OCR Text |
Show UNCLE SAM QUESTIONS UTAH'S SAN RAFAEL US H OIL OROUND Or LELAND K. H OOWIE INVOLVED. H Federal Land Office. At Washington, H D. 0., Opposed to Alleged Rights H Set Up By State Land Board H Holds to View That Commonwealth H Has No Title Within tho Rewrve. H Wnrtl mow cntiMM fnm the national H fWMll thnt 111 still" of I lull I lo H hmjI with rmstmi- from the gtinl H Inml iiffl- Ml Washington, 1). (', if H It enters protest Bgninst the allow- H mien of Inland Iv. Cowie's tipplicst- H ttn fur jmnnit to pr-jt for oil on H a tntt of lsn-1 in 3" Tup U. H South, ltsiigr 1,1 !(, in th Sun B Ilflfnel oil rmnt, lNWinlly will n H protest from th Ut h resisted, 1- H .chi the Cowls mm promise to h B the first brought before th land iIh- imrtiuetit under the new oil Imul less- lujf net mi which mutt lie tlfeid-tl th righto of slate to rlnml seetiun in- BBV eluded in )xrfroleum re-senes or with- drawNls, Attrition of land tiffin) of- BBV HoIhIt bus been directed to the rewtti- BBV men-klrim of th I'tnli sUle land iMmrtl that protest Im made li) nUte nutlHtritlM HKHitMt the frrniiliitic f BBb the Cowie permit. It nn admitted tlmt thin in th first I list site- when) mioIi h protexit ha iteieloteil, uml, while no offieiiil notification of the protest low et leen rwmpd, dejNirt- mutlt offirinU are diNied to queil- tltm the KountineiM of the html iMHtnl'M tiitile-Mtktti tlmt the stale's riarbt to BBf the bind Involved in th Cowie appli- BBa cwtloti la Htrior to IWie's right or BBb tht' rights of the gnYeroment. The land of flee reeonl xhow tlmt BBf the Cowi Intel, with considerable ntlwr land in the wtitM iieighlmr- IkhhI, vtaa withdmwu from etitr on BBl Mnrrh 7, 11)12, under nu exeetitUe order signed b President Taff, March BBi i, llll., Hiid thitt withdmwal wim dwdKimttnl 1'tttniltHiin Iteaene Xo.'if. At tli e time the iiutroleuiu rwmre was BBl ereatcnl thu hind wna unurvtHl, hut BBa n Jilnt of miney etivenne rt of the nn, inrludlng the aeetum in which BB tho Cowiu hinds lie, m filwl .Inn- H unry J, 11110. It is the rontention of BB the liiuil lU'imrtment that it stnta BBl (low not npuiro title to n school wo- BY tion until the Imul of llmt seetion nro HBJ aure.Nl, it beiiiK the rule of the HR lcMirtmont tlmt prior to the suney HH the lituds onnnot lie identifietl. Am HB this lm lieon the unifonn ruling of HH (lie ilomrUiii'tit In this jwrtleulnr in- HH stnure nt the time Kee. 32 wns ur- HB ccd, llmt nud ndjoining trects were Bj iuihrneed in n petroleum rwwrvo and BBj w-ilhdrnwii from entry under preti BB dcntlnl order, nnd for thnt reason title BV to this section, iieeordlnt; to depart- BV mental niling, could not iwas to the BB Mute at date of Kiinej any more than BB title would huu kiim(h1 had the lituds BB nt tho time of survey lteen einlirHcwl BBj in n forewt resene wlthdruwal. H Unlike Forest Withdrawals. H Them is admittedly this difference BBj hitween an oil withdrawal and n for- BBj out nwine withdrawal and that BV jKiltit will have to he (U'Velnjied if the BB state wuittwts with the government BW or the Cowie applieatiou. A foreet BV withdrawal is made for a puhlie pur- BS lMe, with a, view to adding the lands BB to a forwtt rere or tmilMNl.Miigihetu BB In a mm forest reserve to Im mriua- BB mmtl) httld h the goveroimiit The BB idl land withdrawals made during the BB Taft adiitinisiratum were In prevent BB government oil lands being neuirel BB ahvolulely h puvale Hirtus under BS th enisling mineral laud laws, ami BB in HUlieiMtliou ot the ultimate imm- BS sage h eongreas of au oil leasing hill BS II was tho assumption of the laud de- BB partwenl that the lauds euibraeed in BV oil withdrawals ullimatel) would he BB developed hy private interests, ex- BB eejvtiug tints instaneea where jmniia- BB H-KMt goveiTiuieut tettiilemii reserves BB were emated tor purel.v government BB WW, and that was not the ease here in H Utah. BB The pntaent im'liiwtini of the land BB d)wrtmeut, furthermore, is to eon- BB teml that the Cowie trmt eould nut BB stsa to the utate Immimumi it is oil laud, BB ami yet the department is without BB prtKtf on this miui, reiving solely on BB the rMirt of tho getdogieal suivuy, BB vsliu h drilled uo wells in this area, BB hut nwde its elassitleath'ti on geoolgie BB iiidieations A point not yet raised, BB hut whieh is expected to arise in this BB oase, involves the interpretation of BB the new leasing law as to lands em- BB hraeetl in HtroIeum rosenes. 1'ros- BB eeting permits miiuot under the law BB he granteil in known oil territory. BB The eau only he issued in those BB areas where oil has not jet been de- BB eloped, Xo oil has yet hoen develop- BB cd eommeroiiilly in tho vioinity of we BB Cowie tract. No wells, so iar ns the BB depnrlmont knuws, hnvo yet been BB sunk in thnt vioinity Thoreforc, tho BB laud department is inclined to grunt BB tho Cuwle permit unless thu protest of BB tho state intorvi nes nud prevents such BB notion. Herein iuhw a, point which BB tho state itself must develop, for if BB Cowie, nil obstructions hoing removed, BB is entitled to it prosnocUntf permit, it BB must be becauso the laud is not known BB oil territory that is, is not Uiowti oil BB or as mineral land, nnd was not so BB known nt the date of survey. BB Tho Cowio case in Utah promises to hectniie unusually imisirtant, for on the final outeomu will