LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. RECEIVED BY EXCHANGE Class leport of Proceedings OF THE AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Fourteenth Annual Session Chicago, ML, October 2428, 1911 Published by the American Mining Congress At Office of the Secretary, Denver, Colo,, 1911 Report of Proceedings of the American Mining Congress Fourteenth Annual Session Chicago, 111., Oct. 24-28 * * * 5 i i t *< " Published by the American Mining Congress At the Office of the Secretary, Denver, Colo., 1911 vstt) PREVIOUS SESSIONS OF CONGRESS. DATE. CITY. PRESIDENT. ADDRESS. 1st July, 1897 1 Denver, Colo. Hon. Alva Adams, Pueblo, Colo. 1st July, 1897 Denver, Colo. Hon. L. Bradford Prince, Santa Fe, N. M 2nd July, 1898 Salt Lake City, Utah. Hon. L. Bradford Prince, Santa Fe, N. M 3rd July, 1899 2 Milwaukee, Wis. Col. B. F. Montgomery, Cripple Creek, Colo. 3rd June, 1900 Milwaukee, Wis. Col. B. F. Montgomery, Cripple Creek, Colo. 4th July, 1901 Boise, Idaho. Hon. L. Bradford Prince, Santa Fe, N. M 5th Sept.. 1902 Butte, Mont. E. L. Shafner, Cleveland, Ohio. 6th Sept., 1903 Deadwood and Lead, S. D. Hon. J. H. Richards, Boise, Idaho. 7th Aug., 1904 Portland, Ore. Hon. J. H. Richards, Boise, Idaho. 8th Nov., 1905 El p'aso, Texas. Hon. J. H. Richards, Boise. Idaho. 9th Oct., 1906 Denver, Colo. Hon. J. H. Richards. Boise, Idaho. loth Nov., 1907 Joplin, Mo. Hon. J. H. Richards. Boise. Idaho. llth Dec.. 1908 Pittsburgh, Pa. Hon. J. II. Richards. Boise. Idaho. 12th Oct., 1909 Goldfield, Nov. Hon. J. II. Richards, Boise, Idaho. 13th Oct.. 1910 Los Angeles, Cal. Dr. E. R. Buckley. Rolla, Mo. 14th Oct., fc 1911 Chicago, 111. John Dern, Salt Lake City, Utah. 1 Temporary * ...: 2 Passed to June, 1900. ' ' INDEX Page Auditing Committee, Report of 110 Bituminous Coal Industry, Discussion on Condition of 61 Complex Ores, Discussion on Treatment of 70 Directors, Election of 110 Financial Statement _of Secretary 100 Members, Annual Meeting of 100 Members, Adjourned Meeting of 108 Mine Accidents, Discussion on Prevention of 51 Mineral Land Laws, Report of Committee on. . . 119 Mineral Statistics, Report of Advisory Committee on. . US Nominating Committee, Report of 110 Resolutions, Discussion Incident to Action on 88 Resolutions, Membership of Committee on 51 Revision" of By-Laws, Report of Committee on 108 Smoker Tendered by Chicago Business Men L'.} Workmen's Compensation, Report of Committee on 113 Workmen's Compensation, Discussion of Report on 38 SPEAKERS. Abbott, W. L Economics of Coal Industry 224 r.nlihvin, Geo. E Response to Address of Welcome 19 The Alaskan Question 299 Bartlett, C. O Workmen's Liability Insurance 191 Bent, E. T Affiliation of Coal Operators 105 Bogle, W. S Bituminous Coal Industry 254 Sotting", D. A Prevention of Mine Accidents 58 Buckley, Dr. E. R Permanent Headquarters 102 Brooks, Dr. A. H Future of Alaska Coal 291 Brownlee, A. G The Malm Process ' 168 Callbreath, J. F., Jr Metallurgical Processes 83 Permanent Headquarters 104 Increase of Directorate Ill Calverley, Walter! Bituminous Coal Industry 61 Chaney, Hon. J. C Response to Address of Welcome 28 Chapman, H. L Response to Address of Welcome 27 Conner, Eli T Response to Address of Welcome '. 31 Daniels, W. P Investigation of Malm Process 80 Forestry Committee 82 Mine Frauds 85 Davis, H. D Prevention of Mine Accidents 56 De Laverg-ne, E. M Report of Resolutions Committee 88 Permanent Headquarters 103 De Lestry, E. L Response to Address of Welcome 33 Workmen's Compensation 44 Nominating Committee 101 Affiliation of Mining Associations 109 Dern, John Introducing President Taft 99 Permanent Headquarters 103 President's Annual Address 121 De Pulligny, Jean Response to Address of Welcome 14 Dinwiddie, J. M Mine Frauds 83 Douglas, Dr. Jas Disposal of Public Lands 214 Elliot, James .Coal Mining Industry 224 Finney, J. E . Mine Run Syste'm 233 Fishback, Martin Conservation vs. Encouragement 334 Fisher, Hon. Walter L. . . Alaskan Problems 363 Foster, Dr. Martin D Congress and Mining Industry 390 Gibson, Thos. W Response to Address of Welcome .' . 16 232495 < SN'D-EX Page Gillie, John Response to Address of Welcome 30 Goodsell, B. W Deep Waterways 92 Gould, C. N 1 Response to Address of Welcome 31 Granberg, H. O Metallurgical Investigation 86 Griffith, William Pennsylvania Leases.. 71 High Grade Coals of Alaska 329 Gulley, Hon. Ransom Response to Address of Welcome 19 Hammond, John Hays Mining Investments 163 Harnwell, F. W Response to Address of Welcome 16 Harriman, H. R New Federal Alaskan Policy 309 Haworth, Dr. Erasmus. . . Response to Address of Welcome 21 Committee on By-Laws 107 Report of Nominating Committee 110 Holmes, Dr. J. A The Mining Industry 69 Jacobs, Hon. J. H Response to Address of Welcome 23 Jones, John H Workmen's Compensation 180 Joseph, H. S Committee on Freight Rates 98 Joslin, Falcon Alaskan Coal Situation 351 Kirby, E. B Revision of Mineral Land Laws 86 Knight, Jesse Power Sites 78 Conservation and the People 158 Kuhn, D. W Sherman Law and Coal Industry 257 Leehey, Maurice D Coal and Transportation in Alaska 337 McGann, Lawrence E . . . . Address of Welcome 26 Malm, John L Committee of Metallurgists 80 Martin, E. L Response to Address of Welcome 29 Vote of Thanks 88 Mayer, John Workmen's Compensation '. 38 Maynard, T. Poole Cement Resources of South 208 Moderwell, C. M Opening of Convention 8 Moore, Philip N Response to Address of Welcome 30 Moorshead, A. J Bituminous Coal Industry 246 Nugent, Horace Response to Address of Welcome 13 Payne, Dr. H. M Affiliation of Coal Operators 106 Pratt, Dr. J. H Mining Schools 91 Purdue, Dr. A. H Mine-Run Law in Arkansas 227 Ropiequet, R. W Bituminous Coal Industry 64 Ross, David Workmen's Compensation 46 Ross, G. McM Alaskan Situation 97 Scholz, Carl Economics o/ Coal Industry 241 Searcy, W. N Response to Address of Welcome 19 Ore Treatment Problems 196 Smith, Dr. Geo. Otis Coal Land Legislation 285 Spry, Hon. Wm The Public Lands Question 138 Stevenson, Andrew Prevention of Mine Accidents 51 Stevens, Horace J The Copper Industry 146 Stewart, Duncan M Transportation in Alaska 320 Stoek, Dr. H. H Address of Welcome 8 Taft, Hon. Wm. H Government and Mining Industry 394 Talmage, Dr. J. E Response to Address of Welcome 32 Permanent Headquarters 103 Taylor, H. N Bituminous Coal Industry 62 Taylor, James Prevention of Mine Accidents 51 Taylor, S. A Workmen's Compensation . 43 Electrical Standardization 49 Bureau of Mines 110 Traer, Glenn W Coal Operators' Meeting 76 Verner, John Prevention of Mine Accidents 55 Vinson, Z. T Workmen's Compensation 39 Wetherly, E. C Committee on Freight Rates '. . 98 Williams, Walter Anti-Trust Laws and Coal Industry 2?0 Woodson, C. C Workmen's Compensation 45 INDEX PAPERS AND ADDRESSES. Page Annual^Address of President John Bern, Salt Lake City 121 The Public Land Question Hon. William Spry, Governor of Utah 138 Past, Present, and Future of Copper ... Horace J. Stevens, Houghton, Mich. 146 Conservation and the People Jesse Knight, Provo, Utah 159 Mining as an Investment John Hays Hammond, New York City 163 Importance of the Malm Process in the Metallurgy of Complex Ores A. G. Brownlee, Idaho Springs, Colo. 168 Workmen's Compensation John H. Jones, Pittsburgh 180 Workmen's Liability Insurance C. O. Bartlett, Cleveland 191 The Federal Investigation of Ore Treatment Problems W. N. Searcy, Silverton, Colo. 196 Portland Cement and Cement Resources of the Southern States T. Poole Maynard, Atlanta, Ga. 208 Some Reflections on the Disposal of Public Coal Lands Dr. James Douglas, New York City 214 Condition of the Coal Mining Industry of Oklahoma James Elliot, McAlester, Okla. 221 The Economics of the Coal Industry W. L. Abbott, Chicago 224 The Operation of the Mine-Run Law in Arkansas Dr. A. H. Purdue, Fayetteville, Ark. 227 The "Mine-Run System" of Mining Coal. . . .J. E. Finney, Huntingdon, Ark. 233 The Economics of the Coal Industry Carl Scholz, Chicago 241 The Condition of the Bituminous Coal Industry A. J. Moorshead, St. Louis, Mo. 246 The Condition of the Bituminous Coal Mining Industry Walter S. Bogle, Chicago 254 Sherman Anti-Trust Law with Special Reference to the Coal Mining Indus- try D. W. Kuhn, Pittsburgh 257 Anti-Trust Laws in Their Relation to the Mining Industry Walter Williams, Benton, III. 280 What the West Needs in Coal Land Legislation Dr. George Otis Smith, Washington, D. C. 285 The Future of Alaska Coal Dr. Alfred H. Brooks, Washington, D. C. 291 The Alaskan Question George E. Baldwin, Valdes, Alaska 299 Wanted, an Informal Public Sentiment to Support a New Federal Policy Toward Alaska Henry R. Harriman, Seattle, Wash. 309 Transportation in Alaska Duncan M. Stewart, Seward, Alaska 320 The High Grade Coals of Alaska William Griffith, Scranton, Pa. 329 Conservation vs. Encouragement Martin Fishback, El Paso, Texas 334 Coal and Transportation in Alaska Maurice D. Leehey, Seattle, Wash. 337 The Alaskan Coal Situation Falcon Joslin, Fairbanks, Alaska 351 Alaskan Problems Hon. Walter L. 'Fisher, Secretary of the Interior 363 The Relation of Congress to the Mining Industry Dr. Martin D. Foster, Washington, D. C. 390 The Federal Government and the Mining Industry Hon. William Howard Taft, President of the United States 394 RESOLUTIONS SUBJECT INTRODUCED BY PAGE DISPOSITION PAGE 'l 'Metallurgical Teatlng Stations. . Harry S. Joseph 35 Substitute Adopted.. S9 2 Bituminous Coal Industry Kanawha Coal Opera- ' tors' Ass'n 36 Substitute Adopted.. 92 .. v]!iska coal Lands Valdrz Section A. M. C. 37 Substitute Adopted.. 96 l' Miners' Wage S.-ale Js. Flotchor 37 Tabled - 5 Deep Wat.Txvays B. W. Goodsell 37 Substitute Adopted. . 9C 6 Workmen's Compensation and Anti-Trust Laws ','.., 2. T. Vinson 38 Substitute Adopted. . 6a Workmen's C..mp'iisatlrared by ('< mmittee on Resolutions. OFFICIAL ROSTER, 1911 OFFICERS. JOHN DERN, President. SAMUEL A. TAYLOR, 1st V. Pres. D. W. BRUNTON, 2nd Vice Pres. E. A. MONTGOMERY, 3rd V. Pres. J. F. CALLBREATH, JR., Secretary. DIRECTORS. JOHN DERN, Salt Lake City, Utah. A. G. BROWNLEE, Denver, Colo. E. R. BUCKLEY, 'Chicago, 111. SAMUEL A. TAYLOR, Pittsburgh Pa. D. W. BRUNTON, Denver, Colo. L. W. POWELL, Warren, Ariz. E. A. MONTGOMERY, Los Angeles. GEO. WINGFIELD, Reno, Nev. Dr. JAS. DOUGLAS, New York City. tGEO. W. E. DORSEY, Salt Lake. CHAS. A. BARLOW, Bakersfield. B. F. BUSH, St. Louis; Mo. ADVISORY BOARD. RICHARD E. SLOAN, Phoenix, Ariz. D. W. BRUNTON, Denver, Colo. THOS. C. BURKE, Sumpter, Ore. \\ r . T. PERKINS, Seattle, Wash. KDWARD HORSKY, Helena, Mont. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. D. W. BRUNTON, Denver, Colo. JOHN DERN, Salt Lake City, Utah. A. G. BROWNLEE, Denver. tDeceased. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES, 1911 7 STATE VICE PRESIDENTS. Alaska . CHAS. ESTMERE Candle Arkansas A. W. ESTES YelBville Arizona WILL. L. CLARK Jerome California . . .SEELEY W. MUDD Los Angeles Canada HON. H. H. LANG ' , Cobalt, Ont. Colorado . E. A. COLBURN Denver Delaware . HUGH C. BROWNE Wilmington Idaho J. H. RICHARDS Boise Illinois . . . . J. A. EDE . La Salle Kansas ERASMUS HAWORTH Lawrence Minnesota . . .E. L. DeLESTRY St. Paul Missouri . . .H. H. GREGG Joplin Nevada H. H. BROWN Tonopah New Mexico C. T. BROWN Socorro New York . . .DR. JAMES DOUGLAS New YorK Oregon J . FRANK WATSON Portland Ohio C. O. BARTLETT Cleveland Oklahoma C. N. GOULD Norman Pennsylvania J. V. THOMPSON Uniontown Sonora (Mexico) DAVID COLE Cananea South Dakota T. J. GRIER Lead Texas WM. B. PHILLIPS Austin Utah DUNCAN MacVICHlE Salt Lake City Virginia E. A. SCHUBERT Roanoke Washington MATT BAUMGARTNER Spokane West Virginia I. C. WHITE Morgantown Wisconsin GEORGE L. JARRETT. . . Platteville Wyoming EDWIN HALL Cheyenne COMMITTEES. GENERAL REVISION OF MINERAL LAND LAWS. E. B. KIRBY, Chairman. Alaska J. L. STEELE. Nevada D. C. McDONALD. Arizona WILL L. CLARK. New Mexico J. J. MURRAY. California J. ROSS CLARK. Oregon FREDERICK POWELL. Idaho E. M. HEIGHO. Oklahoma DR. C. N. GOULD. Montana CORNELIUS KELLY. South Dakota I. A. WEBB. Missouri E. B. KIRBY. Utah F. J. HAGENBARTH. Wyoming EDWIN HALL. SMELTER RATES AND ORE TREATMENT. E. A. COLBURN, Denver, Colo., Chairman. HARRY L. DAY, Wallace, Idaho. STUART CROASDALE, Denver. S. E. BRETHERTON, San Francisco, Cal. FEDERAL LEGISLATION. JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, New York, Chairman. GEO. W. E. DORSEY, Salt Lake, D. W. BRUNTON. Denver, Colo. J. H. RICHARDS, Boise, Idaho. GEO. WINGFIELD, Reno, Nev. ALASKAN MINING LAWS. HENRY R. HARRIMAN, Seattle, Wash., Chairman. J. L. STEELE. Seattle, Wash. M. D. LEEHEY, Seattle, Wash. FREIGHT RATES. TRACY C. BECKER, Los Angeles, Cal., Chairman. H. S. JOSEPH, Salt Lake, Utah. DUNCAN MacVICHlE, Salt Lake, Utah. FINANCE. E. A. MONTGOMERY, Los Angeles, Cal., Chairman. DAVID KEITH, Salt Lake, Utah. W. F. R. MILLS, Denver, Colo. < I K< ). WINGFIELD, Reno, Nev. B. F. BUSH, St. Louis, Mo. UNIFORM MINING LAWS. AS'. R. INGALLS, New York, N. Y., Chairman. IK. .TAS. DOUGLAS, New York. J. R. FINLAY, Goldfield, Nev. .1. I'. ('HANNING, New York. J. H. HAMMOND, New York. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION. JOHN H. JONES, Pittsliurg, Pa., Chairman. DAVID ROSS, Springfield, IBs. W. R. WOODFORD, Pittsburg, Pa. J. W. DAWSON, Charleston, W. Va. THOS. L. LEWIS, Indianapolis, Ind. STANDARDIZATION OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. In Coal Mines SAMUEL A. TAYLOR, Pittsburg, Pa., Chairman. J. R. BENT, Oglesby, Ills. H. M. WARREN, Scranton, Pa. GEO. R. WOOD, Pittsburg, Pa. G. A. SCHREIER, Divernon, Ills. G. T. WATSON, Fairmont, W. Va. W. A. THOMAS, Pittsburg, Pa. In Metal Mines GEN. IRVING HALE, Denver, Colo., Chairman. H. S. SANDS, Denver, Colo. CHAS. A. CHASE, Denver, Colo. MINERAL STATISTICS. GEO. W. RITER, Salt Lake City. Utah, Chairman. A. W. WARWICK, Denver, Colo. B. N. BLAIR, Joplin, Mo. OFFICIAL ROSTER, 1912 OFFICERS. SAMUEL A. TAYLOR, D. W. BRUNTON, President. 1st Vice-President. E. A. MONTGOMERY, CARL SCHOLZ, 2d Vice-President. 3d Vice-President. J. F. CALLBREATH, JR., Secretary. DIRECTORS. JOHN BERN, E. R. BUCKLEY, Salt Lake City, Utah. Chicago, 111. SAMUEL A. TAYLOR, CHARLES A. BARLOW, Pittsburgh, Pa. Bakersfield, Cal. D. W. BRUNTON, A. G. BROWNLEE, Denver, Colo. Denver, Colo. E. A. MONTGOMERY, JAMES DOUGLAS, Los Angeles, Cal. New York City. GEORGE WINGFIELD, CARL SCHOLZ, Reno, Nev. Chicago, 111. L. W. POWELL, HARRY N. TAYLOR, Warren, Ariz. Chicago, 111. JOHN MAYER, Kansas City, Mo. ADVISORY BOARD. RICHARD E. SLOAN, D. W. BRUNTON, Phoenix, Ariz. Denver, Colo. THOS. C. BURKE, W. T. PERKINS, Baker City, Ore. Seattle, Wash. EDWARD HORSKY, Helena, Mont. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. D. W. BRUNTON, JOHN DERN, Denver, Col. Salt Lake City, Utah. A. G. BROWNLEE, Denver, Colo. *State Vice Presidents and Committees for 1912 will be announced in the January Issue of the Monthly Bulletin. o - Ig S 2 *!. si Is* c_| -t; S 2 5 3 1 &: w a- / " f c^Bj^ep^ ^ ^ r k< LJ I O* ^ M o ftj ^ -p * frrfl ^ -9 lg| U 55 u g eg ^1,-jpfi IR ^Il 3 s" ^^ cj ' t %^ "^s "^ ^ r i ^^ OJM ti5 O ***J U.i oL^ -^ o^ u M g l5 8D ^T S 3 -3 'Jc * . ? 'Ji^ OH ^ ^* - O g *> if ^ ? Cn O ^ "S^'cSM^CJ I Q j^S.5 B S- Z "SB CO ^Ifsssja O S52^o-'S s ^ il BO Jlll?l SiliJLisilgl D. W. BRUNTON || JOHN DKRN DR. K. K. BUCKLEY E.A.MONTGOMERY 1st Vice-Pres,, Denver. Duecior, Salt Lak City. * Director, Chicago. _ 2d Vice-Pres., Los Angeles. A. G. BROWNLEE JOHN MAYER Director, Kansas City GEORGE WINGFIELD I Director. Reno, Nev SAMUEL A. TAYLOR President of American Mining Congress Pittsburgh, Pa. LOUIS W.'POWEI. wm Ct DR. JAMES DOUGLAS Director, New York. CARL SCUOI.Z Vice Pies., Chicagc OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 1912 REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE Fourteenth Annual Session of the American Mining Congress. Chicago, Illinois, October 24-28, 1911. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1911. Opening Session. 2:00 O'clock P. M. The Fourteenth Annual Session of the American Mining Congress, held at Chicago, Illinois, October 24-28, 1911, was called to order by Mr. C. M. Moderwell, Chairman of the Local Executive Committee, Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock. Invocation by the Very Reverend Dean Walter T. Summer. MR. MODERWELL: Gentlemen of the American Mining Con- gress: I make my appearance before you today because I happen to be connected with the local arrangements committee. Our work is practically done, except that we want to see to your comfort while you are here, and see that you have your share of pleasure and do your share of the work. We all greatly regret the serious accident which prevents Gov- ernor Deneen from being with us but we are glad that he has sent as his personal representative, Dr. H. H. Stock, Professor of Mining En- gineering, University of Illinois, who will now welcome the delegates on behalf of the Governor and the state of Illinois. DR. STORK: The position of a substitute speaker is always an unfortunate one, for those who must hear him as well as for the substi- tute. In the present instance the substitution is particularly unfortunate and regrettable as the Governor of Illinois, who was scheduled to wel- come the American Mining Congress to the state, is prevented from being present by illness and injury. As most of those present know, about two months ago Governor Deneen broke his leg while attempting to save others from being injured and has since then been confined to the house. He was, how- ever, recovering nicely and confidently expected to address the Con- gress in person until four days ago, when he slipped and again wrenched his leg so severely as to materially increase his period of confinement to the house. He has therefore, delegated me to bid you a most cordial welcome to the state of Illinois and to express his hope that the Chicago session of the American Mining Congress will be the most successful one in its history and one at which measures may be inaugurated that will work for the advancement of the mining industry throughout the world. Governor Deneen expected to speak upon recent legislation in Illinois affecting the conservation of life, resources, property and the rights of employer and employe. It is his desire that I outline to the Congress what has been done in Illinois during the past three or four years in attempting to solve some of the problems connected with the coal industry. 10 '-..-. ^ Speaking in very general terms the geological conditions in Illinois are similar to those in the other middle west states and not ma- terially different from those in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Alabama in so far as they affect the technical problems connected with coal mining. This similarity of natural condition means similar- ity in the mining problems and suggests at once the great desirability of similarity and uniformity as nearly as local conditions will permit, in the legal regulations surrounding mining, so that no one state may be placed at a disadvantage on account of the legal restrictions placed upon mining in that state. It is possible that some of the delegates to the Congress do not realize that according to the reports of the geological survey, Illinois ranks third among the mineral producing states. For many years she held second place as a producer of coal and is still a -strong competitor with West Virginia for second place, moreover much of the coal produced in Illinois is utilized within the state and an economic factor of considerable importance. Again Illinois is second in the list of producers of zinc spelter and second in the production of petroleum, and what may surprise many, it ranks third as a producer of pig iron. The iron and steel industry that is rapidly developing around the southern end of Lake Michigan bids fair to make Chicago and its suburbs a second Pittsburgh. These statistical facts are men- tioned, not in a spirit of state-praise nor to draw invidious comparisons with other mining states, but to emphasize the fact that mining prob- lems in Illinois are being studied not only from a theoretical stand- point but the investigations are being carried on in a region where mining is a very important industry and by men who are interested in the subject because of the lives at stake and the capital invested. It has been conclusively demonstrated that it is practicable, in Illinois at least, to have a commission composed of parties vitally interested in the industry suggest to the legislature laws that are acceptable to the miner, the operator, and the public. These laws may not be entirely satisfactory to either of the three parties interested but they are acceptable and they should not give rise to the same con- troversies as laws that are proposed by either of the three parties without regard to the wishes of the others. Three years ago the Forty-Sixth General Assembly of Illinois had before it some forty separate mining bills, some proposed by the miners, some by the operators, but none % acceptable to both parties; and in consequence the mining committe'es of the senate and house were at a loss to know which bills to accept. Late in the session when it appeared as if all mining legislation would fail miners and operators compromised upon two measures, one providing for the appointment of a commission to investigate mining conditions and to revise the mining code of the state and another providing for the establishment of a Department of Mining Engineering at the State University. These two laws may seem like a meager output for a legislative session, but each represents a basic principle and need in- the mining industry, and I believe those who arranged and agreed to the compromise laid a wiser foundation even than they imagined. The first law recognized the possibility of uniting apparently diamet- rically opposite elements by consultation and conference and the results of two years' work have shown this principle to have been a sound one. % The second law recognized the necessity and value of scientific training and investigation in connection with coal mining, a fact too long overlooked and unrecognized in the United States. The Mining Investigation Commission was composed of nine members appointed by the Governor, three .representing the operators, three the United Mine Workers and three the general public, no one of these latter three could be identified or affiliated with the interests of either the mine owners or the coal miners, nor dependent upon the patronage or good will of either one, or be in political life. Governor Deneen appointed as representatives of the miners and operators those AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 11 who were recommended to him by these respective organizations and those representing the general public were nominated jointly by the miners and operators so that the commission was absolutely free from political bias and neither the miners nor the operators could claim that their interests were not fairly represented upon the com- mission as they had entire freedom in the selection of their own representatives and an equal say in the choice of the representative of the general public. The commission first made a compilation and careful study of practically all of the coal mining laws of the United States, Canada and Great Britain, and in its subsequent work constant reference was made to all laws that had been passed, in an effort to combine in the Illinois law the good features of all of these other laws. In addition to the examination of laws from other states, cer- tain investigations were carried on to determine technical data that were not available. As a result of these investigations a number of separate laws covering different phases of the question were unani- mously reported to the legislature and all of these were passed prac- tically as suggested by the commission in so far as they concerned the regulation of the mines, the only changes made being items of administration and not matters affecting the security of life and prop- erty. Time will not permit, nor is this the place to go into great detail concerning these laws, but a few of the leading requirements that indicate an advance over previous legislation may be of interest. Immediately after the disaster at Cherry a law was passed re- quiring the installation of fire fighting appliances, telephones, and other signalling devices, providing for a regular fire drill and for the fire- proofing of shafts. A Mine Rescue Station Commission was established and this commission now has three fully equipped stations, one in the northern, one in the central and one in the southern part of the state .where men are always on duty subject to call in case of accident and where men are being trained in the use of oxygen helmets and other fire fighting appliances and in rendering first aid to the injured. The complete revision of the mine laws as passed by the forty- seventh session of the legislature fixes standard sizes of black pow- der, limits the number of shots that can be fired, prohibits any inflam- mable structure within two hundred feet of the, head of the shaft, increases the frequency of mine inspection, greatly enlarges and clearly defines the duties of mine inspectors, provides refuge places for the men at the foot of the shaft, requires men to be checked in and out of the mines each day, and in general aims to state clearly and dis- tinctly the duties of all those connected with the mines. A separate law regulates the drilling of oil and gas wells and provides for the mapping df the same. Another law provides for the investigation of mining conditions in the state by the State Geological Survey and the Department of Mining Engineering at the State Uni- versity acting in co-operation with the Federal Bureau of Mines. Authority was also given for the establishment of miners' and mechan- ics' institutes throughout the state but failure to provide funds to carry on this work will delay its organization. These laws indicate an attitude of progress and a desire to im- prove the conditions under which mining should be carried on in the state in so far as those conditions can be regulated by legislative action. The improvements required by these laws are all highly desirable and are suggested by good engineering, but they mean a necessary increase in expenditure- and an added burden to an already heavily bur- dened industry. While many other improvements could undoubtedly be suggested there is a point beyond which improvement cannot be made by legislative action without becoming confiscatory of the prop- erty. In the opinion of many, that point has been nearly reached in some states in the economic side of coal mining is amply provided for elsewhere on the program but several paragraphs from the report of the mining investigation commission apply very aptly at this 12 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS point not only to conditions in Illinois but to many other states as well and I shall therefore, quote from that report, which says, "The number of shipping mines in Illinois is greatly in excess of the number required to supply the maximum demand for Illinois coal. This has resulted in the actual annual average running time of all mines operating in Illinois for several years past being materially less than two hundred days per year. With a more reasonable adjustment of mining capacity to the greatest possible maximum demand (which is entirely feasible in so far as the commercial or physical considera- tions are concerned) it should be possible for the mines to be operated an average of at least two hundred and fifty days per year. The result of this condition is that all of the mine employes in Illinois (now about seventy thousand) are idle on an average at least sixty days per year more than need be if there were a reasonable adjustment of mining capacity to the fullest trade requirements. "Stated in another way, the entire force of mine employes is idle one-fourth of the time they should be able to work after making all allowance for unavoidable idle time. This has the same effect as though one-fourth of them were idle all the time. In other words, fifteen thousand men, in effect, are idle throughout the entire year, but held in the industry by the attraction of the excessive number of mines annually in operation. This is an enormous economic waste. If pro- ductive capacity were reasonably adjusted to the fullest requirements, it would still be possiblbe to spare fifteen thousand men from the industry to engage in other occupations where their labor might be needed. This is a severe loss to mine employes. Even when piecework or day wages are high, annual wages are low. "It is also a fact that in mines idle a great part of tire time a greater proportion of the outlay for labor is wasted in non-productive work during idleness instead of being applied to productive work in getting out coal. It is a further fact also, by reason of the frequency of periods of long idleness, that coal which might be mined under steadier work is lost by reason of caving roof and other unavoidable conditions arising out of idleness." The advisability of having more uniform mining legislation in states competing in the same market was never more urgent than^ at the present time, especially in order that the burdens of production may be equally borne. Governor Deneen recognizes this condition and in the personal invitation which he extended to the executives of the coal producing states than Illinois will enact legislation looking to he says, "It is almost certain that within the next few years other coal producing states than Illmois will enact legislation looking to the better operation of the industry. It is very important that these enactments, so far as practicable, tend toward uniformity. To produce results in that direction co-operative effort is necessary. A rare op- portunity now offers, it seems to me, for a conference among ourselves and with these gentlemen who are deeply interested in this subject and have given it much consideration, and who can be most helpful in securing the adoption of systematic co-operation, for the purpose of arriving at some sound conclusions that will assist us in the formu- lation of a general plan for future legislation in our respective states." While each state must of course, suit its laws to its local condi- tions, there are certainly broad general principles affecting the entire coal mining industry that can be the- basis of legislation for each State so that the mines in each state may enter the competitive race more nearly on an equal footing than they do at the present time. Next in importance to more uniformity in legislation is a cam- paign of education of the general public m regard to the coal industry. As is the case in every other industry the pre-eminent financial suc- cesses are the gage by which the general public measures the industry and it knows nothing of the many who have fallen by the wayside nor of the average conditions prevailing in the industry as a whole. AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 13 An investigation and publication broadcast of the amount of cap- ital invested in the industry, the cost of mining and marketing coal, in fact a systematic investigation by a commission or committee should do much to remove the prejudice that many now have against the coal operator and miner and should give a basis for the settlement of disputes between employer and employe for which there is now very little non-partisan data. MR. MODERWELL: It now becomes my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. John Bern, the President of the American Mining Congress and to turn over to him the gavel of this meeting. