(Continued from Page Four.)
mations in the Matanuska Naval Reserve as a geologist
for the Navy. He reported officially that the Matanuska
Naval Reserve contains “probably not less than 30,000,000
tons of high grade bituminous coal.” He stated further
that it could be mined in quantities of 1,000,000 tons per
year at a cost of not more than 50 cents* per ton above the
cost of mining coal in Illinois.
The known area of the Matanuska coal veins outside
of the Naval reserve is estimated by the Geloogical Sur
vey in its official reports to be 75 square miles, with a to
tal of 350 square miles of coal bearing formation. The
most of the coal in the area so far explored is sub bitum
inous. But two years ago a new extension was discovered
and examined by the Geological Survey, where large
veins of anthracite of undetermined extent were uncov
ered.
The development and use of Matanuska coal in the
markets of the Pacific coast and by our Navy on the Pa
cific ocean in itself would place the Alaska Railroad on a
basis of financial profit and independance, and would
bring a 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 are clothed with all the needful authority
that Congress can bestow to do exactly those things.
That, however, opens up another field of discussion
of wide extent and complicated ramifications, such as
freight rates to and from Alaska and on the Alaska Rail
road, and the. powerful influences of coal operators of
West Virginia and Pennsylvania who now supply our
Navy on the Pacific, together with the influence of pri
vate railroad interests that our hostile to government
ownership and operation of railroads in any form, the
Alaska Railroad, most of all.
But while the Matanuska coal fields are well known,
little has been said or is known outside of Alaska aboutj
another field or fields vastly greater in extent and quan-|
tity and value on the line of the Alaska Railroad. It is the
Nenana coal fields and its extensions, on the northern
slope of the Alaskan range.
The revolutionary inventions and discoveries by Ger
man coal tar chemists, led by Dr. Frederick Bergius, for
the reduction of lignite and sub bituminous coals into
coal tar, and the distillation from that coal tar of gasoline,
Diesel engine distallate, fuel and lubricating oils, and
many other by-products, which have been the sensation!
of the coal and gasoline world for the last year or more,
in one stroke out of a c clear sky have raised lignite and
sub bituminous from the lowest to the highest in the scale;
of values among all the different kinds and grades of
coal by supplying a utility and pressing demand for them
as one of the world’s largest future sources of supply for
gasoline, Diesel engine distillate, and fuel and lubricating
oils. The coals of these grades yield best and most abun- j
dantly to this treatment, while anthracite yields to it not
at all.
In one small area of the Nenana district seven veins
are superimposed one upon another in white sandstone,!
ranging in thickness from 20 feet to 63 feet, aggregating
283 feet, and extending over an area 10 by 24 miles. In
this comparatively small and compact district the Geouo-;
gical Survey estimates in a special report after two years
of exploration and examination that the total denosits
of lignite and sub bituminous amount to 10,000,000,000 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 3,000,000,000 tons.
Still more, this area of 10 by 24 miles in the Nenana
district is but a small fraction of a much larger field ex
tending 600 miles along the northern slope of the Alas
kan range, all the way around to the Kuskokwim valley.
The Susitna valley, too, is generally underlain with veins;
of lignite and sub bituminous, some of which of 10 to 30
feet in thickness crop out in many different localities.
These valleys of central Alaska contain so many bil
lions of tons of lignite and sub bituminous, according to
the official reports of the Geological Survey, in measured
and conservative language, that no reasonable estimate
of their total quantity can be made. The late Dr. Alfred
H. Brooks, in charge.of the Alaska branch of the Geologi
cal Survey for more than 2J) years, stated in many of his
official reports, and repeated his statements to Congress
ional Committees at different times, that not less than!
60,000 square miles of Alaska’s area carries lignite and
sub bituminous, most of it in the central parts near the'
route of the Alaska Railroad. He said that the total
area might exceed 100,000 square miles. Recent discover- ,
ies are constantlv adding to the known areas of Alaska’s ,
lignite and sub bituminous fields.
