Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-05-07
IGNITE BED " DzRZH D4ROM
AS BIG as S001ZH CAROLHl1

the Salt Lake City office have received 5000 OOO
Tor such lands, and additional claims filed that
month by would-be purchasers aggregatng 100000
more The selling prices fixed so that they will
be attractive to the purchaser and at the same time
VIII prevent the lands being bought and held 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 people, The
land office also issues patents for lands as home
steads, reserving the coal which lies beneath them
What sort of coal lands are the best invest
ments?"
AT present the high-grade and more expensive
lands the better buys although more of the low
priced lands are being sold. You see we have con-
siderable competition from the railways that have re-
ceived large grants Of public lands subsidies and
some of which quantities of coal The Union
Pacific road has extensive tracts OF valuable coal lands
would say that the railroads are not anxious to sell
at the prices and that our prices are as
rule below those asked for private lands In the
districts.
The Old Plan and the New.
Can you give me example of the old method
of selling in contrast to the present planP"
Suppose we take one of the Wyoming coal fields -
said the director. Here is township which at the
old rate Of from $40 to $40 per was valued at
$46O,OOO 1t is now priced at cent ton. according
to its coal contents. and the value Just
difference of $2,340.000 for that township alone
In another township in Wyoming present valuation
whereas it was less than 100000 before and single
square mile Of that township had been valued At
$4,000"
Surveying the Coal
But how can the surveyors know Just what coal
there is in the land2 Do they diamond drills and
bore down through every acre9"
mo-" replied the director. ''They can tell from
the outcropDings of the coal on the mountains and
hills and the veins exposed In the canyons and valleys
III a he'd Of fUen
canyon and We find bed of the same thickness and
same quality of coal some distance away with the
other geological conditions that would show that the
two were q part of one and the same bed we should
conclude that all tho hand between the two contained
coal Our estimates carefully made and as rule
they are below rather than above the real amounts
The Depth OF COAL Beds.
"How deep do you fix the possibility of miningP"
I'VE estimate that at about 5000 feet" replied
the director. IT for coal The Ignite ia eati-
mated at about one-third that depth"
How about Ignite is it of great value?"
lit Will probably be worth lar more in the future
than 1t Ia now. We have altogether In the neigh
borhood OF 10000 square miles. containing about
800 billion tons of Ignite which h easily accessible
There are vast beds OF Ignite in northern Dakota
covered with rich farming landa and there ar.
great beds in the south. including Texas and other
gulf states. We have Ignite bed In North Dakota
which Is as big as the whole state of South Carolina
lts contents are estimated at something like 500 bill
lion tons. Montana and New Mexico have large de.
posts Of Ignite and there are billions of tons Of II
in Alaska.
Ignite Briquettes for the Railroads
But have We had any practical tests Of the value
of lighter"
1t Is used largely in Europe replied the director
or the survey. Germany consumes $4,000 600 tona
of 1t annually, and in the shape OF brouettas a h
consumed on many Of the European railroads II is
also employed there for domestic heating ana ga.
making briquettes have been used experimentaIly
on some OF the railroads and We have number NJ
factories which making them The br,ouette.
burn without clinkers and have seen It estimated
that II they should be substituted for coal on the rail
roads, the saving in coal consumption wouId he
sometbfDS like 80,OO0,000 tons per annum Tho
geological survey has been making experiments as IN
briquette manufacture, and We have machines which
will exert pressure of 900 pounds to the souaro
inch forcing the Ignite into bquettes without the aid
OF binder, such pitch or some other substance
Ignite coal can be used for gasmaking, and u will
In time form large source OF the fuel supply for
gas engines"
The Coal Lands and the Deserts
What will be done with the money that the gov
eminent gets from its coal lands?" l asked
THAT is very interesting feature in connection
with the revaluation said the director THE xreaor
part of the government lands lies in the statas
"hch are retaining the deserts and this money will
go TO the reclamation fund II will be used to mako
reservoirs in the mountains dams for the rivors aud
canals to carry the water over the land II viii
enormously increase the of irrigated land and
VIII eventually result in the creation of thousands NJ
farms So far the proceeds OF the coa7 lands have
all been deposited to the credit OF the irrigatlon
reclamation fund FRANK a. CARpuNyrEp