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Show 384 HISTORY OF PUBLIC LAND LAW DEVELOPMENT State Public Land Donations to the States" Canal and Other For Wagon Internal Swamp and For Railroads Roads Improvements Indemnity Alabama______ 2, Arizona_______ Arkansas______ 2, California______ Colorado______ Florida________ 2, Idaho.......__ Illinois________ 2, Indiana_______ Iowa__________ 4, Kansas________ 4, Louisiana______ Michigan______ 3, Minnesota_____ 8, Mississippi_____ 1 , Missouri_______ 1, Montana______ Nebraska______ Nevada_______ New Mexico___ North Dakota__ Ohio_________ Oklahoma_____ Oregon_______ South Dakota__ Utah_________ Wash ington____ Wisconsin______ 3, Wyoming______ Total_________ 37, 170,580 221,013 747,479 563,721 218,705 595,133 706,945 176,329 353,057 134,058 047,469 075,345 837,968 80,774 2,583,890 652,322 302,931 128,531 3,359,188 400,016 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 533,368 1,259,271 821,342 500,000 500,000 1,751,236 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 .500,440 100,000 1,204,114 500,000 1,022,349 13,910,744 441,666 7,686,575 2,193,965 20,326,708 1,460,164 1,259,271 1,196,392 9,504,412 5,680,312 4,706,591 3,348,013 3,342,521 26,372 286,108 3,361,283 64,910.353 All Grants Percent of Total Area 5,007,088 10,543,753 11,936,834 8,852,140 4,471,604 24,208,000 4,254,488 6,234,655 4,040,518 8,061,262 7,794,669 11,441,032 12,143,846 16,422,051 6,097,064 7,417,022 5,963,338 3,458,711 2,725,666 12,794,659 3,163,552 2,758,862 3,095,760 7,032,847 3,435,373 7,507,729 3,044,471 10,179,804 4,343,426 223,884,994 15.3 14.3 35.5 8.8 6.7 68.8 7.9 17.3 17.5 22.4 14.8 39.3 33.0 31.7 20.5 16.8 6.3 7.0 3.8 16.3 7.0 10.5 6.9 11.4 6.9 14.2 7.1 28.7 6.9 I have rearranged some of the data from Public Land Statistics, 1966, pp. 7-8. increased. Another factor holding up action in Congress was the desire of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to block up areas subject to their administrative control which were interspersed with the unsold odd numbered sections still held by the railroads. A total of 15,840,077 acres were still held by the railroads. The Southern Pacific had 8,044,476 acres; the Northern Pacific 4,819,732; the Santa Fe 1,784,616; and the Union Pacific 923,239. Some of this land, notably that of the Southern Pacific, had great value for its oil and its agricultural possibilities. To have returned to government ownership the checkerboard sections within the national forests and grazing districts would have had many administrative advantages but the difficulties of getting the surrender of land owned by the carriers for a half-century were too great and the proposal was dropped By 1940 the plan to abandon land grant rates had gained substantial support both in and out of Congress, with Joseph Eastman, Federal Coordinator of Railroads, assuming a strongly favorable position. In the Transportation Act of 1940 Congress abandoned the reduced rates for mail and civil property of the government but not for |