The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1910-09-09

carry up the maximum Of value to $500
an acre. In my judgment It 10 essential
In the proper development Of Alaska that
these coal lands should be opened. and
that tho Pacific slope should be given the
benefit Of tho comparatively cheap coal
Of hns quality which can be furnished at
q reasonable price from these fields but
the public, through the government.
ought certainly to retain wise control
and interest in these coal deposits, and /
think 1t may do SO safely II congress will
authorize the granting OF leases. as al
ready suggested for government coal
lands in the United States, with provi-
sions forbidding the transfer Of the
leases except with the consent OF the
government, thus preventing their acqui-
sition by a combination or monopoly and
upon limitations as to the area to be in
cluded in any one lease to one individual,
and at a certain moderate rental. with
royalties upon the coal mined proper
toned to the market value of the coal
either At Seattle or at San Francisco. OF
course such leases should contain condi-
tions requiring the erection Of proper
plants, the proper development by mod
ern mining methods Of the properties
leased. and tho use of every known and
practical means and device for saving the
life Of tho miners
OH and Gas Lands.
In the last administration therc were
withdrawn from agricultural entry 2s2O,-
900 acres Of supposed oil land in Califor-
mia; about q million and half acres in
Louisiana, of which only $500 acres
were known to be vacant unappropria-
ted land; ZOO acres In Oregon and 174,-
600 acres In Wyoming, making a total Of
nearly 100000 acres In September, 1909
directed that all public oil lands
WI w nr
be withheld from disposition pending con-
gressional action, for the reason that the
existing placer mining law. although
made applicable to deposits Of this char
acter. is not suitable to such lands. and
for tho further reason that 1t seemed de-
sirable to reserve certain fuel-oil deposits
for the use OF tho American navy. Ac-
cordingly the form OF all existing with
drawals was changed, and new with
drawals aggregating 2,75oooo acres were
made in Arizona, California, Colorado
New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming Field
examinations during the year showed
that OF the original withdrawals, 2,l7o,-
600 acres were not valuable for oil and
they were restored for agricultural entry.
Meantime, other Withdrawals of public
oil lands In these states were made.
that July l. 1910, the outstanding with
drawals then amounted to 455O,0o acres.
The needed OIL and gas law is essential
ly q leasing law. In their natural occur
renee, oil and gas cannot be measured in
terms Of acres like coal, and 1t follows
that exclusive title to these products can
normally be secured only after they reach
the surface. OIL should be disposed Of as
commodity in terms Of barrels Of
transportable product rather than In
acres OF real estate. This Is, Of course,
the reason for the practically universal
adoption OF the leasing system wherever
oil land is in private ownership. The
government thus would not be entering
on experiment, but simply putting
into effect plan successfully operated In
private contracts Why should not the
government a landowner deal directly
with the oil producer rather than through
the Intervention Of a middleman to whom
tho government gives title to the land?
The principal underlying feature of
such legislation should be the exercise of
beneficial control rather than the colec
ton OF revenue. AS not only the largest
owner Of oil lands. but as a prospective
large consumer OF oil by reason OF the
increasing use Of fuel oil by the navy,
the federal government is directly con-
cerned both In encoura ging rational de-
velopment and at the same time insuring
the longest possible life to the oil sup
ply.
One Of the difficulties presented, espe-
cially in the California fields. is that the
Southern Pacific railroad owns every
other section OF land In the oil field,
and in those 1elds the oil seems to be in
a common reservoir, series of reser-
vors, communicating through the oil
sands, that the excessive draining Of
oil at one we'll, on the railroad terri
tory generally would exhaust the oil in
the government land. Hence It is i'm
portant that II the government is to have
its share Of the oil 1t should begin the
opening OF wells on its own property.
II has been suggested and I believe the
suggestion to be sound one, that per-
rnits be issued to a prospector for oil
giving him the right to prospect for two
years over a certain tract OF government
land for the discovery Of oil, the right to
be evidenced by license for which he
pays a small sum. When the oil 10 dis
covered, then he acquires title to
tain tract, much in the same way as he
would acquire title under a mining law.
OF course II the system OF leasing Is
adopted, then he would be given the
benefit Of lease upon terms like that
above suggested. What has been said In
respect to oil applies also to government
gas lands
Phosphate Lands.
Phosphorus Is ono Of the three essen
tials to plant growth, the other elements
Deln2 nitrogen anu POTASH VI tneSe
three, phosphorus Is by all odds the
scarcest element in nature. 1t Is easily
extracted In useful form from the phos-
phate rock and the United States con-
tains the greatest known deposits Of this
rock In the world. They are found in
Wyoming, Utah and Florida, as we'll
In South Carolina. Georgia and Tennes-
see The government phosphate lands are
confined to Wyoming, Utah and Florida
Prior to March I, 1909, there were 4000, 900
acres withdrawn from agricultural entry
in the ground that the land covered phos-
phate rock. Since that time, 1922, 600 acres
OF the land thus withdrawn was found
not to contain phosphate in profitable
quantities, while 1.67s 900 acres was classi-
fed properly as phosphate lands. During
this administration there has been with
drawn and classified 437 900 acres. SO that
today there is classified as phosphate rock
land 900 acres. This rock Is most
important in the composition Of fertilizers
to improve the soil. and the future is
certain to create enormous demand
throughout this country for tion
the value to the public Of such deposits
as these can hardly be exaggerated. Ger
tainly with respect to these deposits a
careful policy Of conservation should be
followed A law that would provide a
leasing system for the phosphate depos-
a. -t-toV