Iditarod pioneer., 1917-01-06
PROSPECTIVE COAL MINER
 SAYS LAW MUST BE CHANGED

While in Juneau on his way south, Maur ice D. Leehey the we'll known attorney of Seattle, who represents clients seeking coal claims under the government leasing plan in the Matanuska fields, was interviewed in reference to coal development by Dispatch reporter
 MT. Leehey has established an office ln Seward and has formed sn Alaska part nership with Leroy V. Ray Clifford Mooers will elso be in the Seward office and Mir. Ray will be in Seattle during the winter and assist with the work of the Seattle office, and Mir Leehey will spend most of his time during the summer in Alaska and as sist with the work in the Seward othce.
 Mir. Leehey said that his cosl clients were prepared to spend $l00,000 in development work, but they find that the present mem bers of the engineering commission cannot establish rsilrcad rates. The members ot the commission have taken the matter up with Secretary Lane, and upon advice of the commission MT. Leehey has consulted other Washington bureaus, but 1t seems that there is no way to get around thls point without special legislation at the hands of congress
 Meantime the coal claimants hardly care to risk their money until given assurance Df stable rates Profit for mining coal, of course, depends upon the price at which 1t can be laid down in the markets Outside in competition with other coal and with California oil, and the cost of transporta ton and distribution of the coal naturally are very important factors and must be known in advance.
 Mr. Leehey believes that the Matanuska coal will command better price Outside for blacksmith coal and naval purposes, and where high grade steamng coal is needed, because of its quality, but even then it must compete with high grade East ern coal which is shipped via water, mostly through the Panama canal,
 The cost Of mining hard coal Tn any part of the East is much cheaper and the rail transportation to any coast point is much lower than is true of the Alaska coal Ow- ing to the wages which must be paid Tn Alaska and the cost of getting in supEEes ct the present time, MT. Leehey stated that coal could not be mined alone for much less than s per ton. He says that the estimate made by Plnchot and Hempton's Magazine of S1 and Sl.50 per ton IS a pipe dream, and was estimated on Eastern labor conditions and Eastern transporta- ton. and not upon conditions as they exist in Alaska.
 Mir. Leehey stated that Alaska coal would have to be laid down in California at S5 OCT ton to have a selling market demand After mining the coal, say, for S3 per ton tt must be hauled to tidewater and at a raiI cost; it then must be loaded upon steamers and hauled to San Francisco ct a water cost it must then be distributed and these facilities provided at an additional cost, and one can easily figure where the nrcfts would not come i'll at
 Mir. Leehey also stated that the plan ad- vanced for having regular coal barges or coal steamers built for carrying coal alone the same es in the East, will not prove practical for the Alaska business, The haul is too long, with limited market to be supplied, compsred with Eastern conditions, and without any return cargo for the coal barges or ships.