The National tribune., 1910-09-08


of control of their use. $
The impulse of the whole new COM
munity was to encourage the coming
of population, the increase of settle
ment and the opening up of business,
and he who demurred in the slightest
degree to any step which promised ad-
ditional development of the idle re-
sources at hand was regarded as a
traitor to his neighbors and an obstruc-
tor. to public progress. But now that
the communities have become old. now
that the flush of enthusiastic expansion
has died away, now that the would-be
pioneers have come to realize that all
the richest lands in the country have
been taken up, we have perceived the
necessity for a change in policy in the
disposition of our National resources.
so as to prevent the continuance of the
waste which has characterized our phe-
nomenal growth in the past. To-day
we desire to restrict and retain under
pubic control the acquisition and use
by the capitalist of our natural re-
sources"
Specific Recommendations.
Without overphilosophizipg the Pres
fdent hastens to make specific recon-
mendations for legislation which Will
have to do with the use of the proper
ties in question. Briefly. he proposes
laws that will permit of the working of
Government coal lands under the lease
hold system rather than by granting
absolute title. He cites the success of
that system in Australia. Tasmania and
New Zealand, as shown by report
"made at the instance of President
Roosevelt" He says: THE question as
to how great an area ought to be in
cluded in a lease to one individual or
corporation is not free from difficulty
He favors some lihcTality, however, and
ii 1N.A too
great a maximum. He faVorS prOvi-
Sions by which the Government may
profit by sharing in the increased price
of coal, and also would have the Gov
ernment control the character of the
development of the mines and the
treatment of the employees with refer
ence to safety" The President points
out that las one-third of all the coal
supply is held by the Government. it
seems wise that it should retain such
control over the mining and the sale
as the relation of lessor and lessee fur
nishes". He adds that "a change from
the absolute grant to the leasing system
will involve a good deal of trouble in
the outset, and the training of experts
in the matter of making proper leases:
but the change will be a good one and
can be made. The change is i'll the in
terest of conservation, and ! am glad to
approve it,
The Coal Lands.
In that connection the President
gives many figures about the extent OF
Government coal lands. Authorities
of the Geological Survey estimate" says
the President in summing up, that in
the United States to-day there is a sup
ply of about 5000 billion tons of coal,
and that of this about 1000 billion
tons are in the public domain. OF
course, the other 1000 billion tons are
within private ownership and under no
more control as to the use or the prices
at which the coal may be sold than
any other private property" But the
President emphasizes that in exercising
effective control over its own property
and as landlord, imposing conditions
such as any landlord would, the Gov
ernment can exercise "a limited but ef-
fective control in the disposition and
sale of the coal to the public" The
leasing system. he says. has never been
adopted in this country, according to
arguments which its opponents advance.
but the President says he is convinced
by his own Investigations that the state
mPnt is not true.
He devotes a couple of pages to Alas
ka coal lands and says that the BIZ
luminous product from Alaska could be
laid down at Seattle or San Francisco
for 81 ton and anthracite for S5 or Sc
a ton. The demand for coal upon the
Pacific Coast is about 4,500, 600 tons a
year. The President thinks those Alas
ka coal fields ought to be opened up on
conditions of lease requiring the "erec-
ton Of proper plants, the proper devel-
opment by modern mining methods of
the properties leased, and the use of
every known and practical means and
device for saving the life of miners
He continues that the United States
Government has much to answer for in
not having given proper attention to
the government of the people of Alaska
and the development of her resources
for the benefit of all the people of the
country.
Oil and Gas Lands.
His treatment of the disposition of
oil and gas lands is also very thoro. He
quotes figures to show that July l last
the outstanding Withdrawals of public
Oil lands in California, Louisiana, Ore
gon. Wyoming. Arizona, New Mexico
and Utah were 4,550,000 acres. The
needed oil and gas law" says the Pres
ident, "is leasing law. In their nat
ural occurrence oil and gas cannot be
measured in terms of acres, like coal,
and il 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
estate. This is. of course, the reason
for the practically universal adoption
of the leasing system wherever oil land
is in private ownership. The Govern
ment would thus not be entering on an
experiment, but simply putting into ef-
feet a plan successfully operated in
private contracts. Why should not the
Government as a landowner deal direct
ly with the oil producer, rather than
thru the Intervention of a middleman,
to whom the Government gives title to
the land ?"
The President argues that the under
lying feature of the oil and gas legisla-
tion should be the exercise of benefi-
cial control rather than the collection
of revenue" The royalties fixed by the
Government should neither exceed nor
fall below the current rates" He cites
difficulties in California. where the
Southern Pacific Railroad owns every
other section of land in the oil fields,
where the oil seems to be in a COM
mon reservoir or series of reservoirs,
communicating thru the oil sands so
that the excessive draining of oil at
one well or on the railroad territory
generally would exhaust the oil in ihe
& Government land" Therefore the
President urges the necessity of begin
ming development of the Government
lands, and suggests the possibility of
some cooperation with the State of
California. SO that there may be i'm
posed appropriate restrictions to Sc
cure an equitable enjoyment of the
common reservoir"
Phosphate Rock Lands.