thing to take to withstand the pressures that might come from different parts of the country that don't know the problem out here. I think then the country would really have a voice in shaping its own destiny, and I think maybe that is where we ought to go from here. Mr. EVAN OSCARSON. We have heard from the fish and wildlife people and the cattle people concerning certain proposals, and in these proposals they have suggested that items which are concerned with the control of fish, which is stream pollution, and the repair of damages done by placer mining, and such items as that, should be considered in the revival of the mining laws. It would seem in consideration of these suggestions that it would be much better to attack them on the particular levels of government at which they can be best handled, and inasmuch as the water problem in the State of Washington is one handled by the State, and stream pollution is a State problem, that we should eliminate those from our consideration and stick strictly to the phases of mining that should be handled at the Federal level, that we would get much better results in our deliberation. Mr. SEVER. I'd like to concur in that suggestion. I think those problems of pollution and restoration are matters peculiarly within the police power of the State, and I don't know how you would attempt to drag them in by mining laws, but I don't mean to say by making that statement that this group, as long as we've started something, might give those things consideration so that we might reach an adequate source of State legislation; we have other problems, the matter of roads and rights-of-way, which also require improvement on the State legislative level, and if we are to have future meetings of this group it might be well to explore to some degree, as least, the possibility of State legislation covering those subjects. Mr. SCHNEIDER. I was just going to say, Mr. Chairman, there are certain problems peculiar to the State itself. It's been our experience that these problems that are essentially on Federal lands, to avoid bogging down in detail it's almost essential that we have some coordinating agency such as we have been operating the last 2 days here, and from our standpoint it would be very helpful that it be handled with the Bureau of Land Management acting as the coordinating agency on the Federal level. Mr. GOLDY. I want to say on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management that we have all the problems we can handle without going out and tackling State or local problems as well, but we're more than happy to serve as host at meetings such as this to solve your problems. Congressman WHITE. I just want to make one little comment supplementing what Mr. Gray, says, that every driver who runs a truck or automobile powered by a battery, every underseas boat or submarine that uses lead batteries, every airplane that flies in the skies, has a deep need of the things we're producing in the Coeur d'Alenes-lead-one of the most scarce minerals in general use in the world. Practically all the lead in the world is produced on the Western Hemisphere, North and South America, Mexico, and so forth, very little lead in the Eastern Hemisphere, and it's critical; we couldn't have go to first base in the war if we hadn't lead with which to manufacture batteries, and right here on the streets of Spokane when my battery failed I rummaged this town from start to finish and couldn't get a battery to power my car. So when you're talking about the interest in the mining industry and the interest in the Coeur d'Alene production, with all this talk here about abuse of the mining industry, the most vital thing we produce next to iron and copper is lead, and it comes right out of these mines that some people would like to shut down, use up our reserves, and have no new reserves by opening new mines. We are dealing with a vital, important question. Mr. LUEDKE. It seems to me our present mining law is taking care of it very well. In the Coeur d'Alenes I don't know of any abuses, and I don't know of anybody taking up mining claims for other purposes than mining. I know this, when a prospector finds a likely looking vein he will protect himself around it, because there's always veins that don't show on the surface, and he knows also he's got to have timber in order to timber it. If he spends a couple of thousand dollars to make a mine out of that, which he may and he may not, I think he's entitled to go along as he's been going along. Mr. GOLDY. I think what you said has been the general consensus, and that is this: Part of the problem has been that the mining industry over here, one of the greatest mineralized areas in the world, hasn't faced the problems that other parts of the country have. I think this meeting would have been valuable for no other purpose, even if we hadn't agreed to all the things we agreed on today, than the presentation of the problems which exist elsewhere which the mining industry itself has to help find solutions to answer. If those solutions to the problems which other parts of the country are facing are worked out without consultation with the mining industry, it may be those solutions worked out will be worked out adversely to the mining industry over here. Now, I had intended this afternoon as I indicated to get into some other problems, but the hour is growing very late. Many of you have to catch planes. Some of you have to check out of the hotel. I think we've covered all that we can profitably cover today. In connection with this geophysical exploration, most of you have obtained copies of our idea of our consensus of the meeting with the Idaho Committee in Wallace in August, and in which we state what we think is a reasonable solution of that problem, and I don't think it would be of any great value at this point to go in any detail to that problem. Therefore, unless somebody has some other comment, I'd like to draw this meeting to a conclusion, and in doing it, I want to say a word of appreciatoin and thanks to all of you who have come and participated. I can't tell you with what trepidation I started out to hold this kind of a meeting. I started it out with a theory that when people sit down with others who have problems which overlap and conflict with their own problems are always essentially reasonable, that when you can get people to sit down around a table or in a room and discuss problems, that the extreme point of view usually goes out the window and they find equitable solutions to common problems. I think we have demonstrated that in the last 2 days. I think the areas of agreement have been extremely important. If we could get embodied into legislation the things we've agreed on today and yesterday a great many of our problems would be solved. With the type of attitude you people have displayed the last 2 days, in a smaller group we can move on to achieve solution to the other prob lems that vex us. Although