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Gentleman and Ladies of the Convention: It is indeed very gratifying to me as your presiding officer to see such a large representative delegation here this afternoon. I have attended a good many of our congresses in the past, but it is usual that our first session is rather sparsely attended,' owing to the fact that many delegates come a great distance. I have received several telegrams today from my own state, saying that the delegates are en route, but have not yet arrived, and will not until tomorrow. In behalf of the Congress I want to thank Dr. Stock, the repre- sentative of the Governor, for his cordial address of welcome. My response shall not be made at this time, as I shall speak to the con- vention somewhat later. As you have noticed from our program, a great many members of the Congress are listed for response. We have had at various conventions representatives from other govern- ments, both from the European governments and from South America. We have with us today a representative of the great empire of Britain, whom we bid welcome to this convention. I have the pleasure of introducing to you His Britannic Majesty's Consul General, Mr. Horace Nugent, who will now address you. MR. NUGENT: Mr. Chairman and Ladies and Gentlemen: Per- mit me as representing His Britannic Majesty's Government to express to you my hearty appreciation of the cordial words spoken by Dr. Stock to the delegates attending the convention from beyond the bor- ders of your great state. It had been hoped that the British ambas- sador at Washington would be able to favor us with his presence, and to address the meeting, but Mr. Bryce, to his great personal regret, fqund that the exigencies of his official work and some previous engage- ment would prevent his coming to Chicago at this time. Now, gentle- men, you are all aware that Great Britain has been singularly blessed in mineral resources; in fact, it is merely to state a truism to say to you that whatever success has attended our commercial and industrial enterprises has been very largely due to this fact. Therefore, under these circumstances it is not to be wondered at that we, both as a government and as a people take a profound interest in all concerning the mining industry, and not only from an economical point of view, but also from the side of the welfare of the miners. During recent years a large amount of legislation has been enacted in Great Britain, whereby we trust and hope many of the more satisfactory problems concerning the welfare of the mining community may be partly solved. Allusion has already been made to some of these enactments, and I have no doubt that during the sessions of the Congress further allu- sions will also be made to them. It may possibly be that you may benefit to some extent by our experience in this respect, although no doubt the conditions obtaining in the United States are in many respects very different from those in the United Kingdom. On the other hand it is perfectly certain to say that we have much to learn from you, and I therefore look forward with great personal satisfac- tion to attending the sessions of the Congress and trust at their close to transmit to my government a report of the proceedings, which proceedings I n'eed hardly add are, I am convinced, sure to be fraught with much interest and benefit. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, the American field of mining has offered many opportunities to our fellow citizens of the United 14 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS States, but a great deal of money is often required to develop and open up the treasures of the earth. Oftentimes our American pros- pector or mine owner who has not the requisite amount of money to open his mine and failing to interest sufficient capital at home, has gone across the pond to interest the people of Great Britain and France, and a great deal of their money is being invested all over our western field. Some of our very best mines are controlled by the people of England and of France. Their engineers rank high with our splendid force of engineers in the United States. They are always keenly looking after the interests of the people of their own country, and when those governments send representative men to our con- ventions to see what our engineers and mining men have to say with reference to their particular field, they are keen to learn and to ob- serve and to be able to report to their respective governments. We have with us today a representative of the French government, and it is my pleasure now to introduce to you Monsieur Jean De Pulligny, Director of the French Mission of Engineers to the United States. MONSIEUR DE PULLIGNY: Mr. President, Gentlemen: It is both a great honor and a sincere pleasure to address such an audience as is now before me, which includes most eminent repre- sentatives of nations, states and of the mining industry. It has been asked that I should speak a few words in behalf of French engineers and of the French secretary of state for public works whose dele- gate I am this evening, but it is with great diffidence that I have accepted the honor bestowed upon me. Indeed, I am fully alive to my own want of experience as an English speaker, and I cannot even claim your sympathy as a miner, for I belong to that branch of engineering connected with public works in general and with the building of ports in particular. Nevertheless, thanking very heartily the officers of the Congress for their confidence, I shall take up daringly the pleasant burden which they have so graciously laid at my feet and try to express in a few words what may be the principal ideas of an old-fashioned continental man about the vital problems put under your consideration. A greater safety for miners, more complete recovery of the coal and better methods of ore reduction, for the cost of all that, who shall pay the bill? What must the government do and what must it not do? Such are, if I am not mistaken, the fundamental questions which the mining men of America are facing on their path. These problems we have also found before us in the Old World, and long ago. I do not only speak of the French mining men, but also of the German, and of our English cousins, which have done large gallery work like good moles, and gathered a fair experience of metal and coal mining. I say that we have met these problems and I can add that we have worked out appropriated solutions appro- priated to our circumstances, which are vastly different from yours certainly, but, all the same, I think that our work may be of some interest to you. I feel certain that you have already begun studying it and that you will keep on that study. The inquiries that private undertakings have, up till now, started separately, you will now work out methodically and with the powerful resources supplied by co-operation. Your Bureau of Mines will verify and continue the theories and experiments of the French engineers, from Berthelot to Vieille, in- ventor of the smokeless gunpowder, on temperatures of ignition and safety 'explosives; your Bureau of Mines will verify and continue the experiment of my comrade, Engineer Taffanel, who has in charge the experimental gallery at Lievin, Pas de Calais, where he studies the spreading of explosions in coal dust and the sudden stoppage of such spreading by automatic showers of shale dust. In regard to miners' safety, you will find ample and careful regu- lation- in our laws. It has always been designed in accordance with AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 15 the mine owners and its working is supervised by delegates of the workmen themselves, so that safety is not only assured, but confidence is won. And I may say that the practicability of this scheme is firmly demonstrated by long years of smooth and peaceful working. On all these points your Bureau of Mines will gather most useful and complete information, including facts relating to the important subject of the hook-worm disease from our "Comite des Houilleres," which is a private board maintained by the French mine owners and from our public "Board of Mines," administered by an eminent body of Government engineers who enforce the compliance with safety regu- lations and the observance of proprietary rights of^the state, Many from this body of engineers have been' authorized by the Government to enter the service of mining companies and practically most of these place such engineers at the head of their undertakings. Such seem to be, gentlemen, the principal sources of practical knowledge open to you: Experience of the Old World, properly adapted to widely different conditions, and also new investigations conducted by the Bureau of Mines in your experiment station or in the mines themselves. When the conclusions resulting from long, careful and unpreju- diced studies shall be laid before the government and the public at large, showing a just consideration of tfie coal production as a private business as well as a public function, it is impossible that your economic necessities should be misunderstood any longer. Especially in this country the economic necessities force their own consideration before any others, and with this fact we need not be impatient, for it is only the assertion that a man must first secure the means of living before he can do anything else. Perhaps you must have patience and wait a little before you can attract due public attention to the mining interests. There are here many more questions clamoring for that attention than can promptly receive it, and the life of the American nation is so full of things needing to be done that it is impossible they should all be taken up and disposed of in the most desirable order. Now, gentlemen, I will no longer trespass upon your time. There is, however, one thing that I am still bid to do. It is to apologize for the smallness. of the offering which I bring you this afternoon, should you test it for quality or even for quantity. But this last defect you will perhaps easily excuse, as I have heard from wise people that a great deal of excellent advice is somewhat worse than wasted by being supplied, even to eminent gentlemen, in too great quantities or under inappropriate circumstances. Therefore I will say no more, except to return my sincerest thanks to one and all of the present members for the honor that has been bestowed upon myself. I also wish to congratulate you most heartily for having wisely understood that only by co-operation can you or any set of men hope to exert the full and legitimate influence of the large interests which they represent. And 'keeping the best for the last, .1 feel happy to express the hope that this session of the American Mining Congress may, as it has been said, open a new and prosperious era to the mining industry of the United States, the largest of civilized lands, the biggest of civilized nations! (Applause.) MR. HORACE J. STEVENS, Michigan: The gentleman from France has apologized for the scantiness of his contribution, and I think in testimony of the appreciation of this gathering it might be said that we thank him most heartily, not for the scantiness, but for the value, und we especially appreciate this contribution as coming from the con- stituted representative of our first and earliest friend among the nations of the world, the Republic of France. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: We have a distinguished gentleman with us representing Bolivia, The investment of- the capital of the United 16 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS States has been more or less limited as yet in that great southland, but with the completion .of the Panama canal, it is only a question _of a very limited time when American capital will be invested extensively in the southern republics, and their large treasure vaults opened for the benefit of the entire world. I have the pleasure to introduce to you Mr. Frederick W. Harnwell, Bolivian Consul. MR. HARNWELL: Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Con- gress: I was asked by the Bolivian minister to be present at the deliberations of this Congress, with the idea that Bolivia rtlight profit largely by the. Wisdom of this convention, and at the same time i .was also asked by ybitr honorable secretary to respond to an address f Welcome. I told him at the time that being a native of the United tates I was quite unfamiliar with mining conditions in Bolivia aild felt my inexperience and lack of knowledge, and that my feelings prompted me to. remain silent. Up to the time 1 came here a few mo- ments ago I thought my reason for remaining silent had been satis- factory to your secretary, but it seems that it was not. I attempted to decline because of my lack of familiarity, but in that declination 1 was keeping to myself what the Bolivian minister said in his letter, that he felt a very keen appreciation that this Congress had seen fit to ask Bolivia to be present and take part in the deliberations. Prob- ably many of you know much more about the mineral wealth of Bolivia than I do, merely a consul in Chicago, but I know that the wealth of Bolivia is in her mines, and that she is enormously rich in mineral deposits. The appreciation of the minister at Washington is very well placed, because I hope after the adjournment of the Con- gress to be able to report to him and to furnish him with the delib- erations which may aid in giving to Bolivia the experience and the knowledge that has come to this wise body of men along exactly the line of Bolivia's greatest resource and wealth, and believe the develop- ment of our mineral deposits will result not only in increasing otir country's wealth, but I have no doubt it will increase the wealth of many that are connected with this Congress. In my opinion the expe- rience of men operating mines in the United States along that great central backbone of the United States, which is Hkewise the backbone of the South American continent, has been obtained where the condi- tions must be similar, the obstacles to overcome identical, so that your experience is of great value and results can be obtained by you through your learning and experience quicker -in Bolivia than by any similar body of men. Gentlemen, I simply want to say in conclusion that not only do I appreciate the honor conferred upon me as representing Bolivia to express .my appreciation, but in that the paramount expres- sion of appreciation is that of the Bolivian Government. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Gentl'emen, when we western metallurgical miners speak of the different mines either of gold, silver or lead, being mined in the innumerable camps in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and up to the northern boundary of the country we immediately think of this coun- try as the most prolific in pouring out its wealth from the mother earth We Americans under our present apex law lay claim to extra lateral rights as we have the property over there; we even possibly go so far as to claim the apex right in Canada and go beyond the line. Of course, their law is according to vertical planes, and they will not permit us to follow the apex into their ground. When AVC are unable to follow the apex we will go over and acquire it in another way, but while there is a boundary line between the two nations, both belong to the English speaking race, and when you get over there you hardly know when you have crossed- the line, for pur interests are identical and our objects mutual. We have today with us a representative of the Canadian Government, and I take pleasure in introducing to you Mr. Thomas W. Gibson, Deputy Minister of Mines, Toronto, Canada. MR. GIBSON: Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen of the American Mining Congress: I feel honored in being asked to say a AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS \1 word in behalf of my native country, and I wish at the outset to ex- press on behalf of the Canadian delegation to this Congress our appre- ciation and thanks for the very cordial welcome which has been so heartily expressed by you, Sir, and by Dr. Stock. This Congress hag met for the consideration of weighty and important problems, some of which are peculiarly connected with the conditions in the United States, and some of which affect mining and the mining industry wherever situated or carried on, and I trust that on behalf of Canada, and more particularly on behalf of the Province of Ontario because I come to you accredited by the government of the Province of On- tario rather than by the government of the Dominion of Canada I shall be able to car-ry away from the deliberations and discussions of this Congress much information which will be useful and beneficial to my own land. Broadly speaking, the conditions under which we in Canada live and labor are the conditions under which you live and labor. The mineral resources of Canada are many and varied. We have practically every metal in commercial quantities except perhaps tin, and We have very many of the. non-metallic and useful substances. We have coal in Nova Scotia on the Atlantic coast, and we have coal in British Columbia on the Pacific coast; we have it in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and much of it is of excellent coking quality. We have iron, the other pillar upon which rests the fabric of modern industrialism, in all the provinces in considerable quantities, much of it yet undeveloped. Of the precious metals we have gold in the Yukon, in British Columbia, in Nova Scotia, and in Ontario. In On- tario the latest discoveries of gold in what is known as the Porcupine district have given rise to a very great deal of interest. The gold there is found in veins of quartz, and some of the surface showings have been spectacular to a degree. That district is not yet producing bullion, but doubtless it would have been ere now had it not been for the disastrous forest fires which swept that country in the month of July, and which destroyed the works at some of the most important and advanced mines. In silver Canada stands third among the silver producing com- munities of the world; Mexico is first, the United States is second, and Canada is third. Mexico produces 33 per cent of the world's output of silver, the United States 26 per cent, and Canada 15 per cent. This production of silver is largely due to the phenomenal richness of the silver mines at Cobalt. These mines were opened in 1904, beginning with a production in that year of about 2-50,000 ounces, and have steadily increased in output until in 1910 the production was about 30,000,000 ounces. For the present year the production will be considerably greater, so that from the opening of those mines to the end of 1911, we will say, the production of silver from that camp will not have been less than 125,000,000 ounces. I have no doubt that many of you are familiar with the mines of Cobalt, as they have drawn the attention especially of silver miners from all over the world. Indeed, the camp is one of the mining phenomena of the 20th century. In copper we have large resources in British Columbia and in Ontario. In British Columbia the copper is associated largely with gold; in Ontario with nickel; and the nickel-copper mines of Sudbury are the chief source of copper produced by the province of Ontario. Copper pyrite occurs in large deposits in the province of Quebec. The nickel mines of Sudbury are the most important in the world, and now produce from 60 to 70 per cent of the entire supply of nickel required by the commercial and industrial world. The lead and zinc resources of British Columbia are extensive. In the non metallic sub- stances Ontario and Quebec have large deposits of mica of a very high quality. This amber mica, so-called, is nuted for its flexibility and its resistance to electrical currents, and is therefore in great demand by the manufacturers of electrical apparatus. Quebec yields the best asbestos in the world, and supplies the markets of America. We have large deposits of iron pyrites, used in the manufacture of sulphuric 18 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS acid. We have probably the largest" deposits of corundum known. Corundum, as you are aware, is used as an abrasive; it is the active principal in emery. We have graphite; we have talc and feldspar and gypsum and phosphate of lime; we have arsenic in quantities sufficient to poison the whole people of the United States, Mr. President, if we desired to enter upon a campaign of that kind, and a little left to attend to our own people. We have petroleum and natural gas and salt. In fact, the mineral industry of Canada, along with the other primary industries of agriculture and lumbering, forms the main stay of the social fabric so far as its material and industrial side is concerned. We have before us many problems in Canada. The United States has been longer in business than we have. It started earlier, and it has arrived at a more advanced stage in its national history, but we believe, Mr. President, that the 20th century is Canada's century. We have within the borders of our land vast areas of agricultural soil second to none in the world. We have great forests; we have prac- tically inexhaustible mineral wealth, and we have a people whose moral, mental and physical characteristics place them on a level with any other nation in the world. Having these raw materials then out- of which to form a nation, we look, not only with hope but with confidence, to pur future. We purpose to work out upon our side of the boundary line many of the same problems that the United States has worked upon, and some of which it has solved on the southern side of the line. We desire to emulate, your successes. We desire to profit by your mistakes. If we can learn anything from the experience of. the past or from the observa- tion of the present, we can learn it .in just such meetings and such congresses as this, where are brought together the experience and the knowledge and wisdom of men engaged in a practical industry such as mining. _ Sir, standing here as I do, I am conscious that though I am on foreign land, I am not in the midst of an unfriendly people. The people on both sides of the line speak the same language, they think the same thoughts, they are engaged in the same occupations, and we in Canada hope that in working out the destinies which lie before us as a country we shall do so in friendly and harmonious relations with the great people to the south of us. We have had political questions of recent days which I have no doubt have given rise to a searching of heart on this side of the line, as well as on our side of the line, one of them being the question of reciprocity in the exchange of natural products. This was approved by the Congress of the United States, but was rejected by the people of Canada. Now that rejection, I ven- ture to say, was not due to any unfriendly feeling or want of regard for the people of the United States. Notwithstanding the apparent want of harmony, so far as that question is concerned, I believe that underlying all these surface conditions there is a great body of amity and friendliness common to both sides of the line. (Applause.) And it is under such conditions and with a spirit of that kind prevailing with us, and I am sure prevailing with you, that we desire to carry on the work of developing the mining, the agricultural, the lumbering and the other industries in which our people are engaged. Mr. President I thank you very heartily for the cordial attention which this assembly has given me, and on behalf of the Canadian delegation I express my gratitude for the way in which we have been received. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: The population of Alaska is not very great, not a great many of our people of the different States have traveled in that far northern country, the developments so far are very limited, and yet perhaps there has been more said and Avritten in our papers and magazines the last few years about Alaska than of any other state in the Union, and it is fortunate in a way that Alaska is on the top of the list with reference to responses by the delegates or representatives from the different states and territories. I now have the pleasure to introduce to this convention Mr. George E. Baldwin, of Valdez, Alaska AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 19 MR. BALDWIN: Mr. Chairman and Ladies and Gentlemen: At some future time during the deliberations of the American Mining Con- gress, I am scheduled to make a talk on Alaskan subjects. This after- noon I can only express to you my thanks and my appreciation, not only for myself, but for the rest of the Alaskans who are here, of having the pleasure of meeting with you. I don't care to take up any more time just now, but shall ask your attention and consideration to what we shall have to say when the Alaskan problems are discussed here before this meeting, because we in Alaska loolc with great hope and expectation for good returns from the deliberations of this Con- gress, knowing that you are a friendly people to us and having been so in the past I am satisfied you will be in the future. THE PRESIDENT: We will now hear from Mr. A. W. Estes, Little Rock. PROF. A. H. PURDUE, ARKANSAS: Mr. Estes is not present, but the Honorable Ransom Gulley, of Little Rock, has been conscripted to fill his place. THE PRESIDENT: We will hear from Mr. Gulley. MR. GULLEY: Ladies and Gentlemen: Our President says Arkansas. By solemn legislative act we are Arkansas (saw). (Laugh- ter.) My friend, Professor Purdue, of the University of Arkansas, has said that L was conscripted. I was a confederate soldier four years, but I was a volunteer. I have never been conscripted in my life. As I am expected to respond to the address of welcome, I want to say to you that we thank you from our very hearts for the cordiality, for the handshake, for the smile that has been given us on every hand, because we feel that we are at home in Chicago. (Applause.) The Queen of Sheba said after she. had visited King Solomon that half had not been told her. The half of this Mining Congress had not been told me before I came here. I want to say, and my very heart inspires the thought, I want to say a word of friendly greeting to my neighbor over in Canada. Notwithstanding your, rejection of the doctrine of reciprocity, we speak one language and I endorse your sentiments and I want to tell you that we love you and I want to say to my Eng- lish brother today that I always did love my mother. England was the mother of this country. We have gotten a little too large for the old lady to help us. Maybe she let us alone too long. I want to say to my brother from France the first speech of my life, the first dec- lamation of my life wasvdelivered in a log school house in North Caro- lina, and it was a eulqgy upon LaFayette. His name .ever has been a household word in all this country. (Applause.) To my brother down here in Bolivia, South America, I feel that we are about half cousins. I am from the southern part of the United States. But, my friends, I want to say .another thing, there is no North, there is no South, nor East, nor West in these United States since the Confederate general, Joe Wheeler led the boys in blue and the boys in gray up San Juan Hill and captured Santiago beneath the American flag. There is no North and no South and no East and no West. . (Applause.) I feel just as much at home here as I do in Little Rock. I am glad to be here and thank you for listening so attentively, although my friend, the Professor, said I am conscripted. - 1 am a volunteer. