The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-02-13
BY ADMIRAL R. s. GRIFFIN

Chief Naval Bureau of Engineering
-1 HE position Of the Navy De-
partment with respect to con-
- troll Of the naval petroleum re-
serves has for the past nine years
been that this control should rest
with the Navy Department.
The Navy Department is the one
most vitality interested In conserving
for its ships a supply of oil which
Will be available when the present
sources are getting low, and also the
Navy Department alone is respons-
tbie for the efficiency of its ships and
their ability to fulfill the require
ments laid down in their design with
respect to speed.
These requirements are impossible
of attainment with coal.
1t was with his idea of conserving
in the ground a supply of oil that
the Secretary of the Navy in 1908
initiated correspondence with the De-
partment Of the Interior, which re-
suited, in 1909. in the withdrawal
from entry by President Taft Of GER
tain oil-bearing lands in California
AAiNA WbA c. III .JiGr set GNlQG
by President Taft as a naval petrol
cum reserve 'for the exclusive use
and benefit OF the United States
Navy"
Later. in 1915, certain lands in
Wyoming, which were. withdrawn in
1909 and 1910, were also set aside as
a naval petroleum reserve
Validity Is contested
Tho validity OF the first order Of
withdrawal was contested in the
courts and finally carried to the SUI.
preme Court, which decided in favor
of the Government.
During the past ten years a mum.
Der Of so-called leasing bills have been
introduced I'm Congress. all having as
their ultimate purpose the opening
up to lease Of the naval petroleum
reserves Passage Of these bills was
resisted by the Navy Department. sup.
ported by the Department Of Justice,
because the paramount purpose was
10 retain oil in the ground.
on was then cheap and the guam.
ttty used by the Navy was small. but
as time passed It became increasingly
evident In a short while oil would he.
come a comparatively scarce com.
modify and It's price would increase
accordingly.
This further emphasized the impor.
lance OF retaining the oil in the
ground. Recognition Of this principle
vas given by the Southern Pacific
Company. who owns valuable lands
In the same locality. and who. up
to n few years ago, drilled only off.
set wells on their property.
Congress Directs Secretary
The Secretary Of the Navy is here
clearly directed" by Congress to:
Take possession Of the naval petro-
leum reserves. to conserve them. to
develop them, TO use and operate
them, in his discretion.
And it would seem this duty can
not legally be transferred to another.
The reason the Navy has always
insisted on control of these lands is
it has such vital interest in them it
cannot be imagined that another de-
partment, and especially one whose
function is the development of pub
lie lands, could possibly have the
same interest in safeguarding the
Navy's interest and in seeing these
lands were r~eserved-as was directed
In President Taft's order Of with
drawal-"for the exclusive use and
benefit of the United States Navy"
Oil Vital Need
Oil is vital to the Nays needs. In
two years the entire active fleet will
be composed exclusively Of oil burning
ships. They have been designed sole
~ for oil and canno be converted
to the use of coal.
It is submitted the naval petroleum
reserves are rot public lands such as
are usually under the control Of the
Department of the Interior. These
lands were in the 1909 order Of with
drawal expressly Withdrawn from
al forms of location, settlement, Sc
lection, filing, entry OF disposal un-
der the mineral or non-mineral public
land laws"
And the orders Of 1912 and 1915
assigning certain Of them as naval
petroleum reserves for the exclusive
use and benefit of the United States
Navy would seem to remove them as
completely from the domain Of pub
lie lands as any other land under the
control Of the Navy Department.