The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1912-01-18
MINING NATION
United States Policy of Selling Mineral
Lands Outright Encourages
Development

One Of the great public questions before the nation during
the past five years and that will more and more engoss
the attention Of public spirited Americans for several years
come centeed the problems How shall in the future
dispose of pubr lands particularly those containing GOA
valuable mineral deposits! Shall we continue long esao
sed policy of selling outright the mineral deposits or sup
posed mineral lands of the public domain at merely nom
ina per any citizen having the energy and lore
sight develop the ground and to prove the existence OF
mineral values and who might then mine the property HIM
self or more often exert his energies inducing nances to
invest adequate amounts of capital III pushing the industry ON
suitable scale! Or shall abolish the sale OF public MN
era lands in fee simple and great instead the right to mlne
under esehod from the government the lease to be subject
to certain conditions of limited tenure compulsory operation
with fixed minimum output fixed royalty per ton or rental
per year the federal government and stpuaons as to man
ner and method of working the grounds At present the ques
ton Of easehod sale Of mineral lands in fee simple is
limited to supposed coal and oil lands but if the easehod
principle should be adopted for these mineral deposits it will
quickly follow for gold copper and other meaeros ore de
posts and -meallerous lands Of the public domain
These are questions of tremendous Importance, not only
locally in the west but they are vastly more important TO te
nation as whole than many imagine Nearly wo-fts OF
the area of the United States embracing 10 entire states ano
important parts of four Others all land west OF the ner
dian of the Dakota Black Hills eastern Colorado and Ne"
Mexico depends for it's development directly indirectly
the mining industry and Judging from the nature OF the cou
r yte mining industry must always constitute the foundation
of prosperity for this portion of the nation The size anf
Importance of the affected really make the issue one
national concern although the average citizen east OF the
Rockies is safe say hardly recognizes it as such Any
factor which will promote the mining industry IN our western
ar nuhic land states is bound affect tavoraby the pros
pcrv Of the nation as whole Any factor in public land
policy which may possibly retard mining development SHOULD
be approached with due caution and suspclon especially 81
as regards any leasing other system which directed
aoainst rather than in aid Of the mining industry IN the publ
land states.
In the United States have for As years operated u
der the salem esimpe principle and we have grown TO
tho worlds greatest mining nation We produce go
than anv other country except South Africa; produce NOR
petroleum and more copper than all the rest Of the world com
hned in fact some odd per cent Of the whole worlds ann
outputs produce onehird OF the lead output OF the soo
and ono fourth of the zine both these metals exceeding an
other country in silver second only to Mexico and