The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1910-09-09

| area Of q Alb acres, which sold for $685.
s1s. and down to August, 1910 there Wele
| but II entries, with an area of l.72V acres
which sold for So, 910 60, making oispo-
| sition of the coal lands In the Idst wv
| years of about 900 acres for &'5oo'"V'
| The present congress, as already said'
| has separated the surface OF coaI lanu1'
either classified or withdrawn for cldssi-
fcation from the coal beneath so as ~
permit at all times homestead eh'i'e'
upon the surface of lands useful TOT as
riculture and to reserve the o"hei9"lp
| In the coal to the government. Inc ~
| ton which remains to be consldeFed -
whether the existing law Tor the sa49 Va
| the coal in the ground should eoi'inu
| in force or be repealed and new methou
| OF DISPOSITION adopted Under the present
| law the absolute title in the coal oe
! meath the surface passes TO the grantee
| OF the government. The price nNeu 10
| upon an estimated amount or the TONS
! of coal per acre beneath the surface anu
| the prices are fixed so that the earnings
wifi d'Iy be IA reSY5fao:S - .'sFi 'ss 80 ''''S'
amount paid and the investment neces-
| ssrv. But. OF course, this is more or less
| guesswork. and the government paris
| with the ownership OF the coal In the
| ground absolutely Authorities OF the ke
| illogical survey estimate that In the
| United States today there is a supply Q.
about three thousand billions OF tons Oh
coal and that OF this one thousand ollilons
| are in the public domain. OF course, the oth-
er two thousand billions are within private
| ownership and under no more control as
| to the use or the prices at which the
| coal may be sold than any other private
| property. II the government leases tle
| coal lands and acts as any landlord
| would and imposes conditions IN lts
II
| 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 TO 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 II 10
exercise limited but effective control
In the disposition and sale of the coal 10
the public. 1t has been urged that the
| leasing system has never been adopted In
| this country and that It's adoption would
| largely interfere with the investment OF
| capital and the proper development ana
| opening up OF the coal resources. ven
ture to differ entirely from this view.
| Tho question as to how great an area
| ought to be included in a lease to one
| individual or corporation, Is not free from
! difficulty; but in view OF the fact that
| the government retains control as owner.
I think there might be some liberality In
| the amount leased and that 1880 acres
! would not be too great a maximum.
BY the opportunity TO readtust the
terms upon which the coal shall be 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 10 the
character OF work to be dona In the
minesr the government may control the
character OF the development OF the
mines and the treatment of employees with
| reference to safety. BY denying 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 a monopoly OF coal proou
| In any state or neigh borhood The change
| from the absolute grant 10 the leasing
! system will involve good deal OF
| trouble In the outset and the training 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 TO approve II.
Alaska Coal Lands.
The investigation of the geological sur
/
Alaska cover about 100 sGuare miles
! and that there are known 20 be available
about 1900. otc. 900 tons. This is however
! an underestimate of the coal in Alaska
because further developments will 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 be reached by
| railways at a reasonable cost from deep
! water-in one case about fifty miles and
| in the other case Of about 100 miles
which will afford certainly 500 600 900
| tons of coal. more than half OF which Is
| OF a very high grade OF bituminous and
| OF anthracite. 1t is estimated to be worth.
| In the ground, one-half cent ton
which makes its value per acre from $40
| to $500. The cooking coal lands OF Penn
| sylvania are worth from $500 to 81 600 an
| acre. while other Appalachian fields are
worth from SO to 1856 an acre and the
! fields in the central states from $40 to
| f2.(c0 an acre. and in the Rocky noun
tains $40 to $500 an acre. The demand for
| coal on the Pacific coast is for about
+.5O0, coo tons n year, II would encounter
| the competition OF cheap fuel oil, of
| which the equivalent OF 1900 coo tons OF
| coal year is used there II is estimated
| that the coal could be laid down at Sc
attic or Fan Francisco. high-grade BIZ
| luminous. at 81 a ton and anthracite at
| Pacific slope varies greatly from time TO
! time in the year and from year to year
from 81 to sl2 ton. With a regular coal
supply established, the expert of the
! geological survey, Mr.. Brooks, who has
| made a report on the subject. does not
| think there would be an excessive profit
| In the Alaska coal mining because the
| price at which the coal could be sold
would be considerably lowered by compe-
| 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 IL, 1905. President Roose-
Welt issued an executive order with
drawing all coal lands from location and
entry in Alaska. on May l6, 1907 he
modified the order to permit valid
locations made prior to the withdrawal
on November Il. 1896. TO proceed to entry
and patent. Prior to that date some 800
claims had been filed, most OF them said
To be illegal because either made fraudu-
lenty by dummy entrymen in the inter
est OF one individual or corporation or
because OF agreements made prior to To-
cation between the applicants to cooperate