The Washington herald., 1912-07-14
Uncle Sam Largest
Real Estate Dealer
Ever Since Establishment of Government Coun-
try Has Bought Great Blocks of Real Es-
tate from Rulers of the World for
Comparatively Small Sums.

In 1S4S, after the close or the war with
Mexico. that country ceded to the United
States 81. .s02 square miles Of land for
the sum OF sls,250.0O0. So, $4,000 of which
was to be paid to the citizens of the
United States who held war claims
against Mexico.
This magnificent property included the
present States of California, Arizona and
New Mexico, containing some of the
richest mineral and agricultural land in
the world The cost was a little less
than four and one-half cents an acre.
Gar Sells Alaska.
These purchases from France, Spain.
and Mexico. for which Uncle Sam paid
SIS, ,74s, 76s, represent an area Of 1,46s ,s34
square miles. A little more than two
fifths of the area of the United States
in North America was acquired for the
cost of the Manhattan and the Queens
obro bridges across the East River.
In 1853 Uncle Sam became liberal and
made his second deal with Mexico, the
Gadsden Purchase. buying a narrow strip
along the southern boundary OF Arizona
and New Mexico 36.2l square miles. for
SIC. 1000 CO., or forty-three and ffteen-hun-
dredth cents per acre. the top price paid
for an addition 10 our territory.
For fourteen years after the GadsdeD
Purchase Uncle Sam retired from the
real estate market. Then another royal
customer presented himself
In 1861 me Gar of all the Russias, In
considc ration of sI.2o0.000 of good and
lawful coin of the realm. set over. as
signed, bargained. and sold to the United
States Of America all OF his right. title.
and interest in and TO the 5ss,ii6 square
miles Of territory, more or less. known as
Alaska and further covenanted to re-
linquish all claim TO the tract OF land
then Jointly occupied by Russia and the
United States and now embraced in the
States of Washington and Montana The
low price, one and nine-tenths cents per
acre, was doubtless due to the inaccessi-
bility of the property. as at that time
nothing was known Of the gold deposits
which were later discovered IN the klon-
dixie and other sections.
Give. Spain Some Coin.
Having thus retired every European
nation except England from the conti-
nept of North America, Uncle Sam lay
on his oars until the war with Spain
had been fought and won. Then, with
his characteristic generosity, he again
relieved the stress of the Spanish crown
by paying into its treasury N,lW,cU
bright new dollars. in consideration or
which the rebellious Philippine Islands
were ceded to the United States and We
became a factor in the affairs OF the
Orient For these sos square miles
We paid a fraction less than 20 cents
an acre, next to the highest price ever
paid by the government.
From the above figures 1t will be seen
that a total of 2A7.659 square miles OF
land has been purchased at cost OF
S76 049, ,76S, or an average Of five and
twenty-eight hundredths cents per acre.
While s76,o4976s is not an appalling
sum of money in these days OF tremen-
dous fiscal transactions, the total area
of land acquisitions to our government
by these deals is SO vast that mere
figures do not set the meaning Of 1t all
clearly before the readers eye. The
amount of territory acquired is practi-
caIly as large as all that portion Of the
United States west of the Mississippi
River. or seven times as large as the
original thirteen States.
Comparative Values.
For this territory We paid about one
half OF what the government pays every
year In pensions. The four bridges
across the East River cost more than
the whole amount. Less than one-third
of the annual budget of the city of New
York would have bought It all.
Nor has Uncle Sam been buying all
this land merely for the sake Of pos
session. Under the homestead laws
every square mile of this public land
which is taken yields a revenue Of Sl04
to the government, or a profit OF nearly
200 per cent.
At the average price paid by the
United States for these lands the Steel
Trust, with its billion dollar capital.
could buy nearly two-thirds of all the
land in the world.