Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/815

* LANDS. 739 LANDS. were passed granting quarter sections of land to actual settlers lio would take up their resi- dences on certain frontiers. About 3,000,000 acres were disposed of in this manner. Under the homestead i)olicy adoi)ted in 18li2, and the fciniilar tinitx-r-culturc policy introduced in 1878, aliout 150,000,000 acres were taken uj) by pri- Aate persons. The policy of making grants of public lands to the I^tales was begun at an early lime, and has contributed largely to the deple- tion of the public domain. As early as 1802 a grant was made for ])ublic improvements in Ohio. Between 1824 and 18UG more than 4.000.000 acres were granted, to live .States for canal purposes. By an act of 1850 all swamp and overflowed lands within the limits of any State were granted for (lie purpose of aiding in the construction of levees and drains. The jwlicy of aiding in the construc- tion of railroads by means of public-land grants began about 1850. In September of that year Congress made a grant to the State of Illinois to be api)lied to the construction of the Illinois Central liailroad. The grant consisted of alter- nate sections for si.x sections in width on either side of the road. At the same time grants were made to the States of Alabama and Jlississippi to aid in the construction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad to the Oulf. Between 1852 and 1872 similar grants, about eighty in numlx-r. were made to the States of Missouri, Arkansas, Minne- sota, Wisconsin. Louisiana, and Florida for the purpose of subsidi'^ing their principal railwaj- lines. As early as 1845 efl'orts had been made to secure the aid of the Government in the con- struction of a transcontinental line to the Pacific. With the admission of California to the Union and the rapid development of the Far West, the construction of a rood to the Pacific became a political necessity. Between 1850 and 1862 the proposition to grant Government aid in the con- stniction of the line was a subject of frequent de- bate in Congress, and was favored by both po- litical parties in their national conventions. But lietween Towa and California there were no States to which the grant conld pass. Accordingly Con- gress voted a subsidy of public land to such cor- porations as would undertake the task of building the Pacifi ■ railroads. During the ensuing decade twenty odd grants, comprising an aggregate area of 155.000,000 acres, were made, some of which, however, reverted to the Government on account of the failure of the railroads to fulfill the condi- tions under which the grants were made. A few grants for canals and wagon roads between 1S63 and 1873 withdrew an ad.lilional 3.000,000 acres from the publi<' domain, thus swellinfx the amount promised by tlie Government to the grand total of 262.000.000 acres. A considerable portion of this, however, reverted to the Government, and was never patented. In addition to grants for internal imjirovements, the States have received large gifts of public land for the encouragement of education. Those admitted prior to 1850 re- ceived one-thirty-sixth of their area for school purposes. Those admitted since 1850 have re- ceived one-eighteenth for the same purpose — a total of nearly 70.000,000 acres. Each of the new States has also received a tract of from one to four townships for a universitv — a total of more than 1,000,000 acres. By the act of 1862 Congress granted to each State a tract of land whose area was proimrtioned according to its representation in Congress, for an agricultural college. As a result of this policy, about 10,000,- 000 acres were lost to the public domain. The six new States recently admitted to the Union re- ceived the magnificent gift of 23,000,000 acres for schools, public buildings, and other purposes. As a climax to the munificence of Congress was an act of l'J02, setting ai-ide all moneys received from the sale of public lands in seventeen States and Territories as a special fund for the estab- lishment of an irrigation system. This is ex- pected to yield ultimately several hundred million dollars. Tlie different methods by which titles to pub- lic land may be acquired by private individuals are: (1) Preemption; (2) homestead; (3) pub- lic auction or private sale; (4) bounty law. or military land warrants; (5) under the Timber- Culture Act. According to the Preemption Law, which was in force until recently, the applicant was required to settle upon the land, improve it, and reside there continuously for a period of six months. At the expiration of this period. Upon furnishing proof of such residence and im- provement, and upon paying $1.25 per acre, the preemptor was entitled to a patent conveying him full title to the land. All public land belonging to the United States to whiili Inilian title had been extinguished was subject to preemption under the conditions, restrictions, and exceptions provided by law. The principal exceptions were lands expressly reserved by law or proclamation of the President, lands included within the limits of an incorporated town or already selected as the site of a city or town, lands actually settled and occupied for purposes of trade or other busi- ness, and lands contiiining saline or mineral de- posits. Every person who was the head of a family, every widow, and every unmarried per- son over the age of twenty-one years, b<'ing a citizen of the United States or having tiled a declaration of intention to become such, was en- titled to take advantage of the preemption laws, exce])t that no person who was already the owner of 320 acres of land in any State or Territory, or who had abandoneil his residence on his own land to reside on the public lands in the same State or Territory, was entitled to the right in question. The preemption system is said to have originated from the necessities of settlers, and through a series of more than fifty-seven years of experience in attempts to sell or otherwise dispose of the public lands. The early idea of sales for revenue was abandoned, and a plan of disposition for homes was substituted. The preemption system was the result of long experience, executive or- ders, departmental rulings, and judicial con- struction. Under the Homestead Law. enacted in 1862 and since variously amended, the applicant 'enters' upon the land (not exceeding 100 acres), improves it, and resides there continuously for a jieriod of five years. After the expiration of this period, and upon making proof of such residence and improvement, he is entitled to a patent without the payment of money, except a nominal fee. Any person qualified to take advantage of the Pre- emption Law is eligible to enter land under the homestead acts, while the lands subject to home- stead are the same as those subject to pre- emption. I'nder the homestead policy more than 85.000,000 acres of land have passed from the public domain to the possession of private indi-