Evening star., 1901-08-30
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
More Land left Than Has Been
,s given Away.
BRINGING TEE WORK Up TO Date
Homesteads Acquired During the
= Past Year.
REPoRf OF MR.. HERMANN

REPoRT OF MR.. HERMANN
The annual report Of Commissioner
| Binger Hermann of the general land office
win show a remarkable amount Of work
| done by that branch OF the government
service during the past fiscal year.
| when In my last annual report called
| attention to the remarkable showing made
| In the tabulated statements Of work then
done in this office-of lands disposed OF and
cash received for that year-and which far
4 exceeded the record for many years preced-
ing, confidently believed maximum had
been reached says Mr.. Hermann. The
| cash receipts were then $4,379,75S an In
| crease Of 8. 800 621 over the previous year
| QS9O, and an. increase of $21O1,1SS over
these Of the year 1898. The land disposals,
| 1t was shown, were then Ii. ,oS7 acres for
that year $500, as against 9,1S2.413 acres
| for the previous year $500, or an increase
| exceeding 100000 acres OF homestead
entries then 8,47S,4O9 acres were shown In
| that report, as against gilt ,oSI acres TOT
| tho year before.
| Homestead Entries.
1.-THE present report for the fiscal year
| just closed greatly surpasses the exhibit
above recapitulated There were 9.4S8 more
| final homestead entries made during the
| year just closed and covering 1.1SO,528 more
acres than for any one year since the pas
| sage of the homestead act (May 70, 1859.
almost forty years ago; nearly one-fourth
| as many final entries Of homesteads and
| acres In this year just closed as In the en-
| tire nineteen years following that Law. Inc
record of original homestead entries made
| hxyc cnff loro = y,,,,1i 10
year is almost as great surprise. These
| entries numbered 68, 648 and covered 9.497,-
| 275 acres, an increase over the great year
before a5 se Of 1873 entries and an increase OF
| 1,01S,S66 acres. In original homestead en-
| tries, final homestead entries and COM
| muted homestead entries made last fiscal
| year there were III, 800 entries in all, and
| these embraced Is, 455, ,O57. .46 acres for actual
| bona fde homes to American settlers.
| Office Work Done.
| I'm almost as great proportion has
other business Of the general land Office
| kept in advance Of the past prosperous
year. Communications received were 232,-
240 as against 191 254 the year before, an
increase of 4O,9S6. Decisions and letters
written numbered 173.412 as against 49,,
433 the year before. an increase Of 24,979.
THE amount of land disposed Of during
the last year is y, 562, 796; 30 acres. showing
| an increase. Of 2, los, "a as compared
with the aggregate Of disposals for the
fiscal yearSIendad June 80 1900, namely,
IL, ,453. .8S7 90 Lacres These figures do not
! include final entries the area Of which has
| been reported in previous years as original
| entries The cash receipts are equally as
tonishing, as they amount to nearly five
millions Of odollars (s4,972, ,160). exceeding
the high-Water mark of the last year by
$592, ,402 50 and exceeding the total cash
| receipts Of this office for the fiscal year
1897 by $2.SS4, ,229: The total cash receipts
for that year were $2.OS7 ,931 No single
l xryffh hfs, f1n- CT ton, 10 If
| messed SO large a sum received on disposals
| of public lands as during the year just
| closed. bra 10
sbCask Received.
| Attention is especially invited to the
cash receipts arising from depredatons
upon public lands, compromises, fines etc,
which. for the past year, aggregated $751;
| 573.S4 as against $238 OS525 for the pre-
vtous year, or an increase Of $25, ,538. SO,
thus indicating increased vigilance on the
| part of the special agency force. Sub
| tracing from the total cash receipts dur
| ing the fiscal year the amount expended
| and contracted for in maintenance of the
entire land and forest administration, there
remains net surplus in the treasury OF
| So, ,15S, ,44167.
Especial efforts are exerted by this office
| to finally close up the swamp-land claims
| which still remain Of the different states,
and which for many years have been a
great source of contention. The department
has been occasioned unceasing trouble and
| expense in adjusting the numerous doubt
| full claims which have been filed for recog-
| milton. Last year 215, ,983. SO acres were
patented, as against 9S,O97.36 the year be-
| fore, being an increase of III, ,S6650 acres
These were swamp lands in place. Swamp
| indemnity claims rejected last year en-
| braced 1872. 800 acres, as against 90, ,32O acres
| rejected the year previous, or an increase
| of rejected claims covering 96,5S0 acres. An
| excellent showing Is also made in the in
| creased acceDtanC6 OF n ho h.
| lie domain. In the past year these en-
| braced S.81O.837 acres, as against 1857 2S2
| acres the previous year, Or an increase Of
about 16 per cent.
| Land Patents.
when proof is completed on an applica-
.tion for public land. whether it be mineral,
agricultural timber land or a selection on
| the part Of the state or a corporation upon
| some grant. the demand is insistent that
| patent issue and that title may be con-
| firmed early In the claimant Therefore
| strenuous efforts have been made to ex-
pedtte the issuance of patents, and ac-
cordingly there were issued the past year
| Al ,4OS patents as against "a 344 the previous
| year. an increase of 13,O64. In this con-
nection 1t will also be interesting to note
| that in patents on railroad selections un-
der grants by Congress there were 2,47O,-
| S04. 30 acres patented the past year as
against 1,277, ,572. .6S acres the year previous.
| being an increase of ], ,193, ,231 81 acres; and
of wagon road selections there were pat
ented last year 1865, SAT. .18 acres as against
| 81 sol SO acres of the previous year, an in
| crease Of 104, O4556 acres. On the other
| hand, there were 9,535.13 acres of rail-
| road selections cancelled during the year.
| as against Sc, ,230.04 acres the year prior
| and there were received selections cover
| ing 3,2S5, ,676.14 acres as against selections
| for 1871 ,S14. IA received the year previous
State Selections.
"rhere were certified to the several states
| and territories during the fiscal year ended
June 80, 1901, lists Of lands selected by
them and approved by the Secretary of the
Interior to the amount of 1,243, ,519 92 acres
showing an increase during the last fiscal
year Of All $40. AZ acres
'In the year just past there were render
ed 1884 deciNonstin contest cases, appealed
and unappaAled.,ias against s.s47 Of the
previous year an increase Of 1857 de-
| cisions. lid 9di
'Tn mineral agd coal entries approved
| there has been a. satisfactory increase. The
| mineral and mflLisite patents issued during
| the year, h3s8 ins number embraced 2,T72
mineral and mill site claims and an area OF
| KO $40 AZ aGreS.s an increase In area Of