CLASSIFICATION OF PUBLIC LANDS 



621 



to the General Land Office on the coal, 

 oil, and phosphate land-, 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. The 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 minimum 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- 



