Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-12-05
LEASE Of PUBLIC
OIL LANDS IS
ADVOCATED
THREE BILLION ACRES
WITHDRAWN FROM ENTRY
Interesting Statement by Chief
GeoIogiSt of Survey in Con-
nection With Action of Ad-
miniStfatiOn,
Morning Journal Bureau,
61S Munsey Building,

Washington, -, ~, ~
7, connection with the recent action
the administration in Withdrawing
s,om entry over 10000 0 acres OF
tilt netrOleum lands in California,
Wvoming. Utah, and oregon, the fol-
,orine statement is given out by Dr'
r. ". Hayes, chief geologist of the
,,nitod states geological survey.
..ro remedy the present unsatisfac-
.orv conditions by which public oil
lands have to be entered under n law
framed primarily to provide for placer
gold mining entries, ii is generally ad-
roitted by those Interested in the
economical development of oil lands
hat a radical revision of the Amerl-
can mining law is necessary. Antlcl-
notinq that will recognize
and meet this evident need, the sec
retarv of the interior has withdrawn
from all forms of entry all acant
public lands designated by the geo
logical survey as probably containing
oil and gas. This executive acton ls'
however, only temporary, and is IN
tended to preserve the status quo I'M
iii congress acts.
when the present placer mining
law was enacted probably no n IN
congress or out had any idea that II
would ever be made to cover mlnerai
deposits so far removed in every es-
sential characteristic from gold-bear-
inc eraveIs as are oil and gas. Yet
when oil was found on the puplc
lands no other law was on the statute
books except the placer law under
which title to it could be acquired
and this anomalous and. wholly UNI
satisfactory condition still holds--to
the great detriment both of the gov
eminent and of the oil industry.
The fundamental basis of a loca-
ton under the placer law is discovery
and the courts have held uniformly
that there can be no legal location
until there has been a discovery. But
in the nature of the case there can DC
no discovery OF oil until a wen mas
been drilled at great expense, since
ordinarily there are no surface indi-
cations of the oil and the well must
be drilled upon purely geological IN
ference. 1t follows therefore that the
driler will be wholly unprotected
against rival claimants to the land
until he has completed his first well
or he will be forced to make "A false
claim to discovery on which 10 base
his location.
F%raudulently Entered as Gypsum
Agricultural Land.
"One very common method OF eVad-
ing the law is to locate oil under the
guise of a gypsum claim. In many OF
the California oil land fields the sur
face soil contains a small o OF
gypsum, although rarely in sufficient
quantity or purity to be ~profitably
mined, even If faVorably located for
transportation and market. 1t affords
a pretext, however, for a location UNI
der the placer law and large numbers
OF claims have been patented where
il is a matter of common knowledge
that the real object is to acquire title
to the oil. In this way LAND worth
thousands of dollars an acre has been
acquired from the government for
two dollars and a half an acre, and
this without Oil development. More
over it is not generally the man OF
small means but rather the wealthy
corporation that resorts to this sub
terfuge to secure title.
Although many of the oil fields in