410 



CONSERVATION 



To prevent that speculation which 

 has now locked up much of our iron and 

 coal lands in a few hands, it would be 

 necessary to supplement the tax on roy- 

 alty by provision for a minimum annual 

 royalty charge on each deposit, to be 

 payable whether the mineral had been 

 extracted or not. For known ore re- 

 serves, the royalty should be calculated 

 on the basis by which most leases of 

 the Lake Superior iron mines are now- 

 secured from private landowners. It 

 has not proved difficult to fix the mini- 

 nunn annual royalty ecjuitably after the 

 quantity of ore available has been as- 

 certained by boring. 



In the case of unexplored mineral 

 ground, the condition of retention by 

 the holder should be the same as is now 

 required for mining claims on national 

 land ; i. e., a certain minimum quantity 

 of development work should be per- 

 formed on each claim annually. But 

 sufficient inspectors should be provided 

 in each mining district to ascertain if 

 such work were actually accomplished. 

 Th.e present custom of the Land Office, 

 to trust to a sworn statement of the 

 claimholder, often enables "bad" men to 

 make fraudulent affidavits each year 

 and thus tie up, for speculation, num- 

 erous claims : This now occurs in any 

 district wdiere log-rolling or intimida- 

 tion can prevent the other inhabitants 

 from denouncing such perjuries. 



It need hardly be mentioned that the 

 national apex law, which enables the 

 owner of the vein's outcrop to follow a 

 non-vertical vein indefinitely in depth, 

 should be repealed and a law limiting 

 ownership to the surface side lines (as 

 in Mexico, etc.) substituted. Though 

 the lawsuits ensuing from quarrels of 

 mine-owners, due to the ambiguous 

 apex law, has helped to scatter widely 

 the profits of land monopoly, through 

 the conduits of the legal and mining- 

 expert professions ; it will no longer 

 be of advantage to the community with 

 the adoption of natural taxation and 

 the ensuing equitable distribution of 

 wealth. 



An auxiliary change should be the 

 separation of mineral from surface 



rights in agricultural land ; and this re- 

 form should apply not only to all the 

 remaining Government land, but also to 

 all tracts in private possession on which 

 mineral has not yet been discovered. 

 This reparation is a feature of the Code 

 Napoleon and applies not only in Mex- 

 ico and other Latin countries under that 

 code, but has had a partial application in 

 such British colonies as Canada, Au- 

 stralasia and South Africa. If such a 

 separation had been in force here, i: 

 would have obviated such absurdities as 

 the enrichment of the Oklahoma Indians 

 from royalties on oil lands, which they 

 never lifted a finger to develop. The 

 reform would not only stimulate pros- 

 pecting east of the Missouri River, but 

 would prevent the failure of many 

 operators, in such districts as the Mis- 

 souri and Wisconsin zinc-lead fields; 

 as the operator would be allowed to re- 

 tain the royalty, now going to the land- 

 owners, unless such royalty represented 

 a true economic rent. 



The proposed mining fiscal system 

 would entirely free from taxation not 

 only all mines in the development stage, 

 but also all those producers which ac- 

 tually show no net profit above ex- 

 penses and interest on betterments. It 

 would indirectly subsidize the pros- 

 pector to perform the necessary service 

 of opening new ore deposits, and at the 

 same time render available the great 

 revenue from the profitable mines, most 

 of which is now untouched by taxation. 



State mine inspection is ncux confined 

 to the enforcement of rules for the pro- 

 tection of life; but, except in the coal 

 districts, such inspection is apt to be 

 perfunctory. Inspection should not only 

 be made rigid for all mines, but should 

 be extended to supervise the general 

 working plans as suggested for timber 

 tracts. Operators must be prevented by 

 law, from wasting the Nation's mineral 

 resources, and the only method by 

 which it can be done is the enforcement 

 of scientific economy by state super- 

 vision. 



The proposed taxation changes would 

 stinuilate rather than hinder legitimate 

 lumbering and mining. They would 



