Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1910-09-08

area Or 23,ais acres which 1pld for taQs.-
as; and down to August. 1910 there were
but II entries, with an area Or mo acres.
i which sold for t1a.glo.eo, making 4 dispo-
aitIon Of the coal lands u the last tive
years OF about 10000 acres for u, ao6, oOo
The present ccngresa, - already said,
II has separated the surface Of coal lande,
either classified or withdFawn for class.
iIcation, from the coal beneath, 20 as 20
nsrfnit Al ali times honasstead entries
| upon the surface OF lands useful for as
i riculturo and to reserve the ownership
In the coal to the government, The queg-
tion which remains to be considered -
whether the existing law for the sale Of
the coal In Inc ground sh9uld continue
n force Or BE repealed and new method
| az dIspositfon adopted Under the present
law Inc absolute title IA the coal be-
meath the surface passes to the grantee
| OF the government. The prize fixed 10
upon an estimated amount OF the tons
/ Of coal per acre beneath tho surface, and
\ the prices are fixed 80 that the earnings
| will only be reasonable profit upon the
! amount paid and the investment neces-
Bary. But. - curse, this II more or less
guesswork, - the government parts
| With the ownership Of the coal in the
| ground absolutely. Authorities OF the re-
illogical survey estimate that in the
| United States today there - supply Of
about three thousand billions Of tons of
| coal, and that Of this one thousand billions
are nthe public domain. OF coura J. the 9TH
| er two thousand billions are within private
| ownership and under no more control az
| TO the use or the prices at which the,
| coal may be sold than any other private
| property. II the government leases the
coal lands and acts AZ any landlord
would, and imposes conditions in it,
leases like those which are now imposed
by the owners IN fee Of coal mines In the
various coal regions Of the east, then II
would retain over the disposition Of the
coal deposits choice as 70 the assignee
Of the lease. or Of resuming possession at
the end OF the term Of the lease, which
might easily be framed to enable 1t TO-
exercise limited but effective control
In the disposition and saie 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. / ven
ture to differ entirely from this view.
The question as to how great an area
ought to be included In q lease to one
individual or corporation. ID not free from
difieulty: but In view Of the fact that
the government retains control az owner,
think there might be some iiberality In
the amount leased, and that $500 acres
would not be too great g maximum.
BY the opportunity. to readjust the
terms upon which the ccai shall be held
BY the tenant, either al 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 government may control the
character Of the development Of the
mines and the treatment OF employees with
reference to safety. BY denyins the
right to transfer the lease except by the
written permission OF the governmental
authorities. 1t may withhold the needed
consent when It Is proposed to transfer
the leasehold to persons interested In es-
tablishing monopoly Of coal production
In any state or neighborh0od. The change
from the absolute grant to the leasing
system will involve a good deal Of
trouble in the outset, and the trainins Of
experts In the matter OF making proper
leases; but the change will be good
one and can be made. The change is In
the interest Of conservation, and am
glad 10 approve IL
Alaska Coal Lands.
The investigation Of the geological sur
vey show that the coal properties in
Alaska cover about 100 square miles, |
and that there are known 70 be available |
about IT, 900, 100000 tons. This Is, however, |
an underestimate OF the coal In Alaska,
because further developments will prob |
ably increase this amount raany times;
but we can say with considerable cer-
tainty that there are two fields on the |
Pacific slope which can be reached by |
railways at reason able cost from deep |
water-in one case about fifty miles and |
In the other case Of about 100 miles
which will afford certainly 0,OO00Oo.OOO
tons Of coal, more than half of which Is
OF very high grade Of bituminoue and |
Of anthracite II Is estimated to be worth.
in the ground. one-half cent a ton,
which makes its value per acre from $50
to 500. The collng-coal lands Of Penn
sylvania are worth from $500 to $1,000 an
acre, while other Appalachian fields are
worth from SO 10 $3.50 an acre. and the
felds IN the central states from SO to
8. 900 an acre, and IN the Rocky noun.
tains SO to 800 an acre The demand for
coal on the Pacific coast IL for about
4 100000 tons year. 1t would encounter
the competition Of cheap fuel oil, OF
which the equivalent OF i2'oooOOO tons Of
coal year Is used there. It Is estimated
that the coal could he laid down at Sci
attic or San Francisco, a high-grade BIZ
luminous at n ton and anthracite al
*, ar ae a ton. The price of coal on this
Pacific slope varies greatly from time to
time IN the year and from year to year
frof,, "a IN so q ton With a regular coal