The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1906-08-23
HOW TRUST OPERATES
Coal Mines are Controlled
by the Railroads.
Special to Daily Leader.

=
purpose Of investigating the coal land
situation. they will find pretty well
crystalized idea as to how the coal
segregation should be disposed or
This opinion holds among the busi-
ness men Of the affected district. in
government official circles and in DO.
litical circles in Indian Territory,
Tersely. this plan is as follows. Seq
regate the surface from the mineral
rights and treat each as separate
proposition. Open the entire segrega-
tion Of $4,000 acres to settlement and
surface rights. Ascertain Just how
much Of the segregation IS actually un.
derlaid with coal and pass title where
there is no coal Provide for acquir-
ing title to town lots in the twenty
five towns that have grown up on the
segregation. Then let the coal promo.
sition solve itself, with time as the
chief factor.
Wherever is found person who is
Informed as to conditions in the Choc-
taw coal belt Is found this plan ex.
pressed in various ways. The people
living on the segregation feel that way
about it and others less directly inter
ested say this is the only way.
The actual disposition of the tons Of
coal is not as pressing a proposition
as the disposition of the surface. As
Judge sulzbacher remarked. the coal
is just as valuable in the bosom OF
hother earth as it is on top and 1t is
not likely to deteriorate nor shrink SO
long as 1t remains there. With three
and quarter million tons being mixed
annually and paying royalty OF eight
cents per ton, amounting to $3.50 .0Oc
to the Indian nations which own the
land, neither the Indians nor the com
mericial interests Of the country are
likely to suffer from lack of coal or
from competitive mining If the de-
| mand increases. The present system
of leases is satisfactory TO all persons
interested, in mining in the segrega-
ton. It is the surface that affords
the problem
From coast to coast has been her
aided the opening of the big Kiowa
pastures in Oklahoma and the chance
for a home seeker there has been
widely exploited. Yet here on this
coal segregation there is an area that
is but $4,000 acres smaller, agricul-
turally as rich as the Kiowa country
and in addition containing tweuty-
FIVE towns with population from 100
to 900, crying for chance to settle
with title
II is stated by persons who are in
best position to know, that a careful
test examination Of the coal land seq
regation will show onethird of the
land not underlaid with coal in com
mercial quantities If this is true
there are $4,000 acres of this land
that is being withheld from settlement
and development that should not be.
The government geological surveys
show that it is underlaid with coal.
Practical coal men say that it is not.
II the commission on its seventeen
day Investigation trip in the territory
can solve this problem 1t win have 70
work fast
The coal segregation consists OF a
long strip of country Of very irregular
bonnssries running practically the en-
tire distance from east to west across
the Choctaw nation, bending abruptly
south on the western side TO some Of
the biggest mines in the nation in the
Coalgate-Lehigh district This coal
strip is paralIeled by the Rock Island
and the Fort Smith & Western. the
entire distance and the NJ. X. & r.
splits part of il and owns some OF the
biggest mines Nearly all Of the prin.
cipal railroads IN the southwest get
their coal from this field The roads
[ getting directly into the field are in
terested largely in mining and ship
ping coal This presents a phase OF
the final disposition Of the coal that
has got to be reckoned with in the
new state. The commission of United
States senators may make recommen-
datisns which will have decided bear
ing on whether transportation com
panies in the new state shah be al
lowed TO mine or sell coal
There is an organization In the
Choctaw nation which includes every
town in the coal segregation and con-
tigaous to It or interested In pining
IN il. This Organisation makes as It's
falrest demand the separation Of the
surface and the mineral rights. Last
winter this organization maintained \
lobby in washington trying 70 get
such remedial legislation through con
gress. but failed This organization