Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 August 1881 — Our Public Domain. [ARTICLE]

Our Public Domain.

• The public domain of the United States, acquired by cession from the several States and by treaty from France, Sjiain, and Mexico, Texas and Russia, amounts to 2,894,235.91 square miles, or about 1,825,310,000 acres, and its cost was, in round* numbers, $322,000,000, of which sum the Government has received back about $200,000,000 for lands sold. Down to July, 1880, the Government of the United States had disposed, by sale, of about 170,000,000 acres; by act of donation, 3,000,000 acres ; in bounties for military and naval service, 61,000,000 acres; for internal improvements, 7,000,000 acres; by grant of saline lands, 560,000 acres; for town sites, and county seats, 150,000; by patent to railway companies, 45,000,000; canal grants, 4,000,000; for military roads, 1,300,000 ; by sale of mineral lands (since 1866), 148,000 ; homesteads, 55,000,000 ; scrip, 2,900,000 ; coal lands, 10,750 ; stone and timber lands (act of 1878), 21,000; swamp and overflowed lands given to States, 69,000,000; for educational purposes, 78,000,000 ; under Timber-Culture act, 9,350,000; Graduation act of 1854, 25,000,000. Mineral and timber lands are now our most valuable assets. The pasturage lands are of nominal value apart from the mineral underlying them. Our remaining public lands, exclusive of Alaska, were, in June, 1880, estimated as follows : Timber lands, 85,000,000 acres; coal lands, defined, 5,530,000; precious-metal-bearing lands, 64,000,000 acres, but this area will be increased as the pasturage and timber lands are explored ; lands in Southern States, agricultural, timber and mineral, 25,000,000; lands irrigable from streams, 30,000,000; pasturage, desert, including certain lands in Indian reservations and barrens, 565,000,000. The above is exclusive of Alaska.

Sales of lands were first made in blocks of townships and of eight sections, but soon in tracts of 640 and 160 acres, and later of 120, eighty and forty acres. The pre-emption act of 1841 was a progressive step, giving a preference to actual settlers, also permitting them to pay for their lands with cash or warrants. But the most important of all our land laws was the Homestead act of 1862. Down to June 30, 1880, there were 469,784 entries made under this act, embracing 65,667,049 acres, and patents were issued in 162,237 cases, for 19,265,337 acres. The operation of the Homestead act produces no revenue to the Government, the fees and commission being but little, if at all, in excess of the cost of survey and dispositions.