OCR Text |
Show LEGAL ASPECTS OF MINERAL RESOURCES EXPLOITATION 727 was located in the States of Colorado, North Dakota, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Wyoming and the Territories of New Mexico and Alaska. On December 17, these withdrawal orders were modified so as to preclude these lands "from coal entry merely." A further modification on January 15, 1907, provided that the withdrawals did not impair any rights acquired in good faith under the coal-land laws as of the date of the withdrawals. Twenty years later the leading commentator on the oil-lands issue described Roosevelt's coal withdrawals as "spectacular, dramatic, and really shrewd and effective."197 The congressional reaction, however, was less than enthusiastic.198 Without explaining his coal-land withdrawals, the President in a special message to Congress on December 17, 1906, summarized his view of the problem:199 The present coal law limiting the individual entry to 160 acres puts a premium on fraud by making it impossible to develop certain types of coal fields and yet comply with the law. It is a scandal to maintain laws which sound well, but which make fraud the key without which great natural resources must remain closed. The law should give individuals and corporations, under proper government regulation and control, (the details of which I shall not at present discuss) the right to work bodies of coal large enough for profitable development. My own belief is that there should be provision for leasing coal, oil and gas rights under proper restrictions. At this date, it seems clear that the Presi- 197 Ise, The United States Oil Policy 310 (1926) (2d printing 1928) . 198 On Dec. 13, 1906, the House passed a resolution requesting the Secretary of the Interior to list all lands withdrawn since July 1, 1906, and to state reasons for the withdrawals. 41 Cong. Rec. 354 (1906) (Rep. Mondell's resolution) , 4665 (1907) . See also 40 Cong. Rec. 9665 (1906) . Later, as evidence of the antagonism to the Interior Department, a bill was introduced in the Senate creating a public land court which had appellate jurisdiction over the Interior Department land decisions. 41 Cong. Rec. 2076 (1907). 190 41 Cong. Rec. 450 (1906) (House); 41 Cong. Rec. 2077 (1907) (Senate). dent's primary concern was that the coal-lands act impeded the development of the vital fuel minerals by encouraging fraudulent entries under other public land statutes of land primarily valuable for coal. Representative Frank W. Mondell of Wyoming launched a vitriolic attack on President Roosevelt's coal withdrawals on February 8, 19O7.200 Years later, Mr. Roosevelt described Mondell as "a Congressman who took the lead in every measure to prevent the conservation of our natural resources" and "who consistently fought for local and private interests as against the interests of the people as a whole."201 Be that as it may, it is clear that Mondell's arguments, though highly legalistic, were competently presented, and the questions which he raised were precisely the ones considered by the Supreme Court 8 years later. His statement was essentially an attack on the legality of Executive withdrawals. He maintained that the Property Clause202 of the Federal Constitution conferred the power to dispose of the public domain on Congress, not on the Executive. He then classified previous Executive orders which had been upheld as follows: (1) those made pursuant to express legislative authority; (2) withdrawals made for the purpose of carrying out the terms of certain congressional grants, e.g., grants-in-aid to railroads; and (3) reservations made for public purposes under no specific authority of Congress but under the general power vested in the President to administer the government. He concluded that the coal withdrawals did not fall within any of these categories because their purpose was not to set aside specific land for a public purpose but rather to suspend the operation of land laws which Congress had previously adopted. Representative Lacey of Iowa, on the other hand, contended that the with- 200 41 Cong. Rec. 2614-19 (1907). 201 Roosevelt, An Autobiography 363, 393 (1913) (1924 reprint) . 202 U.S. Const, art IV § 3 cl 2. |