The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1910-09-07

area OF us acres. which sold Cor $cs.-
Sl3: and down to August. 1910. there were
] but I. entries. With an ara OF 1.sa0 acres.
which sold for sss.soS;. mailing n dsspo-
| sition OF the coal lands in the last two
years OF about 6O.000 acres for $i.Sc5.060.
The present congress. "A already said.
| has separated the surface Of coal lands.
| either classified or withdrawn for classt-
ficauon. from the coal beneath. SO as to
permit at all times homestead entries
| upon the surface OF lands useful for ,aS-
| riculture and to reserve the ownership
ton which remains to be considered -
whether the existing NV for the sale OF
| the coal in the ground should continue
In force or be repealed and a new method
OF disposition adopted Under the present
law the absolute title in the coal be-
meath the surface passes to the grantee
OF the government. The price fixed n
upon An estimated amount OF the tons
Of coal per acre beneath tie surface. AID
the prices are fixed SO that the earnings
will only be a reasonable profit upon the
| amount paid and the investment neces-
sary. But. Of course. this Is more or less
Suesswork. and the government parts
with the ownership Of the coal in the
grand absolutely. Authorities OF the &C.
olcs,c..: survey estimate that In the
United States today there - n supply OF
about three thousand billions OF tons OF
coal. and that Of this one thousand billions
are in the public domain. OF course. the 9TH
er two thousand billions are within private
ownership and Under no more control ~
to the use or the prices at which the
coal may he sold than any other private
property. II the government leases the
coal lands and acts a. any landlord
would. and imposes conditions In its
leases like those which are now imposed
by the owners In fee Of coal mines In the
various coal regions OF the east. then IL
would retain over the disposition OF the
coal deposits a choice n 20 the assignee
of the lease. or Of resuming possession at
the end Of the term Of the lease. which
might easily he framed tn enabl. II to
exercise a limited hut effective control
in the disposition and safe Of the coal to
the public. II has been urged that the
leasing system has never been adopted In
this country. and that its adoption would
largely interfere with the investment Of
capital and the proper development and
opening up Of the coal resources. I VEN
ture to differ entirely from this view
The question to how great an area
ought to be included in a lease to one
individual or corporation. il not free from
difficulty: but In view NJ the fact that
the government retains control as owner.
I think there might be- some Eberality In
the amount leased. ard that 900 acres
would not be too great a maximum.
BY the opportunity {" readjust the
terms upon which the coal shall he held
by the tenant. either at the end OF each
lease or at periods during the term. the
government may secure the benefit Of
sharing in the increased price Of coal and
the additional profit made by the tenant.
BY imposing conditions in respect to the
character of work to be done in the
mines. the Hovern:'"I: may control the
character Of the development Of the
mines and the treatment Of employees with
reference to safety. BY denying the
right 10 transfer tie lease except by TIE
written permission OF the governmental
authorities. IL may withhold tine needed
consent when II is proposed {" transfer
the leasehOid to persons intereste! In es-
tablishing a monopoly OF Goa! production
in any state or neighborhood. The change
from the absolute giant 20 the leasing
system Will invoive good deal OF
trouble In tn. outset. and the training Of
experts in the :natter Of making proper
leases: but the charge vii! be q good
one and can be made. The change Is In
the interest Of conservation. and I am
glad to approve il.
Alaska Coal Lands.
The investigation OF the geological; sur
vey show that the coal properties in
Alaska cover about 100 sauare miles.
and that there are known 20 be available
about 5000. Co., 90 tons. This Is. however,
an underestimate Of the coal in Alaska,
because further developments vii! prob
ably increase this amount many times;
but We can say with considerable GER
tainty that there are two fields on the
Pacific slope which can be reached by
railways at a reasonable cost from deep
water--in one case about nifty miles and
IN ha nf
which will afford certainly COCOON 90
tons Of coal. more than half Of which In
Of a very high grade OF bituminous and
OF anthracite. II ia estimated to be worth.
in the ground. One-half a cent q ton,
which makes its value per acre from 80
to 500. The coking-coal lands of Penn
sylvania are worth from, 500 to 90 an
worth from SO to &3SS an acre. and the
fields in the central states from SO to
600 an acre. and In the Rocky noun
tains SO to $50 an acre. The demand for
coal on the Pacific coast in for about
90 tons a year. II would encounter
the competition OF cheap fuel oil. OF
which the equivalent of 100000 tons OF
coal a year Is used there. 1t is estimated
that the coal could he laid down at Sc
attic or San Francisco. a high-grade BIZ
luminous. at 81 a ton and anthracite at
S or S a ton. The price Of coal on the
Pacific slope varies greatly from time to
time in the year and from year to year
from 81 to $l2 a ton With a regular coal
supply established. the expert Of the
geological survey. Mr.. Brooks. who has
made n report on the subject. does no;
think there would be an excessive profit |
in the Alaska coal mining because the
price Mt which the coal could he sold
would he considerably lowered by coripe-
titiOn from these fields and by the pres
ence OF crude fuel oil. The history Of the |
laws affecting the disposition OF Alaska
coal lands shows them TO need amend.
ment badly.
On November l:. 1906. President Roose- |
velt issued an executive order with |
drawing all coal lands from location and |
entry in Alaska. On May IL. 1907. he /
modified the order SO as TO permit valid /
locations made prior to the withdrawal |
on November IL. 1916. 70 proceed to entry /
and patent. Prior TO that date some 500 |
claims had been filed. most Of them said |
20 be illegal because either made fraudu-
lently by dummy entrymen in the inter- /
20. Of one individual or corporation. or /
because Of agreements made prior To To- |
.ation between the applicants to cooperate
In developing the lands There are g |
claims for l6O acres each, known as the
10 be valid On the ground that they were
made by an attorney for 8 different
and bona fdc claimants >who. as
alleged. paid their money and took the
proper steps to locate their entries and
protect them. The representatives Of the
government in the hearings before the
and ONCE have attacked the validity Of |
these Cunningham claims on the ground
that prior to their location there was an
between the claimants to |
pool their claims after they had been |
perfected and unite them in one COM |
pany. The trend OF decision seems to |
show that such an agreement would in. |
ra lydafe fhe claims aIthouRh under n /