The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-06-26
VALUATION OF GOVERN
MENT COAL LANDS
Work Undertaken BY The Geological
Survey.

Work Undertaken By The Geological
Survey.
The recent broadening Of the policy Of
the present administration with refer
enee to the classification and valuation
Of the s0000,0o0 acres Of remaining
Public coal lands ia the subject Of 4
statement just given out BY the United
States Geological Survey.
The Mondell Act.
The act Of the sixtieth Congress
known a. the Mondel law Of March 3,
1909. gives to Che agricultural entrymen
on land later classified as coal land, the
privilege OF cleeting 10 take the surface
rights. the coal rights remaining the
government for further and separate
disposition. The General land Office
already reports that 90 per cent Of the
Colorado cntrymen on lands believed to
be underlain with coal viii choose sur
face rights, thus reserying to bhe Unit
cd States the coal rights. This Is signl'
hcant Of the value OF the new law,
which followed lines laid down by Sec
rotary Of the Interior Ballinger IN 1907,
while ne was commissioner Of the gen
eral land office. II the entrymen choose
70 contest, the issue then becomes one
Of the relative worth Of the land for
agriculture or for coal mining.
Land Sold Regardless Of Value.
Previous to 1906 public coal lands
were sold, regardless Of value, for $40
or for $40 an acre, according to whether
they were within or without the l5-mile
railroad limit. IN that year, by presi.
Dental order, over $4,000, 200 acres Of
such lands were withdrawn pending
classification by the Geological Survey
AID plan az valuation was establish.
ed under which 500 an acre was hxed
as the maximum price. This, Of course,
was a long step forward, and the valu-
atoms fixed for many lands were much
higher than the minimum prices.
A large amount Of work has since
been done BY the field geologists Of the
Survey, 50 that now the tonnage and
quality In many areas IN the western
coal fields are definitely known and Sec-
rotary Ballinger has put into effect =
plan Of valuation based on tonnage es-
Inmates as well as on grade Of coal
This plan Is believed TO be eminently
fair 10 the public and offers every OPP
portunity possible under the law for
| the fullest development Of the coal
lands and at the same time insures a
more adequate return to the government
for its property,
Difference Between Old and New classi-
hcation.
The present plan Of classification and
valuation. as revised IN April, differs
from that formerly in force in several
important particulars. Coat tonnage
and and quality are the basis Of yalu-
alton; the maximum price Is raised
from 500 70 $500 an acre, and in de-
ycloped coal fields, where the extent and
character Of the deposits are well known
there Is no limit to the values that may
be fixed The price u coal land Il thus
definitely determined, at q coal price,
yet the amounts rarely equal a quarter
Of the rolayties paid in the same dis
tricts among private interests.
Prices Of Coal in Lands.
The prices fixed under the scheme Of
valuation which the Geological Survey
has been instructed to carry out are as
Cents
per ton.
Anthracite and cokiug bitunin.
Gus Goals ..s.t.s.......ss. 70
High grade noneoking bitimin-
ous Goals ......-,.s...... 70 :
\ HIGH grade snbbitiminoua and
low grade bitiminons Goals X to !
For low-Qrade subhitiminous Goals
and Iignites the minimum price fixed
by law Is $40 and $50 an acre.
The tonnage Is always literally cal-
eaated in the interest Of the purchaser
land actual recovery should invariably
exceed the tonnage on which the yalu-
alton Is based
Some Comparisons.
In the Book Cliffs coal field Of Utah,
where some coking bituminious coal Is
valued az the highest price 81 3 cents a
/ ton, many of the government valuations
are above the $500 an acre maximum, as
against SIS an acre under the scheme Of
/ last year and $40 an acre under the plan
| followed prior to 1905.
m western Colorado largely the same
condition exists. In this field Of Thick
bedded colsing bitiminous coal the yaiu-
lation under the present plan greatly ex.
eeeds the $500 maximum, as against
$500 under last years policy and S20
prior to 1906.
Valuations Still Conservative.
The conservatism Of even the pres
ent valuation figures Of public coal lands
may be shown by a comparison OF the
government valuations with the leasing
rates charged by the states and private
owners. Even higher coal-land valu-
atoms than those fixed under the pres
ent practice would have been very pro-
perly approved by Secretary Ballinger
lit the law did not limit the coal land
that may be acquired to an acreage be-
low that which is needed BY a mining
company for economical operation. The
purchaser could well afford to pay a
greater prize per acre # the law per-
niitted the buying of larger tracts.