Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-20


RR19nsnna ''.'"''i"'"."-''''. 80
GnnQH ;....;.. ~ y
west virginia ....".4........ ISlvVVlUNyVv
Utah Observation-Disclosures. 9S,O0O0O,00o
Pennsylvania ................ 1SS, 900, 100000
The setting forth Of this scientific
Z data comes like a thunderbolt to those
, Jho have always been accustomed to
look to Pennsylvania and adjacent states
AZ the center of the coal supply Of the
nation. The experts show how the gov
eminent should realize 5000 900, 600 in the
eayanced prices for which these lands will
bA sold. Yet coal is but one feature Of
their findings. There are, for instance,
on public lands oil fields worth millions
yet 'unestimated. There is enough phos-
4 Phate to maintain the fertility Of ali those
\ Acres that grow wheat and which depend
on this soil element for their vitality.
There are such incidental possibilities as
enough water power to turn the spindies
I Of the nation present and future and 3d.
J OO0,coo acres OF desert land that may be
irrigated and made worth 500 an acre.
But above all the coal values stand out in
such proportions as to be staggering in
size.
How the Discovery was Made.
The discovery of these facts came
about trough the scheme of land classi-
fication upon which the geological sur
vey has been working for the last three
years. The men of this service have be-
come the official prospectors Of the gov
ernnlent, sent out with a little more
thahW The burro and grub stake of the
pioneer gold seeker. Their purpose has
not been to stake out claims for their
ACKNOWLEDGMENT. but to determine
where on the governments land lay the
khtnna ~ kho aartlL fHat hnra' uorticN1ar
value. They were to take stock of the
possessions of the government in the
west and place values upon them.
strangely this had never before been
done. The government has owned a do
main that reached originally across a
continent with but a fringe on the east
in private ownership, Htiwas the most
valuable possession that the world has
ever known. Yet, It has been given
away to whosoever wanted it and no &C
count kept. Recently the opinion has
grown that II was not being disposed of
wisely. The rrodigal has stepped near
the end Of his means and determined to
dispose Of what remained in an intelli-
gent manner. lie must count the money
as a basis of that disposition
rheN classification OF the remaining
LANDS is but a counting OF the remaining
money. IT was begun Vim 1906. when
President Roosevelt became alarmed at
the great number Of land frauds ex-
posed and the shown tendency of coal
lands, water power sites and such to
concentrate under monopolistic control
and withdrew from entry'pending an in
v~estigation ali such lands. His first
blanket withdrawals covered i6O,0o0,OOp
acres. 1000, 900 more were soon added
and smaller Withdrawals have since fol-
, lowed i~rregularly: Outside Of this there
were vast stretches. including the
greater part of.ythe land in many states
that came under the classification
scheme, but for which there was no
need OF withdrawal because there was
no tendency toward 2 unlawfully obtain
ing possession sof it,
work Of Classification Force.
The classification force was Immediately
put into the field under M. r. Campbell
coal geologlst OF the geological survey II
later grew into The classification board
destined to become famous, headed by a.
q. Veach, an Intrepid young expert, The
fkrce was chiefly made up OF civil engin-
eefs and geoioglsts young men and active
with great capacity for work and care for
infinite detail. The word they are bring
ing back is a surprise to the most'~sanguine.
y Theysf fnd in Wyoming beds OF coal eighty
four feet thick In places. For a hundred
muea one seam runs With a thickness Ap-
proximatIng thirty feet, In Colorado,
? Utah and Montana, there, are fields greater
IN txtent than those OF West Virginia and
kmrBassing IN quality those OF Illinois and
indiana. Lost In the wilds Of Arizona
there ar. coal deposits on government land
that even the great producers have not ye'
thought TO monopolize. Beneath the great
forests and the glacial gravel OF Washing
ton there are fields yet uninvestigated
The possibilities OF future discovery are
without limit, yet there is coal enough In
sight TO supply the nation for generations
after the eastern supply Is exhausted. i
belongs to the nation and therefore to the
people. Through classification the landl
bearing It are TO be placed In a condition
where they may be used only to the great
est benefit OF the whole people. In being so
placed they 0he coal lands) Will bring
dollars in taxes t4,O0oOoO,0O. or so each for
the @.0o0.Q0o-
There have been for the last three years
an average OF twelve or fourteen parties
working regularly on land classification
These parties are made bp OF five OF six
men each. every one complete in itself and
working Independently. A block Of land
being ~wlthdrawn untD the nature OF it can
be determined, a classification party is
sent to do the piece OF work In hand. The
chief OF A. is a geologist as Is the first as
sistant and the other MEMBERS may not be
technical men, but a preference is shown
for Young Fellows out OF college with some
knowledge OF the work In hand.
Yet the object OF the classification Is not
TO make more money out OF the lands, but
to suard against their fraudulent acauisi-
ton. Great coal companies have for q
generation been frauhulsntly absorbing
vest tracts OF land The chief means Of
dAeas this has been In fillng on it through
41Amy' entrymen as agricultural land
1he law stipulates that the homestead III
I ing i good only on nonmineral land. The
oath OF the applicant, however. has always
been taken as to whether or not the land
was mineral. If he stated that II was not
mineral land and some other private IN
dlvidnd DO NOD contest his claim. the pat
snt was he course Of time granted.
So Il happened that much valuable coal
lands we're taken up - homesteads. Ia