1877; New Jersey in 1878: Indiana, Missouri and Illinois in 1879; California, Wisconsin, New York, and Michigan in 1883; Maryland and Iowa in 1884. Thirteen states other than those named have organized labor bureaus.

Labor Statistics, Bureau of, act to establish, omissions in, referred to, 4807.

Labrador. (See Newfoundland.) Lading, Bills of, enactment preventing issue

7553.

yer, and sent them out to destroy the American gunboats. The battle took place on Lake Borgne, and lasted almost an hour. Several of the British barges were shattered and sunk and about 300 men killed and wounded. The Americans lost only 6 men killed and 35 wounded. The American gunboats were captured, which gave the British control of Lake Borgne.

(See Sea

Laissez-faire. - Meaning "leave alone." The theory that the Government shall not interfere with private industry.

The laissez-faire creed became influential in the eighteenth century, and was made almost supreme in economic thought by Adam Smith, who founded modern scientific political economy by the publication of his "Wealth of Nations," in 1776. His followers and elaborators followed this doctrine and it guided most economic reasoning until the middle of the nineteenth century, when it began to decline. The laissez-faire belief was that individual self-interest coincided with public interest in industry, since by the influence of competition the public would patronize those goods produced under the best conditions rather than those produced under more anti-social conditions. Thus the laissez-faire creed was largely responsible for the delay in enacting laws to protect women and children in industry, to provide for Governmental sanitary inspection. to guard the public against adulterated products, and in other ways to protect both workers and public to an extent now seen to be necessary for the public welfare. Lake Borgne (La.), Battle of.-The British army, repulsed at Baltimore, retired to the island of Jamaica. Being there reinforced by a sufficient number to make a total of above 7,000 men, it sailed from Jamaica Nov. 26, 1814, in Admiral Cochrane's ships, with the intention of capturing New Orleans, and thus securing possession of the Mississippi River and the Territory of Louisiana. Early in December Daniel T Patterson, commanding the naval station at New Orleans, sent Lieut. Thomas A. C. Jones with seven small vessels, mounting 23 guns and carrying 182 men, to intercept the British fleet. The British, December 14. 1814, manned sixty barges with 1.200 volunteers from the fleet, under Capt. Lock

In

Lake Champlain, Battle of.-After arriving at the head of Lake Champlain, Sept. 6, 1814, Governor-General Prevost awaited the co-operation of the British fleet on the Sept. 11 Capt. Downie's squadron rounded Cumberland Head. It consisted of the frigate Confidence, brig Linnet, sloops Chub and Finch, and twelve gunboats-in all, sixteen vessels, of about 2,402 tons, with 937 men and a total of ninety-two guns, throwing a broadside of 1,192 pounds. Cumberland or Plattsburg Bay, awaiting the attack, lay the American squadron, under Capt. Thomas Macdonough, then only 28 years of age. It consisted of the ship Saratoga, brig Eagle, schooner Ticonderoga, sloop Preble, and ten gunboats-in all, fourteen vessels, of 2,244 tons and 882 men, with eighty-six guns, throwing a broadside of 1,194 pounds. Kneeling beside his heaviest gun, surrounded by his men, the young captain invoked divine protection and guidance. The first shot from the Saratoga was aimed by Macdonough and went entirely through the flagship of the British squadron, demolishing her wheel. The battle raged two hours and twenty minutes, when every British vessel struck her colors. Both squadrons were badly crippled. The British loss was more than 200, including Captain Downie. The American loss was 110, of whom 52 were killed.

Lake Champlain:

Act to authorize construction of
bridge across portion of, vetoed,
5060.
Insurgents on, proclamation against
authorizing militia officers to dis-
pel by force, 438.

Victory of American squadron on,
534.

