The Seward gateway., 1914-12-15
Lane Reports
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 the Chitina Valley to Fairbanks; Port age Bay. on the west coast of Prince William Sound, where no settlement now exists but which could be connect ed with Turnagain Arm by tunnel and so on northerly through the Sus- itna Valley to Fairbanks; Seward, from which now extends the Alaska Northern for 72 miles to the eastern end of Turnagain Arm,
 Although the bill authorizing this work did not become law until March 12. 1914. the Commission of Engineers had been appointed, their subordinate engineers and other employees had been selected, their horses, supplies. boats and outfits had been bought. and they were in Alaska and at work by the earliest day in summer when their work could be undertaken.
 Congress supplemented it's railroad bin by the passage of another act of no less significance, bill providing for the leasing of the great coal fields of Alaska. AS this is virtually the first bill to pass Congress authorizing the leasing Of any of our resources, it may be we'll to outline its provis- ions. It first provides for a survey of the coal lands Of Alaska, preference to be given to the Boring River, Matan- uska. and Nenana fields. These fields would doubtless supply the needs of the far West for many years if made accessible. The Nerana field is some 80 miles from the Panama River and could feed the great interior, while the Matanuska is but a short distance from Cooks inlet on the coast, and the Boring River field is near Controller Bay and the city of Cordova. In the two best fields (Matanuska and Der ing Rivcr) a reservation is to be made for the Government, not alone to sup ply the needs of our ships. but to be operated in the event that the price of coal is raised to such a figure by mon- opoly as to make this price value. The surveys are to be in 4O-acre blocks. and the leases are not to exceed 2,56O acres. which is the average coal oper- ation of the United States. AS a coal mine under modern conditions is much more than a tunnel or a shaft, reQuir- ing a plant costing from a quarter to half a million dollars, it was necessary to make the acreage large enough to justify such an expenditure. The leases are to awarded through com petitive bidding or otherwise, under general regulations made by the Sec retary of the Interior, with a mini mum royalty payable to the Govern ment of 9 cents a ton and an annual rental of from 9 cents to S1 per year per acre applicable on the royalty. This last provision as to rental is to make it Onerous to hold land unde- veloped. The leases are to be for not more than 90 years, subject to renewal on new terms.
 The utmost care was taken by Com gross to guard against monopolization of the fields. Railroads are not per mitted to hold more of these lands than will supply their own needs. Leases may be transferred only with governmental consent. No one may be a shareholder or otherwise have an interest in more than one holding And for violation of its general and specific prohibitions criminal penalties may be imposed. Provisions against waste and for care in the operation of the mines are required in each lease. The safety and welfare of the miners are sateguarded, and an eight hour day for underground workers is specified. Wages shall be paid twice