The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-05-09

How Uncle Sam Has Saved Millions
Il understand that you geologists
are resurVeying and revaluing the coal
upon our public lands? Can you tell
me how this is done?''
,, "The old way Of selling the coal
lands" replied the director. was at SO
much per acre, regardless of the quail
ity or amount of coal it contained The
price was fixed at $40 if the land lay
at $40 per acre if it were outside that
limit. Our present method is to meas
ure up the coal in each acre, and sell
the land on a coal tonnage basis. In
stead Of getting $40 or $40 per acre
we are now getting from $50 to $500
will be worth more. Within the past
two years the survey has classified
more than eight million acres Of coal
in that way, and has placed a value
upon them Of $560,oOO.O00.
''This added to what we have classi-
fed before gives us over 100000
| acres already classified, the valuation
of which in round numbers is s637,-
100000 At the old rates those lands
would have sold for at least $500, ,0OO,-
| 900 less. and the new valuations mean
q gain to the Government OF about
| that amount But this, you must re-
| me ember, is the saving on only 49,
| 100000 acres, and we have sixty or
seventy million acres which are yet to
| be priced"
Coal at One Half Cent a Ton.
! "But how can you fiji the value Of
| the coal?''
| I'VE do that on q royalty basis In
the first place, we figure out how
much coal each acre contains. A bed
Of coal one foot thick has about t.
| 500 tons to the acre, and If it is 40
feet thick it would contain 40 times
| that or 10000 tons to the acre. We
value it as low as half a cent ton.
| and from that up to two or three
| Of the coal. whether it is a low-gra De
bitumin GUS or a high-g grade anthracite
Or coking bituminous.
We test the actual heating value and
| base our estimates on that. Having
estimated the value, we put the price
on each acre. and we have now maps
showing the values Of coal lands on
millions of acres The maps are in
| townships divided up into forty-acre
tracts, the value of each OF which has
been carefully calculated. An acre OF
coal twenty feet thick would contain
$4,000 tons, and this at one-half cent
a ton would be valued at $3.50, sup
posing we considered the full amount
Of coal it contained We estimate.
| l,O
tons to- the acre foot and the price
Of the twenty-foot bed would be on
the basis Of only 2O,O tons. making
it cost $10O per acre instead Of $3.50.
II it were one cent ton it would
| be $500 per acre, and If the bed were
thicker or thinner it would be more
or less. We have other allowances
for waste and for the difficulty Of
mining
Uncle Sam as Coal Merchant.
"But can the Government lands be
sold at these high prices?"
1--WE are selling them. During a
single month at the Salt Lake City
Office We have received 100000 for
such lands, and additional claims were
filed that month by would-be pur-
chasers aggregating 100000 more.
The selling prices are fixed so that
they will be attractive to the purchaser
| and at the same time will prevent
the lands being bought and held. in
order that the buyer may make a great
| profit out of the unearned increment
! thereon The idea is to conserve the
coal for the Government and the peo-
| pie. The land office also issues patents
/ for farm lands as hom esteads. reserv-
/ ing the coal which lies beneath
! them.
What sort of coal lands are the
best inves tments2'
| AT present the hish-grade and more
expensive lands are the better buys
although more Of the low-priced lands
! are being sold. You see We have
coEsid era BILE competition from the rail
ways that-have received large grants
of public lands as subsidies and sOme
of which own vast quantities of coal.
The Union Pacific read has extensive
tracts Of valuable coal faRds- would
say that the railroads are not anxious
to sell at the Government prices. and
that our I,rieeS are as a@rule below
those asked for private coal lands in
: the same districts" "