The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-10-09
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Sales of Public Lands During the Yosr-
Dakota Heads tho Column.


DAKOTA Heads the Column.
4 WASHINGTON, October 2.-One hundred
and fifty thousand new and happy homes is
the record of the Land Office in the year
Just ended. Uncle Sam seems to continue
erich enough TO give us all a farm III spite
of the cry that we have been hearing for
years that the public lands are nearly eX
hausted The lands disposed of in the
years ended June 80, 1884, amounted to
over twenty-six million acres, or allowing
a quarter of section TO each farm, over
100 600 farms Nearly eight million acres
of this was in homesteads, and as many of
these Gn the sections where there are rail
road grants are but eighty acres, it is safe
to saw that $1,000 ST these have been given
away TO those who no W occupy them. Dakota
has been the great attraction to those
seeking new homes this year. Over eleven
million acres have been disposed of in this
way in that Territory alone in the past year,
while in no other State or Territory does the
amount reach one-thiTd OF that total The
next in amount of land disposed of is Ne
braska, where the total is 5000, 100000
acres. Of the II .OO0. 0O0. 900 acres disposed
ct in Dakota, 100000, 600 were in home
Steads. 1900 100000 more by cash sales,
nearly 100000, 0O0 more by the timber
culture act" and 5000. Co., 600 set aside by
selection Of the railroad companies. This
does not, however, mean that this quantity
has been granted the companies. On the
contrary. they get none Of it until the ques-
tiOn of their right to il has been settled by
Congress or the courts. lie lands which
they select however, are set aside by the
Land Office, withdrawn from settlement or
the right of purchase or homestead until
this question is settled. If the decisions are
averse to the railroad companies the lands
will then be thrown open to settlement I'M
der the homestead and ether laws. The
amount of land selected by the railroad
companies during the past year, which they
claim to he due them under the acts grant
ing them land to aid in the construction of
roads. is over 100000 acres. OF this
however, only 647.l22 acres were ''pa-
tented" or absolutely granted TO the rail-
WAYS claiming il. and This amount was to
roads where there was no claim that they
mad failed fully TO comply with the require
ments of the original act, which granted
them the lands. The large proportion of
the lands thus claimed in the past pear by
having been selected" by the repre-
sentatives of the companies are in
Dakota, where over 100000 acres
were so selected and are set aside to await
the action of Congress or the courts,
not single acre i'm the Territory having
been patented to the railroads in the year
just ended. In Minnesota the cash sales
amounted in the year to 397,973 acres, the
original hOmesteads to 444, 25S, entries TO
95.33S, and miscellaneous" which is
mostly made uD of
TIL: RAILROAD SELECTIONS.
to 7OS, 592, making total amount of land
withdrawn from the public domain in the
State during the year including the rail
road claims 1.64G,46S acres. In Wisconsin
the total was 306, $40 acres, 160,00 being by
purchase, and 1890 by homestead entries
the final hOmesteads'' amounting to $4,000
acres. 1t is n curious fact that land was
disposed of i'm no less than twenty-Seven Of
the forty-Seyen States and Territories during
the past year. 1t will be a sur
prise, doubtless. TO many persons TO know
that any Government lands still remain
subject to purchase or homestead in such
old States as Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Mis-
SOUR. Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and
Florida, vet it is fact that lands We're
hOmesteaded in every one of these States
during the past year, and that there was one
sale Of Government lands in Ohio during
the year. There was an original homestead
entry of forty acres in Indiana; one of 1S4
acres i'm Illinois. while in Iowa there was
over six thousand acres of Government land
disposed of during the year. and in the
States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico
over three million acres, including some
pretty large claims by railroads in Louisiana
not vet recognized. II is 4 fact probably
not generally recognized that there are sew
eral million acres Of land i'm the Southern
States yet belonging TO the Government.
though the quantity in some of them has
been materially reduced by the claims Of
certain railroads. There has been
Il general rush for lands in
Louisiana by railways that claim to
have rights to certain grants made years arO
and the terms recently complied with.
Whether their claims will he recognized is
uncertain. They have, however, made a
tremendous grab. fling on every available
acre of land in the State so that instead of
their being nearly two million acres of land
in Louisiana subject to pre-emption or home
stealing there is now none, the claims upon
the land 10y the railway companies reQuir-
ing their withdrawal from the market until
the validity of the demand is decided upOn.
There are some facts about the public do
main not generally understood. but very
interesting 1t is not generally understood
for instance. that il has cost more than has
been realized for it, Yet such is the
fact. The public domain contains in
round numbers. 1900 600. 600 acres. and has
cost S352, 100000, or about nineteen cents
per acre. There has been disposed of in
various ways 645.0O0.OOO acres. for total
of 1897, coo. 600 So that the cost has been
over one hundred millions of dollars more
than the receipts for land sold Thus far. It
is also common assertion that the bulk of
the public lands have been disposed of.
The fact is that Go. Geo OO0 acres ont of
l,900,000,0G0 acres have been disposed of.
though in this operation the best lands have
been selected. but little purely agricultural
lands remaining in the hands of the Coy
.ornment Over four hundred million acres
# that remaining is counted desert lands"
Enough il is probable that much of it will be
cultivated a century hence.