The Alaska daily empire., 1918-03-11
FAILURE TO DEVELOP ALASKA COAL FIELDS
(Railway and Marine News)

I natpI % sonrces The article comes from it's Washington bureau under date of Feb 4th ana ger orally bears out what Railway x Marine News hmas m been pnblishing for many years past At the present time when we read of the coal shortage Tn the haal and realize that in Alaska there are countess i lions of tons of coal available that the goVerhheh has completed railroad from tidewater to one or the coal fields yet no nearer soution as to HUN HUN mine the coal and place it on the narke IL suieS appears reasonable demand that something De aone in sane, practical and conservative manner. ms article coming from a newspaper published 1n clty which is but indirectly interested in Alaskas develop ment is not only timely but will have more weight than similar argument published in seattle or AIaska ska papers, which while they have possession or all the facts and are vally interested in the deveopmenI ol Alaska as it means much to their future ana the future of the people they aim to serve that condton opens the way for the obstruconists to crcise such articles coming from publications printed in such m terested sections
 The Oregonian article is therefore welcomed as a dsinerested outside contribution and is here repro duced in full
 Portland no matter how badly it needs fuel, is not going to Alaska coal unoaded on it's docks until some master mind or practical mind with force behind it, rises to solve what to the government mas thus far been unsolvable problem. Portland needs coal the entire Pacific Northwest needs coal Port land and the Northwest afford a market for vast quantities of coal Alaska has the coal that Portland and the Northwest needs The problem IS to oins that coal to known market or markets
 Had not conservation, or rather conserVationlsls' inerferred Alaska coal would long ago have been on the Portland market but the conservatonsts nterposeo objections to private acquisition of coal lands Ill Alas ka, and private capital driven out The Alaska coal has been carefully "conserved' ever since and has had any benefit. These same conservation ists unless the shall work change Of sentiment in Congress, will be strong enough to longer prevent Alaska coal lands from passing into prvae control Which that Alaska coal, if it is to be de- veloped, be developed under Federal leases
 Officials of the Interior Department whose man energies directed to completing the govern ment railroad connecting the Matanuska coal helds with tidewate point out that two difficulties seem to stand in the way of the development Of coal lands m Alaska. Capital is holding back, they say, because there is no adequate transportation get coal from SaWa Tn they justified in making investments merely for the sake of getting coal out of the ground while on the other hand, shipping men, seeing no coal in sight do not feel justified in building barges to bring down coal when they have assurance that there will be coal to haul
 There just two leases in Alaska on which work now being done and those lessees not contem- plating supplying coal to Pacific Coast markets. The government, it is true, is going to mine some of it's coal in Alaska for it's use but it IS not going to mine coal for sae-that is it has no present intention of going into the commercial coal business And thereby arises the deadlock.
 It is perfectly evident, the Pacific Northwest being the interested section, someone in the North bring together the capital that may be ready and willing to mine coal under leases and the capital that may be ready and willing to build coal barges' and with the two interests work out the problem that has thus far been too much for the Federal gov ernment to solve
 If the Northwest has Henry Ford now is the time when he should rise tackle perfectly feasible problem give his section the benefit of his prac tical Henry Ford recently came to Washington to confer with government officials on shipbuding and other industries. He found an atmosphere of despondency; he found officials wor- ried because industries were closing down owing to their inability to get coa he found fuel adminis- tration worrying threatened 50000000ton short age coal in of the fact that production has been greater than last year
 Instead of curtailing industries to meet situa- tion caused by coal shortage" said Mir. Ford, "the problem should be solved by increasing the production of coa' He advised the greater of machinery in coal production and if necessary government opera tion of large coal properties. Portland has just such situation and it will grow more acute if the prom deva of of the Columbia river But coaling facilities neces- sary at any important water terminal
 If legislation is necessary to solve the coal prob lem in the Northwest, the lead in securing that legis laton must be taken by the Senators and Represen- tatives from Oregon and Washington If the leasing law is to be amended, Northwestern legislators must make the fight for its amendment. If that law is not to be amended and development is to proceed under leases, then suggestions for modifying the terms of coal leases in Alaska from the North west; the East has interest at this time in Alaska coal And if private capital is not to deevlop Alaska coal, and the government alone remains, then the Northwestern delegations in Congress must put through the necessary legislation and get the necessary ap propriatons to enable the government to mine coal in Alaska and sell it the market
 So far as can be learned. there is present in tention the part of the Interior Department to rec Ommend government mining of coal in Alaska. Rather the department hopes that capital will forward lease the Alaska coal lands and use the new govern ment railroad in getting that coal to tidewater. If this does work out-well, the department at this time has remedy to suggest. Secretary Lane, how ever in recent letter to Senator McNary offered to make any qualifications in the Alaska coal leasing regulations which would make the terms attrac- tive capital-provided they still safeguarded the interests of the public and the government
 If there is capital in the Northwest which can be invested in Alaska coal lands under the leasing system, and if that capital is holding off because the present leasing terms objectionable, the secretary has afforded opportunity at least to suggest mod cations of the terms. But if capital will invest in coal leases, and if the Matanuska coal fields to
 lie practically idle because the leasing system is the only system under which they be developed, the alternative is government development and this calls for legislation.
 Whatever is done to promote the development of Alaskas coal done at the instiga tion Senators and Representatives from Oregon and Washington. The East, having theoretically conserved