The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-12-18
DEMANDS NEW [AN REGULATING
OIL AND GAS LANDS OF NATION

a barrel OF II being used for fuel be-.
!. fore every drop Of kerosene, gasoline,
and other invaluable constituents have
been taken from it. How much Of 1t
there is In the United States no one
knows. The Geological Survey has
made a maximum estimate OF $4,000.
100000 barrels, which sounds like. an
inexhaustibie supply. But at the rate
that 1t is now being consumed In this
country alone (265,000, 000) barrels a
year, this does not mean an indefinite
supply, and from the rapid exhaus.
tion OF some fields It Is manifest that
there can be no real approximation
Of the OIL in our lands. Whatever the
supply, 1t should not be allowed in It's
crude state to compete with coal as
fuel, and the Government should not
promote its being wasted by applying
to 1t archaic laws under which waste
Is certainty
Summing up the resources Of the
United States Secretary Lane says:
THE United States produces every
mineral that is needed In industry,
and this can be said Of no other coun.
try. We produce &C per cent. Of the
worlds output OF petroleum, go per
cent Of Its copper, 40 per cent. OF its
coal and iron, and SO per cent. Of It's
lead and zinc. Tin In small quaint.
ties Is produced in Alaska and plat
mum In Oregon, Nevada, and Cali.
fornia. manganese In Virginia, Geor.
gia, Arkansas and California: but OF
these latter minerals, as OF nickel and
some others of less importance, our
supply is altogether inadequate for our
consumption. We can build a battle.
ship, or an automobile excepting the
ttres), a railroad or factory entire.
ly from the products OF American
mines and forests.
ITO replenish the soil We have phos.
phorus In abundance potash is known
TO exist in the deposits of Searles
Lake, California, which, however. is
not yet commercially available, aud
IN alunite where 1t is combined with
aluminium and deposits of which are
found in several States; and nitro.
gen can be extracted from the air by
cheap hydroelectric power, as Is now
done in Germany, Norway, and else.
where. So that we can feed the earth
and keep 1t sustained.
Our soil and climate are SO varied
that we can produce all the grains,
fruits, vegetables, and fbres known
to the Temperate Zone, and some
found in the semi-tropics.
"And to crown all these we have
water power that can be made to gen.
crate perhaps as much as 60,000,000
horsepower. .a
THE public domain is rapidly grow.
ing less which means that 1t Is being.
occupied and used. or the two hun.
dred and odd million acres left, 12,-
100000 acres have already been classi.
fed as coal bearing, over 100000 az
probably carrying oil. and $50, 900 as
phosphate lands. The most valuable
discovery made in recent years as af-
fecting the public domain is that the
semiard regions may become abun.
dainty productive under dry.framing
methods. -
The, territory OF Alaska, containing
perhaps 400 100000 acres is now the
great body Of public domain. It is
heavily mineralized and is land of
unknown possibilities. One gold mine
there has recently erected mill OF
5000 tons capacity, with ore in sight
to run the mill for so years.
The waters that flow idly to the
sea could be made to support not less
than 100000 people Ii turned upon
the land that otherwise will remain
pasture land or altogether worthless.