Show CONGRESS PASSES MEASURE WHICH IS NOW IN HANDS OF PRESIDENT COOLIDGE FOR HIS ACTION the house bill authorizing the secretary of the interior to grant a further extension of two years on any or all oil and gas prospecting permits which passed the united states senate friday Is now in the hands of president cooledge for approval the president has assured friends of the measure that it will be given his endorsement dor when the bill came up in the senate last friday it bore two senate committee amendments which would have authorized the secretary to grant extensions for two years or for such additional periods he may deem reasonable or necessary for the full exploration of the land described in the permit senator la follette would not sanction this committee amendment and in order to pass the bill senator smoot asked that the committee amendment be stricken out the bill then passed in the identical form in which it had been passed by the house As a result of the new bill oil and gas prospecting permits will run for a total of nine years providing extensions on them are obtained from ithe secretary of the interior the original leasing act placed the life of a prospecting permit at five years under the terms of the act a permit would automatically be cancelled out after five years unless a discovery of oil had been made on the land it covered and the acreage carried to lease two years ago an act was passed authorizing the secretary to extend the life of permits two years if he deemed it advisable the new bill which has just passed congress and Is now in the hands of the president grants a further extension of two years the measure is of keen interest to eastern utah as many permits held here are now approaching the seven year limit the additional two years of grace will give new life to permits which were on the verge of being canceled out |