Lake Erie, Battle of.-In 1813 the Americans, under great difficulties, constructed a fleet of war vessels at Presque Isle, now Erie, Pa., for service in the lakes. Aug. 12, 1813, the American squadron, consisting of the Lawrence, Niagara, Caledonia, Ariel, Somers, Tigress, Scorpion, Porcupine, Ohio, and Trippe, manned by less than 400 officers and men, under Capt. Oliver H. Perry, set forth in search of Barclay's British squadron of six vessels, manned by nore than 500 men. Sept. 10 Perry's lookout sighted the enemy. At 10 o'clock in the morning the signal for action was run up to the masthead of the Lawrence. It bore the words of the dying Capt. Lawrence, of 'the Chesapeake: "Don't give up the ship." During the action the Lawrence was disabled and Perry transferred his flag to the Niagara. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the flag of the British flagship was struck. The firing ceased. It was the first time an American fleet had met a British fleet in regular line of battle. The engagement was fairly fought. with the Americans at a disadvantage, and the British fleet surrendered. Perry sent word to Gen. Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." The British loss in the action was 135, 41 of whom were killed. The Americans lost 123, 27 of whom were killed. (Seg illustration opposite page 561.)

men

Lake-to-the-Gulf Deep Waterway Asso-
ciation. A representative body of
organized for the development of a deep-
water passage between the Great Lakes and
the Mississippi and its branches met in Chi-
cago in 1908. In 1909, as result of its
activity, the River and Harbor Appropria-
tion Act carried with it the creation of the
National Waterways Commission (q. v.).
(See Conservation Commission.)
Lake Traverse Reservation:

Agreement with Sioux for purchase
of lands in, discussed, 5498.
Opened to settlement by proclama-
tion, 5707.

Right of way for railroad through,
4788, 4954, 5178.

Lakes, Great. (See Great Lakes; the several Lakes.)

Lame-Duck.-A term applied in derision to any legislator who is ineffective; and generally to a politician who has "seen better days," such as one who has failed of re-election to office.

Land Grants.-By this name is known the grant of land to corporations to encourage and aid the construction of railroads in portions of the country in which it would otherwise be unprofitable. These grants are usually made directly to the companies. Before 1862 they were made to the states in order to enable them to extend aid to corporations within their borders. To every state, at its admission, Congress has granted five per cent of the public lands within its limits on condition of the exemption of the remainder from state taxation. In 1850 the first grant for railroad purposes was made. It consisted of about 2,500,000 acres granted to the state of Illinois, and it was used to aid the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1856 about 2,000,000 acres went to Florida, a similar amount was received by Arkansas, while various other states received large tracts all more or less used to encourage railroad building. But the grant of colossal areas began with the construction of the Pacific Railroads. The Union Pacific received 2,000,000; the

Kansas Pacific 6,900,000; the Central Pa cific (as successor of the Western Pacific) 1,100,000, and on its Oregon Branch 3,000,000; the Oregon and California 3,500,000; the Southern Pacific 6,000,000; and the Southern Pacific branch line 3,500,000 acres. Among others that received large grants were the Burlington and Missouri River and the Hannibal and St. Joseph. But the most stupendous grants were those of 47,000,000 acres to the Northern Pacific and of 42,000,000 acres to the Atlantic and Pacific. From these generous grants a revulsion has set in, and at every session of Congress bills are now introduced and every effort is made to forfeit such portions of the land as are not earned by a strict compliance with the terms of the grant, thus saving the land for settlement. Bills revoking the grant of lands not as yet earned have been passed; among the principal roads affected are the Atlantic and Pacific, Texas Pacific and Iron Mountain, and over 50,000,000 acres have thus been recovered. (See Subsidies.)

'Land Laws. (See Lands, Public-Laws regarding.)

Land Office. (See General Land Office.) Land Offices, Public, act regarding fees of registers and receivers at, vetoed, 6107.

Land Sales. (See Lands, Public.)
Land Titles. (See Lands, Indian;
Lands, Public.)

Lands ceded to United States by North Carolina referred to, 64, 105, 167. (See also Franklin.)

