The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1890-08-23
The Coal Question Still Agitated.

From the Bismarck Commonwealth.
There seems to be quite "wordy" wal
waged among our contemporaries up the
river upon the subject of the location o1
the coal veins from which the Pierre Goa.
company are to obtain their supply. The
Mail seems to go into mild spasm be-
cause the Bismarck papers speak Of the
Burleigh and Mclean county coal deposits
Next comes the Stanton Pilot and says:
"The Pilot had its attention called to
the absurd claims set up by Washburn and
Bismarck to ouR( y COAL" but wisely con.
cludes: "Boom the coal, boys, it makes nc
particular difference about the river-it is
easily crossed
The Pilot also asserts that the Washburn
(McLean county, people had to cross the
river to Oliver county to get their coal
To this charge Dick Copeland of the Wash
burn Leader pleads guilty but says!
'The enterprising settlers of Mercer
county stole the coal as fast as our people
dug it out, and with the last load they stole
the mining tools and implements. Since
then the Washburn people have procured
their supply of coal from their own mines.' y
Now, brethren, the Commonwealth, and
Bismarck, have nothing to gain or lose in
the mere matter of the location of the
point at which the development of this
great coal deposit along the great water
way of North Dakota. Bismarck does ex-
pect to be benefited if the experiment of
transporting the coal by boats and barges
is success. We expect to be benefited
both directly and indirectly. We expect
to get cheaper fuel, not because we have
not an abundance of coal in Burleigh coun-
ty equally as good as any coal in the coun-
ties north of us, but because our heavy
veins of coal are from 18 to 20 miles from
the city and we have no means of trans.
portation except by teams. We want 81
coal and we expect to get it by the rive,
route. Aside from the question of con.
sumption, we expect Bismarck to become
a distributing point for this coal until a
railroad is built to our own coal fields
We confidently expect that the value Of
our coal deposits being established by 40
tual Use Of this coal at interval points, the
various railroad systems in the Dakotaf
will very soon be extended in this direc.
tion, and that Bismarck will become q
railroad center, general distributing and
n, a NJ, 20 o%uv;nr, y,o;,,t
We concede that our coal does not crop
out on the river as that does in Mclean
Oliver and Mercer counties, but we do moi
concede that either of those counties have
thicker veins OF better coal than We have
so that in speaking Of coal deposits we dc
not have to take back seats. We will Just
suggest, by way Of memorandum, that oul
coal can be dumped on barges on the rive,
by the use Of about 8111 or miles Of rail
way, thus saving about 40 miles Of rathe,
thin river, but We don't want to interfere
with our neighbors and don't begrudgt
them the benefits that nature has vouch
safed them in mingling their coal with thu
navigable waters Of the Big Muddy. W.
say in conclusion to our friends up thu
river, let Us all unite in 'sbooming our coal
that our coal may boom the country and
bring Us prosperity while it ministers 4
the comforts and happiness Of those whs
have not been so fortunate as TO- locat.
where there is an inexhaustible supply o
this cheap and excellent fuel.