The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-10-06

OF Public
Lands

Speaking on The Mining Mans In
terest in Land Classification" George
Otis Smith, Director United States
Geological Survey, said in part:
I'm the complex civilization of to-
day no industry stands alone. Be-
cause he has to sell an output the,
mining man has a real interest in
the prosperity of his rleighbor,. and
good crops and the farmers activity
in repainting. the buildings has
steadied the lead market at times
when other demands for that metal
were at a minimum. Mining develop
ment depends hardly less upon the
availability of the fuel, timber and
water supply than upon the adequacy
of ore deposits. In a word, the fut-
ure of the mining industry will be
controlled by the utilization of all,
resources.
1.-THE. classification of the public
lands was authorized by Congress in
1879 and the work was specifically
assigned to the Geological Survey,
which was also entrusted with the
investigation of mineral resources of
the country. The relation of land
classification ito tue mining industry
apeaFs to have been uppermOst in
the minds of those active in the crea-
ton of the Survey. Land classified
ton work al now prosecuted serves
two important ends, one admfnistra-
tive, the other legislative and I am
convinced that both were eontem-
plated by Congress at the time of
the creation Of tho Survey
THE work of the Survey since
1905 on the public, coal lands has
constituted its largest contribution to,
land classification. The Government
coal lands are now valued on an
estimated tonnage basis, the price
ranging from " cent to- g cents a
ton, which however averages less
than one-tenth the usual royalty
paid in the west. AS the coal lands
are now administrated, the honest
coal entryman need no longer fear
the unfair competition of his less
scrupulous neighbor who enters 100
acres of coal land as a homestead.
The present policy is the square deal
to both coal land purchasers and
fuel users, and indeed to operators
and consumers not only of this year
and decade but also of the next
century.
I'm the western oil fields. the
classification work of the Survey has
resulted in protecting the oil man
from the agricultural claimant and
with a better law the reports of the
Survey biologists would also protect
the oil prospector from the devises
of the gypsum entryman.
1.-The public land problem embraces
first, the determination of the best
use to which the public domain "a
be put, and second, the disposition
or reservation of the land now be-
longing to the nation so as to assure
that use. No principle is more funda-
mental to real conservation and at
the same time more beneficial to the
mining industry than this of giving
preference to the highest possible use
for the public lands.
"To attain this hig aim of making
the best use of the public land, legis-
lation is necessary and as a prelimin-
airy to legislation exact knowledge
is required in the form of a scien-
tific land classification. In a number
| of instances Congress has already
used the results of Investigations by
the Geological Survey and at the
present time land classification work
of several types is in progress which
has the definite purpose of aiding pro-
posed legislation. For instance,
phosphate land surveys are now be-
ing made to furnish authoritative
information to be placed before Con-
gress for its use in legislation to
promote best development of these
important deposits of mineral fertiliz-
ers. This effort to ecu special
legislation is proposed, it surely will
! the-manger spirit and whatever
legislation is proposed, it surely will
not be restrictive of development for
the good of this nation, nor will it
look toward the nonuse of the earth's
bounty but rather toward the pro-
motion of the mining and utilization
of this valuable rock on which the
nations agricultural life will later
depend.
AS another line of classification
work in aid Of legislation I may cite
the water-poWer investigations. With