In the course of time the practice of dis posing of lands at public sale gradually died out, and now such sales take place only for isolated tracts and in certain other exceptional cases.
From 14 Aug. 1854 to 2 June 1862 there was in force a law providing for a modification in the price of lands taken under the.pre-emption acts known as the Graduation Act. Its pur pose was to reduce the price of public lands to actual settlers and cultivators. The price of all 'lands which shall have been in the market for 10 years or upward was fixed at $1 per acre; when this period had reached 15 years the price was reduced to 75 cents per acre, and so on, by graduation of 25 cents for each five years till the period had reached 30 years, after .which the price was cents.
The Pre-emption Law remained in force un til 3 March 1891, when it was repealed.
The existing system was inaugurated by the enactment of the Homestead Law 20 May 1862. A detailed statement of its history and present status is found in the article HOMESTEAD LAWS.
The Desert Land Law, now in force, was enacted 3 March 1877, and is treated more in detail under the title DESERT LAND Laws.
The treatment of the arid and semi-arid areas in the West required special attention and some experimenting which is discussed under the title of RECLAMATION Laws, the principal of these being that known as the •Carey Act? enacted 18 Aug. 1894, and the Reclamation Act of 17 June 1902.
A considerable area has been granted under the head of 'Private land claims, donations,* etc., recognizing claims based upon the laws of the governments formerly in control of the acquired territory and also upon claims based on settlement upon public lands not authorized by specific law. Considerable areas were granted to encourage wagon road, canal and river improvements to State and corporations.
Congress has also granted very large areas to encourage the building of railroads in the Western States, usually granting the odd-num bered sections within a certain distance from the line of road, this distance varying from 6 to 20 miles on either side.
There have also been granted to the States large areas covered by swamp lands on the theory that the State would reclaim them, but comparatively little has been done in this direc tion.
Congress in disposing of the public lands has been very liberal in grants for educational purposes, providing in each State large areas for the public schools and special grants for State universities. In the acts admitting the several States to the Union until recently two full sections of land in each township were set apart for public schools, being two square miles or 1,280 acres in each township of 36 square milea.or one-eighteenth' of the area In recent
years the school grant has been doubled, four square miles in each 36, or one-ninth, being set apart for public school purposes. • Congress has made ,other grants to a number of the States for public buildings, internal improve litary and naval land warrants were issued in recognition of service in war, and about 000,000 acres of land have been so taken.
Scrip represents a form of authority to take public lands given in adjustment of rights claitned to lands which could not be satisfied by granting the particular lands claimed.
Reservations of various kinds have been made; the largest areas are covered by the National Forests (q.v.). The National Monu ments are established to, retain- for public use lands which have special historic or scenic value.
The history of our public lands and the policy applied to their disposition divides itself into three distinct periods.
The first period is characterized by the de sire to dispose of the land in large tracts and to secure as great and rapid a return as possible.
In the second period the desire for return becomes less important and the encouragement of settlement is the main feature.
In the third period the obtaining of funds from the sales of the lands is entirely subor dinated and the main desire is to secure the es tablishment of homes on comparatively small tracts and a utilization of lands available for grazing or mineral or other resources under regulations for the general public benefit.
The table in the beginning of this article shows that the area which has been disposed of and the area reserved for public purposes make a total of about 1,245,636,095 acres. This does not include lands in the original 13 States or Texas, because the United States had no lands in these States available for general disposition. Figures are not available to show the details which up this total area disposed of by the United States. The principal items are the following, being the areas disposed of to 30 June 1915, as published by the General Land Office except where followed by the figures (1904), which are the results published in 1905 by the Public Lands Commission appointed by President Roosevelt The figures of this com mission here given have not changed very much to date as they refer to methods of dis position not now in force.