The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1910-09-20
Will LECISLATF
ON ALASKA COAL
Especial to the Silver Stata.l
Coal Situation In Alaska


/ Coal Situation In Alaska
| WASHINGTON, Sept. 20.--Alaska
will undoubtedly make a demand when
congress meets again for legislation
which will permit o. the opening os
the rich coal fields in that territory.
The entire Pacific coast win bene6t
by having the Alaska coal made avail.
able. The government, which is pay
ing about one million dollars q year
In freights to get Pennsylvania and
West Virginia coal carried around 70.
the Pacific coast for the use Of the
rleet in order that the Alaska coal may
De conserved will also benefit. on
this point, Senator Perkins, chairman
OF the committee ON naval affairs, said
recently: 4
"If that coal is as good as they'I
namely, the geological survey, s'say
it is, and we can get it at reasonahie-
rates, 1t would be of very great bene-
tit to the navy as VIII as to the COM
mercial interests.'' .s7:.
Admiral Dewey, president of the
general board of the navy, in q report
to Secretary Meyer, made q similar
statement. I
The report Of the geological sur
vey," to quote Senator Perkins fur
ther, was an agreeable surprise to-
many OF US. We ought to be able to
put 1T down at tidewater at 90 or $3.50
per ton, and we could then get It to
san Francisco and other Pacific coast
ports for about 81 ton, duty free.''
On Business Basis.
AS chairman of the naval affairs
committee, / would like very much TO
see the mines opened. Private capital
would do it with chance to get title
to the lands. think we might charge
small royalty, based on commercial
usage We must give some induce
ments, but the question could be han
died on business basis.''
Congress has bungled the coal situa-
tion in Alaska. In order that there
may be an understanding of this sub.
Ject, which has been persistentlv be.
fore the public for many months, let
us see what the government geologist,
, aired ID. Brooks, says in Bulletin
442.A of the geological survey, entitled
The Mining Industry in 1909 and
Alaska Coal and Its Utilization.o Mr..
Brooks remarks that two factors have
, held back the development Of the
/ Bering river and Matanuska fields, one
being the advances made in the Cali
fornia oil fields and the other ntthe
| unfortunate conditions existing in re.
gard to laws under which Alaska coal
lands can be taken up" He explains
the legal situation very succinctly as
follows:
Laws at Fault.
"Though laws intended to enable
the individual to obtain title to coal
lands have been on the statute books
for the last decade, not a single acre
of land has yet (July /, 1910) gone to
lpatent. 1t is therefore not surprising
that progress has been checked in the
coal fields and that many who would
undertake their development have be-
Icome discouraged.
"The first act, passed June 8, 1900,
simply extended to Alaska the pro.
visions Of the coal-land laws in the
United States. This law was inef.
ifective, for it provided that only SUBJ
divided lands could be taken up, and
there were then no land surveys In
Alaska The matter was rectified BY
the act of April 2S, 1904, which per-
lmitted unsurveyed lands to be entered
and the surveys to be made ct the ex-
ipense of the entrymen. Unfortunate
4 ly, the law provided that only tracts
Of 160 acres could be taken up, and NO
icCok was given 10 inc IaCt tu8t
it was impracticable to develop an
isolated coal field requiring the ex.
penditure Of large amount Of money
by such small units. Remedial legis-
} lation was sought and enacted in the
statute of May 20, 1908. This law per-
mitted the consolidation Of claims
staked previous to November IL, 1906,
in tracts of $3.50 acres. One clause Of
this law invalidated the title If anf
: individual or corporation at any time
in the future owned any interest what
soever, directly or indirectly, in moro
than one tract. The purpose Of this
clause was to prevent the mopoliza-
tion of coal lands; its immediate ef-
J feet was to discourage capital. It was
felt by many that this clause might
lead to forfeiture of title through the
accidents of inheritance or might even
be used by the unscrupulous in black
mailing. 1t would appear that land
} taken up under this law might at any
time be forfeited to the government
through the action of any individual
who, innocently or otherwise, obtained
interest in more than one coal COM
pany. Such title was felt to be too
insecure to warrant the large invest
ments needed for mining developments.
The difference between the mining Of
coal and the mining Of placer gold
, has not always been recognized. A
/ placer claim may yield a profit to the
prospector who has but a supply Of
provisions and few simple tools, but
as necessary preliminary to coal min
ing at least several Thousand dollars
must be expended on each claim. Even
after the money necessary to patent
has been spent, no profit from mining
can accrue until sufficient capital has
been invested to provide equipment
and transportation facilities. These ex-
plantations, obvious to every coal min
err, are made here because the idea
seems prevalent that any individual
prospector, after stalking a coal claim,
can proceed to develop it at profit as
he might a gold placer.
FORMER RESIDENTS
VISIT HUMBOLDT COUNTY