THE STORY OF OUR PUBLIC DOMAIN 37 



volumes of Land Decisions, hundreds of Federal 

 and State reports and more than a thousand cir- 

 cular regulations. 



Laws are of two classes, public land laws and 

 land grants. The first are general in character pro- 

 viding for disposition of lands to persons willing to 

 meet certain conditions; the second are special laws 

 granting stated tracts to individuals, corporations or 

 state governments. The volume of the records is 

 appalling. The old Land Office building in Wash- 

 ington was burdened with them from attic to cellar. 

 Cases filled all available corners in all rooms and 

 lined both sides of halls and passage ways. Under 

 the orderly rearrangements of to-day, an extraor- 

 dinary system is necessary to have all always acces- 

 sible. Details of lands are kept in local land offices, 

 saving helpless confusion at headquarters. 



From first beginnings, surveying was one of 

 the most difficult problems facing the Commissioner. 

 In early days of excessive poverty, with lands of 

 little value, to save establishments, salaries, and ex- 

 pense accounts, Congress began farming out its sur- 

 veying by contract. The practice once established 

 lasted until 1910, proving many times more expen- 

 sive in the end than survey by a permanent responsi- 

 ble government service possibly could have been. 

 Often surveyors failed to mark section corners, or 

 the marks were destroyed by fire. More than half 

 the surveyed lands have had to be resurveyed; and 

 the costs to governments and property owners for a 



