, 1883-12-01
Our Public L.nd.

AA-lus osytStei Ss y me supicSi ~ eAe
pnbIic DOMAIN Of the United States, IL
actual extent, the rapidl,y ui.h which II
is being distributed amorg private own
ers, and the conditions upon which title
10 it mas he acquired, ,hsre is, uusorsu-
nstely, 900 little real knowledge or inter
est concerning it on taa part Of the food
upon which shis nslion has grown to Is
present stature By the promise of a
share in them thousands at sturdy labor.
ers, ROW, among ths rnosF industrious ct
our peo.le, have been tempted 70 our
shores; from them the revenues of the
government have besr sSellea from year
10 year; out Of those portions o: them al
lot.ed 10 the several states for specific
parpos.s, magnificent endowment funds
have been created; and bY granting pcr-
tious Of them to c,rporst;ons, the railroad
has becnms the p;aRser, instead Of reach
ing thiekly settled a rapianities only after
! thes had s;,s;nea ssA-- ys.rs q saas ssr-
dy growth which Is AL that is granted TO
isolatiun One would think that a heri-
tage Eore precious than any other-ths
possession OF that landed ARA the lack of
which Is AZ the root ut 50 many of the se-
we're struggles through which other ma
tons are passing or which they have yet
to face would De guarded with most
jesious care, and that most rigorous ac-
count would be exseted Tor every acre
| that Is slleaste1 from the ownership Of
the people. In point OF tact, however,
there are few subjects concerning which
less authensic information is 10 be found.
The report Of the commissioner Of the
general Land Office, while it throws little
light upon some essential points, such as
the actual present extent of the public |
lands of the country, the rapidity with !
which the 3 veral classes Of lands are be- |
ing exhausted, and the length of time |
that viii probably elapse before our beast |
Of being able TO offer every immigrant a
farm free for the cultivation viii be mere
empty verbiage. ia yet full of suggestions,
and speaks In 10 uncertain tone OF some
OF the more obvious and imperative re-
forms that are demanded.
The area OF lind disposed Of during
the last year aggregates 5000, 800 acres
"A gcodly prineiPslity in itself, contain
ing 29, ,.2G square miles, and only about
4,0o0 square m;iss smaller than the State
of Indiana. Add 10 this the 39o, 600 acres
OF Indian lands, and We have an area
equal TO that of many Of the older states.
amount Of public lands available it is I'M
possible to say. Pessimists have declared
for many years past that the public do
main vas virtually exhausted. But as
settlement advances 1t is generally found
that lands which were classed as desert,
or at least unfit for profitable cultivation,
are amurr lha bGst far safria,ais.--i ...---
poses. It Is moi ,ong since those portions
of Dakota which are now rated as among
the best whea.-producirg lands of the
c.Irutrg -strs catalogued in the territory
l;..r1..;.ilently je5arrsd irom use for agri-
crj mr.. Aud thus she area open to cul-
tisaiioy. seems 10 renew itself perpetually,
lik. these magie vases which are ever be-
~ eJap'ied ald which yet remains al
ways fat. Only as recently as 1880
crsfui Observer reported that the nation
hAd ~, abcat =, 600, 600 acres OF agricul-
tara, !aha, lett. Bat upon examination
1t l. discovered that all Of these were in-
clud-d in the Southern States, and con-
sidcrabiy greater quantity than this total
has since heen taken up-largely in the
nor.hwest-sithout exhsusting the sup
ply Yet, although exact statistics Of the
area availabt for settlement ars not OBJ
tainable, although discoveries of produc-
tive qualities in land once regarded as
sterile are constantly being made, and the
throwing open Of portions of Indian reser-
yafions to settlement will still add con-
siderably TO the supply, nothing can be
more certain than that We are rapidly ex-
haustiDs cnr patrimony, and that there is
a date not too remote, though we may not
be able tn fix il exactly. when all the land
hunger that is characteristic Of all nations
viii tnd here no sustenance with which it
may be appea1ed. This being true, there
can be few subjects which viii outrank In
importance the consideration of our ma
tional land laws, and the reforms in them
which. as has long been apparent, are ur-
gently needed
Il is always 80 easy TO Juggle with these,
to appeal successfully to popular preju-
dice, and to throw the onus Of blame up
on 81. uiders which ought not to feel its
weight, that dispassionate and rational
action hss rarely been possible. The rec
concentrations contained in ths report OF |
Commissioner MscFsrland indicate at
least the general lines mon which the
legislation that viii probably bs proposed
this winter should proceed II is evident
that there should be some modification |
and amendment ofthe preempticn, home
stead and timber culture acts While it |
Is not nscessry 10 strike all Of these ex-
cep; The homestead act of Of the statute
books, and thus bring real hardship and |
inaict real injustice upon thousands Of !
settlers in the further northwest, it IL |
quite possible t. frame legislation which |
shall prevent them from becoming the ve-
| hic.es Of fraud and put an end to the ae-
eumuIaiion under them Of vast areas by |
single persons, wkieh hss been a scandal ir !
| all the past II should not be perfectly |
,ractieahle, as 1t Is nov, for one man to
acquire LILO acres under the national
lazs. virtually without any outlay. or 70
| ka.x,,oa sla owp.r - v.t-.kts