Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-03

Smokes in North Carolina and Tennes-
| see and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mex
leo, have been created and Isle Royale
in Lake Superior, Shenandoah Valley In
Virginia and Mammoth Cave in Ken
lucky have been authorized as parks.
Magnificent sugarpine areas in Yo-
semitic, privately owned. were bought
1! and given to the parks by Mr.. John D.
i Rockefeller, jr. His gifts are helping
make the Great Smokes Park possible.
Forty-one other private holdings have
been eliminated in other parks. George
! Washington's birthplace, the Yorktown
battlefield and Jamestown were added
! as national monuments. We are in the
! midst of the rounding out of the ma
! tional park system. Three million
| Americans each year visit our parks.
These parks are the happieSt contact
points between our people and their
Government; both gain by 1t.
$4,000 Acres Remain.
The General Land Office is the
agency of this Government which has
supervised the carving of the public
domain into individual homes, It's ac-
tivities have kept pace with the from
| tier while settlers over1ower into State
| after State. Unfortunately, Congress
has never given it or the States ade-
quate authority to protect the public
domain from over-graZing and abuse.
About 175,000,000 acres remain, most
of 1t valuable principally as a source
of water and for grazing. Few Of our
people realize the destructive effects on
the water supply in our valleys which
may come from over-graZing and fires
in distant mountain country. When
vegetation Is uprooted by animals or
burned by fires the balance of forces
which nature has built up through mil
lions of years Is destroyed. Rains, in
stead of soaking into vegetation and
surface soil, run down barren slopes,
wash away the surface, carry 1t as silt
into rivers and fill reservoirs and
form disastrous floods instead of per-
manent streams. The growing value of
the soil is lost, homes are washed away
In distant valleys where the smoke of
the forest fires Is never seen and the
grazing animals are encountered only
as mutton chops and roast beef. Dur
ing the past two years the Presidents
Commission on the Public Domain has
been studying this great problem look
ing toward effective control of the
range, the watersheds and the forests
OF the Nation. The problem is of ma
tional Importance. but its solution Is in
tensely local. The question is whether
the States shall undertake to save their
own watersheds, or whether Congress
shall undertake to protect them, or
whether the neglect which has prevail
ed during the past decades shall con-
tinue. The commission has rendered
its report. recommending that control
OF the surface of the public domain be
given within 10 years to those States
which are willing to accept the re-
sponsibility, except as to forests, and
providing for more effective Federal
protection meanwhile. All revenues
fFNFf N{1 NJ
per cent, now go to the States and the
reclamation fund, and no change in
their administration was recommended
by the commission. over $4,000, 900
have been thus distributed.
Nations Mineral Resources.
AS to the mineral resources of the
Nation, this department has a large
responsibility. Title to the gold, silver.
copper and most other minerals is still
acquired under the old mining laws
by making a discovery, stalking out a
claim and doing requisite amount of
work. But oil and gas, sodium, potash
and some other minerals may only be
acquired under leases issued under the
1920 mineral leasing act. The past
decade has seen vast waste Of our
irreplaceable oil and gas resources. Oil
mas been over-produced and forced into
competition with coal when it should
have been saved for its gasoline con-
tent Gas has been blown into the
air with the result that the deep oil
deposits thousands of feet underground
nave In many cases lost the only pro-
pellent force which could bring them
to the surface. The Federal Govern
ment has powers of control over the
OIL and gas in the public domain, but
mas nothing but advisory powers as to
private lands. Consequently, the Sec
rotary Of the Interior acts as an adj
ministrative officer of the public do
main, but only as an advisory officer
as member Of the Federal Oil Con-
servation Board. This board consists
OF the Secretaries of the Departments
OF War, Navy, Commerce and Interior.
Conservation on private lands Is a State
responsibility. and coordination of
such efforts by the oil States for the
benefit Of all our people Is essential.
AS to the public domain, seven DAYS
after taking Office we undertook to put
stop to speculation, over-drilling. de-
pletion OF our reserves and loss of Gov
eminent royalties through overproduc-
ton at time when there was no need
for the oil. Accordingly, no prospecting
permits have been issued except where
equities demanded 1t. new drilling has
been discouraged and producers have
ground. Over 10000 permits, or over
two-thirds Of those outstanding, have
been Cancelled for noncompliance with
the liberal requirements of the law.
During all this conservation effort
which precipitated over 200 law suits TO
relax II, We were astonished to be
charged, without warning, with giving
away some $4,000 900 900 worth of oil
shale lands. AS recall, none of it was
ole I'D 81
but our alleged generosity was reproved
in II syndicated articles by an ex-
employee We were subsequently able to
learn that he had been paid $4,000. or
so cents word, to do the Job, provided
he stayed on our pay roll until he fin
isheo 1t, and resigned in righteous In
dignation; $4,000 II we caught him at
1t and discharged him. Another case Of
halo getting caught in purse string.
The Geological Survey.
The Geological Survey Is the super
vising agency which sees that the oil
and gas from the public domain is pro-
duced without waste Further 1t CLASH
fieS the public lands for their wisest use,
such as for agriculture, for water power,
for mineral development, for timber,
etc. 1t also carries on the great work
Of making topographic maps OF the
United States. It's outstanding work
this last year was helping TO arrange a
plan Of unit operation for Kettleman
Hills. the worlds greatest oil field, In
California. thereby putting brakes on a
potential production OF gasoline which
would have swamped the industry
The Bureau Of Reclamation has Gre
ated over $1,000 900, 900 of wealth for
the Nation by its score of reclamation
projects throughout the West. These
have turned deserts into prosperous en-
pires in the Salt River Valley in Ari-
IONA and on the Rio Grande, the Col
orado, the Columbia and on lesser
streams. These new American COM
munities Consume millions of dollars of