CLASSIFICATION OF PUBLIC LANDS 



621 



to the General Land Office on the coal, 

 oil, and phosphate landi of which the 

 Geological Survey has made actual 

 field examination. Another line of ac- 

 tivity is the segregation of non- 

 irrigable lands under the terms of the 

 enlarged homestead act of February 19 

 of the present year. Tlie recommenda- 

 tions of the Geological Survey on which 

 the Secretary of the Interior bases his 

 designations have not, of course, de- 

 pended on surveys made for this spe- 

 cific purpose, but represent the avail- 

 able data collected through a period of 

 many years by Federal geologists and 

 engineers. The existence of this infor- 

 mation whereby, within these few 

 months since the enactment of the law, 

 the Secretary has been able to designate 

 areas in nine states and territories, ag- 

 gregating 162,000,000 acres, is in itself 

 a forceful argument for a land classi- 

 fication that is complete and authori- 

 tative. 



The classification and valuation of the 

 coal land is the special phase of public- 

 land work to which the Geological Sur- 

 vey is giving increasing attention. Since 

 the Executive withdrawals of 1906 the 

 coal fields in the public-land states have 

 been the scene of Survey activity on a 

 scale that could not have been possible 

 in the earlier period when the appropri- 

 ations by Congress were altogether in- 

 adequate. The purpose of these classi- 

 fication surveys is two-fold : to expedite 

 the complete restoration to agricultural 

 entry of land thus determined to be 

 non-coal although included in the gen- 

 eral withdrawals, and to promote the 

 utilization of the coal lands which to- 

 day represent the greatest natural re- 

 source to which the people retain an 

 unquestioned title. I agree with Mr. 

 Pinchot on the water-power trust ; but 

 no combination controlling the coal 

 fields of the West has as yet poked its 

 head over the horizon. The geologic 

 investigations of the last three field sea- 

 sons have not only furnished a knowl- 

 edge of the quantity and quality of the 

 coal on the public domain, but have ren- 

 dered possible the present policy of ob- 

 taining coal prices for coal lands. The 

 General Land Office now depends on 



the Geological Survey to furnish de- 

 tailed valuations for every forty-acre 

 tract of coal that is placed on the 

 market. 



The scale on which this work is be- 

 ing prosecuted is indicated by the rec- 

 ord of the three and a half months 

 following the adoption of the revised 

 scheme of valuation and reports to the 

 General Land Office which released to 

 agricultural entry approximately two 

 and a half million acres. 



Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana 

 placed selling prices on nearly a million 

 acres of coal land, with an aggregate 

 valuation of over $50,000,000, which is 

 an average advance of more than 200 

 per cent over the mininuim prices fixed 

 by law. Under the regulations setting 

 forth the plan of valuation of Govern- 

 men coal land the price is determined 

 on the basis of estimated tonnage, and 

 the unit rate varies with the quality of 

 the coal, ranging within fifteen miles of 

 a railroad. The prices thus calculated 

 for the public-coal deposits average less 

 than one-tenth the usual royalty paid in 

 the West, yet this conservative valua- 

 tion will more than double the average 

 price of public coal lands, not to men- 

 tion the fact that this policy of land 

 classification has stopped the illegal dis- 

 posal of coal lands at even less than the 

 minimum coal price. I might cite ex- 

 ceptional cases like one in Wyoming 

 where the average price based on ton- 

 nage represents a fifteen-fold increase 

 over the old minimum price. Sales are 

 being made at the new prices and the 

 reports from one land office already in- 

 dicate a greater activity in coal lands 

 priced at $25 and $50 per acre than ex- 

 isted a few years ago when they sold 

 at the minimum price of $10 and $20. 



It is conceded that this policy of bas- 

 ing the price on the quantity and qual- 

 ity of the article sold will discourage 

 purchase by speculators, but I maintain 

 that the Government valuation will not 

 impede the disposition of the coal de- 

 posits for purposes of utilization. The 

 real development of the West will be 

 promoted, not retarded. The situation 

 is clearly viewed by an editor of a 

 western mining journal who has re- 



