The National tribune., 1907-04-25
COAL LANDS.
Important Executive Order, and New
Regulations by the Commissioner a
the General Land Office.

the General Land Office.
| There has been complete revision
| of the coal land regulations by the
/ Commissioner of the General Land Of
1 fee which were promulgated under
date of April Il. 1907. and forwarded
to local land officers for the3r use. which
will be followed by circular instructions
| to Registers and Receivers OF local
/ land offices directing them as TO the
i method Of procedure affecting all lands
within coal areas. as well as the dis
position of lands outside thereof
/ 1t is believed by COMMIT sSioner Eal-
! linger of the General Land Office that
] the new regulations and the practise to
be adopted Hereunder will compel all
persons seeking To obtain coal lands to
acquire them under the coal land laws,
as they were intended to DC applied by
i Congress, and that they cannot longer.
to any great extent. be secured by u
system of subterfuge thru other classes
I of entries
i These regulations foilow the Execu-
tive Order of March II. 1907. which
was in the following terms:
I In view of the reports made by the
i Geological Survey on the character and
! quality of lands covered by the 0Sders
| dated July %. Oct. 10. 10 and Is. 1906,
/ Withdrawing certain lands from coal
entry and issued under my direction,
you are directed to modify those orders
in the following particulars:
/ 'An lands which are now reported
7 by the Geological Survey TO contain NO
workable coal shall be Immediately re-
leased.
"All lands which contain worka BILE
I beds of coal and concerniR, which the
Geological Survey has sufficient infor-
nation available to enable you to prop
!A,-I -x,ta IL. 81
entry as soon as You shall classify such
land and promulgate rules and resula-
tons for making entry
i Hereafter other lands shall be SINH
| larry opened to entry as rapidly as the
| Geological Survey can make proper ex-
animation thereof and report to you
1 Il am advised that under this order
about 3S.090,000 acres of coal land will
| Immediately be opened to entry"
/ These regulations cover both the pub
lie land States and the District of Alas
ka, and are issued in single pamphlet.
| Classifying the Land.
/ In the public land States. in pur-
=! suance of this order, the Geological Sur
vey Is proceeding to prepare the neces-
sary data for the classification and val
i uation of coal lands as a basis for their
disposition under the new regulations.
| Upon the classification so made, Regis
I tiers and Receivers will be instructed by
| the Commissioner of the General Land
i Office Of the price at which all coal
| lands in their respective districts shall
be offered. They will. from time to
time, be furnished with schedules and
i maps, first, showing lands known to lie
! without certain coal areas and open to
/ entry under the general land laws, ac-
cording TO the character of each par
/ ticu1ar tract; second, showing lands
/ known to contain workable deposits of
/ coal wherein prices will be fixt upon
/ information derived from field exam
/ nations made or which shall hereafter
/ be made by the Geological Survey; and.
/ third, showing lands containing coal OF
/ such character as may, in accordance
4 with their situation with respect to the
1 nearest transportation lines, be sold at
| the minimum price fixed by the statute,
| namely. $50 per acre for lands within
! Is miles of completed railroad and
/ sic per acre for lands lying at q greater
| distance from completed railroad.
The local land officers viii allow coal
entries for lands in the first class at the
minimum prices fixt by the statute; en-
| tries of the third class Will be accepted
at the minimum prices, and those in the
second class at the prices stated in
| schedules and maps to, BE- furnished
| them Lands in classes two and three
will be subject to entry unfseT the coal
land laws only, unless shown by the
! applicant to be subject to entry under
some other law.
| TIE New Regulations.
| The regulations of the Commissioner.
which are superseded by those now pro-
/ muIgated permitted the duly author
ICED agent of the claimant to make the
| required affidavit as to the character OF
| the land. The new regulations require
| this affidavit to he made by the claimant
alone, except in the case of lands situat-
! ed in Alaska. Furthermore. the former
regulations authorized assignments Of
| the right to purchase under declaratory
statement made for lands i'll the public
! land States. These are danied under
| the new regulations. The declardtory
statement and the affidavit required at
] the time of purchase are, under the
| new regulation, required to be verified
| before the Register and Receiver of the
| local land district when the lands are
| not in Alaska. It is now specifically set
| forth that coal mine cannot be oper-
! ated for the purpose of securing coal
therefrom for sale and profit prior to
entry. The operations are to be limited
merely to development WORK.
Under the new regulations and CLASH
fications by the Geological Survey. as
will be shown upon the maps furnished
Registers and Receivers by the General
Land Once. lands in coat areas are
| henceforth to be treated, SO far as entry
! is concerned. as prina facie coal lands
They will be opened foI coal entry from
| time to time, according to notification
given to Registers by the General Land
| Office as fast as maps and data can be
| furnished to the General Land Office by
the Geological Survey. Lands in coal
areas are now open for mineral entry
under the general mining laws for
claims alleged to contain gold, silver or
copper whether they are coal lands or
not, as this kind of a mineral entry
takes precedence under the law over a
coal entry.
All Lands in Ceal Areas.
Lands in coal areas may be entered as
timber and stone. agricultural or desert
| lands. but such entries will not be al
lowed to proceed to patent without an
examination in the field, and the lands
within such areas. notwithstanding such
entry, Will be treated as priusa facie coal
lands thereby placing upon the entry
man the burden of showing that they
do not contain workable deposits of
coal,
The rules and regulations relating to
coal lands in Alaska have been but
slightly modified, the most important
change being that they ecns.rue the
right of entry to cover the same area by
individual and association entries as Is
applicable to the public land States.
Requisite afffdavits as to the character