The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1910-04-23

Wells have been put doxn
100 feet in depth, and still the salt eon.
A well is being drilled for oil
the marsh, out of the zone of
heaviest salt deposition, and At a depth
of 1000 feet is a strong flow of br;ns
when evaporsted, leaves salt %
per cent pure. Fill a pint cup with this
brine, evaporate it, and the cup is lef,
half full of dazzling white salt. So
here is an area of rs square miles
proved from 100 to 1000 feet in deptb
of which 20 per cent, or one-fourth. il
salt and borax. The figures are stipend.
Gus. And it must be remembered that
the Blair marsh is but a small Der.
centage of the total area of saline lands
in the states of Nevada and California.
Would Protect Saline Lands.
For many years it has been the
policy of the United states government,
to conserve the saline lands. In 1892
Secretary Noble of the interior said:
"The settled policy of the government
in the disposition of salt lands and
~salines has been, and is now, to reserve
the same from general disposition
= Deposits of sd are '~salincs'
and not subject to entry under the
statutes authorizing the acquisition of
title to mineral lands. If there
has been, and still exists, a separate
ana distinct policy in ference to such
(%saline) lands, it follows that they are
not subject to entry and patent under
the placer mining laws"
The decision of the secretary was
handed down t o the commissioner Of
the general land office, June a, 1892, in
which a claimant located as a placer
claim, a "mine of salt, in place" in
Lincoln county, Nevada. Application
was made for patent, and the land Of
fee decided that "Such land is not sub
iect to entry under the United States
mining laws"
In 1901, in order to avoid any other
Interpretation of the law by a secretary
of the interior, and to conserve for flu.
tlre generations of Anne lean citizens
these great resources, the law was
passed limiting saline locations to 20
acres for any one man, and providing
that title to these lands, or springs,
never passed from the government.
Nixon Would Rob the People.
This law "holds up" the salt, borax
and Nitre trusts, and Senator Nixon of
Nevada, in order to give aid and com
fort to interests whom he desires to
please, has introduced the following
bill:
Senate Bill 5521.
In the Senate of the United States,
January 10, 1910.
Mr.. Nixon introduced the following
bill, which was read twice and referred
to the committee on mines and mining.
A bill, defining the manner in which
deposits of borax, borate of lime, borate
of soda and borate material may be
acquired:
"Be it enacted by the senate and
house of representatives of the United
States of America, in congress Assem-.
bled, that all public lands within the
United States, containing valuable de-
posits of borax, bora.e OF lime, borate
of soda, or borate material, shall be
subject to location, entry and patent
under the placer mining laws. Patents
heretofore issued for lands containing
such deposits, whether as patents for
lodes or patents for placer, are hereby
confirmed. Placer patents heretofore
and hereafter issued for lands contain
ing such deposits shall vest in and con
vey to the patentee or patentees there
in named, his or their successors or
assigns, the title to all lands included
within the exterior boundaries of the
land described in such placer patent;
Provided, that where lands containing
such deposits have heretofore been
located under the laws providing fr
the entry of mineral lode claims SAID
locations may be perfected and patents
issued under the laws applicable to lode
And provided further, that IL
of any conflict between locatofs
under the placer laws and the mineral
lode laws, on locations heretofore maze
of lands containing such deposits, tne
shall be determined as though
location of said land under either Oh
the above laws was valid at the timS
said locations were made"
Although the bill does not mention
salt, salt is included in the saline iands'
All the desert salt deposits are accom-