I'm a little weary I'm very grateful and encouraged by the opportunity I've had to participate in this meeting. I'd like to make just a couple of brief announcements. First, somebody left his glass case up here, and I deposited it at the desk, if anybody is missing a case for his glasses I hope he picks it up before he departs. Somebody yesterday paid for a luncheon ticket No. 47 which he did not use. If said owner of ticket will go, then, to the registration desk we will be glad to refund him $1.75. Congressman, I want to be sure we have the procedure correct on the basis of which we will have an opportunity to review this record that has been made here, correct any misconstructions or any halting speech or misstatements that we didn't intend to make, and also on the basis of when the record is completed we will have an opportunity to distribute it to all the participants in the conference. As I understand it, the clerk of your committee when this transcript comes in before it is printed in final form will send it out to the participants? Congressman WHITE. I have a suggestion to make in that connection, if anybody desires a transcript of the record they can make their arrangements with the reporter and get it when it is typed and assembled. I would suggest to you for your part of the record, the call of the meeting be submitted to the reporter for the record. Mr. GRAY. Why not mail every person a copy of it direct? Congressman WHITE. Anybody that wants a copy of transcript of the record can make arrangements with the reporter and pay for it. It has been suggested that the papers filed be submitted and make a complete record, because this record I have found from past experience will go every place. We had a hearing, we had a thousand copies of the record printed by the committee, that's the usual thing. Over in the hearings in Montana we let the Montana Congressman get most of them. Harvard, Yale, Carnegie Institute, called on us for that first volume; we just couldn't get it because the Committee on Printing wouldn't authorize printing a supplemental copy, so this record will go clear to the Congressional Library and the Supreme Court and to everyone, it gets very wide distribution, and then there's a thousand copies for distribution. I'd be very happy, it will come in, you can get it from the Public Lands Committee of the House, or get it from my office, it will be available. Those that want them right away must get them from the reporter, and we always extend the privilege of witnesses to take the transcript, have access to it, and correct it. They can rewrite or put in or strike out or do what they please on their testimony. Any of you that talked can make arrangements with the reporter. I'm going to ask the reporter to send two copies to the clerk of the Committee on Public Lands, and I'll also ask him to send me a copy care of the Davenport Hotel, of the original transcript, then it will be handled as I've explained. Mr. GOLDY. Any other comments? Mr. OSCARSON. Before closing I should think we could find one other area of agreement, and that's an expression of approval for a bureaucrat that's willing to call a group like this together and spend his time. Mr. GOLDY. Thank you, Mr. Oscarson. Any other comments, any other statements? Mr. STANFIELD. I was just thinking about what the Congressman had to say. The clerk has a list of all the registrants, and all the people who participated should be mailed or sent a copy. That's agreeable, isn't it, Mr. Congressman? Mr. GOLDY. I will do that, I will insert in the record a list of all those who participated and addressed this conference, and as I understand Mr. Stanfield's request, it is that you have the clerk of the Public Lands Committee send them a copy of the completed record. Congressman WHITE. I want to express my keen appreciation of the wonderful courtesy and fine ability of the chairman in conducting this meeting. Mr. GOLDY. Thank you very much, Mr. Congressman, and let me say I appreciate very much your attendance at this meeting and your participation in it, and particularly I want to thank you for making available to us this fine record which I am afraid otherwise we wouldn't have had. (Whereupon, this conference was adjourned.) REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT ON THE MINING UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, SWAN ISLAND STATION, REGION I, PACIFIC NORTHWEST CONFERENCE ON REVISION OF THE UNITED STATES MINING LAWS, SPOKANE, WASH., OCTBER 17-18, 1949 INTRODUCTION This brief report highlights the background, conclusions, and proceedings of the Spokane Mining Laws Conference, and is for the information of those who attended the conference and of others who are interested in revision of the United States mining laws. The report was prepared under the direction of Daniel L. Goldy, regional administrator, Bureau of Land Management, chairman of the conference. The specific proposal for holding the Spokane conference arose from discussions with representatives of the mining industry in the Pacific Northwest earlier in the year, primarily with the Idaho Mining Association and the Northwest Mining Association. In these discussions the mining spokesmen presented to the regional administrator proposed amendments to protect investments in subsurface exploration and otherwise to facilitate and promote mineral exploration and development. However, the regional administrator pointed out to these groups that it was unlikely that it would be possible to secure agreement on the amendments sought by the mining industry unless revisions were made in the mining laws to eliminate present abuses under which valuable nonmineral resources are being obtained from mining claims under the guise of mineral development. The mining industry representatives then suggested that a conference be called at which representatives of groups concerned with the conservation and protection of nonmineral resources would have an opportunity to discuss the problem with the representatives of the mining industry in an effort to arrive at mutual agreement. ATTENDANCE The Spokane conference was attended by 70 persons representing a cross section of the mining, forestry, livestock, recreation, wildlife, public-land administration, and general public interests concerned with the surface and subsurface resources and the uses of mineral locations on the Federal public lands in the Pacific Northwest. Among those present was Representative Compton I. White, of Idaho, a member of the House Public Lands Committee, who arranged for a record of the proceedings to be made by the official court reporter of the United States district court, Spokane, and who announced arrangements under which the official transcript of the conference would be printed as a House document. CONCLUSIONS The conferees unanimously opposed further moratoria on assessment work on unpatented mining claims except under conditions of grave emergency, and |