The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-12-09

pleted with the exception of the land
| included In the Indian territory.
This remained subject to the use OF
the Indians until recent years, when
provision was made for the final ex-
Etinguishment Of general Indian title
in the United States by tribal and
general allotments Of specific tracts
lot land In fee.
The second step In opening the
public lands for settlement consisted
of the survey. The starting point or
base line In each instance was q true
north and south line, or meridian.
This meridian was established with
reference to the whole body of land
which was to be surveyed and the
whole was constituted as one or more.
land districts according to the total
Quantity and the contour and Ioca-
ton Of the component parts. Each
land district was divided into ranges
by lines parallel to the principal me-
rfdian. These lines were six miles
apart and the ranges were numbered.
east or west Of the meridian. Each
land district was thus divided into
strips six miles wide and as long.
running north and south, as the
length of the land district.
The ranges were then divided by
squares which measured six miles
on each side and thus contained So
square miles. These squares ware
denominated townships and were
still further subdivided into parcels
of a mile square. called sections, giv-
ing SO sections to a township. Each
of the sections was divided into quar-
tiers. Prior to 1920, no smaller sub
division than section was made
and in that year, the quarter section,
which has been the unit of grant for
most of the public land was estab-
ltshed. The quarter section is, there
fore, q SQUARE Of land measuring a.
quarter of q mile on each side and
containing 100 acres. Further sub
division for convenience of private.
transfer and for fractional surveys
seemed desirable in 1882, and quar-
ter quarter sections were established
each of these units containing forty
acres.
1t Is familiar fact that lines rep
resenting north and south directions
cannot be drawn as parallels since
the meridians converge SO as to meet
at the north and south poles. This
has the effect of making q slight de-
crease in the width of the northerly
part Of a range, the difference becom-
ing more marked as the lines 20
north. For convenience. all the diff
ferences are thrown into the north
and west quarter sections of each
township and these sections, with
those including lakes and rivers are
laid OF into fractional divisions SUBJ
ject to special descriptions. With.
these exceptions, all land. descriptions
In the former public domains OF the
United States are uniform in their
character. and description as a
given quarter Of qdarter-section OF
township Of a range of a land dis
itrtct is more effective for purposes
OF Identification and conveyance than
any device that mankind has preyi-
ously used for the description OF
land.
The execution Of the trust under
taken by the United States SO to adj
minister the public domain as to se-
cure its use for the common bene-
fit has developed a system Of jurisS
prudence known as the land laws of
the United States. eSveral charac-
tiers of grants have developed. States
which have been formed to admins
ter the political affairs OF the pop
ulation have received extensive
grants to enable them to establish
school systems and to found and
support agricultural colleges. AS
communication was an essential to!
development, transcontinental andI
other railroads and even wagon
roads were assisted by grants of al
ternate sections along the right OIL
way. The grants to states for thel
restraint Of rivers and the reclama-i
tion of overfowed lands have ALL
ready been noted. Military serviceI
IN the wars of the United States has
been compensated by grants Of iapdsi
or by preference under pre- Hon
or homestead laws.
The distinctive feature Of the pub
lie land system of the United States
however; has been the encourage
ment given the individual who had
nothing but his own labor to estab-
lish himself as a land owner and AM
asset of national wealth. The early
statutes made cultivation and i'm
provement through a term of years
the condition Of a grant, and later
the sales at little more than nominal
prices We're made conditional on ac-
tual use Of the land. The tenor OF
the land laws of the United States
during the period Of the existence of
large bodies Of unappropriated pub
lie land was a prefer to the world
that any man with energy and indus
try sufficient to reclaim small hold
ing from the wilderness might nave
substantially all the fruits Of his
labor. This. however, has refer
ence to condition which has passed
away. The residue Of public lands
at the present time is affected by the
policy Of conservation which regards
the common good as best to be pro-
noted by developing the lands as di-
rect sources of revenue to the United
States rather than, as formerly, BY
development for private profit.