38 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 



OIL JjASTDS. 



The earliest withdrawals of lands containing oil and gas were 

 made in order to protect oil operators from agricultural entrymen. 

 In 1900 certain lands in Wyoming and California were withdrawn 

 from agricultural entry on representations made by citizens of those 

 States that the lands contained valuable deposits of oil and gas 

 and should be withheld from agricultural entry pending a determi- 

 nation as to their content of oil. These orders and others of similar 

 character were from time to time issued by the General Land Office. 

 The first withdrawal recommended by the Geological Survey was 

 made in 1907. For years the Survey had been doing geologic work 

 in the oil fields of California. Its geologists, studying the conditions 

 of the oil industry as well as the geology and occurrence of oil, 

 early became convinced that unless preventive steps were taken a 

 great amount of fraud would be perpetrated and oil development 

 would be seriously hindered by attempts to obtain oil lands through 

 nonmineral entries. The withdrawal of certain lands was accord- 

 ingly recommended, and on August 15, 1907, the Acting Secretary 

 of the Interior approved the recommendation and the withdrawal 

 became effective. In 1908 several withdrawals were made in Cali- 

 fornia for the same purpose, and a withdrawal was also made in the 

 Caddo field of Louisiana pending an investigation as to possible 

 means of preventing the enormous waste of natural gas then taking 

 place in that field. 



Within a short time it became apparent that the situation was only 

 partly covered by withdrawing oil lands from agricultural entry. 

 The inadequacy of the placer law and its inapplicability to oil lands 

 was clearly recognized. The law was framed to apply to solid min- 

 erals; when applied to fluids, such as oil and ga.s, it at once led to 

 many abuses. Drilling along the boundaries of one claim in order 

 to draw off oil or gas beneath a neighboring claim forced activity in 

 drilling which resulted in production far greater than the demands 

 of the market. The requirement of discovery as a prerequisite to 

 title also forced development and overproduction. It became more 

 and more apparent that oil and gas should be disposed of in terms of 

 barrels or cubic feet rather than in terms of acres. These consider- 

 ations, together with the advisability of retaining a supply of fuel 

 oil for the use of the Navy, caused the Geological Survey to urge the 

 suspension of all forms of entry on Government oil lands pending 

 the enactment of new legislation by Congress. In consequence Sec- 

 retary of the Interior Ballinger on September 27, 1909, withdrew 

 from all forms of entry, location, or disposition all public lands 

 believed to contain valuable deposits of oil or gas. As information 

 has since been obtained indicating other public lands to be valuable 

 for these minerals, they also have been withdrawn from all forms of 



