The Nenana daily news., 1919-06-04
GOVERNMENT H
 EAGER TU TAKE
 COAL FOR NAVY


 needed for the Pacific fleet, and the fuel will be taken from the Matanuska field, thirty-ifve miles from Anchorage, if the bituminous areas. in the course of development, meet the present expectations of the commission appointed by the secre- tary of the navy to investigate Alaska beds with a view to obtain ing steaming supplies for warships. The Matanuska field, controlled by the government and subject to re- servation for it's exclusive use, close to tidewater and connected with federal warfage sites by a govern ment railroad, offers to the navy advantages it cannot acquire else where.
 Assurance of the high-grade qual- ity of the coal, confidence in the large quantity of the deposits and approval of the idea to devote part of the field to the use of the navy were expressed, following a thorough investigation by members of the naval commission.
 The commission consists of Cap tain S. E. W. Kittelle, Captain L. E. Gregory and Lieutenant L. Aik- man, United States naval officers from the Puget Sound navy yard. Bremerton, Wash; Sumner S. Smith. head of the coal mining department of the Alaskan Engineering Com mission and Theodore Chapin, of the United States geological survey, both of whom have their head quarters in Anchorage
 At the instance of the navy de- partment, Congress two years ago passed bill appropriating s1,000,- 60 for Investigating and developing in a preliminary way, for naval pur- poses coal deposits in Alaska, but the bill was repealed before any of the funds were put to use. The department plans that another bill carrying similar appropriation shall be introduced at the special session of Congress The wording of the bill is that "S1 100000 or so much thereof as may be necessary, in the discretion of the secretary of the navy, may be used by him in mining coal and in providing the necessary docks for use in sup plying ships herewith; and the sec retary of the navy is hereby au- thorized to select from the public coal lands of Alaska such areas as may be necessary for use by him for purpose stated herein"
 'The navy wants coal" said Cap tain Kittelle, chairman of the com mission, in explaining the coal-land investigation by him and his asso ciates. "The navy wants coal in the Pacific. The navy wants Pa cific coal in the Pacific. Every body knows from press reports tha. the Pacific fleet is to be re-es- tablished and re-established on a much larger scale than heretofore. It probably will, if press reports are correct, be a strong fleet of all types of war vessels from dread naughts to submarine chasers. Yes sels of this fleet may be operating in Alaskan waters annually; there fore, the necessity for an adequate naval coal supply can be readily realized. .<....'.-..
 ''The naval commission is charged with the duty of ascertaining in so far as possible the detailed facts relative to the quantity of coal existing in the Matanuska beds, the transportation facilities from the place of production to tidewater, the pier and water facilities, and the availability of labor.
 "We shall make our report to the navy department, which, in turn, will decide upon a plan and prob ably then submit its recommends tions to Congress. I have no hesi- tancy in saying tests of Matanuska coal have shown it possesses the necessary steaming qualities. The commission has visited the field and personally, I am inclined to believe the beds can be developed to pro- duce adequate quantities for navy use. Certainly the navy hopes the field will prove to be limitless.
 ''In view of the fact that Con- gress has once made a generous appropriation for the purpose of de voIanipr tho Mafo To oaal f1alJ