The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-01-27
EXPERT FOR
THE FOREST
SERVICE
B. L. WHEELER EXAMINES ALL
SUSPICIOUS CASES
Where Mining is But an Excuse in
the Obtaining of Valuable Tim
Der on Government Land.

Mining Expert B. L. Wheeler, OF
the Forest Service, Fourth district,
has returned from trip into the min
ing sections OF Nevada, where he In
yestigated a number OF applications
for mining patents in the Manhattan
district.
Mr.. Wheeler has been connected
with the service for several years IN
the capacity OF mining expert, and be-
lore the segregation of the western
forests into districts, he was assigned
to general service throughout the
west Since the location of the
Fourth district headquarters at Og-
den, he has been the district mining
inspector.
Mr.. Wheeler states that he finds a
very general opinion to be that the
restrictions placed upon forest use
since the Inauguration OF the present
policy is extended to cover the rights
OF miners, aad that, to a greater or
less extent, the mining industry is
handicapped within the boundaries oil
the national forests.
This is entirely wrong impress
sion." said Mr.. Wheeler, land one
which does the policy OF forest con-
.seiVation an injustice. The rights OF
citizen under the mining statutes
applies to land within the national
forests exactly as they do to any land.
%here must however, be sufficient
indications o. mineral before patent
is given by the government Any
recognized mineral substance will
warrant entry under the mining law
for example, building stone, china or
IRE clay, coal, limestone, OIL slate,
etc, but not brick clay, sand or
gravel.
1T Is the policy Of the government
to favor the development of mines of
gold, silver and other metals. and
every facility is afforded for that pur-
pose, but it requires faithful COM
pliance with the regulations There
must be a valid discovery of mineral
and a sufficient exploration OF the
ground to show it beyond question.
Thus 1t Is made practically i'm
possible, without the connivance of
some dishonest official, for a man to
acquire title to a tract of valuable
timber land under the guise of there
being a possibility of mineral wealth
thereon. Under the regulations the
entryman must spend $500 for develop
ment work. a mining claim contains
twenty acres, and as some twenty
acre tracts contain as high as quar-
ter of a million feet of timber, the
mineral wealth or possibilities OF a
claim are often magnified in the eyes
OF the entryman, particularly If he
wants to rul hotel or road house in
that section.
"The townsite scheme is another
proposition which the officials have to
contend with. Individuals plat out
a townsite, covered with heavy
stand Of valuable timber and sell lots
therein in advance Of their securing
patent to the ground. Placer claim ap-
plications in heavily wooded sections
are often met with in the negotiations
between the forest service and would
be miners. A placer claim includes
160 acres, eight people with 20 acres
each being required as entrymen. 1t
costs the latter $500 for the whole
tract when they finally acquire pat
ent and there is liable to be 1000, 200
feet of timber. worth from 81 to So
per thousand feet. upon it.
TO prevont fraudulent acquire
ment of title under the guise OF
the land being valuable for mining
purposes, the forest service must
carefully Investigate through the
medium OF its mining experts to de-
termine the facts. The latter only
deal with claims which have been re-
ported as suspicious by the forest of
flcer."