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: I shall next call upon Mr. W. N. Searcy, Silverton, Colorado, to respond. MR. SEARCY: Gentlemen of the American Mining Congress: I desire to express to you the deepest and most heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the people of Colorado for the very gracious reception you are giving us. Perhaps I feel this greeting a little more because my old home in my boyhood, days was south .of Springfield, in the state of Illinois. I feel that perhaps many of these delegates who come from the West, whether from Colorado, Arizona, California or Nevada, I feel that many of them in journeying from the mountains across the plains to the city of Chicago must feel that they are coming home. You can .hardly pass through a state in traveling from the mountains 20 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS to the East but what some western man will remark that here his boyhood days were passed. That leads me to remark that the relation between the West and the East is after all that of child toward parent and parent toward child. The sons of the eastern homes have gone to Colorado, to Nevada and to California, to build up those common- wealths, to seek their fortunes, and to undertake to build states modeled after your commonwealth of Illinois. As has been so forcibly and eloquently stated, I hope that this feeling arising out of mutual interest may be such that in this mining convention and in all the conventions this organization shall hold in the future, there may be no East and no West and no North and no South. I believe that the city of Chicago has outgrown not only the expectations of the western people who left here years ago and are now returning to visit you. It has not only outgrown their expectations, but I am not sure 'but that it has outgrown even the conception of its founders; destined some day I believe to become the greatest city on the American continent and the greatest city in the world. I desire to make the suggestion that I believe the city of Chicago is too modest. I believe it would not be immodest on the part of this great city now if it would undertake to put signs on its street corners so that strangers undertaking to pass along the main thoroughfares may read as they run, for we have got to run when we cross the streets of Chicago. (Applause.) On behalf of the people of Colorado we not only thank you but like the Missourians in their kind and courteous hospitality, we would like to say to you that now you have entertained us and are enter- taining us, and we want "you-all" to come sometime and see us. Col- orado cannot offer such a great city in which to entertain you, such wondrous sky scrapers; it cannot offer to you such sights of immense traffic and industry, but I- believe it can offer to you the most heartfelt greeting and hospitality which will at least emulate the gracious recep- tion you are giving to us. Colorado is preparing for you, Mr. Chair- man, preparing for the people of Chicago, and the delegates of this convention to visit our state and make themselves at home. I shall not undertake to tell you the mineral wealth of Colorado, perhaps you know that as well as I, nor its wonderful agricultural wealth, but I do desire to tell you now that we are preparing a highway such as has not been seen in our country before, a thousand miles in length. We are extending from the city of Denver to all those cities at the foot of the mountains, then across the San Luis valley and over the great continental divide to Durango, then from Durango up to the summit of the beautiful city of Silverton, and then down the Ouray valley, and down to Grand Junction, back again up the Eagle River, and across the continental divide and down to the city of Denver. In undertaking to travel on this circle you will pass the healing springs of Colorado at Manitou, the Wagon Wheel Gap, Pagosa Springs, Glen- wood Springs, the Waters of the Ouray, Idaho Springs, and we can only hope that as you journey over this highway through the state of Colorado every one of your ills may be healed, and you may come home happy and content. Beyond these healing waters you will be able to camp on the Rio Grande, catch trout, fry them under the spruce trees, and you will be able to gather the apples at Durango and Grand Junction and to eat peaches at Paonia, melons at Rocky Ford, and all the way around this circle you will pass through scenic grandeur such as the painter cannot reproduce nor the photographer bring back to you. One reason for responding this way to the very cordial reception which has been given to us, is to call your attention to the fact that in visiting our state, the people of Chicago will receive back some of this hospitality, and find means of escaping from the summer heat for up in the mountain towns summer heat is unknown. At the very time our newspapers report deaths in August and July, because of the oppressive temperature in the East, perhaps the frost will be glistening on the blades of grass along the streams. Now I AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 21 speak of these things, not to boast of my beloved state, but as an answer to the hospitality which has been given to us, and which has made us feel at home, and I speak of it in the sense of saying to these people who are so kindly entertaining us to express our appreciation of this wonderful hospitality and to say that now that we have visited you we will try to respond when you come to visit us. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: A great many of you perhaps may^think that it is rather singular to ask a representative of the state of Kansas to attend the Mining Congress, Kansas being considered strictly an agricultural and prairie state. But Kansas has great coal fields, zinc, lead, and other minerals, and in the true sense of the word is quite a mining country. We have a representative here from that state, and I am sure we will be pleased to hear from him, Dr. Erasmus Haworth, state geologist of Kansas. DR. HAWORTH: Mr. President and Gentlemen. My heart is full of one phase of the subject which I hope properly belongs to this con- gress, and with your permission I am going to talk about four or five minutes on that subject. From time immemorial, a hundred years at any rate that I can remember, and I don't know how much longer, the mining school teachers of the United States have succeeded in getting this Congress to pass a resolution at every one of the sessions in favor of Federal aid to mining schools. That is as far as that has ever gone, and I have concluded that one of the reasons why it was so easyjx^get such a resolution through the various sessions of this Congress is because so little attention was paid to it, not enough interest even to vote "No." We have now succeeded in part in accomplishing one of the objects of the organization of this Congress in the way of Federal recognition. All of us remember in the early days, ten, eleven or twelve years ago, one of the strongest efforts put forth by practically all the members, was along the line of having a department of mining organized by the government with a member in the cabinet of the Pres- ident of the United States. This has been accomplished in part, insofar as we have organized a Bureau of Mines, and Federal recognition to that extent has been given. I believe that the future welfare and pros- perity of that Bureau of Mining, which I most earnestly hope they develop until ultimately it becomes a department of mining (applause), will be fostered more by the establishment of a direct connection be- tween the government of the United States and the various institutions of learning which may be scattered here and there throughout the United States than by any other one individual agency. I have given a great deal of thought to this subject. I have tried to draw a comparison in history, and we have a fairly good parallel, it seems to me, in the great department of agriculture with the almost innumerable agricultural schools here and there throughout the United States. Now, it is common knowledge to every one that early in the last half of the century which has just closed, Federal recognition of those agricultural colleges was given, and all of you today I presume will agree with me when I say, it seems to be a true statement, that the stability that has been given to that cause through these various educational institutions has been the most powerful of any one factor in bringing about the great recognition of the agricultural interests of America that we have today. Only a few weeks ago in Kansas City was held the annual session of our great conservation congress. The president was the editor of of an agricultural paper, and the speakers, almost without exception, were men connected with the agricultural industries of America. In the session from beginning to end, those taking part in the discussion were representatives of these institutions, and finally we were told that there has been organized recently a national bureau called the soil fertilty bureau, which has among its membership all of the great men of America, and we understand the aim of this bureau is to foster agricul- ture. Its purpose is simply this, to put a government official, paid by the government of the United States, into every county in all the broad 22 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS domains of the United States of America. Now, the agriculturist and his associates have been discussing this subject, and they have been preaching it in season and out of season, and more than that, they have been acting upon it. They have been working with the greatest zeal that any set of men have ever worked within the United States, so far as I am able of judging, in order to get the government of the United States to do something to recognize them and help them give a million dollars today, five million dollars tomorrow, and twenty million dollars next year, and so on. The time has come, gentlemen, practically right now, when a large proportion of the members of the congress of the United States simply go down to Washington feeling that they must vote for a larger appro- priation for the agricultural department than was voted the year before because the people want it. On the other hand, the gentlemen interested in the mining industry have been doing practically nothing in that line. We stagnated, so to speak. All of you know that in order to get any public recognition we have got to be stirring around and doing something. I want in addition to make the statement of fact, which everybody who has ever been to Kansas knows, that we are exceedingly grateful for everything we can get, and we are always hoping to get more. I want to state that it is my unbiased, deliberate and invidual opinion that there is no other one thing the American Mining Congress can do, which will be one-half as powerful a factor in building up the future development and everything which we want to accomplish, as taking hold of this matter and getting governmental recognition of some form of institutions wherein we may have the fundamental principles of Uie great industries that we are interested in taught and developed from year to year, so that we wil have at least one point of stability in the enterprise and undertakings that we have established. Now, just one word further by way of comparison. I don't care what an organization is, it must have something to make it stable What is the history of this organization? We have had this congress called year after year with nothing about it to give it stability, nothing about it which tends to permanency, except popular interest in the grea mining industry. Sorh,e of our best friends in the organization realizec eventually that something had to be done, and the Mining Congress corporation was formed so that we would have a certain element o stability and provide a certain central point around which all these other interests would gather. This matter to which I refer is simply another step along that line. We will have, if we get an appropriation made by congress from year to year, and thereby governmental recogni tion-v of the mining schools of America, a second factor of stability We will then have something which is perpetual, something which coulc be called to the assistance of any and every move that the American Mining Congress might want to make in the future. I believe that nc matter what we may try to accomplish in the future, whether it be tin development of the Bureau of Mines into a department of mines am mining, covering every field of mining industry, or whether it be any thing else that works for the good of the great American people, the upbuilding of the mining schools would give us a certain element o stability that we cannot get in any other way. Therefore, I hope when a resolution is presented here at the proper time to bring about Federa recognition of mining schools, that this Congress will vote "Yes" on that resolution, and that they will express their vote in so loud a voice that the sound will reach the ear of every member of the Congre'ss in the United States. ^ Now, Mr. President, and ladies and gentlemen, down in Kansas in a mining way we are getting along very nicely. We are doing every thing that we can in order to develop those industries of which we have a few. We mine lead, ore, zinc, coal, salt and gypsum, and are develop ing valuable oil fields. I want to say to you that Kansas is in favor o anything and everything that is good which this Congress may bring AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 23 forth, and you may look to us to help in every way that seems desirable. All you have to do is to ask us. I am referring now to the gentlemen who are interested in the great mining enterprises of the states. I thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: At a number of "bur former sessions I have been sorely disappointed in not greeting a -delegate from the great mining state of Michigan, which perhaps has the greatest iron mines in the world, and which has boasted for years with every right of having the greatest copper mines, and held that title until Utah asserted itself and developed some which far outclass any of the Lake Superior district. Today we have, with us the Honorable John H. Jacobs, mayor of Marquette, Michigan, who will respond in behalf of that state. MAYOR JACOBS: Mr. President and Fellow Members of the Mining Congress: I can only tell you what we are doing in my neigh- borhood, and how we are getting along, and what prospects we have of improving. Marquette, in Marquette county, is the center of our iron dis- trict in Michigan. It leads westerly to Gogebic, Menominee, Dickinson and Iron counties; the ore is shipped from Marquette and Escanaba, Michi- gan, Two Harbors, Minnesota, and Ashland, Wisconsin. The ores from the border line of Michigan nearest Wisconsin are largely shipped from the port of Ashland. Now Marquette county is one of the originals of the old iron counties of the United States. The iron business was well- known in Marquette county as far back as 1854. The ore was then hauled by mules and horses from the mines to Marquette, a distance of about 12 miles. From 1854 to 1860 there were 3,115,600 tons transported in that way. Our enormous increase of tonnage since that time is best read in the figures, for theje have been shipped, exclusive of the output for 1911, a total of 96,296,717 tons of ore from Marquette county alone. Gogebic county has shipped something like 56,000,000, and Menominee and Dickinson counties about 30,000,000 tons more. The grand total already shipped from the Lake Superior district up to^ the close of navigation in 1910 is 493,489,562 .tons. During the past six years more ore has been discovered in Northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minne- sota than was supposed to have ever existed up to that time. Mining is being fast reduced to a science. Our shafts today are being built of concrete to make them safe and durable. The local managements include the best equipped men that technical training and experience can produce. Mine inspectors are appointed by our boards of county supervisors. These inspectors are familiar with all the details of practical mining, also the dangers incident to that hazardous calling, and their duties are to inspect the mine at least once a month to conserve the safety of the men employed in and around the mines. Some of the mines require the men before beginning work to sign a contract releasing the mines from liability in case of their injury or death through accident while at work, in return for which the com- panies stipulate certain payments graded to meet the degree of acci- dent sustained, and the companies also agree to provide competent inspection of dangerous places. We have the very latest machinery of all kinds. The Pioneer Iron Company is manufacturing charcoal. The Cleveland Cliff Company is purely a mining company, which is now improving its water powers, and improving everything in such a way that everything is very cheaply done and very easily handled. One thing I. want to mention, and perhaps a good many people here will be surprised when I tell them that we are manufacturing charcoal now in the city of Marquette, and from the smoke of the charcoal furnace we manufacture many, many different products, such as creo- sote, wood alcohol, rose-water perfumery, formaldehyde, white wine vinegar, sulphuric acid and many kinds of medicines. The great value of these products makes them finally the principal one and the iron the by-product. Between the iron and the wood the medicines are collected and then refined through the combination of both iron and alcohol, which are used to precipitate them in such a way as to make the different articles. We also make chloroform. It is simply won- 24 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS derful what is bejng done. When we first began our lake shipments to 15 cents a ton in a lesser cost of production. If we have a continuation of the Sherman anti-trust law operating and driving the small concern and the big companies into competition and enforcing that competition all the time, the result is that the little man must go out of business, although there is no unfair or illegal meth- ods of competition practiced by the larger concern. The big producer has the ability to secure large contracts at advance prices. He possesses in many instances machinery, cars, docks, depots, boats and storage plants that are denied to its smaller competitors. The big concern elimi- nates the middle-man, his expenses and profits, and such a continual and forced competition, where the struggle is so unequal, must ultimately drive the little producer out of business. I think you will quite agree with me that something must be done to save the "small producer from destruction, and I have been unable to think of anything better than the establishment of the National Commis- sion about which I have been talking. This commission would have the power, and it would be its duty to ratify and approve any reasonable contract or agreement between the smaller producer and the larger one that would eliminate the cost of sales and introduce greater economics in production. Or, if he desired to sell or lease his plant to the larger con- cern, the commission could grant him the privilege of doing so, without being subject to indictment and fines or imprisonment. But as the law stands today, if he were to undertake the execution of a plan whereby the smaller plant should desire to enter into trade agreements with the larger one, the lawyers in the case would tell him that he is in great danger of indictment and ultimately of serving a sentence in jail. If this commission of expert coal men had jurisdiction of these mat- ters and could administer the fund raised for the compensation of in- jured miners, it then ought to go further; it ought to have the power to prescribe the rules and regulations for the safe mining of coal. They could prescribe such rules much more intelligently than any legislation could possibly do it. You can select from this audience five men that would be infinitely better qualified to say how your mines in Illinois shall be served, how much air should be provided in this one and what AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 43 should be done to that one, than would be possible for your legislature. If this industry can be administered by the wisest, most experienced and ablest men connected therewith, then we may expect the best possible results; otherwise, I do not believe that we will be satisfied, or rather, I might say, our efforts here will not be as successful and will not help the industry as a whole over -all the country nearly as much as if we had it under one general governing power, composed of men of your own kind. MR. E. M. DELAVERGNE, Colorado: You did not state, I believe, who would pay the commission for the physician in the case. MR. VINSON: That would be a government expense. MR. DE LAVERGNE: You spoke of competition cutting the throats of these producers. You did not suggest any regulation that would prevent the producers cutting the throats of the consumers. MR. VINSON: The check on that would be in the hands of the commission. If the producers went to the commission with a trust or monopoly agreement asking the commission to approve it, they would not approve it. In other words, the commission would stand not only to protect the coal producers, but the public as well. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: In answer to one argument that Mr. Mayer raised, I would just like to call attention to Sections 5 and 6 of this law. In discussing this matter we have had just the argument brought before us that Mr. Mayer has raised, and I think if you read those two sections you will find that they take care^of that very thought, namely, that the party who is injured is in a position to elect to take the compensation and he is virtually estopped from proceeding against his employer under ^the liability act. The wording of these sections is very concise and I will just read them: Sec. 5. The provision made for indemnity of employes under this Act is and shall be construed as being in lieu of and in satis- faction of all claims for indemnity against any employer by any employe by reason of any injury received in the course of his em- ployment, and the acceptance of any benefit under the provisions of this Act by any person or persons shall constitute a bar against any action brought by any such person against his said employer on account of any such accidental injury. Sec. 6. The institution of any suit in law or equity by any em- ploye against his employer for damages on account of personal in- juries received in the course of his employment as aforesaid, shall constitute a forfeiture of said employe's right to receive indemnity from the fund herein provided for and the amount to which said employe would in the absence of such suit be entitled to receive from such fund, and in addition thereto his proper court costs expended in defending such suit shall be paid by the State Auditor (or other agency authorized to administer the fund) to said defendant employer upon the termination of such suit to reimburse him to that extent for the judgment and costs for which he may become liable in any such suit; the total amount of such payment, however, shall not ex- ceed the sum of five thousand ($5,000) dollars. The point I wish to make is that in the preparation of this law not only have we discussed this thoroughly, but it was discussed by various members of the association before this committee took it up, and the pri- mary object was this: If the person maimed or killed chose to enter suit against his employer, he would then not be permitted to get the benefit of this act. They either had to do one thing or the other. After they chose to receive the benefits under the compensation _act they were estopped to proceed under the liability act. I believe" this could be modified to make that clear. MR. MAYER: This law does not make an employe come under. You catch my remark? In other words, it is not com- pulsory, Mr. Taylor, for an employe to come under this bill. He is free to take either horn of the dilemma. If he has got liability legisla- tion he will take liability legislation, especially if all your defenses are removed like fellow servant, hazardous risks and contributory negligence. 44 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS If you have got those liability measures on your statute books as there are in some of our statutes, and you pass this bill, you can't compel the employe to come under this bill, and if you can't compel him to come under this bill he can then, if he has a good case against you, sue you under the liability act and stick you for any amount up to $100,000 for permanent disability. If it is a poor case he will take the compensation provided in this bill. For instance, if he hasn't got any case he will take the benefits under the measure here, but if you have got laws on your statute books against you, which many of us have, he will take whichever horn of the dilemma will amount to the most for him, and what we main- tain is that in passing this legislation that the defenses, those particular liability measures, applying to our business, should be removed. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: Replying to that question, I will say that came up in some of the states and if they were not entitled to sue under the employers' liability act, they were entitled to sue under common law. In other words, an act such as this is questioned because it raises the question whether any man can be deprived of his common law right to sue for damages. MR. HpRACE J. STEVENS, Michigan: That is not a common law privilege, it is a statutory provision. The liability legislation is a statu- tory measure. