The Cordova daily times., 1921-09-20

eral occasions and in different dis tricts by strikes in the United States.
 It is well known fact that the population of Alaska at the present is such that it can use but a very small amount of coal each year The market for this Alaska coal therefore, must be in seaports that are not supplied with coal The questions then will be to find mar llet, and to ascertain if the Alaska coal can be economically shipped in competition with other fuel
 British Columbia has extensive operating coal mines on Vancouver island, and on the matn line of the Canadian railroads coal has been found but never developed to any great extent. Adjacent to Seattle are half a dozen coal mines. all pro ducing, but at the present moment tied up on account of a strike, which will no doubt be settled in a few weeks Bellingham has a good pro. duCing coal mine and development on an extensive scale would greatly increase the coal output of that dis. trict, which Is midway between Seat tie and Vancouver. B. C., and it has excellent deep water facilities as well as railroad connections.
 Oregon and California have no coal, but each having a direct rail connection with Seattle and Salt Lake City, those states have been large consumers of Utah and Wash. ingtOn Coals. Portland Astoria. Eueka San Francisco. Los Angeles and San Diego, being on the sea coast, also receive shipments of British Columbia and Washington coal by water. Il tie earlier lays san Francisco and ")",land received large quantities of British cDai rom the south seas. Japan has Wonu'r- fully developed its coal industry, and at some future time Siberia might become a great coal shipping coun- try. This is the general condition. and it is merely recited at some length to point out the competition to be met before the Alaska coal can be placed on the worlds mar kets. Incidentally this is an illus tration of the over exploitation Of Alaska.
 Nothing has been said of the cost of production or the cost of trans portation, but these enter into the question: First, it Is traditional that all costs of supplies and labor in
 Alaska must be higher than in the states, when in truth there is no reasonable excuse for any such as sumption. That means that the cost at the pitmouth would be triner higher. and then the government ships placed in operation to haul the coal from Seward would have to announce rate per ton to meet the rail rate from Washington or from Utah. or the tramp steamship or
 regular rate from Japan from Well
 ington, New Zealand. from Nanaimo. B. C. or from Seattle and Bclling- ham in the state of Washington. As | tbi.r i. l,, ment ships, such ships will have all
 the benefit of immunity from any rules. regulations or laws governing private ships operated under a reg. ular trade route by a corporation.
 The writer is perfectly willing to grant that according to various on. thusiastic authorities. there are bil- lions of tons of anthracite. lignito or semibtuminous coal in Alaska. hHt with all the talk and bureau cratic announcement and enthusias- tic pross agent work there is just one sane program to be adopted ! whereby this coal can be placed on t"c market. and this can only he worked out upon the lines of sue cessfUl business c" the day. with the government giving to Alaska just such laws and 70 operation as wore 90 freely accorded. first. to those early settlers when they moved west ward from the Atlantic. and after wards, those sturdy pioneers who followed the trail of the setting sun toward our own Pacific coast. That program briefly outlined would be:
 Wipe from the statue book every rule or regulation which for years might have restricted Alaska.
 Throw open the entire territory