depend in large measure the amuiiut of oil laud whieh ma) pass to several of thu Western .States under their school and other grants. The land oftice reports thnt there is great activity among larsons seeking proiH,eting permits in tho Kan Itiifnel region, indicating it widespread wide-spread belief iimong prosmctora thnt tills is it promising oil fiild. hut some delays are occurring in acting on applications ap-plications for permit because much of this urea is rough nud unsurvejed, ami applicants will hnvu difficulty in identifying tho lands for whieh they make application, in ease their a p illations ill-ations nre grunted. In unsunuyed ureas, prospecting permits nre grunted, grunt-ed, but it devolves iion thu pennitUu to indentify and mark thu area covered cover-ed hy his permit. OIL CASE DECISION AND ITS EFFECTS DISCUSSED Decision of the issue raised hy tho stand taken respectively by tho United Uni-ted Stales general laud office nnd tho I tah state Iwwird of land commissioners commission-ers is said by thu latter to be of the highest importance to thu state of Utah, and particularly to its school system Oreat hopes set up that congress con-gress reall) intended to give the endowment en-dowment ot the statu schools m Utah in a manner worth while received a oerious setltaek within the last few vears when the supreme court of the I mud Males decided that, in spite ol the tutt that the enabling aet made no uieiitioii of reservation of mineral lauds lo the natiou hi the Utah grants, which included tour seetions, 2, 10, aj uud 1W in each towiudlip, such reservation was, sj. a wallet of Uw, in elfevt 'I his set aside the hUte's claim to an immeiUM) artat of coal lauds ot great potential wealth. A uiM in whuli the state lays alalia to null lauds on whiih no outuropping of coal oeeurs, and whieh was therefore not dlfiuitel) known to contain coal at the time ot the surve) when the state s right attached, is now pending in the federal courts. With the search in Utah for oil fields, hopes for a considerable revenue reven-ue to the schools from state oil land leases ran high, until it become apparent ap-parent that man) of (he geological structures believed b) geologists to give greatest promise tor suieessful oil drilling nre in lauds still iinaur-ve)ed. iinaur-ve)ed. With the jiiosent and promised prom-ised activity in oil drilling in this statu resulting from thu passage of the federal leaning act, it is imitu probable that oil, if present, under several supposed 'donios" or "anticlines," "anti-clines," will ho found before tho lands are sun e) cd. In that cube, under tho ruling cited in tho nbovo Washington Wash-ington news item, the title to thaso oil lands will lio with the federal gcA-eminent. gcA-eminent. Tho state's titlo duos not attach untiL the filing of the plat of survey of n township. Tho San Itnfuel Swell, the Circle Clifts, tho Wa)iie county oil prospects and many of those in San Juan county are on un-Biirveved un-Biirveved land. Largo Areas Involved. Progress of surveys, on thu other hand, has been fairly rapid of rtccnt jenrs, and hopes wero expressed that some of those would Inter bo found to be on commercial oil fields. Then came tho notice to the stato land (Continued on Pace Threo) UNCLE SAM QUESTIONS UTAH'S SAN RAFAEL CLAIMS. (Conrltittal Vmn I'ako Two) servo. This would, if concciled, have tho effect of subtracting from the prospects of the state schotds a large area on which otherwise the state appear to stand a good chance of maintaining its claim to oil lauds hereafter dcveloed. The Washington Washing-ton item leads to the conclusion that tho United State government does not claim that lands within these oil reserves are known to be commercial nil lan'ils. The well known Southern Pnoiflo oil land grant cases of a few ears ago wero fairly conclusive that tho government could hardly hold an Utah lands from tho state on such a plea. The issue which tho general land office seems inclined to raise in tho present case is that tho lands are within a withdrawal, and therefore the state's right did not attach by n stir-e stir-e made after the withdrawal. This places the government in the position of leasing the land to private pri-vate parties and of selling them the oil therein found on a rovnlt.v basis, hut of refilling to turn the land and oil therein contained over to the stato. And this, in spite of the fart thai the government, by the mere granting or its willingness to grant a pro)cctor's lease, admits that the land are not known to bo mineral lands ivcn vet Whatever the !pjal jdiose of the situation, situa-tion, the practical effect of such a imailion on the uart of the federal officials, of-ficials, if it is upheld, will be to make the oil land withdrawal effective as against the state, hut not against private pri-vate interest. Lelaud IC. Cowie, the prosrtive leasee in this section, is a am f A II Cowie, vite president and the general gen-eral manager ot the Utah Fuel com-jmiiv com-jmiiv A penult was issued sometime ago to the father to protret for oil also on th.e San Itafael Swell, and the application of the am, I .eland K Cowie, is now well on the wa. to a decision de-cision Inland K. Cowie has iqtphed for two aeetiona of land in the township town-ship indicated, but onh one of these ia ('interned in an) claim tie slate nia aet up |