The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1905-07-21
WHO OWNS RIvERs2

w IN - " 49,
A Washington special contains in
formation that concerns many OF the
landowners in this state as well as
the coal operators, and the result OF
the suit it tells about will be watched
With deepest interest 1t VIII deter
mine a very important question.
that of title to rivers, a question that
has been clouded all these years be-
cause of the fact that there appears
to have been no definite court de-
cision on the matter.
AZ the request Of the rival coal
companies the Federal Government
has begun suit for injunction against
the Bessemcr Coal & Coke Company
of Pfttsburg that is threatening to
take the fine coking coal from under
the bed of the Monongahelia river
near Pittsburg. The Government
contends that it is the owner OF the
mineral which the coal company Is
about to take.
The real point at issue IS as to the
title to the valuable coal and other
minerals under the beds of navigable
waters. Rival coal companies would
like to have the courts decide that
the title rests in the riparian owner
ship. They they could drive their
headings under the river to the core
Of the streams If they owned the land
on only one side of the stream, and
clear across if they owned it on both
sides.
The profit to the coal company
would lie in the fact that no riparian
owner has ever undertaken to sell
The coal under the water. Natural
". the vendors of coal lands have
not exaeted a price commensurate
with the value of the lands they
knew were theirs and also the coal
Under the water.
The question is one involving mill
lions of dollars. The Monongahela
flows over beds of the finest steam
making and coking coal in the world.
The mere privilege of taking COS
from under the land sells in the
Monongahela valley at from 500 to
300 per acre.
There is no question but that the
.oal underlying the Monongahela for
distance of 125 miles south OF
Pittsburg is worth on an average OF
5000 an acre. These are Mt least
10000 acres. or $S,OO0,000 worth
Indcr that short stream.
The coal under the much longer
Alleghanv is less valuable. but as the
.oal nearer Pittsburg in the Monon-
rahela is being dug out, its caiue Is
constantly increasing. The coal
under the Ohio is almost as good MS
tbat under the Monongahela. Every
navigable strea min West Virginia
is also underlaid with coal.
The question to title has been in
dispute for long time. Several
wears ago coal company applied to
Congress for the privilege Of taking
coal from under the river bed, but
Congress refused to act upon the bill
introduced for the purpose of grant
ing the permission. The company
regarded the failure to act as a re-
fusal, and acted accordingly.
Recently a company owning land
IN bottle sides of the Ohio in Ohio
and West Virginia, drove its head
ings from Ohio into West Virginia.
\ dispute occurred between the Ohio
md West Virginia officers as to their
respective rights in dealing with a
disturbance. which. until it was hush
ID up by the Influential men con-
rolling the company, promised to
have the question brought into the
Federal Court for adjudication.
The Bessemer Company claims
that so long as it does not damage
the river as a navigable stream it has
the right to do whatsoever it pleases
with the coal adjoining the property
II controls