Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-07-25

linquishment of all proprietary and terri
torial rights in this country leaving the own
ership of the United States and the individual
states undisputed.
The continental congress next passed
resolution recommending that the several
states should surrender all their waste and
unappropriated lands to the central govern
ment, as a measue toward paying the debt
incurred by the War of the Revolution. Each
of the states held or claimed vast acreages
outside their own geographical boundaries.
Virginia, for example, had almost 200, OOO,-
600 acres In the territory lying north Of the
Ohio river and east OF the Mississippi; Massa-
chusetts had millions of acres now included
in Michigan, Illinois anu Wisconsin; Connecti-
cut had a territory almost as large in what
is now northern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois;
South Carolina held strip Is miles wide
which now forms the northern part of Geor-
gia, Alabama and mississippi North Caro-
lima claimed what is the present state of
Tennessee and Georgia had 56,000,000 acres
in what are now the states of Alabama and
Mississippi.
One by one these holdings were coded to
the federal government in some instances
subject to certain financial obligations, until
eventually the United States had acquired in
this manner some 100000 square miles or
$40, 200, 900 acres, at cost Of $4,000, 900.
Then came a series Of treaties through
which we took over holdings of foreign gov
combination Of the two. First of these was
the transaction with France in 1903, whereby
the United States came into possession, of
757,961,920 acres, now known as the Louisi-
ana purchase, constituting a part of Missis-
sippi, Alabama, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming
Montana, and the states lying between them
and the Mississippi river. The purchase price
was $15,000,000 but by the time the deal
was consummated interest charges, claims,
ETC., ha drought this amount up to $27,-
267,621.
From Spain we purchased what is now the
state of Florida in 1919 and in. 1848 Mexico
coded us 334, 443,620 acres comprising the
present states of California, Nevada, Utah
and parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado
and Wyoming. Two years later Texas gave
us title to some 60-odd million acres, now
constituting a part Of New Mexico, Oklahoma
and Colorado, and then came the Gadsden
purchase from Mexico of 30,000,O0O acres,
now included in New Mexico and Arizona.
One of our biggest real estate deals was
the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1857,
when we paid $7,2OO,0OO for 378,165,76O
acres. Hawaii was not so large a transac-
ton, but very important one, following
which came our troubles with Spain as a re-
suit of which we acquired Porto Rico, Guam
and the Philippines, in 1898 The year fol-
lowing, by treaty with Germany and Great
Britain, we took over Tutuila and other
Vmall Samoan islands by annexation. The
Oregon country embracing more than $780,
100000 acres was claimed by 'this govern
ment through discovery and exploration, and
this claim was recognized by treaty with
England and Spain. More recently we pur-
chased the Virgin Islands from Denmark.
In all, the area which the United States has
acquired from foreign governments in one
way and another amounts to about 100000
square miles, or 1,500,000,000 acres. The
total cost was slightly less than $66, OOO,OOO,
or little more than cents per acre, which
any real estate agent will tell the world was
a good investment.