Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1909-05-25
WOULD PREVENT
MONOPOLY IN WEST
Cites Several Instances Where
Coal Supply Has Been Con-
served and Operators
We're Made
to Pay.

Washington, May 25.-1he United
States geological survey is placing
even greater emphasis this year up
on it's work of classifying and valu-
ing the public coal lands. The ma
tional policy of promoting the most
advantageous disposal Of the puoltc
lands is continued under Secretary
Ballinger and by his instructions the
director of the survey is transmitting
to the commissioner of the general
land office land cassifications based
upon the reports of findings of the
field biologists. To the fullest extent
possible under the law the effort is to
secure the wisest utilization of the
resources of the public domain.
Recently enacted legislation gives
to the agricultural entryman whose
entry was made prior to the passage
of the act the privilege of electing TO
take the surface rights while the
coal rights are reserved for future
and separate disposition. The chief of
the Denver field division of the gem
eral land office reports that from in
formation received in his office nine
ty per cent of the Colorado entrymen
in areas supposed to contain coal
will elect TO take title to the surface
reservng to the United States the
coal rights. This alone indicates the
value and wisdom of this legislation
which is the first important amend
ment of the coal land act along the
lines urged by Mr. Ballinger in 1907,
when commissioner of the general
land office.
If the entrymen, on the other
hand, chooses to contest, then the
issue becomes one of relative worth
between agricultural and coal values.
In a report II Secretary Ballinger
the director OF the survey stated that
in the case of the North Dakota
lands to which this act was sup
posed to be specially applicable,
while all western North Dakota,
part of which had been withdrawn
as coal lands, is believed by the geo.
logists of the survey to be actually
underlain by workable deposits of
Ignite yet in all but "a townships
this area is conceded to be at present
more valuable for agricultural pur-
poses than for its deposits of low
grade coal.
The regulations for the classified
tion and valuation of the government
coal lands as revised in April pro-
vide for a somewhat more discrimi-
mating separation of the coal and
non-coal lands and for the fixing of
more adequate valuations upon lands
underlain oy the higher grades OF
coal. These changes were determin-
ed upon by the secretary of the in
terror from the consideration of pres
ent conditions i'm coal mining in the
western states, where thinner and
deeper beds are being mined than
was formerly the case, and of cur
rent practice in the matter of coal
royalties collected both by the states
and by private land owners. Two Of
the regulations indicate the spirit OF
these administrative measures for
safeguarding the disposal of the ma
tion's remaining coal lands. The price
of coal land containing the lowest
grade bituminous coal or lgnltes Is
fixed at the minimum provided Dy
law, the intent being to thus encour-
age so far as the law permits, the
immediate utilization of these low
grade fuels. Another rule states that
in all valuations of coal beds any
special condition enhancing the value
of the land for coal mining purposes
shall be taken into consideration.
The revised scheme used in the
valuation OF the coal lands differs
from that formerly in force in two
general respects. The basis is now
specifically that of coal tonnage and
the land prices thus determined for
the better grades of coal, anthracite
and coking- -bitumin0us, are some
what higher, the maximum being
raised from SlO0 to $500 per acre,
and indeed this maximum does not
hold in districts which contain large
coal mines where the character and
extent of the coal deposits are well
known to the purchaser
The plan Of valung the public coal
lands by accurate determination Of
coal quality and tonnage is the most
equitable possible, and while ade-
uuate returns are secured to the gov
ernment the land prices thus fixed
rarely amount to one-fourth of the
royalties prevailing in the same dis
tricts among private interests.
The present scheme of valuati IN
is as follows: Anthracite and coking-