From the table of public lands undisposed of (p. 8), it will be seen that the estimated acreage of the public domain remaining the property of the Government June 30, 1896, was 600,000,000 acres, in round numbers, not including Indian and military reservations, estimated at 86,960,000 acres, and the District of Alaska. In the past thirteen years, therefore, the Government has, by patents to States, railroads, homestead and other settlers, and by sales, disposed of about 326,000,000 acres of the public domain. These figures demonstrate that the country is being settled with great rapidity, and that the public domain is being diminished by great strides.
It is desirable that our waste acres should be taken up by actual settlers, to whom every encouragement should be extended if they are of a character to assimilate with our people and become valuable citizens. Our lawmakers, however, might well consider the question seriously before disposing of any more large areas of the public domain. If the rate of disposition of the last thirteen years is continued for thirteen years to come, there will be little of the public domain outside of Alaska remaining in the possession of the Government at the expiration of that time. Moreover, it is reasonable to conclude that a very considerable portion of the public domain remaining undisposed of is undesirable, because not susceptible of cultivation and not valuable by reason of timber growth or mineral deposits.
Of the 114,000,000 acres granted to railroads but not patented, as shown above, there can be no objection to transferring possession and control of whatever portion has been earned by compliance with the grants and may be available thereunder (estimated at 70,000,000 acres) with as much promptness as the facilities of the Government will permit; but until these grants are adjusted, my judgment is that no additional ones should be made. The expenses of maintaining the land department are considerable, aggregating at present nearly $2,000,000 annually. They can be materially curtailed when the railroad land grants shall have been adjusted.
Unusual diligence has been exercised by the Commissioner of the General Land Office during the past year, as well as from the beginning of his incumbency of that office, in patenting lands granted by Congress and in facilitating in every way the settlement of the vacant lands of our public domain. During the past year there were patented to railroads under Congressional grants 15,527,844.98 acres. The following table gives the names of the roads and the amount patented to each:
RAILROAD LANDS PATENTED.
There were patented (or certified with the effect of patenting) for the benefit of railroad companies under Congressional grants during the
