Show AUGUST BUSY MONTH FOR FEDERAL ENGINEERS august is among the busiest months in the year for the department of the interior on its continuing task for separating public landson to the classes to which they belong A number of parties headed by trained and experienced scientists from the geological survey are this summer in the west examining tracts ot land that still belong to the public and tagging them in accordance with their latent possibilities on some wild tracts there may be falling water the engineers note this fact and put these lands in a class that will assure that the public gets what benefits may accrue from it where on the land that Is publicly owned Is there coal what Is its quality what Is the thickness of the beds how persistent Is each bed and what Is the thickness and character or the overburden how and when can this coal be developed answers to these questions are provided by the geologists and their classification as coal land assures the public the ultimate cash return to which its ownership entitles it similarly areas offering promise of oil or gas production are mapped and classified by the geologists to the end that their hidden treasure may not through inadvertence ba lost to the public there are potash deposits that may free the united states from dependence on foreign nations for fertilizer and munitions of war there are lands still remaining in possession of the federal government that are adapted to agricultural pursuits some oa them can be successfully fanned some are suitable only for grazing land and there are even such details as the time of year when they produce grass while title t the larger portion of the vast area of public lands formerly held by the federal government has passed into the hands of its citizens there still remains a considerable area subject to future reclamation through irrigation and a still arger area principally valuable for grazing title to most of the public lands in alaska still remains in the federal government however the chief values remaining in the public domain are for their natural resources deposits of mineral the forests water powers etc the policy of congress Is to dispose of the title to agricultural lands in fee simple which Is also the case with respect to the precious metals iron and building stone As to the fuel and fertilizer minerals such as oil coal phosphate potash etc the forests and water powers the policy has been adopted of retaining title in the federal government and securing development and use under lease license or permit the value of the latter resources in the public domain have been estimated by a former secretary at more than fourteen billions of dollars wise administration of all these lands and resources require v knowledge of detailed conditions and values which are being obtained through the surveys work of exploration and aatlo |