The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-08-10

equipment of a modern mine and to permit it's operation on an economlcai scale. Without such provision for commercial operation too great an adyantage is given to the land-grant railroads and the large coal compan- ies that are already in possession of considerable areas of land containing high-grade coal.
 The present uncertainty whether the phosphate rock of the public land should be entered under the lode law or under the placer law is conclusive evidence of the need of legislation. AS a matter of fact neither of these laws is more applicable to the acqu1- sition of beds of phosphate-b bearing limestone than it would be to that of coal beds.
 Legislation Imperative for Oil and
 Gas Development.
 The most urgent need of legislation for the disposal of mineral deposits is in connection with oil and gas It is apparent that the placer law, which is none too we'll adapted to meet modern conditions in mining placer gold, is wholly inadequate ii applied to public oil lands, inasmuch as the discovery of oil is made at late stage in the exploration and de- yelopment of the land claimed under the law. The need for better law is imperative. and the legislative ac- tion demanded by the situation should not be limited to an attempt to revamp the general placer law but should involve the enactment Of an altogether new leasing measure, es- pecially adapted to provide for the sane and equitable development of the oil and gas industry in the fu- ture.
 New Laws Are Needed for Metallif-
 erous Deposits.
 Proposed amendments of the we'll established laws relating to metalllf- erous minerals always excite warm discussion Although the opinion of mining men in general favors revls- ion of the mining laws of the United States and although commission after commission has been appointed by various bodies to suggest improve practically unchanged for nearly 40 years, while the geology of ore de- posits and the technology of metal mining have made marvellous pro- gross.
 Apex Law is Inadequate.
 The flaw of the apex has been more productive of expensive litig1- tion than of economical mining. In many of the more recently esta bl1sn- ed and more progressive mining dis tricts this statute has been made in- operative either by common agree ment or by compromise between own CTS of adjoining claims. Its repeal could not affect established equities held under patents already granted but would make property rights more certain in large mining districts not yet discovered, where new and valu- able claims will be located hum dred years hence.
 The same knowledge of natural conditions that leads to the sugges- of nf he Q nf 70 apex justifies the further suggestion that the discovery of ore in place can not be made universal prequisite to the location of a mining claim. Geo. logic study in number of regions has revealed many underground ore deposits to which the present law can not be applied, although the de- posits are rich and their extent can be surmised more definitely than that of some ore deposits which outcrop at the surface. To meet such actual conditions the law should provide for the acquisition of metalliferous min eral land that can be classified as such by means of adequate geologic evil dence, whether outcrops are present or not.
 A most important provision in any amended mining law would enforce development-a provision embodied, it is true, in the present law but not made effective in it's enforcement. This requirement of actual use as a condition of occupancy of mineral land can not be regarded as either novel or radical.
 Either LeasehOld System or Revis-
 ion of Mineral Laws Desirable.
 The remedy, then, for the existing evil of idle mining property must be sought either in the adoption of a leasehold under which the Govern ment can enforce operation-a SyS- tenn which fully attains the desired end of promoting development in Australia and New Zealand, accord ing to the reports made in 1907 by Geologist Veatch. of the Survey, to the President-or in the thorough re- vision of the existing system. Radi- cal amendment of the present law is necessary in order to afford a nearer approach to equality of opportunity.