Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1912-02-03
Communication This Time
Deals With Affairs in
Alaska and Many Other
Matters in Which All Are
Interested.
COAL QUESTION
IS DISCUSSED
Controller Bay Matter Gets
Attention - Also Other
Features of the Alaska
Situation Are Thoroughly
Analysed.
| ASSOcidfed Press DiSbdichl

/
! following message To- congress. deal
/ ing with interior department affairs
/ and other matters. was transmitted
late Yesterday by President Taft:
| To the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives:
There il no branch of the federal
| jurisdiction which calls more imper-
atiVely for immediate legislation than
! that which concerns the public do
main. and especially the part Of that
domain which is i'm Alaska The re-
/ port of the secretary of the interior
which is transmitted herewith. ana
/ the report 10 him OF the governor of
Alaska. set out the public need in
this regard with great force and i'm
satisfactory detail
The progress under the reclamation
act has made clear the defects Of its
limitations. which should be remedied
/ The rules governing the acquisition
lof homesteads of land that is not
arid or semiarid. are not wei adapt
eG 10 the perfecting of title To- land
made arabic by government reclama-
! tiun work
] concur with the secretary of the
/ Interior i'm his recommendation that.
/ after entry is made upon hand being
I rt claimed. actual occupation AS
homestead of the same be not re
luulred until two years after entry.
/ but that cultivation of the sam. shall
De required. and that the present pro-
/ vision under which the land is L. be
Iaid for in ten annual installments
shall be 80 modified as to allow
patent tn issue for the land at the
end Of five years cultivation and
three wears occupation. with res
! "rVdti"n of government lien for The
I amount OF the unpaid purchase mon
/ ~. This leuiency t. the reclamation
h"mesteader viii relieve him from oc-
cupation at time when the cundi-
! tior OF the land makes it Ilost bur
oensome and difficult. and at the end
% five years will furnish him with "a
title upon which he can borrow mon
ey and continue the Improvement of
his holding.
The chief change. hoWev,-. which
ought To- be made. and which ] have
already recommended i'm previous
messages and communications to con
grcss. is that by which government
coal land and phosphate and other
mineral lands containing non-metaI-
liferous minerals. shall be leased by
the government. with restrictions as
to size and time. resembling those
which now obtain throughout the
country between the owners i'm fee
and the lessees who work the mines.
and in leases like those which have
been most successful in australia. |
New Zealand and Nova Scotia.
There are now in Alaska only two
Well-kpown high grade coal fields Of
large eXtent-the Berng river coal
field and the Matanuska coal field
The Bering river coal field. while il
has varying qualities Of coal from
the bituminous to the anthracite is
very much lessened in value and use
fulness by the grinding effect To-
which in geological ages past the
coal measures have been subjected.
so that the coal does not lie or can
not be mined in large Jumps 1t must
be taken out in almost "A powdered
condition. The same difficulty does
not appear to the same extent in the
Matanuska coal fields. The Bering
river coal fields are only - miles
from the coast They are within
easy distance of an existing railroad
built by the Morgan -Guggenheim in
terests, and may also be reached
through Controller Bay 10y the CON
struction of other and competing rail-
roads
Controller Bay is not Il good har-
Dor. but could probably be mode prac- |
tical with the expenditure of consid-
cradle money. The railroad of the |
Morgan -Guggenheim interests, run
ming from Cordova. could be made
a coal carrying road for the Bering
river fields by the construction of a
branch To those fields not exceeding
80 or 90 miles. II is practicable. and |
II the coal measures were To- be OPEN
ed up. doubtless the branch would be
built. In the present condition of
things. there is no motive To- build
the road. because there is no title or
opportunity To open and mine the
coal
The Matanuska coal fields are a
longer distance from the coast They
are from lj0 to POO miles from the
harbor of Seward. on Resurrection
lay. This is one Of the finest har-
bors in the world. and u reservation
has been made there for the use OF
tie navy Of the United States y
road constructed from Seward To the