Seward daily gateway., 1928-05-02
SEWARD DAILY GATEWAY
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nations Tn the Matanuska Naval Reserve as geologist for the Navy He reported officially that the Matanuska Naval Reserve contains probably not less than 30O00O00 tons of high grade btuminous coal" He stated further that could be mined in quantities of 100000 tons perl year at cost of not than 50 per above the cost of mining coal in Illinois.
 The known of the Matanuska coal veins outside of the Naval is estimated by the Biological Sur yey in its official reports to be 75 square miles, with to- ta of $50 square miles of coal bearing formation. The most of the coal in the far explored is sub btu nos But two years ago new extension discovered and examined by the Geological Survey where largel veins of anthracite of undetermined extent were uncov cred
 The development and use of Matanuska coal in the markets of the Pacific coast and by Navy the Pa cfc in itself would place the Alaska Railroad al basis of financial profit and independence and would bring wide assortment of other and dependent develop ment and industries into form and activity
 Why then, is it not done? The responsible officials at Washington clothed with all the needfu authority that Congress bestow to do exactly those things
 That however, opens up another field of discussion of wide extent and complicated ramfcatons such asI freight rates to and from Alaska and on the Alaska Rail road and the powerful influences of coal operators off West Virginia and Pennsylvania who now supply our Navy the Pacific together with the influence of pri vate railroad interests that hostile to government ownership and operation of railroads in any form, the Alaska Railroad most of al
 But while the Matanuska coal fields we'll known, little has been said known outside of Alaska about another field fields vastly greater in extent and quan tty and value the line of the Alaska Railroad It is the Nenana coal fields and it's extensions on the northern slope of the Alaskan range.
 The revolutionary inventions and discoveries by Ger coal tar chemists, led by Dr. Frederick Bergius for the reduction of Ignite and sub btuminous coals nto coal ar and the dslaon from that coal tar of gasoline Diesel engine dstalate fuel and ubricating ois and many other yproducts which have been the sensaton of the coal and gasoline world for the last year or more in stroke out of clear sky have raised Ignite and sub bumnous from the lowest to the highest in the scale of values among all the different kinds and grades of coal by supplying utility and pressing demand for them of the worlds largest future sources of supply for oils The coas of these grades yield best and abun danty to this treatment while anthracite yields to it not at all.
 In small area of the Nenana district seven veins superlmpOsed upon another in white sandstone, ranging in thickness from 20 feet to 63 feet aggregang 283 feet and extending area 10 by 24 miles In this comparatively small and compact district the Geouo g1ca Survey estimates in special report after two years of exploration and examination that the total deposits of Ignite and sub btumnous amount to 10O00000O00 of tons No other district in the world begins to equal it.
 By comparison, the great fields in the Ruhr basin of southern Germany contain only 3,0O0O00O0O tons
 Still more, this of 10 by "A miles in the Nenana district IS but small fraction of much larger field ex tending 500 miles along the northern slope of the Alas kan range all the way around to the Kuskokwm valley The Susna valley too is generally underlan with veins of Ignite and sub bituminous of which of 10 to 30 feet in thickness crop out in many different localities
 These valleys of central Alaska contain so many bill lions of tons of Ignite and sub btumnous according to the official reports of the Geological Survey measured and conservative language that reasonable estimate of their total quantity be made The late Dr. Alfred H. Brooks in charge the Alaska branch of the Geoog cal Survey for than 20 years stated many of his