Show Decision on Oil Shale Locations Ey Dy a decision of December 20 lJ a 1524 1924 the department of th the tho Interior lute Inte nor reversed the ge general leral l land n l' office and upheld the register and amI rece receiver ver of ct l the local laud land office at t q l 70 a Springs in kno- kno Y a Summers mera ases am ses This ds Is a a d decision cic l of far reaching Importance in t the e oil shale Districts di since it was g 1 u un understood that to a t st st. that tHIs h Is was wa'S to 1 be lie e a test juse i case se that would apply to to many thO thousands thou thou- l- l fonda sands of at acres of oil shale shalo lan lands Is Mere here t-here There by r geological inference the he shale is shown to exist because ot of the f the continuity of the beds heds but hut on Mich l no actual disco discovery y h has s been made le since the tho beds are ro cov covered r d ur uy Dy tome hundreds of feet feet of f higher l formation says the Steamboat boat r Pilot r. r George L. L Summers the I a TV well ell known homesteader der whose I lace Ieee a is located about 20 miles I north of at DeBeque Colo He filed onas on as n original acre homestead alc and lal later ter r secured an additional stock stock- raising g entry On applying g to make Jr proof ot his entries were contested by byn J n D D. D Freeman and and the Standard Shale Products company on the ands 5 that the entire homestead a ras aa i included Deluded in what they states stated C ere e valid oil shale mineral claims I f G The cases came to trial in fn the enwood Swings land o ice on da September 3 5 1923 occupying eight oes during whit which numerous wit- wit f tes sere jere introduced to prove or orla eve Ve the mineral character o of the land la land to the validity of or the claims as Proper location discovery an and Aa and the fe feasibility o 01 Ol P Laming h lung the lall land for tor success successful ul operations fa Jh- Jh The r Ulster egister and receiver cr 3 su n f far favor l erable to the tho th on U the tho belief that no acal ac ac- lial al d' d ode discovery o Of oil shale rha shale o had hada been h h on a the l 1 mud land Jn in controversy a t t f Valuable shale lay at a depth oal o or orL L eral al hum hundred f is died feet teet under the tho stir sur- ie e of r JI Lr the Sum Summers place and had 1 ver r been I o e eP exposed on of this P co con n to t L- L a discovery discover It was wag alto aj al- hold eld that the assessment work done was h insufficient to validate th the I claims and that the thc question as to tow w whether hether Sum Summers els could coul or l lula C c coula ula not make a living on the thc place w was s immaterial the the Uie validity of the the- min min- Z lt t 4 f 6 J 4 eral claims being th the tho maul main point at ai issue On appeal tho the c commissioner ol mission r ot of l tho the general land land once c r reversed the it decision r iS' iS iSO O lOr of to tho hO local o al officers but on 01 further appeal ppe l too fo the to-the the secretary ol ot c the interior the local officers ers were in point with the one l upheld every exception of of the insufficiency of a as ap assessment work w rl and o on this point the department ent refused to rule If no discovery had been made the claims w were r invalid and the an amount amount of assessment assessment assessment as as- work worl done would be bo im Ian Ian- material Both oth sides of the contest were by well known attorneys attorneys at attorneys at- at ably conducted C. C W. W Darrow appearing for fOt forthe forthe the contestants and Frank Delaney Delane in the for Summers The he evidence occupying voluminous case was of or typewritten typewritten type type- ab about ut 1400 legal size pages written matter and th the complete completo the secretary presented to record rd as ot of Interior included hundred I pages of ot briefs and motions filed tiled by I f the attorneys The Tho decision as it Will m be app applied in the future means to shale shale- l lands that hat an actual discovery must be shale shalo claim On land landback landback landback made on on each escarpments an anti and covered coy cov back from the depths by other r ered erect to considerable only be done formations this can economically the tho use of drills Bo De lieving Neving that the geology of the tho coun- coun was sufficient to country the of ogy prove prove the tile existence c of the shale ale and that no actual discovery d discovery was necessary necessary necessary land lanel of this thousands of of acres sary thousands I by mineral claims have have heed beel covered Jy that will in the in ll lI ht lit of o of this this' decision decision void and the shale will become ion foil to be revert to the government demand for tor the time as tin until h W it such will induct operators content oil its lands on a ro y al Y basis to lease the tho |