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: I understand that, but suppose, as in many cases, the states do not have a liability act and yet under the common law he can sue for damages, so that there is a question in drawing this bill whether any bill could be drafted by which the common law provision would be set aside; and in that event these two clauses that were placed in here were put there with that express purpose, that if they could force them to elect whichever benefit they would take, after they had chosen they would be estopped to proceed under the other. MR. E. L. DELESTRY, Minnesota: Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen- lam not interested in coal mining, but I represent such immense interests in metal mining in seven different states that I believe I may be heard just for a moment and give you the experience we just had a few months ago with a similar measure in the state of Minnesota, which fell by the wayside by adverse decision of the supreme court. I wish to go on record here once and for all and as heartily supporting the metal states of the southwest in the position taken by Mr. Vinson of West Virginia. To attempt any state legislation to meet this issue is a hopeless task. I was one of the committee appointed by the governor to frame a workmen's compensation law for the state of Minnesota. One-half of that commission was taken from the ranks of labor; the other half was divided into operators in iron, miners of building stones and manufac- turers. We endeavored to place upon labor its just burden of the com- pensation act, and we have had sittings daily for three months and pre- pared the bill which we believed was equitable and wise, placing upon the ranks of labor 25 per cent of the charge of the compensation, and we placed in that bill a repeal of all liability acts then in existence. We sent that bill to the legislature, and it was passed. The very interests whom we tried to benefit, the laboring element, instituted a suit and beat us out in the supreme court this last year. Now you gentlemen speaking for the coal industry must kindly remember that some of us have similar interests in the metal mining industry, and if you are going to pass a workmen's compensation act we ought to have something to say on that subject. It was the metal industry that secured for you the Bureau of Mines. It was the metal industry that spent its time and money in Washington, and while we are tickled to death to have the coal men come in even at this late day and join hands, let us go along the lines of least resistance, and the suggestion from the gentleman from Virginia is in my opinion the only practical conclusion which we as mining men and employes can ever reach. I had not intended to take part in this discussion. I would not go before another state legislature to try to get a compensation act through, AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 45 either in Minnesota or in Arizona, for all the gold there is in our moun- tains. Now, gentlemen, if we have succeeded to get in the entering wedge by the creation of the Bureau of Mines, and there is the man (referring to the Secretary) you have got to thank as. one of the men of five on our committee who was always on the job. (Applause.) We did the very best we could. We took what we could get as an entering wedge, and we even suggested the men who should run that bureau. Gentlemen, this is just the beginning of big things to come if we are to protect the industry, whether it be coal mining or what not, and the workmen's compensation system must be uniform and applicable to every branch throughout the United States or the United States Supreme Court will knock it higher than Gilroy's kite. You can't go in*o any state and single out one industry like coal mining and say we want this tax it must be made to apply generally. I have heard in the discussion something about paternalism in Ger- many. Thank Heaven we don't have to go to Germany. I know what I am talking about, because I studied in Heidelberg for four ye~ars. We can go to the Government of the United States and get such a measure as this advocated by Mr. Vinson, and my friends in Congress will surely support it and each industry that I represent will support it, providing the old liability legislation is wiped out. You have 44 states to fight with on one hand where you won't succeed, where you have only one United States Government, and when you get an interstate commerce proposi- tion you will succeed. (Applause.) MR. STEVENS: Mr. President, I would like to ask one question. If we secure a national compensation act along the lines suggested by the gentleman from West Virginia we will have left the specific statutory law providing for the collection of damages or the common law under which damages' can be collected in every individual state in the Union. We will be caught coming and going, too. MR. DE LESTRY: We have today a railroad commission to regu- late railroad rates, and an interstate commerce court of last resort. That sticks, doesn't it? MR. C. C. WOODSON, Arkansas: I wish to say this: Las* vinter we had a proposition something like this before the legislature at Little Rock, and there was one railroad attorney who came before the committee and said that the money which the railroad people paid out did not go to the man who was damaged in many instances. It went to attorneys, for court costs, and other things. He said the year before they paid out something like $1,200,000. He said some of it was spent very unjustly. There was one party who got $35,000, while probably 75 per cent of the cases that come before the court had been beaten, and he felt as a railroad attorney that if some kind of com- pensation bill could be worked out that it would be better for the labor- ing people, better for the working people, because 75 per cent of them that take cases into court get beaten. If- some kind of equitable measure could be gotten up through Congress or some other way whereby the employes of the company when they were injured could get a certain amount of wages so as not to increase the cost that they had been to in this suit, it would be satisfactory to their railroad, and it struck me as a mining operator that it was a very good thing. Just like the gen- tleman from Kansas City, I don't feel that we ought to adopt a resolu- tion asking Congress to tax 1 cent a ton for all the coal mined and then let the man who had a good case against us come in and sue for dam- ages and get $25,000. If they did I would not be in business long. I am not competent even to serve on a committee to consider these things, but these are points that the gentlemen v/ho are on this com- mittee should think about very seriously, and if we can work out this question through a compensation 'bill covering everything, why I say we ought to enter into it, whether metal miners, coal operators, or what we are. 46 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS MR. VINSON: May I answer the question asked me by the gentleman from Michigan? I had in contemplation that the Federal action in taking charge and jurisdiction and control of this matter would take the whole thing entirely out of state jurisdiction under the provision of the Constitution, that the Constitution of the United States and-- the acts of Congress are the supreme law of the land, placing us under the same jurisdiction precisely as that creating the Interstate Commerce Commission, which has denied to all states and state officials any interference with interstate commerce. This is Inter- state business pure and simple. As the gentleman said, who has just spoken, the very fact that this law would provide that the party who was injured would get his compensation would be: forever a bar from bringing or maintaining any suit; in other words, the operator would nay one cent a ton for complete indemnity against all suits. MR. STEVENS: It might be absolutely unconstitutional. MIR. VINSON: As to the legality of that I have got a brief upon the subject, and I will be very glad to furnish the gentleman a copy. MR. GLENN W. TRAER, Illinois: I wish to ask for informa- tion. Is it the view of the committee that this bill will protect the employer by reason of its providing that in the case of a suit by the employe under the common law or the ordinary statutory rights and a judgment in his favor, that this commission shall reimburse him? Is it the belief that the employer will thereby be fully protected against any sum that juries may see fit to give in an ordinary accident law? It seems it has limited the maximum amount which may be paid from this fund to reimburse for damages. In 'Illinois we frequently have verdicts much in excess of $5,000, and the verdicts are increasing right along. MR. J. W. DAWSON, West Virginia: Of course the committee understood judgments against employers would exceed $5,000, but they thought that the amount, $5,000, would equal the average amount of judgments that would be recovered against employers, and they did not think it wise to make it too large, for the reason it might run up, unnecessarily, and the charge would not let them out. MR. TRAER: I would like to ask- whether the committee then took into account the possibility that as soon as juries should learn that an employer was going to be recompensed in these ordinary actions at law out of this fund, as soon as they should "learn that, what means could be employed to prevent them from simply increasing the ver- dicts which they had been in the habit of giving so far, and which, .as I say, are increasing continually? What means could be employed in the view of the committee to prevent juries from simply making the verdict larger? MR. DAVID ROSS, Illinois: I will say briefly in answer to Mr. Traer, that the principal consideration that the committee had in mind upon that proposition was to take this class of cases out of the juris- diction of juries altogether. We have had now too much litigation on this subject, and it is not a legitimate subject for court decision. The entire purpose of this legislation is to dispense .with the necessity of having lawsuits, and the experience of countries where such laws have been in operation has been to do away practically with the necessity of litigation at all. Now even in the governments from countries whose constitutions are very much different from ours, they do not recognize individual rights to the extent that republics have done, but in the fundamental law of those countries the right of an individual to sue his employer to recover damages is recognized and is fundamental. It is a serious question in law whether that privilege can be absolutely abridged; the bulk of legal judgment is that it cannot, and that you cannot under any system of compensatory legislation, or of liability law, take that privilege from men whether they be citizens of American republics or subjects of foreign countries. Under the British com- pensation law less than 4 per cent of damage claims have been liti- gated; 96 per cent of them have been adjusted without question, and AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 47 settled to the satisfaction of everybody under the compulsory law of that country, and that seems to be the experience of all the other coun- tries that have had occasion and the necessity of enacting legislation such as that here proposed. Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, it is more of a legal question than it is an industrial issue, arid that is the obstacle today in the state of Illinois and in all the other states of the Union, and in the Federal Government. It is a question of just how far you can go in the way of law. To what extent can you determine and measure the rights of men? By what legal plan are you going to decide upon the equities between men and men? It is a legal question now, unfortunately so. We nave been compelled here in Illinois in legislat- ing upon this subject, to make our law optional. Practically ten other states in the last year and a half have enacted optional law. That means that the individual can accept the compensation provided for in the compensatory law, or that he might elect to disregard the com- pensation and sue under the general liability law. "Jhe opinion of the appellate court of New York, declaring invalid,' the compensation law of that state because it was compulsory, has induced the. other legislatures to pass such optional laws. The only general distinction in the list of progressive states on this subject is that of Washington. Instead of proceeding as we did in Illinois and in the other states pass- ing laws providing for specified benefits, in Washington they have exer- cised what you might call the revenue power or the taxing power of the state, and providing for taxing, if you please, the different hazardous occupations, and from the proceeds of such taxation secure sufficient revenue to pay the compensation provided for in the law. Under that act while it is supposed to be a denial of the individual, legal idea of freedom of contract, as generally understood, the supreme court of the state, and providing for taxing, if you please, the different hazardous taking the view that inasmuch as it deals directly with the health and welfare and safety of the great wage-earning class of the state it comes necessarily within the police power of the state, and under that phase of the constitution the supreme court of the state of Washington has affirmed the validity of that law, and that act will be passed up for the consideration of the Federal Supreme Court of our country; and prob- ably in view of educational influences that are everywhere at work on this and other problems affecting our life and our government, that court when it commences to consider that question may take the same view as the same court took on another question involving the real or presumed rights of individuals as it did in a case coming from the state of Oregon. The Federal Supreme Court affirmed the law of Oregon on the question as to the hours that women should be permitted or compelled to work, and it may continue that good work, as I hope it will, by endorsing the validity of the law of Washington making abso- lutely compulsory the compensation for accidents. We are coming to it and I don't think we can evade it. The issue is here in Illinois and has been for years back, as it is in every other industrial state of the Union. THE PRESIDENT: I regret that I am compelled to cut short this discussion, but your time has expired. Upon motion additional time was given. MR. ROSS: I had practically finishe'd with that branch of the argument. I simply want to emphasize and call attention to the ex- cuses that the average man has got to make to his better judgment as a reason why he is against certain proposed laws. When this matter came up originally nobody seemed to be seriously concerned about it, but when public attention was riveted on it, when it threatened to become the subject of law and of legislation, then the interest that seemed to be against the trend of such legislation urged that they were in sympathy with the tendencies of such laws, but in order to make them effective it was necessary that they should be made uniform, and that none of us could move until every one of the 93,000,000 of people in this country were ready to move. That condition has never hereto- fore prevailed, and it never will. You have got to begin these great 48 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS reforms in the localities where the sentiments in their favor demand it, and that argument, that objection, has been urged before and can be urged against any proposition. It was urged by the employers of Massachusetts fifty years ago when the legislature of that state for the first time proposed the imposition of certain so-called restrictions, providing certain regulations in behalf of men and women engaged in the production of the wealth of that state. The manufacturers of Mas- sachusetts made the objection, offered the criticism that localized em- ployers are urging against this law, that its adoption would handicap them as competitors; that they would be shut out of the markets, and that it would mean ultimately ruin to their business. As a theory that looks all right, but it doesn't work out that way in practice. The manu- facturer of Massachusetts lived long enough to realize that what they supposed was a handicap in business ultimately proved to be a com- mercial and economic advantage, and they never lost their place in the industrial scale, because of standing for and because of being primarily compelled to observe and ,adopt such regulations. Now, we hear the echo of that historic measure from certain states that have not yet sufficiently progressed to adopt such legislation as your report endorses; and that the employers living in the states yet under the old common law liability would be at an immense advantage over the employers conducting their business in states where compensation systems prevail. I think they have got the reverse English on that. I think that this advantage would be against the employer who is willing to stand the expense incident to the eternal test of what a man might recover under a general liability law, and not against employers who had come under reasonable compensation legislation. I want to say to the employers of labor and the delegation to this convention is made up largely of that class of men, and I like it for that reason, I like to think that this program has gone far enough to receive a favorable consideration and the adoption of a report from a com- mittee representing your membership as employers of labor who are ready and willing .to take this important matter out of the hands of pettifogging lawyers and center it on a basis of humanity, settle it on a basis of right, on a basis of honest business. I want to say to that class of employers, whatever state you may come from, that when your state adopts this proposition, when you know for a certainty just what you have to do with people in the way of costs, and when the men whom you employ know when an accident occurs to them what is com- ing to them, without the necessity of a lawsuit, it will reduce the cost of production, it will multiply the profits to capital and enhance the labor. Let us take the great broad view of the proposition. Let us be governed, Mr. Chairman, as far as we can, by the experience of others, and let us confront the facts fairly and fully and not waste our time dilly dallying with mere theory and indulging in baseless fear. I thank you. (Applause.) DR. E. R. BUCKLEY, Illinois: I would like to make this one sug- gestion if I may. I am very much interested in this discussion, but I ap- prehend that this entire matter will come before the resolutions commit- tee, and that it will probably be threshed out by the resolutions commit- tee and then brought on the floor of the Congress, and it is very likely that the gentlemen who* are speaking now will wish to be heard on that resolution, and I would suggest that as the time is getting late and we are still on the forenoon program, that the discussion be postponed until the time the resolution comes before the resolutions committee and later before the Congress. THE PRESIDENT: Doctor, I think you are misinformed. This is a report of a committee, and it is now before the convention for its adoption or rejection. DR. BUCKLEY: I would move you then, Mr. President, that the report of the committee be referred to the resolutions committee for their consideration. Motion carried. AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 49 MR. HARRY S. JOSEPH, Utah: Before offering a motion that I desire to propose I wish to say that some of us who have been attend- ing the Congress from year to year in looking around among this gath- ering miss an old and familiar face, that of Col. Dorsey, who has gone to the Far Beyond since our last meeting. I move you, Mr. Chairman, that it be the sense of this convention that the committee on resolu- tions bring in a suitable resolution of respect in honor of Col. Dorsey, he having served this Congress in the capacity of director for many years. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: I want to second that motion, but I wish to state that already there has been under consideration not only Col. Dorsey, but several other prominent mining men, with the intention of bringing in a resolution for each one of them. Motion unanimously carried. THE PRESIDENT: We will now be favored with an address on "The Copper Industry," by Horace J. Stevens, Houghton, Michigan. . Mr. Stevens' paper will be found at page 146 of this report. THE PRESIDENT: The next subject is a very important one and is to be discussed by the different state mine inspectors in attend- ance, "How to prevent Mine Accidents." The subject is now open for discussion. I am sure there are quite a number of mine inspectors here as delegates, and I hope that some of them are in attendance this after- noon so as to speak to us on this subject. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: There are quite a number of the mine in- spectors in attendance, but they have evidently left the room, and I would suggest that that subject be left for tomorrow morning. THE PRESIDENT: If there is no one here to speak on that subject we will proceed to the next one, "Federal Investigation of Ore Treatment Problems," by Mr. W. N. Sear. DANIELS, of Colorado: I would like to ask Mr. Malm a question. He will appreciate the fact that suggestions pertaining to the handling of low grade ore are received with just a little bit of sus- picion, and I would like to ask if it would be agreeable to you. sir, if a competent committee of metallurgists were appointed by this Congress 80 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS to take up the matter of the Malm process and make a thorough and complete examination so as to report to this Congress later on? MR. MALM: In referring to the new Bureau of Mines, among other matters, that was one of the things I had in mind, and we could thereby get the support of the Bureau of Mines in the solution of this problem without a large appropriation or perhaps no appropriation from Congress. Dr. Holmes has made mention of the fact that Dr. Douglas has been in a position to take, accept and install safety devices as sug- gested by the bureau for the conservation of life and of coal. Dr. Douglas has installed these devices and has demonstrated their value, isuch suggestions are exactly what the metal miners want. We do hope that the ethics of the Bureau of Mines and its staff will be such as to permit them to investigate metallurgical methods and recommend to the metal miners such as have sufficient merit to warrant their exploitation. Metal miners through the Western states are afraid of processes generally. They would, however, make possible a thorough commer- cial demonstration of any methods which claimed to solve the complex ore problem provided it was investigated and endorsed by either the staff of the Bureau of Mines or a committee of able and unprejudiced metallurgists appointed by such an organization as this the American Mining Congress in whom the mining fraternity has confidence. Mr. Brunton, Mr. Brownlee, Mr. Stuart Crossdale and- others of this Con- gress, have given this matter some thought and I desire to say that it would not have been brought to the present state of perfection had it not been for the encouragement received from these men. I would most certainly welcome an investigation of this method which I bring to you and would offer every facility. MR. DANIELS: Will a motion for the appointment of a com- mittee or a commission of experts be in order? (At this point Vice-President S. A. Taylor took the chair.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think probably it would be a question whether they would serve gratuitously or not. If they would expect to be paid it is a question whether the Congress would have the funds to compensate them. I know of no objection outside of that at present. MR. DANIELS: If a motion can now be entertained I want to move a committee of five competent metallurgists be appointed by the President of the Congress to investigate the Malm process. MR. F. M. RYNERSON, Washington: I second the motion. MR. DANIELS: I believe that thoroughly competent gentlemen will be very glad to serve the Congress without expecting any remun- eration; but if they do not I believe that so far as the interests of the metal mining industry are concerned, no money can be spent by the Congress that will be of more benefit to the miners, to the entire Rocky Mountain region, and to the Congress itself as money that it might be necessary to pay to competent men to investigate this Malm process or any other process that may be brought be-fore us that promises a reasonable assurance of success. If I may digress enough to speak briefly in regard to the Bureau of Mines, if a resolution that I had the honor of introducing this morning shall be adopted by the Con- gress, the appropriation even though it does not reach the amount named in that resolution, shall be made for the benefit of the Bureau of Mines. I believe that no part of this appropriation can be expended with more benefit to the interests of the metal miners than towards the investigation and reporting to us on this very important matter. Mr. Malm answered the second question which was whether he would submit to a thorough investigation by a competent commission under authority of the bureau of mines, and I believe that the present director of the Bureau of Mines if he gets the money can take up those very things. Now it is impossible to test these processes to determine whether they are available or not without some money, and these gentlemen who have the processes come to us and say we have got AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 81 it so far and can't go any farther until we have some more money. As I said, we are a little suspicious of Mr. Malm and some of the others, and we hesitate about putting up the money, if perchance we have it. If Mr. Malm, or any one else, can come to us with the authority of a competent Commission, appointed and acting through the Bureau of Mines or the American Mining Congress and can say there is good reason at least to believe that this process will be available, we are then encouraged to go down in our pockets. MR. MALM: Our industry is in a deplorable condition, if we can't get the contribution of the services of engineers for the investi- gation of the problem which is as important as fhis one. It seems to me enough metal miners and metallurgists of prominence and of ability ought to be found connected with this Congress to offer their services. The reason I recommend this is I believe that an investigation of this kind, working in connection with the committee on frauds, if you have such a committee, would be of . great benefit. I should like to see a committee of the American Mining C6ngress, or of any other scientific association which is interested in this problem, get at the facts and report. MR. DANIELS: I would just like to say if my motion does not include the investigation of any process that seems worthy I would like to so amend it. MR. E. L. MARTIN, Georgia: I don't want to criticise at all, but I know how hard it has been for this American Mining Congress to pay even its Secretary, and for that reason we have to be pretty careful about voting to spend money for this particular purpose, e'spe- cially when we haven't the money. This is the only fault I have to find about it. Our Secretary could inform us about our financial con- dition better than any one else. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: He might be a little bit backward about it, but I know the Secretary's salary is practically two years in arrears, so that he would likely not care to state, but I think the Congress ought to know that. I felt that we would have some difficulty in paying the expenses of the services of experts of this kind, and yet I believe with Mr. Malm that there ought to be engineers sufficiently interested to investigate these questions and give the mining world the benefit of their investigation. MR. J. M. DINWIDDIE, Iowa: If we go on record adopting this motion we certainly will show that we are somewhat interested in metal mining, and if we fail to raise the money to pay the expenses of these men and we can't get any to volunteer their services, it will not reflect on our intention at least, and I would like to see the motion adopted to see what we can do. .MR. HORACE J. STEVENS, Michigan: It seems to me while this is a matter a little outside of the proceedings, that we ought to pass the hat and pay the Secretary his back salary. I am willing to chip in $10 and. perhaps a great many others are willing to contribute. It is not creditable to .us to .leave matters in this condition. Upon the motion being put it was declared carried. MR. MALM: I should like to see that motion refer to all processes for the treatment of complex ores. MR. DANIELS: I have no objection to any minor change of that kind, that will accomplish the result. MR. STEVENS: My preceding remarks were entirely out of order, but it seems to me that something should be done regarding this two years' back salary. If there is no other way of raising it, why can't we get together and square it up? MR. RYNERSON: I rise to a question of personal privilege. I move you, if it is in order that tomorrow morning after the reading of the minutes of this Congress, that this debt of the Secretary be made a special order of business, that it might be taken up and the debt liquidated, so far as possible, anyway. Motion unanimously carried. 82 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: We have a little time and I notice that we passed over the discussion under the five-minute rule of Dr. Smith's paper. We will now hear any remarks or discussion of that paper, if ^there be any. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: Mr. President, I would like to make an explanation of a statement which I think Dr. Smith did intend to make. The statement was made by Dr. Smith that all the money received from the Government lands in the West was returned to the West through the reclamation service. In a way that is true, but it amounts to a borrowing of this money and not a payment to the West. The money becomes a mortgage upon the land which is to be reclaimed, and will eventually be paid back to the United States treasury. While the reclamation work is of great value to the West it is hardly fair to say that this money is paid back to the West; it is loaned back to the West. MR. DANIELS: I would like to say just a word by way per- haps of something that might be termed as ultra conservationism. It was with a very great deal of pleasure and interest that I listened this afternoon to two of the most intelligent and temperate discussions of this question that it has ever been my lot to hear, but if we will stop for a moment to think that it was the violation of law that made ultra conservationism. we will appreciate at once that there was some reason for it. I am minded to think of the different sentiment that is exhibited in this Congress from time to time in regard to the administration of the forestry bureau. I believe that some of those present, none of those perhaps who read the report of the forestry committee appointed by this Congress which was presented to the session at Goldfield two years ago, will accuse any member of' that committee of being preju- diced in favor of the then administration of the forestry bureau. That committee up to the time that I ceased to be a member of it, existed for about a year and half. It invited complaint from all over the Rocky Mountain region; it investigated the complaints carefully, and the net result was that it could find no good cause of complaint against the administration of the forestry bureau that was not immediately rem- edied when brought to the attention of the proper officers, except one complaint concerning the use of timber. Perhaps because there was no one to defend it this report was practically kicked under the table and the members of the committee with it, because the session at Goldfield, as it has been reported to me, would not listen to anything in the way of criticism of Mr. Pinchot. We seem to have drifted a long way on the other side. Now this committee found what has been my own observation, so far as the state of Colorado is concerned, during an experience of about 16 years of metal mining, that the great trouble with the forestry bureau, the great cause of complaint was the method necessary to comply with the law in locating and proving up mineral claims. There were abuses by over zealous employes and by employes that, as has been said, by some one, deemed themselves autocrats by virtue of their position, but those abuses after they came to the knowledge of the forestry com- mittee as then composed, were remedied just as soon as they were properly brought to the attention of the proper officers. There was at one time a rule of the bureau requiring that a- ranger should pass upon a claim and say whether it was likely to make a paying mine or not, before the approval of the application for a patent. Well, that was one of the most absurd things that was ever thought of, but when it was brought to Mr. Pinchot's attention it was remedied. There is no such requirement as that now, and has not been for more than two years, and yet within the past three months the Governor of that great mining state has said that it is still the practice of the forestry bureau. I have no brief to defend the forestry bureau, or the ex-forester, but let us give fair, honest and candid treatment. MR. DINWIDDIE: Mr. Chairman, have you a committee on fraud, to report? AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS . 