The Cairo bulletin., 1910-09-06
District No. S.
no to Fulton, embracing Wickliffe Bardwell

tons of coal, more than half Of when
Is OF Il very high grade OF bituminous
and Of anthracite.
1t is estimated to be worth in the
ground one-half cent q ton, which
makes Its value per acre from $50 to
$500. The coking coal lands Of Penn
syivania are worth from $500 to $1,000
an acre. while other Appalachian fields
are worth from $40 to $3.50 an acre,
and the fields In the central states
from $40 to $1,000 an acre, and In the
Rocky mountains $40 to $500 an acre.
The demand for coal on the Pacific
coast is for about 4,5oo.Ooo tons year.
1t would encounter the competition Of
cheap fuel oil, of which the equivalent
of 12000000 tons of coal year are
used there.
1t Is estimated that the coal could be
laid down at Seattle or San Francisco,
a high grade bituminous, at 81 a ton
and anthracite at So or So ton. The
price of coal on the Pacific slope va
iANS SANdhS AfOAu llule to liule III Tue
year md from year to year-from 81
TO So ton. With regular coal sup
ply established. the expert of the geo.
logical survey, Mr.. Brooks, who has
made report on the subject. does not
think there would be an excessive
profit In the Alaska coal mining, be-
cause the price at which the coal could
be sold would be considerably lowered
by competition from these feds ard
by the presence of crude fuel oil. The
history of the laws affecting the dispo-
sition Of Alaska coal lands shows 8em
to need amendment badly.
The Cunningham Claims.
On Nov. l., 1906, President Roosc-
welt issued an executive order with.
drawing all coal. lands from location
and entry IN Alaska. On May 10, 1907.
he modified the order SO as to permit
valid locations made prior to the with
drawal on Nov. L., 1896, to proceed to
entry and patent.
Prior TO that date some 900 claims
had been filed, most of them said to
be illegal because either made fraudH-
lently by dummy entrymen In the in
terest Of one individual or corporation
or because of agreements made prior
to location between the applicants to
cooperate in developing the lands.
There are thirty-three claims for 100
acres each, known as the Cunning
ham claims" which are claimed to be
valid on the ground that they were
made by an attorney for thirty-three
different and bona fide claimants. who,
as alleged, paid their money and took
the proper steps to locate their entries
and protect them.
The representatives of the govern
ment In the hearings before the land
Office have attacked the validity of
these Cunningham claims on the
ground that prior to their location
there was an understanding between
the claimants to pool theirclaims after
they had been perfected and unite
them In one company. The trend Of
decision seems to show that such an
agreement would iuvalldate the claims,
under the subsequent law of
May 2S, 1903, the consolidation Of such
claims was permitted, after location
and entry, in tracts Of $3.50 acres.
1t would he. Of course, improper for
me to intimate what the result OF the
issue as to the Cunningham and other
Alaska claims is likely to be, but IT
ought to be distinctly understood that
no private claims for Alaska coal lands
have as yet been allowed or perfected