Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-05-14

to desist They far off IN the Wilderness how
ever, and the warnings are not needed
In view of the present talk of a possible war with
Japan the Boring river coal beds great inn
portance as supply point of the ships of our navy
In such an event much of coal would have to be
shipped by rail across the continent be carried
about through the Strait Magellan to San Francisco
In the latter 1t is estimated that one
fifth of every cargo brought would be used up in
steaming that distance and this would be in addition
to the cost of the coal itself The freight rates by
rail would be enormous. The Boring river coal beds
about 200 miles by water from Puget sound and
they are not far from the excellent harbor Cordova
bay They might be defended by some of the great
ships of our navy, Japan might rush there with
part of her fleet and capture the coal supplies All
she would need to do would be take about twenty
hve miles of railroad material along, and extend
the present Guggenheim line to the beds. Such a
possibility is probably well known to- the war de-
partments of both nations and it is safe say that
the United States would be on the ground first
Coal Versus Petroleum
At present the oil fields of California are compet-
ing largely for the fuel trade in the markets of the
Pacific Many of the steamers using oil, and
oil is largely employed the railroads 1t is sold for
fuel in all the Pacific coast states and territories and
its increases each year. In 1908 the oil consumed
was equal to 100000 tons of coal, whereas the
coal alone was considerably less than half that
This is a factor that must be considered in con-
nection with the Alaskan coal when It comes into the
market and another factor is the coal that will
through the Panama canal DR.. Brooks has figures
which show that when the canal is completed eastern
coal can be landed in San Francisco at $3.50 a ton.
This means putting 1t the ship at the Atlantic
coast ports at cost of 50 per ton paying freight
OF 81 and canal foliage of about 45 cents He says
also that it is estimated that it will about $3.50
a ton to put the Alaskan coal inc San Francisco So
you see it is quite question whether the Alaskan
coal beds will not have to fight for the market.
For the same reason the Panama canal will affect
the coal trade of the states along the west coast
South America. Those countries can be supplied from
Alaska, but the canal will make them accessible to
our Atlantic coal fields and they will probably be sup
piled from the mines of both places
AS to Alaska itself, there be little develop
ment In that country until the coal fields opened
Railroads are impossible at the high coal rates OF
today and all industry tagging there for cheap fuel
1t will take big of money to construct the
only be supplied by organized capital Dr. Brooks
estimates that the first coal shipped out of the
Boring field will have at least 900 900 by the
time 1t 10 on the to the consumer, and that
then on, the cost will fall until it is somewhere near
the five or ten dollars which the people will pay.
have no sympathy with the Guggenheim gobblers but
the individual miner do nothing alone and the
government will have 10 adopt regulations that Will
enable capital TO dsveop the beds at a reasonable
profit. Whether this be accomplished without
a material change in Uncle Sans plans remains to
be seen.
FRANK q. CARPENTER.