The Alaska daily empire., 1915-12-27
ALASKA COPPER OUTPUT
 GROWING AT RAPID RATE

ALASKA COPPER OUTPUT
 GROWING AT RAPID RATE
 WASHINGTON, Dec 11.-In these days of rapid consumption of copper In the manufacture of munitions of war and the consequent high price of that material, there is more or less in- terest in anything throwing light on ] the American copper supply
 During the last fifteen years the Prince William Sound region. Alaska, has become on important copper pro- ducing district, and the number of productive mines there is constantly increasing. The Ellamar district. Q part of this region, has been tho scene of active mining since 1900, and in order that accurate information concerning this area should be avail able to the public, the geological sur vey has recently prepared o detailed report on 1t.
 This report contains excellent topo- graphic and geologic maps, on O scale of about O mile to m Inch, and Illus trated by numerous plates and hg- ures. The discussion of the history of the district and its geography are interesting to the lay reader; the treatment of the areal and structural geology, and the discussion of their ! bearing on tho distribution of the ore deposits as well as the description of the mines and prospects, are more technical.
 Tho geology of the Prince William Sound region, it is said by govern. ment experts, is highly complex, and the attempt to read the geologic his tory of this part of America from the rock formations as they now appear encounters many difficulties. The ai- most complete absence of life in tho { Alaskan oceans during the period of deposition of many thousand of feet of sediments has left the rocks prac- tloally devoid of fossils, which are SO valuable in determining the age of rocks.
 New Conclusions ReacSed.
 Nevertheless. the succession of the rock formations of Ellamar has been determined, and their determination should aid in deciphering the geology of other parts of Prince William Sound. Some new conclusions, it Is announced. have also been reached 1 concerning the origin Of the Ellamar copper deposits.
 The administration apparently has abandoned tho railroad securities bill of the last Congress. and will not urge it during the coming session. The bill is known as the Rayburn bill, and was advocated In substance by the interstate trade commission. AS part of the administration trust pro- gram it passed the House moro than year ago. but was held up In the Senate.
 It Is assumed here that despite the administration attitude at this time an aggressive effort will be made Co put tho bill through Congress this winter. Not only the railroad broth erhoods, but leading railroad man. lagors. officials and lunncier5 have urged the enactment of this piece of Legislation.
 Friends of the Rayburn bill are now saying that the evils of over-capitali- aztlon have been recognized by Con- gress since 1885; when Senator Gull Mm made a notable report in which he characterized excessive capitaliza- ton as "a mortgage upon the com merce Of the country.
 Federal Approval Provided.
 The Rayburn bill would place con- trol of the issue of railroad securities in the hands of the Interstate Com merce Commission which would be tantamount to having the government place the seal of It's approval on stock and bond issues of the future, thus insurlng @ ready sale and stable prices. President l.. E. Johnson, of the Norfolk & Western Road, in. a recent statement earnestly advocates the enactment of the proposed lcgis- lation.
 The guidebooks to Western travel Issued by the government explain some things which at first sight seem lnexpllcable, ogden canyon-a deep craft through the towering Washatch Mountains. overlooking the Great Salt Lake. is one of the show places along the Oregon Short Line. yet many of the thousand8 of people who have en- loved them more and they first read the little statement of geologic his- tory given In the government guide book of the Overland route.
 Cut in Solid Rock.
 Ogden Canyon. Q deep notch with bare cllgs of hard pink quartzite on both sides. according to government experts, was cut in the solid rock by the river which flows through it. Rum ming water carrying send and gravel, it Is pointed out, acts as saw or file, and, given time enough, can cut through the hardest rocks.
 ogden River was flowing west along It's present course. say the scientists, before the lofty Wasatch Mountains came into existence. The raising of the mountains won't on slowly for ages. 80 slowly that the river kept It's place by cutting a deep md narrow canyon straight through the block of the earth's crust as it rose.
 In no other way, say the geologists, can we rationally account for a river rising on one side of the .ange and flowing directly across it Movement of the mountain mass has continued down to the present time, it ie pointed out-at least there has been recent disturbance along the bese of the Wasatch range, as Is shown by faults which traverse the lake deposits and the modern alluvial aprons.
 Some of the breaks are 30 new, say investigators, as to be devoid of vege- tation. The upward movement of the mountains has been SO continuous