

Till. DISPOSITION OF OUR PUBLIC LAM S 263 



be used toward the construction of the Illinois Central and the 

 Mobile and Ohio lines, reaching from Chicago to the Gulf. Be- 

 tween 1850 and 1872 about eighty similar land-grants were made. 

 The principal lines of communication in Minnesota and Iowa, 

 and important roads in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, 

 Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida were subsidized. 

 In 1862 a new problem presented itself. It became a political 

 necessity to lay a line of railroad across the continent. Between 

 and California there were no states to which the grant 

 could pass. Congress, therefore, promised a subsidy to corpora- 

 tions which undertook to build the road. 



In the ten years following, some twenty-three similar grants 

 were made, in almost all cases for roads running east and 

 and intended to form links in transcontinental lines. To satisfy 

 the terms of the acts, about one hundred and fifty-five millions of 

 acres would be necessary. Several companies never built their 

 roads, and earned no grant ; others completed the work after the 



ribed time. In a few cases Congress has formally declared 

 the grant void, and has restored the land to the public domain. 

 In iS83 nearly the whole area was at least withdrawn from settle- 

 ment, pending a legal return to the full control of the government ; 

 but only forty-seven millions of acres had been formally patented 

 to the states and companies. A few grants for canals and for 



;i roads, between the years 1863 and 1872, make up the 

 remaining millions of the grand total promised by the gov- 

 ernment, a total of a hundred and sixty-one millions of acres. 

 x press the disposition <>f the public lands in familiar terms, 

 the United States has parted with a tract equal to its whole area 

 east of the Mississippi River, added to the states of Missouri, 



. and Minnesota <\\< cage sold is a 



little mono than the combined areas of the New Kngland and 



Middle States, with Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. The coast 



from Delaware to Florida (including M. represent 



the area of gifts to individuals. The reman 'i, cast 



of the Mississippi, closely approximates to the area of grants to 



The remainder of the Northwest, with Missouri, Iowa, 



and Mm: my stand for the internal improvement grants. 



