El Nuevo mexicano., 1918-02-14

n GOVernInenL VIII TeLdlu lHS llliS
and more or less control through
leases, and the Federal Government
and the States will receive a re
gular income from the production o.
the minerals under lease. The legis
Iation is also important in that il
constitutes the much discussed "fu
ture legislation In aid Of which
many extensive Withdrawals OF pub
lie mineral lands have been made;
consequently 1t will doubtless result
in renewed activity in the develop
ment and production of the miner
ais affected. For this reason, In view
Of the heavy demand for coal and
oil, the bill is considered essentially
a war measure, as we'll as the gen.
eral future policy of the Government.
The bill was the subject OF ex-
tended debate in the Senate and
passed by a vote of 81 to 80. The
opposition included those widely d.
vergent views, from those who were
against any sort of leasing system
or retention of title of the Federal
Government at all to, those who
favored absolute and complete Gov
eminent ownership and operation.
AS was to be expected. much Of
the discussion conferred around the
s~o-called "relief" provisions for ex-
listing oil land claimants. One in
teresting feature was that for two
or three days before the bill was to
come to a vote, representatives Of
the Roxana Oil Company, said to be
O subsidiary of the Dutch Shell, caus-
ed full page advertisements to be
placed in the Washington papers at
lacking the "relief" provisions on
the ground that same would have
the effect of turning the entire wy
oming producing field over to the
Standard and Midwest. at the same
time urging that leases should he
allowed for as much as $500 acres
in order to enable successful COM
petition with the STANDARD.
It is understood that the House
Committee on Public Lands, will hold
hearings, SO in all probability the
whole subject will be thrashed out
again, Notwithstanding repeated
hearings have already been held
during the past four years. The
4 6uUICLL uAn O0gAN IL
recently by the introduction of an
other bill Is. 3521) said to be back
ed by the Secretary of the Navy,
for the condemnation of all the pri-
vately owned oil lands in the Naval
Reserves.
The General Leasing Bill cover
the ground of the principle of Sec
rotary Lanes so-called conservation
measures-measures looking to de-
velopment and use as well as to
conserve-which he has consistently
urged and advocated ever since he be-
came Secretary of the Interior. That
the existing laws for these miner
ais are impractical and ~unadapted
to modern, economic and mining
conditions, is a greed to by most
everybody. IA coal leasing law fur
Alaska (3S Stat. ,741), and a potash
leasing law (Act of October 2,
1910 have already been passed. AS
the presumption law was an inter-
mediate step between the old cash
sale system and the homestead law,
so we find compromise features in
this bill in the shape of provision
for both sales and leases; for in
stance, the bill provides for an out
right sale at public auction of as
much as $500 acres of coal lands, on
condition that the purchaser shall
spend $4,000 in development dur
ing the first year after sale; it also
provides for an oil prospecting per-
NIT for as much as $500 acres, the
permittee to get a paten outright
if he discovers oil, for one-fourth OF
the area permit. In general, the bill
authorizes the Secretary of the In
terror to lease public lands for the
mining of the minerals named in
areas not exceeding 1850 acres,
through advertisement, competi-
tive bidding, or such other methods
as may by general regulation adopt"
for underestimate periods" with
readjustments every ten years for
oil and every twenty years for coal,
at a royalty to be fixed by the Sec
rotary. Exclusive preliminary pros
pecting permits for two years are
also privided for. NO attempt will
be made at this time to discuss the
relief" sections except to say that
as the bill passed the Senate it
gives a preference right to a lease
in certain specified cases OF those
claims on which there are one o.
more producing wells, On condition
that the beneficiary shall pay to the
government on~e-eighth Of the value
Of all oil heretofore produced from
the premises; it also provides for a
preference right for a lease in a
certain class of case3 for those who
obeyed the order Of withdrawal and
designated further prosecution OF
work; no prediction can be made at
this time as to the ultimate outcome
of these sections. The bill also
provides that Of the proceeds aris-
ing out Of these leasing operations,
as we'll as from the sale OF coal
lands, fifty per cent shall be paid
over to the States in which the
leased premises are situated for the
support of education or public i'm
provements, as the State Legislature
may direct, the remaining fifty per
cent being reserved and appropriate
cd as a part of the reclamation fund
Thus it will be seen that both the
State and Nation will be interested
in the conduct Of successful opera
tiona under tha lease aVstem To ehe