New-York tribune., 1910-09-06

production IN any state or neighh6rhooSnt OSt
| AS one-tbird OF all the coal supply IS 1 neit y
| by the government, It seems wise tfiae a. !,
| should retain such control over tne ~, ~
| ing and the sale as the relation OF lessor
| to lessee furnishes. The change froIh LII ,us
absolute grant TO the leasing system y o,t MI
SET and tho training of experts in the mat
ter of making proper leases; but tte cii"T Tk :
VIII be a good one and can be mace. .ial' ne
change is in the interest or conseTNatio'
and 1 am glad to approve it.
Alaska Coal Lands.
The investisa tions OF the Geological sur
vey show that the coal properties IN Alaska
cover about / 200 square miles. and that
there are known to be ayailao Die ABOUT 10, 10;
OOo. oOo 600 tons. This is, however, an un-
further developments will probably IN,
crease this amount many times; put we
can say with considerable certainty that
there are two fields on the Pacific Slope
which can be reached by railways at a
reasonable cost from deep water-ln one
case of about fifty miles and in the te5 otne1
case of about $50 mies-Wlltch Will atord
certainly 5000, ,0o0, 900 tons of coal more man
half of which is OF a very. high grade or
bituminous and of anthracite. II Is esuy
mated 10 be worth. in the ground. one-haiI u
a cent a ton, which makes its value an
acre from $50 to $500. The coklng Coz sead
lands of Pennsylvania are worth from se,p @
fields arc worth from $40 to 1886 an acre, acre;
and the fields in the Central States from
$40 to $2010 an acre, and In the ROCKY
Mountains $40 to $500 an acre: The de- de-
mand tor coal on the Pacific Coast is for
about 4,5G0,J00 tons a year. 1t Would en-
counter the competition Of cheap fuel OH,
of which the equivalent of l2,Hooo tous
Of coal a year is used there 1t IS est,
mated that the coal could be laid down al
Seattle or San Francisco, hlsh grace
~bituminous. at 81 ton and anthracite at
Pacific slope varies greatly from time TO
time in the year and from year 10 !eard All
supply established the expert, of the Gee, . =
logical Survey. Mr.. Brooks, who has made
a report on the subject, does not think
there would be an excessive psoht IN IN the az
which the coal could be sold would be
considerably lowered by competition from
fuel oil. The history of the laws affecting
the disposition OF Alaska coal lands SHOWS
them 10 need amendment badly, SPEAK
ing OF them. Mr.. Brooks says:
Law Ineffective.
The first act. passed June s. 1860, simply
extended TO Alaska the provisions OF @ Ihe
coal land laws in the United states; Inc
only suhdivided lands could he taken up,
and there were then no 1and surveys IN
Alaska. The. meter was rectifed ny @ the
act Of April Is, 1904 which permitted unsur-
veyed lands TO be entered and the surveys
to be made at the expense or 1he entry
men. Unfortunately. the law proIlceo 'nat
only tracts OF l60 acres could be taken up,
and no recognition was given 30 the fact
that 1t was impracticsbie to deNeiop al
isolated coal field requiring the eSpsnal.uT1Gf @ ~ IRE
of large amount of money by such snlaIi
units. Many claims were staked, however.
and surveys were made for patents. IL
was recognized by everybody familiar WIN
the conditions that after patent was oh-
tained these claims would be combined IN
tracts large enough to assure successimui VI
mining operations. No one exPerlencefo n fa III
ible to open a coal field on the basis OF
single 160-ac tracts. The claims Tor tne
most part were handed IN groups, IoI
different owners. Unfortunately, strict IN
terpretation of the statute raised the ques-
ticn whether even tacIt understaIlallts a lInt
between claim owners to combine after pat
ents had been obtained was not Illegal
Remedial legislation was sought and en-
acted in the statute OF Nay - lSts o;,1ls ms
staked previous to November L. 1906. in
tracts of 1850 acres. One clause OF TINS
or corporation at any time In the future
owned any interest whatsoever, directly or
indirectly, in more than one tract. The
purpose of this clause was to prevent the
inonopolization of coal fields; its immediate
effect was 70 discourage capital. IT was
felt by many that this clause might lead
of inheritance. or might even be used by
the unscrupulous in Matchmaking It would
appear that land taken up under TINS law
might at any time be forfeited TO the gov
erurnent through the action of any indfvid
ual who. innocently or otherwise OBTAINED
interest in more than one coal COMPANY
warrant the large investments needed for
mining developments, The net result OF all
this is that no titles to coal lands have
been passed"
The Cunningham Claims.
On November u. 1906 President Roosevelt
issued an executive order WlthdraWlns an
coal lands from location and entry in
Alaska. on MAY IS, 1907, he modified the
order so as to permit valid locations made
prior to the Withdrawal on Novemher ~
1905 to 9aoceed to I e@sy AND pa'eni clais had
been filed. most of them said to be Illegal
because either made fraudulently by dummy
enUymen in the interest OF one lndlVldual
or CORPORATION, or because of agreements
made prior to location between the appll-
c8nts to cooperate in developing the lands.
each, known as the Cunningham claims,
which are claimed to be valid on the ground
that they were made by an attorney Tor
thirty-three different and bona flde claim
ants. who, as alleged, paid their money and
took the proper steps to locate their entries
and protect them. The representatives OF
Land Office have attacked the validity of
these Cunningham claims on the ground
that prior TO their location there was an
between the claimants TO
rool their claims after they had been per
fected and unite them in one company. The
trend OF decision seems to show that suCh
an agreement would invalidate the claims,
although under the subsequent law OF May
2S 1868, the consolidation OF such claims
was permitted. after location and entry,
in tracts of $50 acres. 1t would be, of
course improper for me to intimate what
the result of the issue as to the Cunning
lam and other Alaska claims ts likely to
be, but it ought TO be distinctly under
stood that no private claims for Alaska
coal lands have as yet been allowed or
perfected, and also that whatever the re-
suit as to pending claims, the existing coal
and laws Of Alaska are most unsaus-
factory and should be radically amended. /
To begin with, the purchase price Of the
as we have seen, the estimate of the agent !
of the Geological Survey would carry up
he maximum Of value to 500 an acre.
IN my judgment IL is essential in the proper |
development of Alaska that these coal
ands should be opened. and that the Pa |
he comparatively cheap coal of fine quality
which can be furnished at a reasonable !
price from these fields; but the public, |
through the government, ought certainly |
o retain a wise control and interest in |
-hese coal deposits, and l think it may |
granting OF leases. already suggested, !
or government coal lands in the United !
States, with provisions forbldding the trans !
'er of the leases except with the consent !
If the government. thus preventing their |
acquisition by A combination or monopoly |
and upon limitations to the area TO he |
included in any one lease to Cne individual, |
and ct certain moderate rental, with !
'Oyalties upOn the coal mined propOrtioned !
o the market value of the coal either at
seattle or at San Francisco. OF course I
such leases should contain conditions re- /
erection