MINERALS 241 



the neglect of conservation among the people. An organization 

 through which all agencies state, national, municipal, asso' 

 ciate, and individual may unite in a common effort to con 

 serve the foundations of our prosperity is indispensable to the 

 welfare and progress of the nation. To that end the immediate 

 creation of a national agency is essential." 17 



No such national agency was created, but President Roose 

 velt did withdraw from entry a total of 148,000,000 acres of 

 forest land. He also withdrew 80,000,000 acres of coal land, 

 1,500,000 acres of water power sites, and 4,700,000 acres of 

 phosphate lands from entry. 18 The purpose of the President was 

 to have Congress pass laws whereby the resources of these fed 

 eral lands would be leased rather than sold outright. Congress, 

 however, did not pass such a law until 1920. By that time, it 

 had been decided that of the coal land withdrawn by President 

 Roosevelt, only 29,883,336 acres 19 contained deposits valuable 

 enough to keep. To this was added 5,000,000 acres of petro 

 leum land, the land containing oil shale, natural gas, phos 

 phorus, and sodium salts, and the water power sites. The 

 royalty fee from government oil lands alone had reached a total 

 of $11,513,894 by 1937. 20 



In 1910 during the administration of President Taft another 

 law regulating public lands was passed. This law distinguished 

 between surface and sub-surface rights to federal land. It meant 

 that if a cattle man, for instance, took up 640 acres of public 

 range land, he had the right to the grass, but he did not own the 

 minerals under the surface. 21 



After this beginning, the policy of restricting the use of the 

 mineral deposits on public land remained unchanged with one 

 great exception. This exception was the use of oil lands. 



17 Report of Conservation Commission, Vol. 1'2, p. 26. 



18 Hacker and Kendrick, op. cit., pp. 410-411. 



19 Van Hise and Havemeyer, op. cit., p. 12. 



20 Hedges, Letter, op. cit. 



21 Hacker and Kendrick, op. cit., p. 411. 



