The Alaska daily empire., 1915-03-04
slAPANUSKA COAL
 OPENING nlPORTANT
Seward Gatoway9

Seward Gatowaya
 The coming Of tho opening Of the. lAlatanuska coai fields means, per haps. more than tine majority of peo- pie understand and it makes she aub. iect of coal mining interesting Go ue ! here on the spot TO show Che posai- ] biiiles or the Natanuska coal Holds it should be remembered first that Ma,anuska Is nearer Co Japan and Russia than Seattle is. or the British Columbia coal fields. That showa how far from any oi those countriea ore the United States coal fields worth noting for tho quality ol coal such as Pennsylvania.
 Japan and Russia combined only produce about twenty-eight million tons yearly which, Of course, shows that their Importation Of coal must be tremendous Russia no doubt can get lots Of her coal from western Euro pcan countries but it can be shipped to eastern Russia 50 much more cheaply from this coast that the chances arc good that some day not SO very iar distant there will 0e aI line oi coal ships running from the Orient 10 this place. This may look funny but it is no joke. The United States imports more than two million tons Of coal each year and most of that coai is Imported from British Amevica. The yaire of coal per ton at the mine in the United Statesl ranges rom something over dollar Co two coilars That would mean, ii the United States import in the future It's coal from the Matanuska Instead oi British America, that an expendit. ure Of three millions year would be made in the Motanusio. and setting out coal worth that amount means that practically the whole sum would be spent in the district. lt ropre- .senta probably more than an the mon ey spent for wages at present in Dawson Nome and Fairbanks pu, to- gether
 The tremendous trade Ia coal that can be done hetewen Alaska and the Pacific Coast States may be seen by the fact that California produces less than fifty thousand tons yearly and Oregon produces only no thousand tons. Washington produces nearly three million tons but it is oI kind that cannot be used in Bteamships. l Tho immcnsity of the coal trade is il-l lusrated by tho production Of some of tho eastern States like Pennsylya-l ! nia. Ohio end Illinois The production for these three States alone respec- lively IS one hundred and twenty mile lion tons. twenty-nve million tons. and thirty.seven million tons which is about the same as the production or West Virginia The United States has total production of about four hundred million tons and if the United States with Q hundred million people can use that amognt Of coal what IS Che amount required by Japan and other countries across tho Pacihs over and above the amount they can pro duce2 And Japan has about forty ! million people although it has only af coal production of about twelve mil-I Jon tons
 Let it be supposed for g moment that the Matanraka fields could equal the production Of one of teh second-l ary States like Kansas with about eight millions of tons and yet 1t means that Kansas spends more than tenl millions at it's coal mines.
 It Is oulte possible that from these fields coal may be sent to Japan, Rus sia. China and other places across the Pacific Tn addition to the Pacific Coast States there arc States at this ! side of the Rockies that produce little OF no coal and they mal also furniah , a market Down on the Pacific coasts of South America are many other countries whose coal output is incon-f siderable and added to ihis are ail Che steamboats of Che Pacific which can-f not secure the same quality Of coal In | any other part ol the United States Pacific coast Wc do not know-that is fact--what Q tremendous timel there may be ahead of us.