30 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



cised by a State only when individuals or corporations purchase the 

 right to select certain desired lands. 



In aid of internal improvements. — In the early days of the coun- 

 try's history the right of Congress to grant public lands in aid of 

 internal improvements was bitterly contested. The first legislation 

 of this character was contained in the enabling act of the State of 

 Ohio, already cited, and provided that one-twentieth of the pro- 

 ceeds of the sale of public lands within the State should be given 

 to the State to be used in establishing public roads. The first grant 

 of specific lands in aid of internal improvements was not made until 

 Februaiy 28, 1823 (3 Stat., 727). This grant also was made to the 

 State of Ohio to aid in the construction of a wagon road.- Since 

 that time there have been ten other wagon-road grants, eight canal 

 grants, three river-improvement grants, and twenty railroad grants. 

 The railroad grants to States alone approximate 40,000,000 acres. 

 No grant to a State in aid of internal improvements has been made 

 since the grant to Oregon for the Coos Bay wagon road on March 3, 

 1869 (15 Stat., 340). Although these grants were in terms made to 

 the States, most or all of them were in fact made through the 

 States to corporations that carried out the improvements contem- 

 plated. 



Carey Act.—T\ie act of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat., 372, 422) , com- 

 monly known as the Carey Act, and amendments thereto, the pur- 

 pose of which is to aid the public-land States in the reclamation of 

 the desert lands therein and in the settlement, cultivation, and sale of 

 , such lands in small tracts to actual settlers, authorize— 



{a) The temporary withdrawal of public lands from settlement or 

 entry pending investigation and survey preliminary to the filing of 

 an application for segregation, such withdrawn lands to be restored 

 to settlement and entry at the end of one year from the date of with- 

 drawal in case application ior segregation is not theretofore made. 



(&) The segregation of public lands by the Secretary of the Inte- 

 rior, contracts between the United States and any beneficiary State, 

 and the reclamation of such lands by beneficiary States within 10 

 years from the approval of the State's application (subject to an 

 extension of 5 years) . 



(c) The patenting to any beneficiary State of any tract of re- 

 claimed land when satisfactory proof is made that an ample supply 

 of water to reclaim it is actually furnished. 



Other important provisions of the Carey Act are in brief as 

 follows : 



Prior to segregation of lands or execution of contract between the 

 United States and any State ^u^ State shall file a proper applica- 

 tion and present satisfactory >lans IwThe reclamation of the lands. 

 Lands that are not desert, lanas that are occupied by bona fide set- 