83 SECRETARY CALLBREATH: There was no such committee appointed last year. MR. DTNWIDDIE: I notice in the proceedings of 1909 that a resolution was offered asking those interested to urge both state and Nation to pass a law requiring sworn statements of the conditions of mines. That was in connection with the item of fraud. It seems to me that they commenced after the fraud had been committed. What I want to argue for and in the interest of a revival of legitimate mining, is that there should be such a committee and that the committee should provide that the public should Icnow from whence the land came out of which the claim was made, what it cost, what it is capitalized for, what the promoter got out of it, and there should be no permission to sell promoters stock until the treasury stock is exhausted. To put those things in a way accessible to the public before the mine was sold, before it was promoted, would be a step in the right way to prevent fraud, and then when we investigate we know what we are doing. 1 believe that would revive legitimate mining conditions in our country and prevent promoters from disgracing the mining industry. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: May I say a word on the sub- ject? I have felt during all my time as Secretary of the Mining Con- gress that the subject which has just been under discussion was one of the most important items of work which the Mining Congress could carry on. I have felt that no effort would be of greater service than that which would protect the mining investor against unfair promo- tion, and direct him into those channels into which he might hope for a profit. What the West needs is the greater development of its min- eral resources, and what the Nation needs is that there shall be greater development of her gold resources. We are all agreed that the financial condition of our country is fundamentally wrong. We are through commissions and otherwise attempting to frame some method by which the present dangerous condition can be averted. When California produced $50,000,000 worth of gold in 'a year there was no money stringency in this country, and whenever the time comes that our Western mountains, pouring forth their stream of gold, shall again produce a proportionate amount, all our monetary commissions can retire. We will have no further use for them. How are we going to do that? We must do it by honest, intelligent development work. We must do it by the encouragement of those men like our friend who stood before you this afternoon with a process, by which he believes that he can solve the treatment of low grade ores on an economical basis. The great wealth of the West is not in the high grade ore which we hear so much about. It is not the Independence and the Portland and the other big gold producing mines, but it is the low grade ore where a difference of 50-cents a ton in the cost of treatment or in trans- portation would make the difference between success and failure in management. How are we going to work this out? By intelligent and continued development work and investigation along the various lines. One of the things which the West needed through the Bureau of Mines was that it might carry on to a final conclusion the very investiga- tion which has been carried on thus far through what is known as the Malm process. The word process is a hateful word. Hundreds of men have lost fortunes by trying to develop secret processes because they were not smart enough to understand whether the man presenting the process to them was telling the truth or not. Men have shown by labora- tory tests something which apparently looked good by which the process man seemed able to take out of the ore values which assayers could not find, and hundreds of men have invested their money and lost. The mention of a secret process is hateful, and yet we must not lose sight of the fact that it is only through investigation that better results can be obtained. Nature put these values in the ore, and there must be some scientific process by which we can crawl into the hole which nature went in and come out with the values of all those metals, ready for the market. This is not the work of a day. It is the work of years. 84 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS It is not a work which is going to cost a few dollars; it is going to cost thousands and possible hundreds of thousands of dollars to carry out such scientific investigation as will enable us to reverse the process of nature. Today we are paying thousands of dollars to the smelters to buy coal and coke to burn up certain parts of the ore and send it off into the air through the smokestack, in order that we may get the residue of mineral value, often burning out more than we recover. This enormous waste should be prevented. Its prevention will be real conservation. The protection of investors is a necessary element entering into this investigation, because just to the extent that you have money invested in honest, intelligent development enterprises you will have the men back of the investigations which will lead to the final result. You will have the men in the field who will insist that Congress shall open the door to appropriations by which the Bureau ot Mines can be authorized to carry on these investigations. In making the last appropriation we secured for the Bureau of Mines Congress deliberately took out of the appropriation act those words which refer to the precious metal mining of the West. We were help- less. The man who went to Washington in that behalf was not able to go at the opening of Congress because there was no money in the treasury to meet the expense. When he did go the appropriation bill was so far made up that it was impossible to secure a change. And so the act was emasculated, and when we get down to the point where there was a reference to precious metals, those words were stricken out. .The reason is simple enough. In a general way we all endorse the principle. We all know that the expenses of the National Gov- ernment are a great deal more than they should be. We know that when a door is open to any new line of appropriations that it continues to open wider and wider. The members of Congress who opposed those appropriations opposed them for the very same reason that they opposed the Bureau of Mines bill. Because it opened a door to a new line of appropriations. The Bureau of Mines bill was passed at the request of the precious metal miners, but with special reference to the protection of the lives of miners in the coal mines. Without the aid and sympathy of the coal miners we never could have secured the sup- port which opened this door. We have the same fight over the first appropriation for precious metal mining investigations and we have that fight to make with our coal friends feeling no particular interest. In the Bureau of Mines campaign they were interested, and I would like to say in response to something said on the floor this morning, that the precious metal miners succeeded in bringing about the pas- sage of the Bureau of Mines bill. I think I should say that the coal people spent very much more money in that campaign than the metal miners. The coal miners came to Washington one at a time and a dozen at a time, and went to the members of Congress and hefped us get that influence which enabled us to secure the passage of the Bureau of Mines bill. All of our efforts from the West would not have suc- ceeded had we not had their support. We are needing their support in this new fight and I believe they are going to be with us, but we must remember that this is personal to the West, the coal people have no special interest in that investigation, and therefore we must secure their support by some other method than by appeal to their personal interest. I believe the coal people will stand with us in this fight, but we must keep up the fight, and it is not an easy fight. f Some people think it is easy to go down to Washington and get a million dollars for some worthy purpose, but having gone through a few campaigns of this kind I want to say that to get a ten thousand dollar ap- propriation requires a long, hard fight, and it won't win itself. If we suc- ceed in that^we must have the support of a strong galaxy of friends back of us, and just to the extent that we make mining profitable, just to the extent that we secure new capital invested in our mines in the West, just to that exact extent may we hope to have men back of us AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 85 to help in this fight. Therefore, the work by which we hope to protect investments, is extremely and vitally important, and I have felt all the year that it was one of the most important things we had to do. We had committees for two or three years and some work was done, and fairly good work perhaps. One bill was recommended called the Pardee law, which made it a misdemeanor to misrepresent the sale of mining stock, remedial of course only, and we believed that it was the best thing that could have been done at the time. This law has been enacted by fourteen states. Now we are approaching a much larger field. I believe that the only final solution is an entire revision of those laws which authorize the creation of public corporations. Just so long as a cor- poration may pay up a million dollars worth of capital stock, with a two cent postage or four stakes in the ground, the state has set its seal of approval upon the opening doors of fraud, and therefore in my judgment this work is a work which will require experience and the complete and combined effort of the best men for years to ac- complish. I don't think it will be done by committees who just make it a little play spell and make a report to this Congress. You must have a committee that will work. You can't expect any committee on earth to look into these things and go to the bottom of these things, investi- gating the conditions in all the different states and framing up that plan which will meet conditions best, because it is a long, hard task, and will not be solved by the appointment of a committee. There are many different lines of work we ought, to carry on. I hope the day will come when we will have facilities to carry them on properly. MR. DANIELS: When I first became a member of the Ameri- can Mining Congress, almost my first experience was the report of a committee on mining frauds, dealing with the Pardee law, which was added to the already too numerous laws on the statute books for the punishment of fraud after it was committed, a'nd full and free discussion of the matter was prevented by what I believed to have been an unfair ruling. Since that time I have expended more than $250 in an effort to get a good law requiring complete publicity, which I believe is the only remedy for prevention, and I spent $250 of my own money, without any assistance whatever from the American Mining Congress. I presented a resolution containing a proposed law to the session at Pittsburgh, and it was there passed upon without any dis- cussion, because we had so much else to do that we couldn't discuss matters that were of importance to the miners. That law had been drawn up and examined and amended and changed by three or four of the best mining attorneys in Colorado, among them no less a well known authority than Judge Morrison. The committee on resolu- tions reported on that law that it contained good points, and they suggested and recommended that it be referred to the committee on mining frauds, and that it be affirmed by attorneys and reported to the next session. That is the last that was ever heard of it until I reintroduced it, or tried to reintroduce it, I don't know yet whether I have been successful or not. I left the Mining Congress, withdrew as a member, because in my opinion it has for six or seven years been standing up in bold marshal array, with courageous face to the front, drums beating and marching backward. I believe that has been the position of the Congress, and I believe that many of your gentlemen who will examine the proceedings of the Congress for the last six years with unbiased minds, and with this particular reference to mining frauds will agree with me. I am very glad indeed to have the assistance this evening of the able Secretary to the particular proposition of an effort to prevent mining frauds. We must have, to rejuvenate and make our Western metal mines producing, we must have develop- ment work, which costs money, and you can't get the money from now on until one of two things happens. We have to convince the man who has got the money to invest that we are honest and sincere, that the money he pays us will be put into the ground in trying to 86 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS make mines, instead of into our pockets, or else we have got to wait until a new crop of investors grow up. Which is the best to do? You can't legislate honesty into a man who is dishonest. The only way in which you can make that man honest is to provide that he must tell all of the truth in regard to his proposition, whatever it may be, and I tried for 13 successive sessions of the Colorado legislature to get this same proposed mining law adopted by the way, it does not recog- nize the sometimes assumed fact that the mine promoter is the only one who is dishonest, and the proposed legislation applies to all pro- moters whether they be metal men, irrigation, or United Steel. MR. MALM: I desire to make the suggestion to the board of directors of this Mining Congress that it might be wise to have a board of engineers convene either at Salt Lake City or Denver before whom the various process men might appear and submit their ideas. They ought to be invited to come before such a commission of engineers and I think if they have anything of merit they will be glad to and if they have not they will keep away. I wish to challenge the various process men to a discussion before the committee suggested, of the relative merits of the many processes, believing that the method which presents the greatest merits will be supported and thoroughly proven. I a'm willing to take my chances on being eliminated along with any of the others if it will be the means of bringing forth any method which will solve the question. Appoint this committee at once, as it is the most practical means of arriving at the solution of the greatest problem now before the metal mining industry. Personally I will be glad to present the fullest detail of the method of dry chlorination as developed by The Western Metals Company. MR. H. O. GRANBERG, Colorado: I would like to ask if it is of sufficient importance to this Mining Congress to consider methods that will truly conserve metals. I claim that it is worthy of careful and earnest consideration. I certainly believe the American Mining Congress should have a committee of a number of men of ability to investigate this waste and the various processes for the conservation of metals, whether it be iron or gold, to see if some definite saving could not be effected. Whereupon an adjournment was taken until 8 o'clock p. m. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1911. Evening Session, Auditorium Hotel. The meeting was called to order by the President. THE PRESIDENT: The first thing on the program is the report of the committee on the general revision of mineral land laws, by Mr. E. B. Kirby, Chairman, St. Louis, Mo. MR. KIRBY: Your committee wishes now to report progress and ask for a continuation during the coming year. In taking up the matter at Washington it was found that the special session of last summer would not undertake any general revision. A general resolu- tion was therefore prepared, and this will be introduced at the coming session this winter, by our friends in Congress. It will be to the fol- lowing effect: Committee report will be found at page 119 of this report. MR. KIRBY (continuing): Now, since it was found that we had to wait in this matter, your committee took up the question with the senators and representatives of the western states affected, and also with ^ their governors. Their replies, which I would like to read to you if there were time, indicate that they are thoroughly with us upon this question, and that the- American Mining Congress has had the general support and approval of the public men of the West to such an extent that many of them take the keenest personal interest in this question, so that we feel assured that at the next session this winter AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 87 there will be effective action by Congress on it. Since our program this evening is long I will not read this report, but simply add as one of the explanatory matters, its substance, which is that when Congress takes this action your committee proposes to bring before it a detailed recommendation to urge that they form a commission, .a wisely selected commission, authorized to draft a revised code for the use of Congress. This commission should hold public hearings in mining centers in the West and Alaska, and it should call before it men prominent for their knowledge of prospecting, of claims, of locations, operating of mines, and should invite opinions from the public bearing upon the specific points at issue. The authorities and experience of other mining coun- tries should be consulted, and the recommendations of the commission should be presented in the form of a fully drafted report. This, gen- tlemen, is the substance of what I will not attempt to read in detail. MR. HARRY S. JOSEPH, Utah: I move you that the report of the committee on the revision of mining laws be accepted with thanks, and that the committee be continued. Motion seconded and carried. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, we will now have the pleasure of listening to the Honorable Martin D. Foster, chairman of the com- mittee on mines and mining, House of Representatives, who will address you on the subject of "The Relation of Congress to the Mining In- dustry." (Applause.) Congressman Foster's address will be found at page 390 of this report. THE PRESIDENT: The first meeting of the American Mining Congress was held in Denver some 14 years ago. It was then organ- ized by the western metal miners. Little was thought at that time that we should extend our field to cover all branches of mining, but particularly had organized the gold and silver miners. We have had many very successful meetings; I don't think we have had any more successful than the one which we are now holding in your beautiful city. We have contended for years that the time has come when the Federal Government should aid the mining industry in the same way it has the farmer. Realizing that, we have asked and memorialized Con- gress for years to create a department of Mines and Mining. It was not granted to us, but eventually through the assistance of the coal miners in the Middle West and the East, with their influence upon their own Congressmen we .have succeeded in having the Bureau of Mines established, which is the first stepping stone towards a department which no doubt will come to us in time. I honestly believe we are entitled to this and I hope 'that the time will not be very far off. We have a gentleman with us tonight whom it is a special pleasure for the western miners to meet, a gentleman of international reputa- tion, and one to whom we are largely indebted for the development of scientific mining and the reduction of precious metals. I have the pi CD sure of introducing the Honorable John Hays Hammond, of New York, who will address you on the subject of "Mining as an Investment." (Applause.) Mr. Hammond's address will be found at page 163 of this report. THE PRESIDENT: It is indeed very gratifying to me, and I know it is to every other member and delegate of the American Mining Congress, that we are favored with the presence of eminent men, men of national reputation and men in high positions of our government. Their attendance at this meeting, their perusal of what has been said by many of the delegates on the floor of the convention, give them full information as to the condition in the various fields of mining, whether it be in coal or metallurgical districts. If it were not for the fact that you ladies and gentlemen who are here tonight are principally residents of other cities I would almost hesitate to introduce a gentleman who is a resident of Chicago, but I am sure a great many cf you have not had the pleasure of seeing the man whom I am going to introduce, or the privilege of listening to any of his remarks. I have the privilege 88 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS and pleasure now of introducing the Honorable Walter L. Fisher, the Secretary of the Interior. (Applause.) Mr. Fisher has recently made a trip to Alaska and has spent considerable time in that territory, has looked into the matter most thoroughly and is prepared to give us an intelligent report of the Alaskan situation. SECRETARY FISHER: Mr. Chairman and Members of the Min- ing Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is not my custom to read an address, but the importance of the matter is such that I have thought it proper to put my remarks not only in writing but in print, and there are some copies available for the members of the Congress who may pos- sibly be interested in the matter at the close of the meeting. Before taking up the subject of Alaskan problems I probably should add one more definition to mining to that which my friend, Mr. Hammond, has collected in his long experience. It is one which was given to me in the West this summer, and it fits this occasion appro- priately. A mine, it was said to me in the West, is a hole into which more money is put than is ever taken out. (Laughter.) Secretary Fisher's address will be found at page 363 of this report. THE PRESIDENT: Members and Delegates: I realize the hour is getting late and you are anxious to get home, but we have a little more business which is of great importance, and I beg of you to give us a little more of your time so as to finish it. The next order of busi- ness is the important business of acting on the report of the committee on resolutions. MR. E. L. MARTIN, Georgia: With the consent of the chairman of the resolutions committee I would move you that a rising vote of thanks be tendered the gentlemen for the very able and valuable ad- dresses that have been delivered by them this evening before this Min- ing Congress, Messrs. Foster, Hammond and Fisher. MR. C. O. BARTLETT, Ohio: I second the motion. (A rising vote of thanks was then extended to the gentlemen re- ferred to.) MR. E. M. DE LAVERGNE, Colorado, Chairman of the Commit- tee on Resolutions: Mr. President and Members of the Mining Congress: Your committee on resolutions is ready to report. I will say that the committee was composed of energetic, courteous and kind gentlemen, which made the duties of the chairman pleasant instead of arduous. Before reading these resolutions it will be necessary that this Congress decide upon the method of adoption, whether it will be as a whole or on the individual resolutions. DR. JOSEPH HYDE PRATT, North Carolina: I move that the report of the committee be adopted as a whole. We have had a com- mittee appointed of 35 or 40 members. It has taken every resolution presented to it and gone over it carefully and sometimes referred reso- lutions to special committees for further consideration, so that the report as presented represents the work of twenty men for two solid days. I move that the report when adopted be adopted as a whole. MR. H. S. JOSEPH, Utah: I second the motion. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, you have heard the motion. Are you ready for the question? MR. W. P. DANIELS, Colorado: Mr. Chairman, I don't see how any man on earth can vote on a question of that kind until we have heard that report, and I want to make the point of order that we cannot consistently and legally take any such action. THE PRESIDENT: The motion is on the method of adoption. MR. DANIELS: I understand it is a motion that permits us to either adopt or reject it as a whole. It is absurd. MR. JOSEPH: The report of the committee can be amended as each resolution is read, and then adopted as, a whole as amended. MR. DANIELS: I make the point of order against the motion, Mr. Chairman. The point of order is, as I am requested to state it, AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 89 that we cannot intelligently pass upon anything until we have heard it in all its parts. DR. PRATT: I withdraw the motion. THE PRESIDENT: The chair rules that the report of the com- mittee be read first. MR. ELI T. CONNOR, Pennsylvania: Secretary of the Committee on Resolutions: The report of the committee on resolutions consists of resolutions recommended and adopted by the resolutions committee. The first resolution, prepared by the committee as a substitute for Reso- lutions No. 1, 7 and 11, is as follows: Whereas, The development of processes of ore treatment capable of handling with profit the vast low grade deposits and mine dumps of our mining districts is of the greatest importance to the mining industry and to all related industries; Be It Resolved, That it be the sense of the American Mining Congress that the Congress of the United States be and are hereby memorialized to provide for the establishment, under the direction of the Bureau of Mines, of a metallurgical experiment ore testing station or stations for the purpose of devising methods for the extraction of metals from low grade ores, and appropriate sufficient funds for such purpose. Resolved Further, That the officers of the American Mining Congress draft a suitable bill providing for the proper carrying of this resolution and that copies of the bill and of this resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States and each senator and representative; and that the officers of the American Mining Congress use all honorable means to the end that such a bill may become a law. MR. DE LAVERGNE: Mr. President, in order that we do not have to necessarily reread these resolutions, I will move that they be adopted as they are read. Then they will be fresh in the mind. If there is no objection to that I will move the adoption of the first resolutiqn. MR. BARTLETT: I second the motion. MR. DANIELS: I would like to ask the chairman of the resolu- tions committee whether the resolution just read is all that there is in the report of the committee in regard to assistance in connection with the Bureau of Mines or appropriation for the Bureau of Mines, for the metal mining industry. I ask that question for the reason I want to introduce and move a substitute for the report of the committee, if that is all there is on that subject. MR. DE LAVERGNE: That is practically all. MR. DANIELS: I want to move as a substitute for the report of the committee, the following resolution: That the Congress disap- prove the appropriation for ore testing plants that are to be located at specific places and earnestly urges the appropriation of $1,000,000 for the use and benefit of the metal mining industry, the appropriation if successfully procured to be expended in the discretion of the Bureau of Mines. I move the adoption of the substitute. MR. J. M. DINWIDDIE, Iowa: I second the motion. