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Show OIL LAND CONCESSIONS CONCES-SIONS SOUGHT BY VASTJROWD r Washington, June 24, A rush of applicants for rights and concession under the oil leasing act passed by Congress last March Is swamping tho general land office. By opening land hitherto withdrawn from entry to prospectors, and by stimulating' tho search for oil generally In tho woal-ern woal-ern states, tho act Is becoming ono cf tho most Important factors'ln the pi-ti pi-ti oleum situation. Dr. Sherman Stabler, of tho land classification bureau, believes tho lay will result in rapid oil development develop-ment In California, Wyoming, Montana Mon-tana and Utah. - particularly In the two states first. named where lands now held' by tho government withdrawn with-drawn from entry run Into mllllora of acres. Tho chief danger, geologist cxporUi believe, will bo a too rapid development develop-ment ot tho petroleum of tho nation with the consequent lowering ot tin prices to the consumer and an cxhans tlon of tho oil reserve before tho nation na-tion has devoloped an adequate substitute. sub-stitute. The Geological Survey estimate! that at tho present time tho total petroleum resources of tho United States available for exploitation total 6,182,000,000 barrols, Tho nation Is now consuming 345,500,000 yearly year-ly and tho curvo ot consumption la mounting rapidly. At this rate all the potroleum now rcmalnlnc In tho United States vould bo absorbed In sixteen or seventeen yours. For this reason tho officials ot tho land oofflco inends to administer tt oil land leasing bill with due conservatism, conser-vatism, although prospectors aro to be. encouraged In every way to exploit ex-ploit tho new lands now open. Whsn Congress reconvenes a report will be mado upon tho results ot tho first eight months ot tho operation of tho M act. 'Benator Smoot, chairman of tho H public lands committee, sponsors the Hr act 'olid believes it will load to rapid Pf ;1 WW it development in all the Paclfia coast lil and Rocky Mountain states. Flnan- W$ clal America. fffi |