The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1915-10-26
ANALYzE ORIGIN
OF PUBLIC DOMAIN
HOW UNCLE SAM ACQUIRED so
MUCH LAND AND WHAT HE
HAS DONE WITH III
Interesting Review of Extent of Pub
lie Lands by Professor Arnold of
University of Idaho
BY EARL C. ARNOLD

professor of Law, u of -
The public domain is not of recent
origin. 1t was almost coeval with the es-
tablishment Of our government. The
public lands came from two sources;
first, cessions by the Original Colonies
to the federal government second
land acquired by purchase and treaty
from foreign nations.
Our public lands originated under
the Articles of Confederation, and af
ter the establishment of federal gov
ernment, the United States became the
successor to all the rights and inter
ests of the confederacy. Seven of the
original thirteen colonies owned west
ern public land, namely: New York,
Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
South Carolina, North Carolina, and
Georgia. The remaining colonies
owned no land. These lands had been
acquired by grants from different Sow
ereigns of Great Britain. The bound
aries of these various grants were
conflicting, because the data which
Great Britain had concerning the then
West was very meagre. Consequently
these grants were made promiscu-
ously with little idea as to the real
territory described. More than one
state claimed the same area in most
cases, and it was no uncommon thing
to witness five of the colonies claim
ing the same territory under as many
different royal grants. This conflict
did not produce a good feeling among
the colonies. 1t was not conducive
founding of federal union. The six
colonies which did not have a grant
Of public land cotended that the
seven which did should not be per-
mitted to hold it for their exclusive
use. The six colonies contended that /
those holding western lands would |
have an unequal power in any plan
of representation based on popula-
ton. This was contradicted by the
seven colonies owning public lands.
This conflict of opinion threatened to
be the rock upon which the proposed !
federal union would split. Virginia
and Delaware protested against the
proposed action of the continental
congress, while Maryland refused to
accede to any federal compact until
it was agreed that the public lands
of these colonies should be held for
the common benefit of all the states,
and that the boundaries of the states
owning such public lands should be
defined and curtailed. The Maryland
house of delegates instructed its mem
bers Of the continental congress to
refuse to bind that state SO long as
other states were allowed to retain
their public lands. In 1870 congress,
to induce the states to cede certain :
western lands and thus relieve the
embarrassment, stated as it's policy {
that these ceded lands shall be dis
posed Of for the common benefit of |
the United States, and be settled and ]
formed into distinct republican states {
which shall become members of the I
federal union" The states acquiesced II
in this suggestion, and New York was {
the first to cede any lands. March 1, |
1871, it ceded over 10000 acres. 1t (
was in the form of deed signed by +
the delegates to congress. These ces- {
sions by various states continued un- t
til 1902, when a total of over 259 ,000,- t
900 acres Of land were ceded by seven {
of the original colonies to the United {
States. On the ratification of the y
present constitution, the United States q
fell heir to this domain. The area G
thus given by these seven states was a
but little less than the present un- d
reserved, unappropriated public do
main.
The second method by which the
federal government has obtained
lands has been by purchase and
treaty. BY the Louisiana Purchase, :
the Gadsen Purchase, the Alaskan J
Purchase, and other purchases, we J
have acquired almost 1,500,000,00 a
Our purchases began with 1903 and f
continued until the purchase of Alaska a
IN 1857. The land so procured cost G
as an average of 1-10 cents per Il
.cre In estimating the total cost to u
he United States of all Of the pub il
ic lands, including survey and dis a