River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-09-08

carry up the maximum xg value to $500
an acre. In my judgment 1t is essential
in the proper development Of Alaska that
these coal lands should be opened. and
that the Pacific slope should be given the
benefit of the comparatively cheap coal
of fine quality which can be furnished at
a reasonable price from these fields: but
the public, through the government,
ought certainly to retain a wise control
and interest in these coal deposits. and I
think it may do so safely if congress viii
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 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-
| tons recurring the erection of proper
| plants. the proper development by mod
ern mining methods of the properties
| leased. and the use of every known and
| practical means and device for saving the
| life of the miners.
Oil and Gas Lands.
| In the last administration there were
withdrawn from agricultural entry $780,
600 acres of supposed oil land in Califor-
| MIA: about a million and half acres in
| Louisiana. of which only $500 acres
| were known to be vacant unappropria-
| ted land; 75,OO0 acres in Oregon and 174,-
600 acres in Wyoming, making total of
nearly 100000 acres. In September, 1909,
I directed that all public oil lands,
| whether then withdrawn or not, should
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 the further reason that it seemed de-
| sirable to reserve certain fuel-oil deposits
! for the use of the American navy. Ac-
| cordingly the form of all existing with
! drawals was changed, and new with
| drawals aggregating 2,750,OO0 acres were
made in Arizona, California, Colorado,
| New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming Field
| examinations during the year showed
| that of the original Withdrawals, 2,170,-
/ 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, so
| that July 1, 1910, the outstanding with
| drawals then amounted to 4,550,00 acres.
| The needed oil and gas law is essential
| ly a leasing law. In their natural occur
L
| terms of acres, like coal, and it follows
| that exclusive title to these products can
| normally be secured only after they reach
| the surface. Oil should be disposed of as
| a 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 an experiment, but simply putting
| into effect plan successfully operated in
| private contracts. Why should not the
| government as landowner deal directly
| with the oil producer rather than through
| the intervention of a middleman to whom
| the government gives title to the land?
The principal underlying feature of
| such LEGISLATION should be the exercise of
| beneficial control rather than the collec-
| 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 encouraging rational de-
I 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 fields the oil seems to be in
| a common reservoir, or series of reser-
voirs, communicating through the oil
| sands so that the excessive draining of
| oil at one well, or on the railroad terri
| tory generally, would exhaust the oil in
| the government lana. Hence it is i'm
portant that if the government is to have
| its share of the oil it should begin the
| opening Of wells on its own property.
| IT has been suggested, and believe the
| suggestion to be sound one, that per-
! mits be issued to 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 a license for which he
| pays a small sum. When the oil is dis
| covered, then he acquires title to a GER
| tain tract, much in the same way as he
| would acquire title under mining law
| OF course if 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 one of the three essen
| tails to plant growth, the other elements
| being nitrogen and potash. OF these
| three phosphorus is by all odds the
| scarcest element in nature. Tt is easily
i
plate 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 well as
i in South Carolina, Georgia and Tennes-
| see. The government phosphate lands are
| confined to Wyoming, Utah and Florida.
| Prior to March 4, 1909, there were 1900 600
| acres withdrawn from agricultural entry
| in the ground that the land covered phos-
| phate rock. Since that time, 1929 900 acres
| Of the land thus withdrawn was found
| not to contain phosphate in profitable
| quantities, while 1678,0 900 acres was CLASH
| fed properly as phosphate lands. During
| this administration there has been with
| drawn and classified 600 acres, so that
| today there is classified as phosphate rock
| land 2,115,000 acres. This rock is most
| important in the composition of fertilizers
| to improve the soil, and as the future is
| certain to create an enormous demand
| throughout this country for fertilization,
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-
| it's, together with provision for the sep
| aration of the surface and mineral rights
| as is already provided for in the case of
| coal, would seem to meet the need of
| promoting the development of these de-
| posits and their utilization in the agri-
| cultural lands Of the west If it IS
| thought desirable to discourage the expor-
tation of phosphate rock and the saving
| of it for our own lands, this purpose
could be accomplished by conditions in
| the lease granted by the government to
| tie Iarceas Of COURSE under fhn conSti-