The daily Alaska citizen., 1920-01-17
DAVIS URGES NECESSITY FUR CONSTRUCTION
 OF CENTRAL POWER PLANT FOR DEVELOPMENT
 OF MINING INDUSTRY OF ALL INTERIOR ALASKA

ture, which becomes serious con,
 sideration when transporting 10 the mining district, not only over the railroad, but by the necessary wagon | haul as well over roads that are prac- l tically impossible a good part of the time. And a ton of Ignite does not represent a ton of fuel. but only i,400 stacking, disintegration and a ten dency to spontaneuos combustion which result in loss and waste in handling and prevent the accumula- ton of stock piles or storage. The moisture, high volatile content and a lack of cokIng properties contribute to make its use almost hopelessly | inefficient at the small and more or less makeshift plants In the mining districts, so that even If the govern ment railroad were to carry the Ignite free over It's lines, the cost of pro ducing power at the individual mines would not be sufficiently less than at present to afford any appreCiable re- lief to the industry. But if this fuel 1 is utilized in central power plant, located in the heart of the Ignite fields 10 avoid all transportation charges, and employing the modern equipment properly designed to burn Ignite to its best advantage such as l would be warranted in an lnstalla- ton of this kind. power could be at one-fourth to one-sixth of the pres ent cost of generating 1t at the in dividual mines And herein lies the solution of the problem.
 At price even approximating these figures there Is a present and lmme- diate demand for approximately 5000 horse power, A central plant of this capacity, including the necessary transmission lines and other acces, sories can be built for s4,750 900. The installation of such a plant will create an ever growing market for power, because of the development of min, l eral resources the district Is known to possess. so that provision must be made for enlargement as needed to a capacity of at least 10000 horse power. The ultimate cost of a plant this size is s9,00O,O0O With the mi tial installation power can be fur nished In the mining districts at 2H cents per XVII. But the greater output and consequent reduction of fixed charges and operating expenses of the ultimate installation will make l it possible to reduce the cost of pow CT to at least 2-5 cents per kilowatt hour This Is equivalent to less than s95 per horsepower year as com, | pared with $500 and even $700 per | horsepower year, the cost of pow CT for mining under present fuel con ditlons
 1 Power at this price will be the sal vation of the interior of Alaska. It will make 1t possible to mine placer ground that cannot even be thot Of at present It will insure the in stallation of large dredges, thus estab- | fishing a business which will be op- erated on principles just as sound and conservative as those of any man. ufacturing concern. It will revolu' tionize the lode mining industry by removing It's present restrictions to the more richly endowed spots and ore; and it will also encourage the development of prospects and stimu- late the search for new deposits With the future of the mining industry as sured, the outlook for agriculture Is | roseate one, because the. farmer will have a dependable and ever in- creasing market for his products And an increase of population will fol- low that will insure the success of the government railroad beyond even the dreams, possibly, of its most ar dent advocates.
 The power plant should be built by the government of the United States because, as agent for the owners of 98 per cent of all the land | in the territory, 1t Is most vitally interested In the future of Alaska | It Is today building a railroad from | tidewater to the interior at a cost of $52 o00,000, based upon well grounded faith in the development of the district. But the realization of this faith depends inevitably upon the future of the mining industry for which. as we have seen, cheaper pow CT Is absolutely essential. For this reason, therefore, If for no other, 1t will be sound business Judgment to invest the $9,000,OOO for power plant in order to insure the success of a $50,000 900 expenditure.
 But there are other equally inn portant reasons. The government | paadc O lorco roc oar,ya oF cold to oao,,ro