The Prescott daily news., 1910-09-06

sition of coal lands. the minimum price at which lands are permitted to be sold Is SlO an acre; but the secretary of the interior has the power to fix a maximum price and sell at that price. By the first regulations governing appraisal. an. proved April S. 1907. the minimum was sio. as prov ded by law. and the maximum was sl0O nd the highest price actually placed upon any land sold was s75 Co- der the new T. Eulations, adopted April 10, lm9. the maximum price was increased to S30o. except in regions where there are large mines. where no maximum limit is fixed and the price is determined by the estimated tons of coal to the acre The highest price fixed for any land under this regulation has been s60S The ap- pratsd value of the lands classified as coal lands and valued under the new and old regulations Is shown to be as follows: iSoS.92l acres. valued under the old regu- lat'ons at $06A329. an average of SIS an aCr and TOP acress classified and va, | under the new regulation at s3o4- 2oS-ia, or a total of 1o lGS,693 acres. val ned at $471Si75T.
 For the year ending March 31 1909 c97 coal entries were made embracing sn area of 35,33l acres which sold for s6s5.- O204O For the year ending March 3l, 1910. there were l76 entries, embracing ar area of 2s,41s acres, which sold for seoS.-
 
 but 17 entries, with an area of 1,72O acres
 which sold for s3S, O6O, making a dispo- sltlon of the coal lands in tile last two years of about 60,000 acres for s1.3O5, 900.
 The present congress- as already said.
 has separated the surface of coal lands, either classified or withdrawn for classi-
 fication, from the coal beneath so as to permit at all times homestead entries
 upon the surface of lands useful for ag- rlculture and to t~r.Ito ''0 ownership In the coal to tl1 .3N 1.'Ur .,a,. The ques-
 tion which remains to be considered is
 whether the existing law 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 in force or be repealed and a new method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 is upon an estimated amount of the tons
 of coal per acre beneath the surface, and 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 guesswork. and the government parts with the ownership of the coal in the ground absolutely. Authorities of the ge- oloGical survey estimate that in the United States today there Is a supply of about three thousand billions of tons of coal, and that of this one thousand billions are III lIt puDHC domain. O1 course, the Otn- CT 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. If the government leases the coal lands and acts 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 1t ] asa yptp in 1a nf coal deposits a choice as 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 it to exercise a limited but effective control | in the disposition and sale of the coal to 1 the public It 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 and opening up of the coal resources. ven 1 ture to differ entirely from this view The question as to how great an area ought to be included in a lease to one individual or corporal tion 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 2500 acres
 would not be too great @ maximum By the opportunity to readjust the terms upon which the ccal 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 to the | character of work to be done in the mines. the government may control the l 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 1t Is proposed to transfer i the leasehold to persons interested in es- , tabllshing a monopoly of coal production
 in any state or neighborhood. The change from the absolute grant to 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 a good one and can be made, The change is in the interest of conservation. and I am glad to approve 1t.
 Alaska Coal Lands.
 The Investigation of the geological sur
 vey show that the coal properties in l Alaska cover about 1.200 Gquare miles, 1 and that there are known to be available | about f5000. .O00 900 tons. This is, however,
 an underestimate of the coal in Alaska,
 because further developments will prob l ably increase this amount many times; 1 but we can say with considerable cer-
 tainty that there are two fields on the l Pacific slope which can be reached by
 railways at a reasonable cost from deep
 water--in one case about fifty miles and 1 in the other case of about 150 miles | which will afford certainly 6,0M,oo GOO l tons of coal, more than half of which Is | of a very high grade of bituminous and 1 of anthracite. It is estimated to be worth, | in the ground, one-half a cent ton. which makes its value per acre from soo