was permitted to purchase 320 acres, as as against 160 acres under the Timber and Stone Act of the United States, and allowed deferred payments besides. Such advantage naturally amounted to a great inducement to buy from the State. The School Land Commissioners consisted of the Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer. The price of State Lands is fixed by legislative enactment.
In 1890, learning that a great many different tracts were being selected by the State as indemnity, and afterwards transferred to timber land operators, I concluded to make a trip to the State Land Office at Salem with a view of ascertaining the methods of acquiring title under the State indemnity laws. At that time the School Land Board consisted of Governor Sylvester Pennoyer, Secretary of State George W. McBride (later elected United States Senator from Oregon), and State Treasurer G. W. Webb. Napoleon Davis was chief clerk of the Land Office. Upon inquiry, I found out that all persons over the age of 18, married or single, and residents of the State of Oregon, who had not already exhausted their right to take up school lands, were entitled to make application for 320 acres, and receive a certificate of purchase upon payment of one-third the purchase price of $1.25 an acre. The deferred payments were provided for in the shape of two notes, payable in one and two years respectively, and drawing 10 per cent interest per annum.
The form of application was very brief, the only requirements being that the applicant should state in the affidavit that he was over the age of 18 and a citizen of the United States; that the proposed purchase was for his own benefit, and not for the purpose of speculation; that he had not directly or indirectly made any previous purchase of land from the State of the kind described, nor had any one for him, which, together with that sought to be purchased, exceeds 320 acres; that he had made no contract or agreement, expressed or implied, for the sale or disposition of the land applied for, in case he was permitted to purchase the same, and that there was no valid claim thereto. The applicant was not required to inspect the land, nor appear at the land office. Under powers of attorney, any number of applications could be filed by one person, who would be entitled to receipt for the certificates of purchase or deeds to the various tracts in the name of the original applicant. A blank assignment accompanied each certificate of purchase, allowing the applicant to assign to whomsoever he chose, and this assignee could get a deed from the State in his own name the same as though he were the original purchaser.
By this process, several thousand acres could be secured by one person. The system looked good to me, so I concluded to round up a lot of applicants accordingly, and have them make blank assignments to me of all their interests in the lands, in order that the deeds could be issued directly to me in due time. Napoleon Davis, the Clerk of the Board, had educated me to a certain extent relative to the manner of procedure in acquiring title to these lands the first day I made his acquaintance, but he had failed to teach me fully upon the subject. I labored under the impression that in applying; for an indemnity State selection, all that was necessary would be to hand in the applications to the Clerk of the Land Board and he would supply whatever basis was required. Much to my surprise, when I appeared before him with ten applications embracing 320 acres each, I was met with the assurance from Mr. Davis that it would be necessary for me to designate the basis myself. I had already paid $25 to each applicant for his right, and therefore felt considerably upset when met with this proposition, as I did not know how or where to find the necessary basis any more than the man in the moon.
At this point Davis kindly came to my rescue by informing me that one E. P. McCornack, of Salem, was engaged in the business of furnishing basis for selections of this character, and that for a certain consideration, I could have all I wanted. It seems McCornack was Davis' predecessor, having held the position of Clerk of the Land Board from March 15. 1878, to January 31, 1887, and during that period had made hay while the sun shone, as he possessed a set
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