The Big Sandy news., 1911-11-24
GREATEST field.
Graphic Description Of Elk
horn Territory.
Accurate WTite-up Of Worlds Finest
Deposit Of Coking Coal. on the
Upper Big Sandy.
oIlr Charies II. Rogers.l

PlkeVille, KY, NOV. lf.-Coulo
one call up mental picture oi
a suceulent lobster, minus the claws
with the head and foreparts Gov
ering that portion of the Allegheny
Mountains lying in Pennsylvania ant
part of West Virginia. the lower
end of the body covering the Elk
horn and Big Sandy River coal
fields and the tail stretching down
into the Cumberland Mountains just
overlapping the Virginia Tennessee
lines in the Middlesboro district
that person would have a fair idea
of the contour and extent of the
main coal fields of the United
States. The comparison would not be
fantastic either. especially where It
tapers off to the tail other words
the Elkhorn sections the best
eating.
Recent developments in the Elk
horn field, the announcement oi
the plans of the big coal land com
panies fer working what is now the
largest bed of coking coal lin the
United States. likewise the spurt
of activity in railroad building. IN
dicats that the men who had the
foresight and the capital to buy up
whole mountains and purchase land
by the square mile in the widest
section Of Kentucky are preparing il
reap their reward. Towns springing
up overnight in response to the be-
hest of capitalists who have hardly
begun their development work, a
steady stream of coal shipments
toward the lake ports, and contracts
let for the building of enormous
mining and coking plants with all
the latest appliances attest in a
practical way the faith of practi-
cal coal men and capitalists in the
future of this section. The declara-
ton of that faith may be found in
the words OF T. j. HELLER, the
Boston capitalist and | moving spir-
1t of hte Big Sandy Coal Company,
which controls 100000 acres of
rich eoking coal land in the district
"The Elkhorn coking coal is the
.he best in the world. and now
that the Connellsville field promises
to play out within ten years the
industries of the country must
look to this section for their sup
ply
The preparations being made by
The three big holding corporations
to meet this demand are truly Hom-
eric. The Big Sandy Company, com
posed mainly of Boston capitalists,
controls 100000 acres; the Consoli-
dation Coal and Coke Company with
headquarters in Baltimore. controls
an equal amount, and the Berwynd
interests, which have long been a
power in the Pennsylvania field,
own another 100000 acres. Inas-
much as the Elkhorn field of cok-
coal comprises at the outside
only about 100000 acres, and the
present big holders are not leasing
the lands TO any considerable ex-
tent, 1t would seem that the op-
portunity for smaller capitalists to
enter the coal and coke business
in this field are not numerous. New
ertheless the region is on the
threshold of tremendous indus
trial development. The three big
companies mentioned are preparing
to mine their own coal and make
their own coke on large scale.
To take care of the business thus
generated the c. and o., B. and o.,
and l.. and N railroads have al
ready decided upon or have under
way extensions which viii during tn,
next two years constitute one of
the biggest spurts Of railroad build
ing in the history of Kentucky.
Down around HELLER the Big
Sandy Company already has hum
dreds OF men at work laying the
groundwork for an immense coal
and coking plant. At present the
company is working six operations,
with twelve openings. the output
being about 5000 tons a day. There
is also in operation the first hat
terry of coke ovens, eighty-two
Aamber, constructed by way OF ang
V sr