowage area. The utilization of this natural resource, 

 therefore, is dependent upon the right to flow such land as is with- 

 in the flowage area of ,the impounding operation necessary to make 

 the waters of the stream available for the particular purpose in view. 

 This flowage area for any particular operation is fixed, both as to loca- 

 tion and extent, by the surface formation or topography ' of the land 

 on and near the stream above the point at which the dam to raise the 

 water is located. The right to flow is a property right, requiring either 

 the title of the land within this flowage area, or the consent of the 

 owner of that title. If, therefore, the State owns even a little land 



