The Alaska daily empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1912-1926, 1924-02-14
NAVY HAS NO COAL RESERVES IN
TERRITORY; DENBY NOT INv0L We'd
INPLOT TO EXPLOIT" DEPOSITS

Charges made Monday In Washing
ton by Senator LaFollette, during
the debate on the resolution demand.
ing the resignation of Secretary Of
Navy DENLY, that former Secretary
Albert B. Fall. of the Interior De
partment. desired to turn the Nays
Alaska coal reserves over to private
interests for exploitation, drew oat
comment here yesterday that there
are in the Territory no such areas.
Under the Alaska Coal Lands Leas-
ing Act, October 20, 1911, provision
was made for withdrawal from pri
vate entry of a limited acreage OF
coal lands as Government reserves
but these, like the sect ons admit
ted to entry, were placed under the
Department of Interior for admins
tration.
One well-informed' authority said:
"If there has ever been a Navy
coal reserve in Alaska since the Ac
OF 1914 has been in effect, | have
for % months commission com
posed of Navy officers conducted eX
tensive explorations on coal beds
in the Matanuska field, the work be
ing carried on from July, 1920, unit
May /, 1922, it was through ar
agreement between the Navy anf
Interior Departm and not pri-
marily by the Navy as developing an
area over which it had acquired ad
ministratiye control by Congressional
action
Charge BY -enator
Last Monday. in the debate on the
DENLY resolution. press dispatches
received here quoted Seantor LaFol
lette as saying:
at will be recalled that DENLY
in addition to turning the naval oil
resolves over to Fall, also turned
over to him the naval coal reserves
of Alaska. When he did this he
knew or much have known that il
was Falls desire and purpose i'm
mediately to turn these reserves over
to private interests for private ex
ploitation."
The coal lands leasing Act of 1917
makes no mention of any transfer
of Alaskan coal lands to the Navy
Department. 1t makes it the express
duty of the Secretary of Interior to
"prescribe the necessary and proper
rules and regulations and to do any
and all things necessary to carry
out and accomplish the purposes or
the leasing law.
Kind of Reserves
The character of the lands re-
served and the purposes of reser-
vations from private entry are set
forth in Section two of the Act
which provides:
"That the President Of the United
States shall designate and reserve
from use, location. sale, lease or dis
position and exceeding 5,120 acres
of coal-bearing land in the Bering
River field, and not exceeding 1850
acres of coal-bearing land in the
Matanuska field, and not to exceed
one-half of other coal lands in AL
aska: Provided, that the coal depos-
its in such areas may be mined
unuer the ulTbCllOll VI iic litoiu'ht
when, in his opinion, the mining OF
such coal in such reserved areas
under the direction of the President,
becomes necessary, by means of in
sufficient supply of coal at a reas-
enable price for the requirements OF
Government works, construction and
operation of Government railroads,
for the Navy, for national protec-
ton, or relief from monopoly or
oppressive conditions"
Reserves Created
Pursuant to these provisions, dur
ing the Wilson Administration, by
Executive Proclamation an area COM
prising 1920 acres was reserved in
the Bering River field; units ag-
gregating 5.0S6 acres in the Matan-
uska field set aside, and one small
reserve in the Nenana Ignite field
created. In the Bering River field,
units 13. IA. 16 and IT lying directly
south of Lake Oh lrlotte. and about
II or Is miles vest of Kushtaka