The Progressive West Virginian. [volume] (Williamson, W. Va.) 1911-1913, 1913-01-02

There Is fully an equal amount OF
territory in which deeper shafts
would be required. This territory
would extend to Louisa and contains
al least two and one-haf billions OF
tons. which OF course, in time must
be utilized
There Is at least one seam of coal
covering this whole region, which
is an excellent coking coal as we'll as
one Of the most valuable b1-proq
Goals in the world This seam is
below the bed of the river from Will
hanson west. There are other good
bi-product Goals in this series.
No coke or bi-products are manu-
featured in this region, princip4
for want of cheap transportation
This whole region is at the mercy OF
on railroad.
There are also valuable clay de-
posts in this region which are devel-
oped locally on a very small scale,
but shipments to any distance are
prohibited by freight rates. The
clay and building stone quarries
would become great Industries in
this section were it not for the pro-
hibitive freight rates. Both of these
commodities are simply unlimited
here so far as commercial use OF
them is concerned.
There is also almost an unlimited
supply of timber in this section for
manufacturing of wood products,
such as handles, furniture, coins,
spokes, felloes, hubs, farming imple-
Eents, pulp and innumeraDle small
Ell articles. Timber that is not mar
ketable as lumber can be used for
these purposes, but cannot be manu-
featured here on account of the
high freight rates.
The rich hillsides and coyes Of
this region reforest themselves
20 years and the thinest virgin land
we have reforests itself in 80 years,
SO it will be seen that the timber
product industries would be continu-
ed indefinitely.
The oil and gas of this region
make for the development Of indus
tries, but the high freight rates re-
tard it all.
The shipment of timber and lum-
Der by rail or floating it out of here
loose in the river would practically
cease if we had slack-water nayiga-
ton.
Another retarding force against
the development Of industries in
this region is the excessive cost of
, food stuffs which is unreasonably
augmented by high freights. This
would largely be corrected by slack
water navigation as all heavy food
products could and would be ship
ped by water as they are not easily
perishable.
The freight rates on coal from
this region average considerably
more than a dollar per ton by rail.
This means that we are now paying
$4,000 per day in freight on coal
even with our infinitesimal develop
ment. We are informed that at
least three-fourths of this would be
saved by water shipment. This
would necessarily stimulate develop
ment and give the consumer cheap
er coal.
OF SO
gion is equally true of the Levisa
Fork so that our figures cannot only
be multiplied by two but the vast
region between the two streams as
large as some of the small states and
fed into the rivers by long creeks,
which would develop good pools at
their mouths with locks and dams In
operation, would be developed and
there is no question but an enorm-
GUS tonnage would be developed. The
Levisa Fork like the Tug Fork Is at
the mercy of one railroad, but Meth
err railroad would be hurt by the RI
yer for the reason that both rail
roads and the river will make their
own development and each help the
other by increasing products and
shipments, building towns and in
creasing passenger, mail, express
and fast freight transportation.
We wish here to append few
more specific figures for the infor-
nation of your committee. These
figures are based upon an enlarge
ment of the section above calculated
from, but do not cover more than
two thirds of the Tug River valley
from Matewan down to Louisa.
An estimate based on accurate
surveys of the tributaries Of the Tug
Fork from Matewan tola point about
the mouth of Rock Castle creek
show the acreage of that part of the
different counties draining into the
Tug Fork to be as follows:
Mingo county 100. $4,000 acres
Wayne county $780,. $4,000
Pike county Ky 49,. 100000
Martin county KY. 10000
Total -. ... $4,000 acres
Now II this were divided up into
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