Chapter 1: Why “Property” - Foreign Military Studies Office - U.S. Army

what, although the details are forever being re-considered, as themarket for land is fluid. The lines on the plat map shows easements forutilities of various types, including a natural gas pipeline, setbacksdelimiting permissible building areas and so on. Visible on the aerialphoto is a burden not recorded on the plat; the Department ofAgriculture did some terracing as a conservation measure, and mayrequire that it not be substantially undone. Other local owners got thecounty to disallow overweight vehicles on 159 th Street, which mightpass the property going north toward the military prison. Thesurveyors who created the subdivision plat map are licensed andbonded, and Horace bought title insurance (the records in LeavenworthCounty are precise). The chances he would ever have had to defend hisrights with physical force are remote. He was confident that the lawenforcement and justice systems in the county were sufficiently awareof the meaning of the evidence, sufficiently secure against bribery andsufficiently accessible that he could obtain relief in a peaceable wayfrom any potential trespasses (the social contract is observed).17