Up to a year ago all of this vast extent of lignite and
sub bituminous coal in Alaska was dismissed with a wave
af the hand as of little commercial value because it was
thought to be fit only for local consumption. But today it
constitutes one of the most valuable assets of natural
(OonHnnprt on .*asr#» Six)
FIVE AND FAMILIES
TIKE TO TOE HILLS
WEISKR, Idaho, May 2, (jP)-Two-|
hundred farmers and their families:
are camping out in the hills surround-'
ijng Lane Creek because of a report i
that the dam, 26-miles above them
was leaking badly. Flood gates on. the
dam were opened and the level, of
the 66,006 acre foot reservoir was be-;
ing slowly lowered to a safe level.
MINT OIL IN DENVER
AIRPLANE ACCIDENT
DENVER, May 1, {£>)—Eight men
I
were killed today in three airplane
accidents. H. E. La Rue, pilot; Loren
Graven, and Emil Deitric.h. The sec
i
ond accident occured when three were
riding over Denver, the |tfane ;
crashing and burning. These were
i
William Spalette, pilot; Larry Beat
ty and Billy Winzel. The third ac
cident took place near Columbia sta
tion when a passenger and the pilot,
Myron Kelly, were killed. This plane
fell in flames.
STOLE, WSLL DIE
MOSCOW, xMay 2, (£>)—Veli Ibra
himov, former President of the Crim
ean Republic, established after the
fall/of Imperial Russia and the former
Vice President, Bustafa, were sen
fenced to death after conviction of
murder and embezzlement of public
funds.
DENY RESPONSIBILITY
PEKING, May 2. (#>)— Both North
and South factions denied responsibili
ty for the death of the American Mis
sionary, Dr. Walter Seymour. L. C
Osborn, another American Missionary
has been captured by Chinese and im
prisoned at Kaichow.
DEPART FE'.v DAYS
OSLO, Captain \7 kins vtd Eile'on
• i!’ ’ ;.ve G ‘-OL Harbor for Norway
« or s5v 5 - ya steamer i
' ’ •bby. The nil )6 w ’ follow later.
SAINT MALO, France, April 30. (/P)
—Plardy fishermen who sail from this
one-time haven of pirates received
the blessing of their priest in the tra
ditional fashion before setting out this
spring for their work at the nets in
i
the face of spring equinoctial storms.
The religious ceremony is a double
safeguard, fishermen believe, against
storms and poor catches.
I
The ancient custom wtas revived
three years ago with immediate good
results, citizens of the fishing colony
declare. Last summer the fleet re-;
I
turned two months before it was due
home, they say, because there was
not another cubic foot of space for
the storing of fish
PORT OF MISSING MEN
Elmer Cross, torpedoman on the
tattleship Tennessee, discharged
from the Navy on October 9, 1926.
Has not been heard from since. Any
nformation as to his whereabouts
should be communicated to his fath
er, Ganum Cross, Jasper, Tenn.
TOO LITE TO CLASSIFY
LOST- Torch Honor pin. Finder
please return to Sigrid Rosness. Re
ward.
If you haven't tried Frye.Bruhn's
Baby Beef you have missed some
thing, friends!
Developing, printing, en
larging and picture framing.
Schallerer’s Alaska Shop.
QUALITY GROCERIES
Housewives never laok tho food® that are eiuicWy prepared.
Our complete stock makes It a pleasure to trade here.
If it Is groceries you want we have it
MCMULLENS GROCERY
Main 94
mttyti
THE
OLD RELIABLE
PHOENIX FOR
LADIES
IN
SHEER CHIFFON
AND SERVICE
WEIGHT
$2.25 and $1.75
WE HAVE THEM
IN HALF SOCKS
THREE QUAR
TER AND FULL
LENGTH AT
.50 — .65 — .75
It’s All Hxed Now!
WHEN YOUR CAR LEAVES OUR SHOP, YOU CAN BET
THAT IT’S IN TIP-TC?P RUNNING CONDITION AND YOU
WON’T RECEIVE AN EXORBITANT BILL EITHER.
BENUITS MACHINE SHOP
Geo. Benuit, Prop.
Ogles Garage bldg. ADAMS 131
MEATS That Taste As
1 ,|Good As They Look!
FRYE BRUHN & CO.
A. C. GRAUNSTAOT, MANAGER