Lands, Arid.-The great North American desert possesses all the climatic, geologic and physiographic features of the Desert of Sahara, in Africa, though only about one-third as large. It embraces the vast stretches of country lying between the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the eastern ranges of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, and between the Pacific Ocean and the Sierra Madre Mountains, in Mexico, an area of 1,050,000 sq. miles, of which about half lies in Mexico and the other half in the United States, including Nevada, Utah, eastern and southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and all of Texas west of the Pecos. In general this desert is one of barren, stony mountain ranges, separated by equally barren stretches of desert plain, an aggregation of elongated arid plains and lower mountain ranges. The individual deserts have separate names and each differs from the others in some notable feature. Like the Sahara, the American desert is without water on its surface. Upon its area the average annual rainfall is less than 10 inches-less than falls in two months in the fertile states of the east.

With the aid of the railroad and the mechanical drill American genius and energy have conquered the arid plains of the west, and made them yield double the wealth per capita of any other portion of the United States. Like Sahara, the arid plains of America have an underground supply of water. By the use of the mechanical drill the deep wells on the mesa at El Paso supply 700,000 gallons of water per day, and the flowing well at Benson and those of the Salton Desert afford ample supplies to localities which were formerly hopelessly dry. The sterile soil of the desert is apparently more fertile, when artificially

watered, than many regions where rainfall is abundant. In the desert may be seen some of the most skillful and profitable agriculture in the world. Striking examples of this are seen in the wheat fields of Utah and Sonora, the great cotton plantations of Coahuila, Mexico, the alfalfa valleys of the Rio Grande and the orchards of California. The marvelous transformation wrought by Irrigation is shown in Southern California, where communities of great wealth and culture have sprung up and where the ideal of perfect conditions of existence seem to have been attained. To the reclamation of these arid lands the attention of Congress has been directed in recent years, and Federal appropriations for irrigation are bringing them more and more each year into a state of productiveness. (See also Irrigation; Reclamation; Lands, Public; Lands, Desert.)

Lands, Bounty.-A term applied to the lands in the Northwest Territory belonging to the eastern commonwealths. Sept. 16, 1776, Congress offered bounty lands to volunteers in the Revolution, assessing the ' money to buy them against the several states. The term Bounty Lands was also applied to the Crown Lands before the Revolution. Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, was empowered to offer bounties in land to all officers and soldiers who served in the French and Indian wars5,000 acres to each field officer, 3,000 to captains, 200 to subalterns or staff officers, and 50 to private soldiers-up to 200,000 acres. In the King's domain. This was understood by the Americans to refer to the lands of the Northwest Territory, and many of them selected choice tracts west of the Alleghanies. Washington and his land agent, Crawford, had surveyed 70,000 acres ard secured patents in his own and other officers' names for 63,000 acres of which his own share was 32,000.

Lands, Bounty:

Appropriation for carrying out laws regarding, referred to, 2840.

Frauds in, discussed and recommendations regarding, 2714.

Grant of, to Mexican War soldiers
recommended, 2365.

Granted persons who have been en-
gaged in military service, 555,
2664, 2823.
Recommended, 3387.
Referred to, 1844.

Lands, Coal. (See Coal Lands.)
Lands, Crown.-After the treaty of Paris
in 1763, by which Great Britain acquired
Canada and all the country west of the
Mississippi River, a royal proclamation was
Issued setting aside all the lands west of
the colonies and extending to the western
limits of the British possessions as Crown
lands. These lands were reserved for the
use of the Indians and the colonists were
forbidden to make settlements in or pur-
chase of them without permission of the
home Government. After the Revolution
each state laid claim to a portion of the
Crown lands.

Lands, Desert.-March 3, 1877, Congress passed the Desert Land law, which it supplemented in 1891, by further legislation, to encourage irrigation by private individuals and associations. It provides that any citizen or any person who declares his intention of becoming a citizen, by paying a registration fee of 25 cents, and declar

ing his intent to irrigate within three years, may occupy desert land to the extent of one section (640 acres) in any one of a number of specified western states and territories, and if he reclaims it within that time may receive a patent for it upon payment of $1 per acre. He must spend at least $3 per acre in irrigation or securing water rights, and must have secured the rights before making application. Associations may file joint declarations.

Under a recent amendment the settler may take up 320 acres of arid land upon payment of 25 cents per acre; after spending $1 per year in improvements for three years, and proving the ownership of sufficient water to irrigate the entire tract, he may secure full title by payment of $1 per acre to the government. Land acquired costs about $10 per acre.

Since 1877, the date of the passage of the act relating to desert lands, there have been 153,033 original entries, covering 31,745,429 acres and $7,629,824, and 42,256 final entries, covering 7,921,680 acres and $8,031,052.

During the last fiscal year, 1,675 final desert-land entries were patented, involving 267,000 acres.

Lands, Desert:

Discussed, 5380.

Fraud under, 7302.

Repeal or modification of laws regarding, recommended, 5107.

Lands, Gas:

Leasing of, recommended, 7303, 7534,

7568.

Licensing of prospectors for, 7534, 7568.

Withdrawal of, from entry, discussed, 7303, 7535.

Lands, Grazing:

Control of, 7304.

Extent of, 7004, 7096.

Fences on, illegal, 7096.

Lands, Homestead.-The Federal Homestead laws begin with the act of Congress passed in 1862, now sections 2289-2317, United States Revised Statutes. The object of these homestead land laws is to give portions of the public lands to those who will settle, cultivate, and make permanent homes upon them. Any person who is the head of a family or who is a citizen of the United States, or who has filed his declaration of becoming such, may acquire a tract of unappropriated public land not exceeding 160 acres, on condition of settlement, culti vation and continuous occupancy as a home for himself for a period of five years, and the payment of certain moderate fees. Under the provision of this law more than 85,000,000 acres of unoccupied lands have been transferred to homeseekers. During the year 1901 alone the original homestead entries, final and commuted entries. aggregated 111,390, and covered 15,455,057 acres. Time of service in the United States army, navy, marine corps, during the Rebellion, the Spanish War or the Philippine Insur rection may be deducted from the term of continuous occupancy of a homestead.

The homestead law gives the settler two options: he can settle upon, enter and acquire title to 180 acres of land practically free of cost by maintaining residence thereon for five years; or he may at the

When

as the local governments saw fit. Texas was admitted to the Union, it retained jurisdiction over its public domain and is administering the same to-day independent of the Federal Land Office.

Lands were also purchased by the federal government from the Indians at various times and opened to white settlement. These acquisitions were always advantageous to the government and as President Monroe remarks (page 585), "presumably so to the Indians." But the red men often misunderstood the terms of the trades, and regretted their bargains, and some of the fiercest of Indian wars have been caused by the feeling among the Indians that they had been cheated.

During the last fiscal year, from the disposal of public and Indian lands there was realized the sum of $5,358,516, of which more than $2,000,000 represented cash sales; $1,160,000 represented fees and commissions; and $1,936,000, sales of Indian lands. The total receipts from the disposal of public lands since the founding of the Republic have been $491,430,102.

By this time, most of the good agricultural public land of the United States has been disposed of. The remaining public land for which the figures are given below is chiefly rocky land, or land suitable for only grazing or dry farming, with some land available for agriculture only after irrigation. Most of the public land now disposed of is disposed of under the Homestead Acts (see Lands, Homestead, above); or if with coal and oil deposits, etc., is sold usually at from $2.50 to $5.00 an acre; or is sold at public auction. During the last fiscal year, there were 9,552,482 acres of public land disposed of, representing 48,620 entries. The chief classes of entry were as follows:

Act

Appropriating proceeds of sales of, reasons for applying pocket veto to, 2108.

Making grant of, to States for benefit of insane persons vetoed. 2780.

To authorize entry of, for gravel pits and reservoir purposes, etc., vetoed, 6002.

To authorize leasing of, for educational purposes in Arizona, vetoed, 6102.

Agricultural, laws governing, discussed, 7532, 7557.

Amount, sales, and expenses of, etc., discussed, 1136.

Appropriations of proceeds of sales of, for educational purposes. (See Education.)

Attempts made to keep down price of, referred to, 1744. Augmentation in value of, 586. Ceded to Indians, 108, 1716. (See also Indian Tribes, under Indians.)

Early settlement of ceded lands desired, 2832.

Classification of, 7266, 7460, 7720. Court for litigated land cases recommended, 5975. Depredations on. ber.)

(See Lands, Tim