Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1885-09-23
II. w. RANDALL,
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
INTERESTING STATISTICS PERTAIN
ING TO UNCLE SANS ESTATE.
A Piece Equal in Size to Ireland Sliced
OF Each Year. Two Hundred Thou
sand Square Miles Disposed of
in the Last Eleven Years.

WASHINGTON CITY, Sept. 2l.-For the
past four ye rs the United States has given
away or soil off its public domain, an1 OF
course this means almost entirely given
away, one Ireland per annum. The area OF
ireland is between 20 000, 900 and 25 00o, 900
acres, and that is almost exactly the
amount of public domain disposed of in the
years 1888 and 1885. 1t is greater than the
am ount disposed of in 1882 and considerably
less than the amount disposed of in
1854. As compared with the previous year
the ;spo ais OF public lands in the fiscal
year Just closed show a decided falling of,
but there j. q small increase ovor the enor-
nous figures for the year 1888. The disposals
of public lands in 1884 were effected by
propositions to repeal tho pre'empt!on, tim
ber-culsure and desert land acts, to amend
the homestead act, AMI to forfeit some OF
the railroal grants. The fear that
changes would be made in the
land law that would make 1t more
difficult to get posses ion OF land for
nothing impalle every body who was think
ing of claiming any part of the national
estate to do so at once. Thus some OF the
disposals which would ordinarily have been
made this year were made last, and the
total amount of public lands disposed of in
1854 was run up to $4,000, O0O, or about g.
OOO, 900 or 1000, 900 moro than in the pre-
ceeding or succeeding year.
1t is only By comparison with some known
areas of territory that one can get any
idea of the way the national estate is
passing into the hands of private persons,
mostly, of course, settlers. Dakota con-
tains IS, 600, 900 acres Or this, $1,000, 900
acres, equal to the state of Illinois, have
been disposed of in tie past nine years.
Taking in two years more, the investiga-
tion will find that the amount of public land
disposed of by the government In
eleven years is greater than the
area of Spain, but u trifis less than
the area of France or Germany, and
one fourth as great as British India with its
zoo, 600, 900 inhabitants The amount OF
land disposed of in the last eleven years is
200 000 square miles, an area eighteen times
as great as Belgium, which sustains over
5000, 900 inhabitants. The area disposed of
in some of the states, given approximately,
during the past nine years are as follows:
Wi.consin, over 5000 900 acres;
Michigan, nearly 2,5OO,OOO; California,
nearly $500, 900; Kansas. i4,500, 900;
Minnesota, over 9,ooOO 900; Nebraska, over
130 900, 900; Oregon, over 100000, and
Washington territory, nearly 100000
acres; Alabama, nearly 5000, 600; Arkan-
sas, nearly 100000; Louisiana, over
3O00,0O0; Mississippi, 100000, and
florida, $500, 900 acres. Both last year and
the year before, more land was disposed Of
in Dakota than in any other state or terri
tory, but in 1855 the Empire territory did
not stand so far ahead of her sisters as she
did in 1884.
The table appended shows that in the last
year 800, ,000 acres were disposed of in Da-
kota, over 3, 500, 900 in Nebraska, and over
100000 in Kansas. In California more
land was disposed of in 1885 than in 1884.
In Dakota the disposals for 1884 were nearly
three-fold those of 1855. In Kansas there
was an enormous increase from ], $50, 900
acres in 1884 to over 100000 in
1885 The disposals in Minnesota show
a falling off of 1,010, 900 acres. whi le there
is an increase of 100000 acres in Nebraska.
Of the 20, 112 663 acres of government land
disposed of last year, 7,4l5.ss5 acres were
disposed Of under the homestead act, 1885, :
O05 under the timber culture act, 3, sos, 914
acres were taken as railroad selections, and
3912,450 acres were sold for cash. The
homestead entries show but very small fall
ing off from 1884. The timber-culture
entries also show but small diminution.
The cash sales show reduction Of 1850, 00S
acres.
For the government lands disposed Of
there was received: S7,6S6, ia and for the
Indian land sold s933. 4s3. The land sold at
cash sales brought an average of S1.l9 per
acre, and the land disposed Of at public
sales brought 81. 41& par acre. The home
stead en- tries in 1885 numbered 59,S77, a
falling off of 4, 1853 from 1851.
The tim ber.cuIture entries show an in
crease Of about 1000 in number. Mineral
lands show decrease Of 344 entries and an
increase of 5000 acres, and there is a de-
crease If 16 entries and 116, 800 acres ii, coal
lands. The following table gives the aggre-
gate number of acres disposed of in each
state and territory in 1SS4-5: