United labor bulletin., 1915-01-09
Plenty of Public Lands in West
Are Still Open for Settlement
Uncle Holds Title Nearly 500 900 Acres of Land
of Which About 2OO OOO 900 Are Maintained for Nation
al Parks Forest Reserue etc., Coorados Vast Domain

Those who have thought that all o1
the public domain of any value had
been taken up years ago may be inter
ested to know that in the l6 months
between March 4, 1913, when the pres
ent administration came in, and June
30 1914. the end of the last fiscal year,
intending settlers made entry on 49,
426,6O3 acres of public lands-an aggre'
gate area equal to that OF the states OF
Connecticut, Massachusetts,, New Hamp
shire and New Jersey, says Secretary of
the Interior Lane in his annual report
for the year ending June 30, 1914.
As it has been charged that all the
coal lands and other mineral lands of
the West, have been withdrawn from
sale and are being held withdrawn to
the detriment of the mineral industry
of the region, it may OF interest to
know that during the same period an
area nearly or quite equal to that en-
tered has been examined in detail by
4O-acre tracts and classified; that is,
its character with respect to mineral
content has been determined. An area
OF 1892, ,4S2 acres, equal to that or
West Virginia, or to that of Connecti-
cut, Delaware, Massachusetts and New
Jersey combined, has been restored and
thrown open to settlement or purchase.
been found to, contain workable deposits
of phosphate or possible oil and gas
pools, as such lands are still held pend
ing suitable legislation for their dis
posal or use.
Vast Domain Yet Open.
On March 4. 1913, the government
held title to nearly 500 900 900 acres OF
land, of which nearly 200,O00,O00 acres
had been more or less permanently with
drawn from purchase as national for
ests, parks, monuments, etc, and TO-.
100000 acres had been temporarily
withdrawn for classification; that is, for
determination whether they should be
sold under the coal land law or other
mineral laws, under the timber ana
stone act, under the desert land act, or
as plain homesteads, leaving 230,OO0,OO0
acres open to purchase.
As reconnaissance exploration has re-
vealed the possible existence of depos-
its OF coal, phosphate or oil and gas,
or of water power sites not previously
known, new areas have been temporar-
lily withdrawn until they could be stud
led in detail; and as detailed surveys
have shown just what 40-acre tracts OF
these newly withdrawn lands contain
workable deposits of coal, phosphate or
oil and gas. the land has been classf-
fled as coal land, phosphate land or oil
and gas land, and has been restored for
sale. except that containing phosphate,
oil and gas, or certain salts. Lands
found to be valuable as water power
sites have been made available for the
development of power but not for other
purposes.
Coal Lands in Colorado. .
Another kind of classification, which |
has not involved preliminary withdraw
ais, has been that of certain dry lands
which cannot be irrigated but which
offer to the settler an opportunity for
making living by dry farming"
These lands, when so classified or "des.
ignated," may be entered in tracts of
800 acres as enlarged homesteads.
The area of Colorado is over &c, 5000.
900 acres. During the period under dis.
cussion new Withdrawals have been
made covering 1926 acres, or nearly
two townships, mainly to cover the pos
sible extension Of previously known
coal field. Detailed studies have allowed