Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1871-01-26
PCBLICLANDS OF THEU STATES

! by the dchnitive treaty of peace with
England in 1874 the western boundary o
the United States was fixed at the middle
of the Mississippi This found us in the
possession "f two hundred and twenty
millions of uninhabited land belonging to
the States in sevcralty, and net TO the con,
fcdcracy.
After the revolutionary war the several
States cedcd to the confederacy their title
to the lands lying within their boundaries;
and then the young nation rapidly began
to expand its borders. BY the treaty
with France in 1903, whereby we acquir-
ed one million square miles of territory
on which We have since founded ten States,
two Territories, and portions of two more
States BY the treaty of 1910 with Spain.
whereby We obtained Florida Of 1916,
when Texas entered the Union, retaining,
however, the title of her own lands; OF
1S4s and 1853 with Mexico, when we re-
ceived the auriferous grants of California,
New Mexico. Utah, Nevada, and Monta-
ma: and of 1867 with Russia, that gave
Us snow-bound Alaska-we increased our
public lands seven-fold, adding over one
thousand six hundred millions of acres to
the national territory. We thus became
lords of ,s34 ,99S, 400 acres of land-a
domain sufficiently capacious to be carved
up into twenty-four countries each of the
size of England, Ireland, Scotland and
Wales combined capable of supporting a
population Of seven hundred and twenty
millions Of people of the average density
Of Great Britain, or more than half the
population now living on the globe
Over seventy-fve millions Of acres have
been granted for schools and colleges -
Twenty-Five millions more have been ap-
propria,ed to build railroads, and twelve
millions for other purposes. Sixty mil,
lions have been bestowed on the brave de-
tenders of their country, their widows and
children; forty-four Thousand acres have
been used for deaf-and- dumb asylums, and
: thirteen million reserved for the use OF
Indian tribes. The public domains have
been looked upon rs gift, held by the
nation in trust for its future inhabitants.
and no selfish or narrow views have with
held the lands from their intended pro-
prietors. Every head of a family, every
widow, every single man Cor woman) over
the age of twenty-one has been invited to
select his own farm, the only condition At
tachcd to the gift being It's FIVE years cul-
tivation And yet so rapid is the appre-
citation in value of the land, when once
settled on, that it is found by experiment
that from forty to fifty per cent. of those
who enter their lands under the provisions
Of the homestead law, expecting to receive
a gratuitous deed, prefer to pay for them
rather than wait Eve years for the con-
summation of their titles The law prac-
tically gives them FIVE years in which to
find purchaser. Even after the lands
have been occupied four years and nine
months. and when three months would
have given an undisputed title without
cnst, the claimants have been known to
pay the government price rather than lose
the chance Of good sale. During the
frs, eleven years Of our constitutional ex-
istence land was taken up at the rate of a
hundred thousand acres year. By 1906
the sales realized S705, ,245. During the
war with Great Britain the sales largely
fell of; but with the return Of prosperity
they recuperated. till 1919. they netted
over three millions Of dollars During
General Jacksons administration, when
paper currency and paper cities added
such fictitious value TO the charms of ma
ture. land was in great demand; the sales
for 1885 realized fourteen millions of dol
lars /; 1886. twenty-one millions. The
momen,ary revialsions Of the next few
years brought the sales in 1912 down to
nearly a million Of dollars. From 1850
20 1855 they averaged not far from ten
millions year. but in 1862 they only
amounted 10 $l25. .04s The Homestead
laws and college and railroad grants viii
probably keep the future receipts Of sales
| from lands at low figures. They nos
only realize about three millions year.
There Is another aspect in which on
public lands cause Us to differ from all
other nations; every man, the poorest. the
most ignorant. May have farm cf ons
/. hundred and sixty asres hy agrcciag I.