Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Concerning Mineral Claims Filed on Public Lands.

I HAVE TODAY approved H.R. 5891. This legislation strongly endorsed by both Secretary of the Interior McKay and Secretary of Agriculture Benson, is one of the most important conservation measures affecting public lands that has been enacted in many years.

In recent years thousands of mining claims have been filed on public lands every year, not for bona fide mining purposes but for the purpose of obtaining claim or title to valuable timber, summer home sites, or grazing land and water. H.R. 5891 will put a stop to such practices. In doing so it will make possible sound management of the timber resources of our public lands. At the same time the legislation will greatly improve the position of the bona fide miner by enabling him to increase his valuable contribution to the development of the Nation's mineral resources.

The legislation represents a great forward step in our conservation program.