The St. Johns herald., 1888-08-02
COPP'S LAND REVIEW.
Land ScripS - NameS---ValueS--.
 How Used.
Written for the St. Johns Herald.

The Varlous warrants, certificates and scrips which may be used in the requirement of title to public lands are known under the general term of ''Land Scrips."
 The most common of these are Revolutionary Bounty Land Scrip issued in satisfaction of Virginia Land Warrants; Military Bounty Land Warrants, issued for service in wars prior to March 3, 1855 Agricultural College Scrip, issued to the several States to aid in the establishment of institutions for teaching agriculture and mechan- ics; Supreme Court and Surveyors General Scrips issued in lieu of southern private grants sold by the government.
 These warrants or scrips can be used in the purchase of lands just as cash might be used, anl fees to registers and receivers are required upon the location of all of them ex- cept the Revolutionary Bounty Scrip. They are therefore actually below par-that is while the face value is $1,25 per acre, they cannot be sold for quite that much.
 Another class of scrip, known as Certificates of Deposit, is that is- sued on deposits for surveys. The face value is $1.25 per acre, but as they cannot now be used outside of the States in which the land survey ed is situated, they cannot be sold for that amount. They can be used only where cash would serve.
 Several scrips of private charac- ter not locatable outside certain named States-principally Florida have been issued, but are not con- sidered of sufficient general inter- est to merit specific description.
 Soldiers Additional Homestead Certificates will take any vacant unappropriated, unreserved, public land that has been surveyed. These certificates were issued to soldiers, sailors, and marines, who had made homesteads of less than 160 acres prior to June p, 1874, that they might be placed on an equal foot ing with their comrades who were by law allowed to enter 160 acres. The issuance of the same was dis tinued in 1883. and persons en- titled to additional lands are now required to go to the local land office and make their additional entries in person. The law forbids the transfer of these certificates, but the provision is evaded by means of two powers of attorney-one to locate and another to sell the land. The value of these certificates is SEQ and upward per acre.
 There are several private scrips, varying in quantity from 40 to GAO acres, that sell from $30 to $50 per acre, and one-Girard Scrip-that wifi take only offered or unofered surveyed land, because of peculiar wording of law under which it was issued, is held at s60 per acre.
 Sioux Half Breed Scrip will take unsurveyed public land. Improve ment of the land is condition precedent to location. A large amount of this scrip was stolen from the General Land office some years ago after it had been located, and when one of tEe stolen pieces makes it's appearance now. the scrip is cancelled and the location declared void.
 In numerous cases 1t has been obtained from the Indians through fraud, and the locations have thus been defeated. Notwithstanding these circumstances it is worth from $35 to $45 per acre.
 Porterfeld Scrip is the only scrip that will take land within an in- corporated city or town. A de-