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, you have heard the substitute offered by Mr. Daniels, of Colorado. Are you ready for the question? MR. JOSEPH: I rise to a point of order. My point of order is that this resolution was introduced at this morning's session in the regular way and referred to the committee on resolutions, and there acted upon, and the substance of that is contained in the resolution pre- sented by the committee. MR. CONNER: It has been stated that Resolution No. 1, as presented by this committee, is based upon a compilation of Resolu- tion No. 1 as originally introduced, Resolution No. 7 and Mr. Daniels' Resolution No. 11, all pertaining to the same subject matter. c1 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS MR. DANIELS: Mr. Chairman, I would like to be heard just a moment on the point of order. If that point of order is sustained why do we need to have this committee report to us, and act on their report at all? THE PRESIDENT: I don't believe the point of order is well taken. I think the motion offered by Mr. Daniels is proper, and it is up for a vote. MR. DANIELS: I wish we had time so that the matter might be gone into fully. I just want to say this as was recited in the preamble of the resolutions that I offered this morning, that if we attempt to get appropriations for specific purposes and have different specified places, we will certainly fail in our effort to get any benefit. If the director of the Bureau of Mines is not competent to take charge of an appropria- tion made for the benefit of the metal mining industry, let us put some one in his place who is competent. I believe that Dr. Holmes is en- tirely competent and that if we can get a reasonable appropriation for the benefit of the metal mining industry and leave it to the discretion of that bureau, the present director of that bureau, we will be doing the thing that is for the very best interest of the metal mining industry. THE PRESIDENT: ^ The motion is on the adoption of the sub- stitute offered by Mr. Daniels, of Colorado. Motion lost. THE PRESIDENT: The motion is now on the adoption of the report of the committee. Motion carried. The secretary of the committee then read the next resolution, introduced as Resolution No. 10, as follows: In view of the increasing importance and complexity of the mining and metallurgical industries, the deplorable waste in mining under present methods, and the great need of trained men to aid in improving these conditions and in developing greater safety and efficiency; Be It Resolved, That the American Mining Congress now in session at Chicago urges the. Congress of the United States at Washington to provide for aid and co-operation in the maintenance of mining schools in the several states in a manner analogous to that which has been done in behalf of agriculture. Be It Resolved, That the members of the American Mining Congress and the friends of the mining industry throughout the country are hereby urged to co-operate in securing the proper legis- lation necessary to carry above purpose into effect. MR. DANIELS: I will try to get in the band wagon this time by moving the adoption of the report. (Applause.) MR. JOSEPH: I will second the motion. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, you have heard the motion. Are you ready for the question? MR. BURROUGHS, Michigan: I think that is not the proper thing to state, that that shall be for the establishment of mining schools. I am not sure that Congress could be convinced that all the states would be benefited by mining schools as all states are benefited by agricultural schools. I would be in favor rather that the appropriation should be made for the development of the mineral industry, regardless of whether they are mining states or not. MR. JOSEPH: The resolution, Mr. Chairman, is in conformity with remarks made here this evening by the Honorable Mr. Foster. MR. BURROUGHS: Mr. Foster and myself had a little talk and this very point came up in our talk, and I think it would aid in bringing about the results sought by this resolution to make that change, that it shall be for the development of the mineral resources of the states, regardless of whether there are any mining schools or not, and if'there are mining schools that the appropriation shall go to the mining schools, naturally, but if there are no mining schools those appropriations should AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 91 go to those states for the development of their mineral resources, be- cause all states do have mineral resources. If all are equally considered in this matter, we can probably pass such a bill. I believe that all would be benefited by such an appropriation. MR. JOSEPH: You will remember that the first resolution pro- vides for the appropriation of moneys for an experiment station some- where in the states to be designated by Congress. MR. BURROUGHS: Not in all the states. MR. JOSEPH: They might have a bureau in every state if it were found necessary. MR. BURROUGHS: But I think it is necessary that appropria- tion should now be made, if at all, for the development of the mineral resources of all the states. I would move that the resolution be amended. THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Burroughs, the probabilities are, which is always the case, a start has to be made, and this will be the start the same as they have done with reference to coal mining operations for the men operating coal mines. They have not started all over the entire country, but they have started in a number of states and it is gradually extending all over the country. The question before the house is on the adoption of the resolution. MR. JOSEPH: I move the previous question. MR. DANIELS: I rise to a point of order that the previous ques- tion cannot be asked for when a gentleman is on the floor, has the floor and has made a motion to amend. MR. JOSEPH: The motion to amend was not seconded. MR. DANIELS: I will second the motion as soon as opportunity affords itself. I do not believe in stifling debate on these questions that are important to the mining industry, and there has been no opportunity as yet to second the motion because the gentleman has not yielded the floor and we cannot take it away from him by a previous question. THE PRESIDENT: By the indulgence of the chair the gentle- man has been permitted to speak, although he didn't speak to the mo- tion he did make as far as that is concerned, but it is not the intention of the chair to stifle any discussion. MR. DANIELS: I would move to amend that resolution by changing that paragraph or sentence to read "the scientific study and development of mineral resources of the several states of the union in a manner anala^ous to that which has been done in behalf of agriculture." MR. DINWIDDIE: I second that. DR. PRATT: I would like to say a word against the amendment and in regard to the original resolution. The amendment as it is made brings in two entirely different questions; there is a conflict between what the Bureau of Mines is supposed to do and the work the Bureau of Mines already has done. The resolution as introduced relates simply to schools of mining and in no way to the development of the mineral resources of any state. It states in that resolution that they shall be established similarly to agriculture colleges providing the states want them; they don't have to take them; they don't take them unless a state does a certain thing the same as they do with agricultural or mechanical colleges. To adopt the amendment you have got to go into a long explanation of how that money is to be expended and would bring in an entirely different kind of resolution in connection with the establishment of schools of mining; I see no reason why we shouldn't adopt the resolution as presented by the committee and let it relate simply to the school of mines established as the states want them. Upon a vote being taken the amendment was lost. Upon a vote being taken on the adoption of the resolution, the resolution was adopted. The next resolution, prepared by the committee as a substitute for Resolution No. 5, was then read by the secretary of the committee, as follows: 92 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS Resolved, That the American Mining Congress is in hearty sympathy and accord with the efforts being made for the construc- tion and improvement of all inland waterway projects. MR. B. W. GOODSELL, Illinois: I am the only man here that is a member of the Deep Waterways Association, and I want to ex- plain to those who belong to the great central west known as the Mis- sissippi Valley that I did offer a resolution here that read to this effect that we ask the co-operation and consent or assent or help or sympathy, or some word that would apply to that, of this Congress to what the people of the middle west are doing towards a deep waterway. It was changed by one of the members to simply cut put and undo the work that I had hoped this great convention would aid in. THE PRESIDENT: The question is on the adoption of the report of the committee on resolutions as to the last resolution read. Upon the motion being put the resolution was adopted. The secretary then read the next resolution, prepared by the com- mittee as a substitute for Resolutions Nos. 2, 6 and 8, as follows: Resolved, That we are in favor of so modifying the terms of the Sherman anti-trust law as will permit reasonable trade agree- ments between competitors in the mining business, whenever such agreements will not operate to create monopolies, or result in undue burdens to the public at large, and we recommend to Congress the enactment of such laws as will effect this purpose. Resolved Further, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Senator Clapp, Chairman of the Senate Interstate Commerce Com- mittee. MR. JOSEPH 1 : I move the adoption of the resolution. Motion seconded and carried. The secretary then read the next resolution, prepared by the com- mittee as a substitute for Resolution No. 9, as follows: Whereas, The brightest and ablest minds of this country are being exercised to prevent the gross unnecessary waste of our nat- ural resources and to protect life and limb; and Whereas, The present wasteful and dangerous method of min- ing coal should receive most careful consideration; and Whereas, Much relief can be secured in protecting the lives of miners and in the conservation of coal by the more general use of picks and the prohibition of excessive use of powder; Therefore, Be It Resolved, That we recommend that the prac- tice of shooting-off-the-solid be discouraged. MR. DE LAVERGNE: I move the adoption of the resolution. MR. S. A. TAYLOR, Pennsylvania: I am heartily in sympathy with this resolution, but there are some sections of the country that will oppose this very strongly. You take the sections of the country that are using their coal for the manufacture of coke. Their idea is to have that coal made small not for domestic use, but so that they will not have to crush it before they put it in their furnaces. I apprehend that the Mining Congress will come in for considerable criticism at the hands of those people, and while this resolution I believe is theoretically cor- rect, it will save considerable danger in the mines, but whether or not it is too sweeping is the question that arises in my mind. In other words, this same resolution has practically been brought about by the coal operators, and whether the intent of that resolution as presented was to make it an entering wedge for some purpose of that kind, I do not know. I do realize, however, that it will have a great deal of opposi- tion in some sections of the country. Upon the motion being put it was declared carried. The secretary of the committee then read the next resolution, pre- pared by the committee as a substitute for Resolutions Nos. 6 and 6a, as follows: AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 93 Resolved, That we are in favor of a fair and just compensation to working men for injuries received while engaged about their duties, one that will be just and equitable to both employer and employe, and we recommend- to the Congress of the United States and to the state legislatures the enactment of such legislation as will secure this result. Resolved, That the thanks of this Congress be extended to Messrs. John H. Jones, David Ross, W. R. Woodford and J. W. Dawson, the committee heretofore appointed to investigate this subject, for their untiring effort in aid of the solution of this problem. Resolved, Further, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Senator Sutherland, chairman of the Congressional committee having this matter now under investigation. MR. JOSEPH: I move the adoption of the report. MR. DANIELS: That is a resolution I guess none of us will be likely to object to, but it seems to me this great American Mining Con- gress ought to be able here and now to say something decisive as to what is fair and reasonable, or it ought to provide for a committee that will take up the question and advise it. I believe we are all in favor of any legislation on any subject that is fair and reasonable and just to both sides. The difficulty is that we sometimes find a very great ob- stacle and a very great difference of opinion in arriving at what is fair and reasonable. I move as an amendment to the report of the com- mittee that a committee of three be appointed to take up and investi- gate the matter as to what is fair and reasonable in the opinion of the American Mining Congress, and report at the next session. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: The statement has been made and it is a fact that the states in the Union that have attempted to adopt a work- man's compensation clause have done so, and they have in the main been declared unconstitutional. Without stating what state it is, I will say one state in the Union has adopted a workman's compensation law, which has been declared unconstitutional, and that will now be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States. By the time that decision is made the miners' committee and Congress will know how to act. THE PRESIDENT: For Mr. Daniels' information I want to state this matter has been in the hands of a committee for a year, and the committee on resolutions has acted upon the report made by the special committee which has been in session and working on that for the past year. MR. DANIELS: It doesn't seem to me, Mr. President, that that fully complies with the objection or satisfies the objection that I made. It is true, as the gentleman has said, the state of New York enacted a workman's compensation law which the state supreme court has de- clared unconstitutional. I don't know of any other state where the compensation act has been enacted that it has been decided to be constitutional. A DELEGATE: It has been declared constitutional in Washing- ton, and I understand from this delegate that Michigan has also de- clared the act constitutional. DR. DANIELS: Now that does not quite apply to the point I tried to make, because we have a great many laws that have been de- clared constitutional by our courts that some of us, and sometimes a very large class of us, declare that even if constitutional they are very unfair and very unjust. We have had a national committee or commis- sion on this same subject, and they have agreed upon a report, it has been so stated in the newspapers, that to my mind will be such a burden as will in the case of any material accident in the plants of the smaller operators, put them out of business absolutely. The national commis- sion proposes to recommend that the compensation provided for shall be paid by the employer only, and in case of serious accident what would happen to some of the little fellows who haven't got a million 94 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS dollars back of them to carry them through anything of that kind. I never have been able to give the subject very much investigation, but it seems to me that the only fair and equitable compensation law is one which shall provide that the general risk shall be shared by all of those engaged or interested in the industry where the compensation may be required. It seems to me that if a law is enacted that provides that every employer must pay all possible damages that may arise from an accident on his property, it places us absolutely in the hands of the in- surance companies. In my opinion, it is the only protection, and I be- lieve if we are obliged to insure against it as individual operators or as individual corporations, that the expense of such insurance will make the difference between operation and idleness. MR. JOSEPH: Question on the motion to adopt. MR. DANIELS: I believe any man in this house is likely to be as good as another when he expresses an opposition or wants to amend. It only takes a vote whether he shall be considered. MR. DINWIDDIE: I second the amendment. MR. DANIELS: What would be legislation in the opinion of this Mining Congress, to both employer and employe? I believe we should have some information on that point, and I believe we should get our position so that we can say this legislation is right and just, in our opinion, and that other is not. THE PRESIDENT: The question is on the amendment. All in favor of the amendment offered by Mr. Daniels will say aye; contrary, no. Motion lost. MR. JOSEPH: I move the original motion. THE PRESIDENT: The question is on the adoption of the report of the committee. Motion carried. MR. DINWIDDIE: It seems to me this Congress is willing to vote against a man simply because he opposes the suggestion of the committee. Mr. Conner then read the next resolution prepared by the com- mittee on resolutions, as follows: Resolved, That in the opinion of the American Mining Con- gress, the mining industry has been greatly injured by designing and unscrupulous mine promoters; that the stand heretofore taken by the Congress against this illegitimate business has done much to prohibit it; that the Congress endorses the action of the Postmaster General in his efforts to prevent the use of the United States mails for fraudulent purposes and that it urges the enactment of legisla- tion in all states to prevent such frauds and to increase confidence in mining investments. Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Postmaster General. MR. JOSEPH: I move the adoption of the report. Motion seconded. MR. DANIELS: I would like to ask if the two resolutions I intro- duced this morning because they were not written will receive any con- sideration, or be reported on? MR. DE LAVERGNE: Mr. Daniels, your resolutions were type- written, read and considered. MR. DANIELS: I assume then they are pigeonholed. MR. DE LAVERGNE: No, sir. They were considered and em- bodied in the resolution that has previously been adopted. I think you will see that they are. Motion carried. The secretary of the committee then read the next resolution, pre- pared by the committee on resolutions, as follows: Whereas, The effective and meritorius work of the American Mining Congress has escaped the attention of a vast number of interests that should be benefited thereby; and AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 95 Whereas, The public at large are directly or indirectly affected by the carrying out of the undertakings of, this Congress; Be It Therefore Resolved, That we recommend that a pub- licity committee should be created in the following manner, to-wit: One member from each state represented be appointed by the president upon recommendation of the delegates from state in which he lives, and these members so selected shall each select four other members from among the different mining industries in his state. The member in each state appointed by the president, together with the four members he may appoint, shall constitute a state commit- tee through whom all matters of publicity shall be conducted. The secretary of the American Mining Congress shall furnish the state committee with all necessary stationery, stamps and stenographic expenses as the committee may require. MR. DANIELS: Mr. Chairman, I move the adoption of that reso- lution, and for fear that I will be too late I want to give notice that I want to move an amendment. MR. JOSEPH': I second the motion. MR. DINWIDDIE: I understand this question received consid- erable attention at the hands of the committee, and I want to con- gratulate the committee on their success in preventing publicity in this city. I want to condemn this city somewhat for not giving some atten- tion to this Congress", a Congress that is worth as much to the country as this is certainly is deserving of at least as much mention as is the man who is to address it. I say that is not the proper treatment of a Congress of this importance. MR. JOSEPH: Mr. Chairman, for the benefit of the gentleman and the other members of the Congress I will say that your committee has dealt with that proposition in a sort of negative way, and a resolu- tion will be read here in a few moments, and if the gentleman desires to amend it some of us may second the amendment. MR. JOHN MAYER, Missouri: I think that resolution ought to be adopted as it is. I don't think we ought to find any fault with the resolutions committee or the publicity committee. MR. DANIELS: I would like to state my amendment. Possibly it will apply more appropriately to the resolution that is to come later. I wish to move to amend this resolution as follows: "That the Amer- ican Mining Congress send its' thanks to the press of Chicago for the extremely thorough manner in which they have reported the proceed- ings of the Congress for the enlightenment of the reading public." MR. JOSEPH: I. rise to a point of order. That has nothing to do with the subject matter of this resolution at all. THE PRESIDENT: I think the point of order is well taken. The motion is on the adoption of the report of the committee. Motion carried. The secretary of the committee then read the next resolution pre- . pared by the committee on resolutions, as follows: We have viewed with extreme gratification and gratitude the hospitality and good fellowship extended by the citizens of Chicago to our members and delegates and their families, and we herewith tender thanks to the State of Illinois, its Governor, the City of Chicago, its Mayor and others who have so royally welcomed us and made our sojourn here so pleasant as well as profitable. We especially appreciate the hospitality and good fellowship of the local executive committee and narticularly of Messrs. C. M. Moderwell, E. T. Bent and George Holmes Cushing, who have by their untiring efforts added much to the pleasure and profit of our visit. We also wish to express our appreciation of the many cour- tesies extended the members and delegates to the Congress by the management of the Hotel La Salle and the Auditorium Hotel. ^ OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS We especially commend the efforts of the technical and trade journals, International News service, the United Press and the Associated Press, the Chicago Daily Post, the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Journal in according publicity to the proceedings of this Congress. MR. BARTLETT: I move the adoption of the resolution. DR. PRATT: I move that an amendment be made to this resolu- tion to the effect that a vote of thanks or recognition be also given to the management of the Hotel La Salle and the Auditorium Hotel for many courtesies extended in connection with the Congress. THE PRESIDENT: The secretary will make that correction in the resolution. MR. GOODSELL: Just one word in explanation. Being a resi- dent of Chicago and being a reader of all the newspapers, I want to state one thing that may break a cloud that seems to hang over the papers. As a delegate to the great deep waterways convention held here two weeks ago, the Tribune and the other papers gave the formal notices in a very slight way until the convention broke up, at which time it gave, I remember now the Tribune gave four or five columns, a general writeup, that could not have been done by piecemeal. THE PRESIDENT: I think our technical press, for instance, the Black Diamond, Fuel, and the Mining World deserve a great deal of credit for the courtesies they have shown us. I- believe special men- tion should be made of those papers. MR. BARTLETT: The technical press ought to include Mines Minerals and all of those papers, for they have spent lots of money and they have been working night and day to get their papers out by Satur- day morning. If we are going to say anything about papers let us not omit those technical trade papers. THE PRESIDENT: With the unanimous consent of those pres- ent the Secretary will be requested to make the proper amendment recognizing the technical papers and the hotels. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: I feel while the committee has mentioned the executive committee, that there are two or three men who ought to receive special mention in this connection. Mr. Bent and Mr. Moder- well and Mr. Gushing have worked untiringly in this matter, and I know that it is only an oversight in the mention of those names. Motion unanimously carried. The secretary of the committee then read the next resolution pre- pared by the committee on resolutions, as follows: Resolved, That this Congress disapproves of the efforts of interested parties to have established national parks on the public domain wherein are known to exist deposits of oil, coal and other mineral wealth. MR. JOSEPH: I move the adoption of the report. Motion seconded and carried. The secretary of the committee then read the next resolution, pre- pared by the committee as a substitute for Resolutions Nos. 3 and 13, as follows: Resolved, That the American Mining Congress urges upon the Congress of the United States the importance of enacting, at its approaching session, such legislation as will bring about the opening up and operation of coal mines in Alaska, on such basis as may be best for both the present and permanent welfare of the Alaskan people. Resolved, That the president of the American Mining Con- gress, appoints a committee of five to co-operate with the Honorable Secretary of the Interior in securing the enactment by the Con- gress of the United States, of such legislation as will best and most promptly accomplish the above purpose. AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 97 MR. G. McM. ROSS, California: As a western metal miner and as a member of the committee on resolutions, I wish to express my regret that the committee had not heard the address of the Secretary of the Interior before they adopted this resolution. Had we done so, speaking for myself, I certainly would have endeavored to have had the great benefits promised from government control extended to a larger and more populous territory than Alaska. I personally would have en- deavored to have had an experiment tried in Illinois of governmental control, such as was suggested by the Secretary of the Interior. Motion carried. The secretary of the committee then read the next resolution pre- pared by the committee on resolutions, as follows: Whereas, Since our meeting a year ago a number of mem- bers conspicuously identified with the work of this Congress have departed this life, among whom was prominent George W. E. Dor- sey, of Utah, who at the time of his death was a director in this organization a man possessed of a kind and lovable character and to whose personal interest and effort is due the success of much of the work of this body: Therefore, Be It Resolved, That to the family and friends and loved ones of those who have passed away, the earnest sympathy of this Congress is extended, and Resolved, Further, That a copy of this resolution be for- warded to Mrs. Dorsey. MR. BARTLETT: I move the adoption of the resolution. Motion carried. MR. CONNER: Now, Mr. Chairman, I have read all the resolu- tions that were acted upon or prepared by the resolutions committee. I desire to now present the resolution passed by the delegates from Penn- sylvania. The secretary then read the resolution, as follows: Whereas, The American Mining Congress was largely in- strumental in inducing the government of the United States to create a Bureau of Mines; Resolved, That the Mining Congress takes this occasion to express its thanks to the President and Congress of the United States for the creation of said Bureau of Mines and its high com- mendation of the work so far accomplished under the able direction of Dr. J. A. Holmes; and Resolved, Further, That the Secretary is instructed to trans- mit to the Hon. William Howard Taft, President of the United States, the Hon. James T. Sherman, President of the Senate, and the Hon. Champ Clark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and also to Dr. Holmes, copies of this resolution. MR. ROSS: I move the adoption of the resolution. Motion unanimously carried. MR. ROSS: I would like to move, if it is in order, that a vote of thanks be tendered the presiding officers and our secretary and such other officers of the convention who so ably conducted its affairs. MR. BURROUGHS: I second the motion. MR. JOSEPH: I will put the motion. The motion is that a vote of thanks be extended to all the gentlemen who so ably conducted the affairs of this Congress and brought it to such a successful conclusion. Motion unanimously carried. MR. E. C. WETHERLY, Colorado: I dropped into camp rather late this morning. The failure of the papers to give me any information forces me to ask whether the committee on smelting rates and ore treat- ment and freight rates has had anything to report that could be em- bodied in a resolution. Four years ago a gentleman was very active in taking up their question of smelting rates and ore treatment, and since that time we have heard nothing at all. 98 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS MR. JOSEPH: I suppose the gentleman's remarks were directed at me. I want to say the committee of two or three years ago, if the gentleman will turn back to the report, consisted of Mr. De LaVergne, myself, Judge Colburn and Mr. Riter. The committee met in Denver and formulated a public protest which was brought before this Con- gress, an open protest against the exorbitant smelting rates that were then in existence, and we recommended at that time that the method by which that problem could be met would be by the establishment of inde- pendent smelters, and we were fortunate enough in our state to have a man public-spirited enough, a member of this Congress, Jesse Knight, who put in some $400,000 into an independent smelter in Utah. While it has proved a financial failure as far as Mr. Knight was concerned, it had this effect: It brought down smelting rates from the large corpora- tions, and as far as the report of the committee on ore returns was con- cerned, I want to say that I was appointed on that committee in the convention and Mr. MacVichie, of Salt Lake, and Mr. Becker, of Los Angeles, and we failed to hold a meeting because we could not make connections with one another. We made* our report but I have not seen it. I suppose it was lost in the shuffle. As far as Mr. MacVichie and myself were concerned, we submitted our report to Mr. Becker, and it may be that Mr. Becker failed to bring it in. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: We have voted on the resolutions, and I think before adjourning we ought to pass a vote of thanks to the men who spent two days in getting them up. Therefore, I move a vote of thanks be given the resolutions committee. Motion unanimously carried. MR. WETHERLY: Before you proceed with the motion to ad- journ, I want to say in connection with my question, that when Mr. Joseph brought in that resolution four years ago we had no such thing as a Bureau of Mines. We have had a scholarly, professorial and legal address by the Secretary of the Interior this evening, who expressly emphasized the function of the Government. Now we have a Bureau of Mines which was not in existence when Mr. Joseph worked so hard and made a. very eloquent speech, as I remember reading it, I was not a member of the Congress, and since we have had the Bureau of Mines you are willing to go to that extent that we can ask for the function of government to be employed in our behalf, why should not a committee be appointed to ask the government under these conditions to help us in this matter? THE PRESIDENT: I really think from the work done by the committee it was demonstrated that those questions are really local. They are state matters. It is a matter of competition and a matter of effort amongst home members. As Mr. Joseph said, in our own state, it has been a matter of competition, and I think we have done about as well in my state as any other state. As Mr. Joseph said, Mr. Knight, through his efforts established an independent smelter and brought down the rates, which the other smelters had been charging, but as it proved a failure he had to close down his plant, and since that time we have been forced again to go to the large concerns. MR. WETHERLY: Can't we ask a little assistance to break up monopolies? The first two or three columns of the Tribune todaj were occupied with what they were going to do with the steel trust. i PRESIDENT: In addition, I might say that our local com- mittee took up the matter with the railroads, and after very hard work tor months and months we finally succeeded in getting quite a reduction the railroad rates. So you see we have worked at home. Whereupon an adjournment was taken until 10 o'clock a. m. Octo- Der Zo. AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 99 SATURDAY, OCT. 28, 1911. Morning Session Orchestra Hall. The meeting was called to order by President John Dern. THE PRESIDENT: Members and Delegates of the American Mining Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a very gratifying recog- nition of the American Mining Congress, that the President of the United States has favored us with his presence. In him the mining industry of this country recognizes a true friend of that great industry. (Applause.) The American Mining Congress has contended for years for a department of mines so that we could have a voice in the govern- ment and administration of that great industry. We have striven for years and have memorialized Congress and demanded Congress to create a department. At the time of the President's visit two years ago to the far west I had the pleasure of discussing the matter with him, and he advised me it would be wise to start the same as other departments have, particularly the department of agriculture, which now is recog- nized as one of the main departments in the Federal Government, sug- gesting that instead of contending at that time for a department to ask for a bureau out of which eventually a department would grow. I com- municated this view expressed to me by the President to the American Mining Congress in session shortly thereafter at Goldfield, and upon that suggestion our committee proceeded. Through the assistance of our western representatives in Congress and the Senate, and the co- operation of the coal men of the east and the iron men of the north, and the great assistance of the President himself, the Bureau of Mines was established. (Applause.) Great results have been accomplished particularly in the coal fields, the first and paramount work being the saving of human life. Now other fields must be opened, and while the President is here and as this may be the last time as retiring president of the Mining Con- gress that I may have the pleasure of speaking to you I would ask that he use his good offices as President of the United States to inter- cede for the precious metal miners of the west (applause) and recom- mend that Congress make an appropriation which will start the work of research in that particular branch of the mining industry which is so much in need. Ladies and gentlemen, I have the pleasure and the great privilege to introduce to you the President of the United States, the Honorable William Howard Taft. (Applause.) President Taft's address will be found at page 394 of this report. PRESIDENT DERN: This finishes our program and the Four- teenth Annual Session of the American Mining Congress now stands adjourned sine die. MEETING OF MEMBERS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1911. 7:30 P. M. Meeting was called to order by the President. The Secretary reported that 283 members were present in person and by proxy, being a quorum of the membership. THE PRESIDENT: We will have the Secretary read the min- utes of the meetings of the executive committee. Secretary Callbreath then read the minutes of the several meetings. THE PRESIDENT: If there are no objections the minutes will stand approved as read, and the action of the executive committee in regard to the organization is ratified and approved. The Secretary will now read the financial statement, as follows: American Mining Congress. Financial statement covering period September 1, 1910, to September 30, 1911. RECEIPTS. Cash on hand September 1, 1910 $1,351.95 Received from life membership fees $ 100.00 Received from annual membership fees 1,745.00 Received from annual membership dues 3,770.00 Los Angeles Convention Fund. 3,870.00 Chicago Convention Fund 500.00 Miscellaneous 211.95 10,197.65 $11,549.60 DISBURSEMENTS. Washington legislative expense and Secretary's traveling expense $1,852.48 Salaries, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Clerks, Denver office 4,929.25 Salaries, Organizers and traveling expenses 1,375.90 Printing ' 1,919.50 Postage 351.50 Office supplies 121.63 Rent 350.00 Exchange 23.75 Miscellaneous 272.11 $11,196.12 Balance cash on hand October 1, 1911 $ 353.48 Denver, Colo., Oct. 3, 1911. I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct statement of the receipts and disbursements of the American Mining Congress, for the period from September 1, 1910 to September 30, 1911. (Signed) J. R CALLBREATH, Jr., Secretary. Denver, Colo., Oct. 5, 1911. We, the undersigned members of the Auditing Committee of the American Mining Congress, having examined the vouchers and ac- counts of the Secretary, covering transactions for the period from 101 AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS September 1, 1910, to September 30, 1911, &e* > etr berttfy J -fht"toe' And' the same to be correct, and that the statement hereto attached is a cor- rect statement of the financial transactions of the American Mining Congress during said period. (Signed) E. G. REINERT, D. W. BRUNTON, Members Auditing Committee. MR. HORACE J. STEVENS, Michigan: I move the report be received and placed on file. THE PRESIDENT: It has been moved and seconded that the re- port of the Secretary of the financial condition of the Congress be re- ceived and placed on file, and made a part of the record. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: I would-be very glad if this or- ganization would make a further examination of these accounts. THE PRESIDENT: I was going simply to say as President of the Congress and of course not living in the same city as Mr. Call- breath does I have been compelled to sign checks in blank, but I have checked against it always, as he has stated, at the first of every month. Mr. Callbreath renders a statement the first of every month accompanied by duplicate vouchers covering all expenditures during the month as well as a statement as to the receipts, as you have seen from his own report, which is certified by the auditing committee. I do not think it is necessary that any further investigation or any other recommenda- tion should be made. The auditing committee are men of ability, con- fidence and reliability, and they having approved it I think is ample evidence and all that is required in the premises. Motion carried. THE PRESIDENT: It has been customary at our other meet- ings that the members elect a nominating committee to report later on as to the candidates for directors. MR. E. L. DE LESTRY, Minnesota: It is the custom of the association to have a nominating committee generally widely scattered in territory and interest to avoid any possible accusation of a frame-up and with the view of selecting those men for the guidance of our affairs best qualified to take charge of each interest. I would like to be per- mitted to present a list of five gentlemen for your consideration not with the view it shall be final but with the idea of representing the various sections of the country and interests of all the people. I take pleasure in presenting the names of Dr. Haworth, Kansas; Mr. E. T. Bent, of Illinois; Judge Thomas C. Burke, Oregon; Dr. Talmage, Utah, and Mr. De LaVergne, of Colorado. I submit this list to the member- ship as a suggestion and not that it shall be final. I believe upon close inspection of the list it will be found they are the best gentlemen we can have at this time. Give this committee time until Friday morning to. canvass the situation and present to the members a list of officers and directors that they would like to present for election. This matter should receive serious consideration and we want for the management of our affairs the coming year the best material that we can possibly select. We have today examples which show the magnitude of our work spreading all over the country. I have never realized so much that this Middle West is such a vital factor. Gentlemen, I hope you can see your way clear to adopt this list. The members have always been identified with this work, and we have canvassed this matter dur- ing the afternoon. It is not a personal matter with me. I know but two men on this list personally, and I feel sure that our interests will be well taken care of if entrusted to these five gentlemen to bring in a list of candidats to be voted on Friday morning. THE PRESIDENT: Do you make that as a motion? MR. DE LESTRY: I do, Mr. Chairman. THE PRESIDENT: It has been moved that Dr. Haworth, of Kansas; Mr. Bent, of Illinois; Judge Burke, of Oregon; Dr. Talmage, of Utah, and Mr. De LaVergne, of Colorado, be named as the nomi- 102 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS nathlV 1 committee to report just prior to our regular session Friday morning. Are you ready for the question? Motion seconded and carried. DR. E. R. BUCKLEY, Illinois: I want to ask the President what has been done with the resolution which was made by Mr. Dorsey, who is now deceased, at the Los Angeles meeting. I don't think it would be out of place to read that resolution. I would like to have a report of what has been done in that connection. (Reading.) MR. DORSEY: At this time I would like to offer this resolution, which I will read: Whereas, Certain promises and pledges, made by the delega- tion from the State of Colorado at the session of the Congress held at Portland, Oregon, .in 1904, at the time the Congress was called to vote upon the location of permanent headquarters, have not been kept and fulfilled, and the assistance promised has not been given, and as the promises and pledges, so made at that time induced the members of the Congress held at Portland to vote to locate head- quarters in the City of Denver, and, further, much dissatisfaction has been expressed at the failure to keep the agreements made; Therefore, be it resolved, That the directors of this Congress be, and they are hereby, authorized to take up at once this matter with the people of Colorado, and in case satisfactory arrangements cannot be made, then the directors are authorized to take such steps as in their judgment seem advisable, to relocate the permanent headquarters of this Congress in some other state. DR. BUCKLEY: This resolution was introduced by a member of the Congress, one who was a director for a long time and who is now deceased. I think that the members of this Congress would be very glad to have a repprt on anything that has been done on the part of the board of directors in carrying out the instructions of the mem- bers at that meeting. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: Mr. Chairman, there is very little to be said in reply. At your request I submitted the resolution to the Chamber of Commerce, in Denver, and it was taken under con- sideration, but there was never any action taken, so far as I have heard. DR. BUCKLEY: Mr. President, when did you receive the report to that effect? THE PRESIDENT: I think I received the report to that effect at the time we had the meeting in Salt Lake City. DR. BUCKLEY: Since the meeting was held in Salt Lake City has there been any action taken on the part of the executive commit- tee with regard to the matter? THE PRESIDENT: There has been none since. DR. BUCKLEY: I would like to move, Mr. President, that this meeting of members repeat the instructions to the former board of directors with the request that some action be taken in the matter before the next meeting, a year hence. DR. ERASMUS HAWORTH, Kansas: I second the motion. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, you have heard the motion made by Dr. Buckley. Are you ready for the question? A MEMBER: I would like to ask whether the motion in the mat- ter gives the directors power. DR. BUCKLEY: It covers the ground thoroughly. It gives the board complete power to act in the matter, and Mr. Dorsey was very careful in wording that resolution, so that it would give them complete power to act in the premises. I made the motion that the same instruc- tions be given the board of directors as were given a year ago in the motion of Mr. Dorsey. THE PRESIDENT: That was covered in our report at the last annual session, with reference to permanent headquarters. M,R. W. N. SEARCY, Colorado: Of course, being from Colorado, I am naturally interested in seeing the Denver Chamber of Commerce AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 103 do its own city justice in this matter. The resolution explains itself. The history of the whole transaction I suppose is set out in this resolu- tion. I spoke to the chairman of the mining committee two days ago about this matter. I do not oppose this motion, or. anything of that kind, but it seems to me that if the Denver Chamber of Commerce, the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, and these other cities, should take hold of this problem, fully appreciating the situation, and "it is some- thing for this executive committee to see to. I think it is simply be- cause of inattention. I would like to make the suggestion that before anything is done a meeting should be held with the Executive Com- mittee of the Denver Chamber of Commerce, to see what that body will do. I think it is more inattention than anything else. THE PRESIDENT: For the information of those of you who are perhaps new members, and particularly from the eastern states, I wish to state that years ago when the question of establishing a perma- nent home for the Congress came up, Salt Lake City, through its repre- sentation at the Congress, which was held at Portland in that year, offered to the Congress a site situated in the heart of the city, a site which was worth a great many thousands of dollars. In addition to that they prepared and had the authority to state that a great many thousands of dollars would be furnished by the citizens of Utah for the building of a mining temple in Salt Lake City. It was the only proposition which was considered or thought of prior to our meeting, but through the efforts of our worthy Secretary here, and some assist- ance of a prejudice which was worked up. springing the Mormon ques- tion, against Utah, and I want to repeat that right now because that was the only thing by which they defeated us, although it was presented not by Mormons, but by gentiles, and we had the goods to deliver. But the hot air of Colorado finally beat us by a small margin. It has been continued from year to year and simply nothing was said, but we be- lieved that finally Colorado would come through and do as they had agreed, but when they had done nothing up to last year I took them severely to task at the Los Angeles convention, and the resolution offered by Senator Dorsey at that time was adopted almost unanimously. We had no desire to protest against it, but it was simply to stir the Colorado pride so that they would finally do the right thing. Up to the present time, as you have seen from Dr. Buckley's remarks and the report of the committee, they have done nothing. It is my candid belief that unless Colorado comes this year we simply ought to vote to move the permanent home away from that city. They have acted in bad faith and they ought to know it, and the people at large, the people of the whole United States ought to know it. Colorado is a great state and it seldom goes back on its promises, and I for one am sorely disap- pointed at the mining men and citizens of Colorado not making good their pledges to the American Mining Congress. DR. J. E. TALMAGE, Utah: I am heartily in accord with what the President just stated, and his way of presenting the situation. A gentle- man from Colorado has made the statement that this dereliction is due to apathy or inattention, and suggests that this Congress should assume the burden and responsibility of laboring with the Chamber of Com- merce of Denver and try to convert them to some better course of living. I be.g to submit that this Congress has nothing to do along that line, that Denver and Colorado worked hard, and I don't care to analyze their method of work, to secure the headquarters for that Congress at the meeting held in Portland in 1906, and they made certain pledges, pledges which I considered at that time to bind the people of Colorado, and if one of those pledges has been kept I don't know of it. I trust the motion will prevail without any express or implied instruction to this Congress to do any missionary work among the people of Denver or of Colorado on this matter. MR. E. M. DE LAVERGNE, Colorado: I made an effort in the Leg- islature of Colorado by introducing a bill for an appropriation of $100,000 as a starter for the erection of a mining building to be owned by this 104 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS Congress, and failed because two-thirds of the members of the Legis- lature were representatives from the agricultural district and had no interest whatever in aiding us in that matter. I finally succeeded in getting a ten thousand dollar appropriation. The mining men did the best they could to work up an interest there, but we had a great many things to contend with and we lost out on that. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: May I say a word not directly upon this subject, but along the same line? Personally I have no feel- ing as to where the home of the Mining Congress shall be. I have a very deep interest in the accomplishments of the Mining Congress. The work which we have to do, the results which we are to accomplish are the things which should be kept first in mind, and the home of the Congress should be at that place where its purposes can be best served. I rise to suggest, and beg your indulgence at this time, to suggest an idea which is in my own mind. I believe the American Mining Con- gress as a National organization, representing the various sections of the country, interesting itself more with the practical, you might say the political side of mining than otherwise, must do the greater part of its work at that point where national legislation is done. In other words, our work must mostly be done at Washington, and that the location of the permanent home of the Congress is a matter of less importance. If you will pardon me, I would like to explain the newer plan of organization provided for by recent amendments to the by-laws by which the mining men in each state may organize their own state chapter; and that state chapters are authorized to organize local sec- tions in the various communities, each local section having power to do all the things connected with that community. If there is a matter which the local section cannot do it can apply for help to the state organization, and where the issue is interstate or National it shall be passed up to the National organization for its action. I would be most happy if we could some day carry out the dream of those of us who have stood by the Mining Congress, that there should be somewhere a temple of mining under which could be found more information con- cerning mining throughout the country than at any other point with a first class mining library, which does not exist today, equipped with all the information upon mining matters and a comprehensive exhibit of the ores from the various sections of commercial size, so that a man from Australia or any other part of the world, who wanted to study American mining conditions could go under that roof and find the information he wanted about Oregon, or Arizona, or Utah, or any other point where precious metal mining is carried on. He should here find not only a comprehensive ore exhibit but geological maps of the dis- trict, claim maps showing locations, and the ownership of the prop- erty; in short all possible information which can possibly be assembled for the student of mining. It would be a wonderful thing if that dream could be carried out, and I believe some day it will be carried out. I shall be as happy as any one can be if that dream shall locate itself in the city of our President, Mr. Dern. On the other hand, the Mining Congress is growing beyond the precious metal mining industry. We found in our first effort to secure the creation of the Bureau of Mines, that with only 31 congressmen west of the Missouri River, covering the precious metal mining field, less than those from New York state alone, that we did not have much influence at the National capitol. We had to look for other support, and that support has come to us through the coal mining men. It has been loyal, faithful, ardent, active support, and it has done its work. The American Mining Congress, as precious metal mining men's organization, has been given the credit for securing the adoption of the bill creating a Bureau of Mines. We are entitled to the credit to the extent that we led the fight, but the votes which passed the bill did not come from the precious metal states and they were influenced more by coal producers than they were by precious AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 105 t metal miners. We have felt that in order to get that influence at Washington, which is necessary to bring about reforms, we must have all the mining fraternity connected with one organization, the coal people helping us and we helping the coal people, and in that way it will be possible to get the things which are essential to the best and highest development of the respective industries. With that idea in mind we are hoping that the .present session will see the beginning of an alliance with us in large numbers of the coal operators, to the extent that our members and theirs will all work together under one organiza- tion, and thereby secure the best results for every particular branch of the industry. While I believed at the time that the question of the permanent headquarters was up that Denver was the logical and only place for the permanent headquarters, I must confess that the develop- ments since that time have convinced me that possibly I might have been in error, and no matter how this question is settled I hope we shall gain the strength and the active co-operation of the mining men of all branches of the mining industry throughout this land, to the end that the needs of the mining industry, the greater protection of the lives of the miners, the greater conservation of mineral resources, the better development of the mineral resources, and the best and highest things that can come to the Mining Industry shall be brought to us through the earnest efforts and support of all who are engaged in the mining industry. I thank you, gentlemen, for your attention. Motion carried. MR. DE LESTRY: I understand this afternoon- there is an in- struction to the resolutions committee to bring in a resolution in memory of our deceased members, and I would like to move that the Secretary compile a list of those who have gone from our midst, and that a page be set aside in the proceedings on which shall be printed the names, as is generally done in an organization of this kind. I was not here this afternoon, and I do not know whether it is necessary to make a motion in order to have a page set aside. THE PRESIDENT: If there is no objection to that it is so ordered. MR. E. T. BENT, Illinois: I don't know whether this is the place to follow a little farther the remark that our Secretary just made about the broadening of this Congress and the bringing about of full co- operation between the metal miners and the coal miners, but there has been an effort made to get the coal miners of Illinois, for instance, to come into the Mining Congress in numbers, and I am convinced that the way to accomplish the objects that have been set forth here in Illinois, at least, would be if your organic law was so changed that coal operators' associations could be affiliated on some agreed basis of financial support. If that were done I belive your present depressed condition of things would be advanced more than if an effort is made to obtain individual memberships. That would be a slow process, but if a plan was carefully worked out to secure the affiliation of existing organizations, that a good deal might be accomplished in a short time. Ascertain what money is needed for the campaign before us, ascertain what money should come from each state, and then have a dual plan by which you still maintain your individual membership, and also take in affiliated organizations of mining men on a proper financial basis. THE PRESIDENT: I would like to ask the Secretary to state as to whether under our present articles and by-laws such a plan as has just been suggested is feasible. MR. J. W. DAWSON, West Virginia: Following up the gentle- man who has just spoken, the conditions which he described as applying to Illinois, apply equally to West Virginia, and I think it would fit our case very nicely. In talking to Mr. Neil Robinson a few days past, of the advisability of his coming to join this Congres's I will say for the information of those here, that Mr. Neil Robinson is Secretary of the West Virginia Mining Association, and the moving spirit of it and he made the same suggestion that the gentleman who has just 106 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS spoken, that some such plan might work out better than by individual membership. DR. HENRY M. PAYNE, West Virginia: Right along the same line, at a meeting of the West Virginia Mining Association, and of the Appalachian Engineering Association the proposition was then made that those organizations combine with the American Mining Congress, and at that time it was turned down by those organizations simply because the American Mining Congress constitution at that time did not permit it and I think, as Mr. Dawson has said, that if it is possible for us to consolidate in that way there is no question that almost all these small organizations in the East would be glad to affiliate themselves with the American Mining Congress. As Mr. Callbreath is aware I spent almost one entire summer in West Virginia with Dr. White, state geologist, trying to effect an organization of that kind, and it was im- possible simply because at that time the American Mining Congress had not made provision for such consolidation. I believe if it can be brought about, if the plan as suggested can be carried out I believe the coal miners will be very glad to affiliate themselves with us. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: I think it would be wise if a com- mittee could be appointed to devise a plan which would meet that sit- uation. MR. CARL SCHOLZ, Illinois: I make such a motion. Without being authorized to speak for the states of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas, that very same condition Mr. Dawson referred to exists in the states just mentioned, and I think it might be safe to include Iowa as well, and I make the motion suggested by the Secretary. DR. TALMAGE: I second the motion. I was about to offer a motion to that effect, understanding from the remarks of the Secretary that the present constitution and by-laws do not specifically provide for such. I would like to add that in some other organizations that plan has been adopted, and it has been found to work with great success, notably the American Association of Musicians. Its member- ship of course is individual, but it has a specific kind of membership which is reserved for institutions and organizations, and from those institutions and organizations its strength is mainly derived. MR. BENT: Is that committee to report during this session or to report to the directors, or will this committee on the constitution and by-laws have power to formulate a plan and put it into effect? MR. DE LESTRY: It seems to me that this committee should report to the members for action. It means a change in our organic law, and that cannot be effected by the council alone. I believe under our constitution it would require a vote of two-thirds of the members present, and the committee should report here. The same situation that exists here existed in the iron countries where the Lake Superior Institution was organized which has been in existence for ten or fifteen years. I am heartily in favor of holding out a welcoming hand to get all these interests together. We have a big fight. Let us fight it shoulder to shoulder. This report should be made here and passed upon by the members. Then the executive council can adopt such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the report. DR. TALMAGE: I am reminded that thirty days time is re- quired for an amendment. That being the case I think this motion should be amended to meet that requirement, or that it be understood that the committee shall report within say sixty days to the board of directors, and that it shall be the duty of the board of directors to take action promptly. MR. DE LESTRY: If the motion was so shaped to suspend the rules, this committee could report forthwith to this session. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: I doubt seriously whether we can suspend the rules or do this in any other form than that permitted by the by-laws which require .thirty days for an amendment. It is true the members are represented by proxies appointed to do certain AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 107 things, but these members have had no notice of this proposed change. Therefore it seems to me only fair to the members that they have notice of the proposed amendment. THE PRESIDENT: It seems to me that the consensus of opinion is that the very idea proposed in this motion should be carried through, but it is my judgment that we would better follow strictly, according to our by-laws and articles of incorporation. It entails a little work to the Secretary and to your board of directors, but the question of thirty days does not make any difference and the question of a few dollars in postage and a little additional time for the Secretary should not be considered. I believe it would be almost impossible for that committee, if it is appointed or elected here today, to report tomorrow. I think we would better give them time and submit the matter to the board of directors, and the board of directors can call a special meeting and have the proceedings according to our by-laws. I think that is a safer and better way, and at the very utmost it won't take more than about sixty days to accomplish what we want to do and do it in the proper and the regular way. DR. HAWORTH: I want to express my agreement with the sentiment we have just heard by our President, and I want to state the reasons. why I agree with him. It seems to me that this is a com- paratively unusually important meeting at this Congress. Now we have the subject up of our permanent home. We have the subject be- fore us just now in the motion that is pending in a great- degree, if I understand, remodeling the question of membership, which is a funda- mental question to this organization. I understand that already we have temporarily, so to speak, amended our methods of obtaining members, and the probabilities are that some of pur rules and methods are so cumbersome that they should be laid aside. I thoroughly believe that is what ought to be done. I think a committee should be appointed that is representative, composed of able men, and let them go into this matter very deliberately, and at the same time very thoroughly, with the thought in mind of probably getting ourselves on a broader founda- tion that we have ever been before and on a better foundation. If that is done it necessarily will take a very careful examination of our regu- lations, and a careful examination of what the most sanguine of us hope will be the outcome within the next few years. A committee would do unusually good work if they could get this matter ready to report inside of sixty or ninety days, and I hope that this motion may be altered somewhat so that it will give them sufficient time to make a report to the directors rather than to this meeting. MR. SCHOLZ: As the maker of the motion I am glad to consent and include all the suggestions here mentioned as they seem to be very sensible and proper, and with the consent of my second I so alter my motion. THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will read the motion as amended. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: The motion is that a committee shall be appointed under instructions to prepare such an amendment to the constitution and by-laws as will permit the association with the American Mining Congress of mining organizations already in exist- ence under some plan of support which shall be found to be satisfactory, and that that committee be given as much time as they may require to perfect their work. DR. TALMAGE: Could you not say of mining and allied organ- izations? We may want to provide for the admission of some commer- cial organizations that have an interest in mining and are not strictly mining organizations themselves. THE PRESIDENT: That will be added to it. Motion carried. 108 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS Whereupon an adjournment was taken until 9 o'clock a. m. Octo- ber 27. ADJOURNED MEETING OF MEMBERS, OCTOBER 27, 1911. 9 O'clock A. M. THE PRESIDENT: We will first listen to the report of the com- mittee which was appointed for the purpose of revising the by-laws to make such amendments as would provide for the affiliation of the coal mining industry organizations or kindred organizations. Secretary Callbreath then read the report as follows: To the American Mining Congress: Your committee appointed to draft an amendment to the By- Laws, providing for the association of mining and kindred organi- zations with the American Mining Congress, do respectfully recom- mend that Section 1, of Article 3, be amended to read as follows: "Any person actively associated with mining, who, after his application has been approved by the Committee on Membership, shall pay an initiation fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00), shall become an active member of this Congress, and thereafter he shall pay in advance an annual fee of ten dollars ($10.00), and during the term for which said dues have been paid shall be entitled to all rights and privileges usual to members. "Any organization devoted to mining or kindred interests may be associated with the American Mining Congress upon any plan which may be agreed upon, and shall be allowed one vote for each ten dollars annually contributed by such organization to the Ameri- can Mining Congress, such vote or votes to be cast by such person or persons as may be designated by such organization. "No member shall be permitted to vote, nor to enjoy the privileges of this organization until his dues have been paid for the current year, and all votes shall be cast in person, except as may otherwise be provided." Your committee further recommends that the Secretary be in- structed to call a special meeting of the members of the American Mining Congress for the consideration of an. action upon such amendment. L W. DAWSON, :. L. DE LESTRY, D. MAC VICHIE, E. T. BENT. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, what are you going to do with the report_pf the committee? MR. CARL SCHOLZ, Illinois: I move the adoption of the report. DR. J. A. HOLMES, Washington, D. C: In seconding that motion to adopt the report I would like to say just a word. I hold very strongly to the opinion that we need another class of membership in the Ameri- can Mining Congress, whether we call them associate members, or some- thing of that kind, by which we can get a large number of people who are interested in mining, but to whom that ten dollars seems a pretty serious barrier and when the time comes for voting on this finally in the meet- ing to be called, I don't know whether any motion that may be made now can be counted as a part of that program. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: Any member has the right at any time to submit an amendment. DR. HOLMES: I have forgotten now whether there was a re- quirement that the Secretary shall call such a meeting. I don't think there was, but if not it was offered as an amendment to be submitted and it will be received and sent out with the notice. MR. E. B. KIRBY, Missouri: I rise to ask merely for informa- AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 109 tion about this resolution. Is it something that has been framed up carefully enough by the committee or by the officials to act on it? THE PRESIDENT: It was considered on the floor the other day and the committee was appointed for the purpose of revising the by-laws and this is their report. Before putting the motion I simply desire to make this remark. We have a large representation here by proxies, but the actual members present are not so numerous because they are pretty late coming in. The way the organization is shaping itself and the interest which is manifested by the coal men, I think no doubt the iron men will join us eventually. I think the time is near at hand when we should take occasion, recognizing the interests of the affiliated mining industries of this country, to increase our director- ship. I think instead of having the present number we almost ought to have double that number. I believe in large board of directors, for therein lies great strength. A man being elected a director naturally considers that he is then responsible for the Congress personally, and he will work in his own community for the success of the Congress. If we had a large representation here in person I would be almost inclined to suggest that even at this time we should embody in this report or perhaps make another report to amend our articles so as to provide a large directorate. I simply make that as a suggestion at this time. MR. E. L. DE LESTRY, Minnesota : The proposition just mentioned by the President of this association was carefully threshed out by your committee; as we are now organized, and here represented, we are still the original American Mining Congress as it was started by the metal mining states of the West. We have not a very large number of coal mem- bers, and I don't believe at this time in surrendering the idea upon which this organization was founded merely at the beck and call of people not yet identified with us. This association spent its time and talent and money and energy to secure the Bureau of Mines, and after we have done the work the coal interests have gotten the good of it, and the metal miners had not had a look in at the Bureau of Mines. I believe along the lines of this amendment, and if it is worth having, gentlemen, it is worth paying for on their and our part. An association here in the state of Illinois of some 200 coal operators could not under any other process pay for one membership and get 200 votes on any proposal that we may make up, and if we gave an association membership on the pay- ment of one fee we would defeat our own purposes. Let us open the doors not only to coal men, but to quarry men, and to the iron people of my state, who organized the Lake Superior Institute. Let them come in and be elected to membership in the Mining Congress, and pay dues and cast votes according to the payments that are made, the same as we do. I feel this way about it: If it is going to be such great benefit to an organized body in any other industry along this line, isn't it worth while for the individual members to become members of this Congress? There is not a man living who is actively engaged and inter- ested in mining who can't pay $10 a year to have his interests pro- tected. I think the matter that the President mentioned about increas- ing the directorate should be taken up at the next session after we have seen the results of this amendment and when it is really a necessity, when that membership has been secured and their interests become as paramount here as ours. I don't believe in tearing down the act of our organization at this time until we know at least whether the opening of the doors will bring the people to us. THE PRESIDENT: Understand 1 am not urging that, but I say the time is coming. I simply mentioned that as a matter of considera- tion, believing that it would be a proper thing after we were once thor- oughly organized on the lines which are now being laid. MR. E. T. BENT, Illinois: As a member of the committee and speaking for the coal men, speaking for the few new members, I wish to say it is not the desire of the coal men that they be given representation beyond the extent to which they contribute to the maintenance of this 110 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS work. Furthermore, we desire as much as the last speaker that coal men become individual members of this Congress. I am here as a mem- ber of the Congress, and I would say in Illinois and other coal states members of our organizations cannot do anything that will accomplish more than the $10 spent for fees in this Congress. You alone are pow- erless to influence public opinion sufficiently to influence Congress, and we alone can't do it, but unitedly we can help you and help ourselves. Let us gain the support of these organizations as well. The resolution goes as far as the coal men ask (applause). MR. SCHOLZ: Mr. Bent has already expressed what I intended to say. I only want to add one more point, and that is from his ex- pression it would seem our interests could possibly conflict. I want to point out the fact that whether we mine coal, clay, silver, gold, iron, or copper, the intention of the Congress is directed in only one chan- nel, and that is for the benefit of all, and there should be no distinction between metal mining and coal mining. We have so many common interests that we should lose sight of individual interest, and work for the common good. MR. S. A. TAYLOR, Pennsylvania: I just want to call attention to one thing, lest it might be misunderstood. My friend, -the first speaker, made the statement that the Mining Congress had secured the Bureau of Mines. I am sure there is no person in this room, no person among the coal men, nor any other person in any other department of mining that would detract one iota from the honor and part which is due the metal men in securing the Bureau of Mines. Lest there should be a misapprehension of the facts from the statement I would like to state this, and I believe it will be borne out by every other person who had anything to do with the getting of the Bureau of Mines established in Congress, and I am sure my friend, the chairman of the mining com- mittee, will bear me out in this fact that whenever any institution which is devoted entirely to one branch of mining appears before Congress to establish their views and asks for legislation, it immediately becomes a matter of selfishness, or rather appears as a matter of selfishness. I think one of the things probably more than anything else that induced Congress to establish the Bureau of Mines was the fact that all branches of mining importuned Congress for the establishment of that Bureau. It is true the American Mining Congress led that fight, and through the excellent service of the Secretary, who was on the firing line all the time, was enabled to keep the other branches of mining in close touch with what was going on. Practically every branch of mining was present, and I believe it was the united effort of all those branches more than any one thing that brought about the final result. Now the point I wish to make is this, if we hope to establish anything that is good for the entire country it must come through some national work, such as the American Mining Congress; it can't be secured through the coal operators' association, it can't be secured through the zinc opera- tors' association, it can't be secured through the iron operators' asso- ciation because the moment those individual associations appear be- fore Congress it at once gives out the impression, that it is a selfish interest that is asking for these things. I believe that the moment any one branch of mining undertakes to run away with the Mining Con- gress, that the Mining Congress is doomed. Its work for the future should represent the interests of the entire mining world in all aspects, and the various associations must work in harmony in the mining con- gress. For that reason I believe this motion should carry. I have little fear of any branch of mining attempting to run away and control absolutely the Mining Congress. Upon the motion being put it was unanimously carried. THE PRESIDENT: Is the nominating committee ready to re- port? DR. ERASMUS HAWORTH, Kansas: Mr. President, the commit- tee appointed to nominate directors to be elected at this meeting find that they should report seven nominations, one for a period of one year, one AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 111 for a period of two years, and five for a period of three years. We beg to submit the,following report: For the one year term we nominate Mr. John Dern, our present President, and before I go on to the others I want to make just a word of explanation regarding this particular nomina- tion. Mr. Dern got word to us in some way that he thought he had served about long enough and asked that we should not renominate him. No sooner had that information leaked out amongst the members of the Congress than we were besieged on all hands with the urgent re- quest that we, insist on Mr. Dern serving. I had two sessions with the gentleman before he would permit his name to be mentioned, and I don't know how many other sessions other gentlemen had. He finally said, "If you really think I ought to say yes, I don't want to be con- trary, and you may put me on for one year." Otherwise, we would have put him on for three years. For the two-year term, the committee begs to nominate Mr. A. G. Brownlee, of Colorado, who at the present" time in a director, I believe. For the three-year term we nominated Mr. Samuel A. Taylor, of Pennsylvania; Mr. Carl Scholz, of Illinois, and Mr. John Mayer, of Missouri; Dr. James Douglas, of New York, and Mr. H. N. Taylor, of Illinois. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, you have heard the report of the committee. What is your pleasure? MR. E. L. MARTIN, Georgia: I move you, Mr. President, that the Secretary cast the ballot of the association. THE PRESIDENT: It has been moved that the Secretary be instructed to cast the unanimous ballot of all the members present in person or by proxy for the election of those nominated by the committee. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: In accordance with your instruc- tion, Mr. President, I have cast the ballot of the members present in per- son and by proxy for directors, as follows: One year, John Dern, Utah; two years, A. G. Brownlee, Colorado; three years, Samuel A. Taylor, Pennsylvania; Carl Scholz, .Illinois; John Mayer, Missouri; Dr. James Douglas, New York, and H. N. Taylor, Illinois. THE PRESIDENT: Gentlemen, by casting that vote you have elected the directors for the terms specified as announced by the Secretary. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: May I say a word with refer- ence to the suggestion which the President made concerning an in- crease of the board of directors, simply to indicate what would be nec- essary in case that should be decided upon. Under the corporation laws of the state of Colorado, which are not altogether clear, there is sup- posed to be a limitation of thirteen on the possible number of directors which an organization can have, and that has been passed upon by some prominent lawyers there as being the law, a position in which I per- sonally do not agree and which has not been generally followed in some of the charitable institutions which have any number of directors that they see fit. But that is the situation with reference to the law of Colorado and it would probably be better to avoid any question of that kind; in case you should increase the board of directors we could sur- render the charter and reinccrporate in some other state in which there was no such limitation. That of course would be a question to be worked out whenever it is decided that it is wise to increase the board of directors, which seems to be likely soon. MR. JOHN MAYER, Missouri: As I understood the resolution it said that these different associations would be admitted on a plan to be agreed upon. When do I understand that agreed plan is to be decided? I only want the information to report to the Southwestern Coal Operations' Associations. SECRETARY CALLBREATH: That will be taken up by the Board" of Directors of the Mining Congress as now constituted for decision. 112 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS THE PRESIDENT: If there is nothing further I will entertain a motion to adjourn the members' meeting. MR. SCHOLZ: Is this the final adjournment? THE PRESIDENT: It is of the meeting of the members. MR. SCHOLZ: For what time? THE PRESIDENT: Until the next annual session. MR. S. A. TAYLOR: I move that we adjourn. THE PRESIDENT: It has been moved and second that we now adjourn sine die. MR. J. M. DINWIDDIE, Iowa: This Congress is made up of sort of a double header. It does not seem to me the proper thing for .the members to take certain action to adjourn before the final meeting *of the members and delegates. This adjournment puts us out of posi- tion to take up any question that might be put before us. Could we not adjourn at the call of the Chair so that we can have that chance to bring before us such tkings as may be necessary? I don't know how else it can be arranged if you are going to give the delegates any benefit at all. THE PRESIDENT: For the information of the gentleman I will say this has been the practice that anything which might come up requiring consideration will be referred to the board of directors for their action. Whereupon the meeting adjourned sine die. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES Report of Committee on Workmen's Compensation. To the American Mining Congress. Gentlemen: The undersigned committee, to which was delegated the work of considering and recommending the form of a law, providing compensation for accidents occurring in connection with the coal min- ing industry of the various States, respectfully submit the following tentative measure: From available statistics of tonnage and accidents, fatal and other- wise, your committee feels satisfied that the revenues from the levy of 1 cent per ton, on all coal mined for commercial purposes, will be ample to meet all the requirements of the proposed act. The funda- mental principle upon which the suggested legislation is founded and one that must appeal to all fair minded men is that the industry, in- stead of the individual, is responsible for the accidents which in a measure it creates, and that reasonable financial provision should be made for the unfortunate injured and those dependent upon them, and that whatever amount the law requires to be distributed should go di- rectly and immediately to those most in need of it and best entitled to receive it. The elimination of the question of negligence, as legally denned, would operate in the adjudication of such claims to discourage and pro- hibit the present wasteful system of litigation, and would therefore avoid the loss of time and money incidental thereto. It is furthermore a recognition of the tragic fact that under the complicated conditions' of modern industry, despite every care and caution, accidents will occur, and that such unavoidable occurrences should, as far as possible, be anticipated, provided for, and included as one of the important and necessary elements of cost in the general conduct of industry. In order that the coal producing States that compete directly with each other may not be handicapped on account of such legislation, we respectfully recommend the immediate appointment of a joint commit- tee, comprising two mine operators and two mine workers, to co- operate with the members of this committee representing such States, to urge upon the respective legislatures the enactment of the bill attached hereto, to take effect as nearly as possible at the same time between such competitive States, with such changes as the form of administra- tion in each State may require. Very respectfully yours, JOHN H. JONES, DAVID ROSS, i W. R. WOODFORD, J. W. DAWSON, Committee. AN ACT To provide indemnity for disabilities caused by accidental injuries aris- ing out of and in the course of employment in or about any coal mine, coal washer, or coal tipple within this State (or Common- wealth), to provide a pension for aged mine workers, and to pro- vide a fund for such purposes by the levy and collection of a special tax upon all coal produced in this State (or Common- wealth); extending and denning the duties of the State Auditor 114 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS (or other designated authority) and State Treasurer, and fixing the penalties for the violation of the provisions of this Act. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State (or Common- wealth) of Section 1. The Board of County Commissioners (or the legal taxing authority) of each County in this State (or Commonwealth) is hereby required at the time of making the annual levy of State and County taxes to levy a special tax of one cent per ton on the tonnage of all coal mined and shipped or sold locally in such County; such tax shall be paid to the Auditor (or other designated authority) of the State (or Commonwealth) of - quarterly on or before the twenty-fifth days of January, April, July, and October of each year upon all coal mined in such County as aforesaid during the three months im- mediately preceding the month in which such payment shall be made, said moneys to be placed in a special fund as hereinafter provided. Sec. 2. The agent, manager, foreman or accountant of any cor- poration, partnership, association, person or persons engaged in mining coal in the State (or Commonwealth) of shall, on or before the twenty-fifth days of January, April, July, and October of each year, make report to the State Auditor (or other designated author- ity) as to the amount of coal mined as aforesaid during the previous three calendar months and subject to the tax of one cent per ton; such report shall be verified by affidavit, and shall be accompanied by a certified check in full for the amount of the tax provided in Section 1 of this Act. Sec. 3. It is hereby made the duty of the State Auditor (or such State officer or department as may be designated or such other agency as may be created) to receive all moneys provided for in this Act and to make proper acknowledgment of the receipt of such moneys to the person making such remittance. The Auditor (or other agency) shall pay all moneys so received by him to the State Treasurer, who shall keep such sums in safe custody in a separate fund to be known as the Employers' Accident Indemnity Fund. The State Treasurer shall invest the surplus of said fund as other State funds are invested, and all. in- terest accruing from such investments shall be accredited to and paid into said fund. The bonds of the State Treasurer shall be liable for such funds, and it shall be the duty of the State Treasurer to pay out such fund only upon the warrant of the State Auditor and to keep accurate accounts of the receipts and disbursements of such money. Sec. 4. All workmen, laborers, and employes in and around any coal mines or in and around any coal washers in which coal is treated, or in and around any river tipple handling coal within the State (or Commonwealth) of shall be entitled to receive indemnity for all injuries caused by accidents arising out of and in the course of his employment in and about any such mine, coal washer, or coal tipple, and a monthly benefit during disability occasioned by old age, upon the basis hereinafter set forth, it being intended that the average wage of any workman hereinafter referred to or made the basis of compensation shall be the average monthly wages received by him during a period of five years immediately preceding such accident, in no case, however, to exceed the sum of $70 for each month, and in case his _ employment in his then position has not extended over the entire period referred to, then the average wage paid to other workmen per- forming similar duties during the whole of said period. Such monthly benefit, however, shall in no case be more than $35 or less than $25. First. In the event that such accident results within thirty (30) days thereafter in the death of such workman, his legal representatives shall be entitled to receive from said indemnity fund compensation upon the following basis: The legal representatives of each single man or mar- ried man not living with or supporting his family shall receive from said fund the sum of five hundred ($500) dollars. The legal representatives AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 115 of each head of a family living with or supporting such family shall re- ceive from said fund the sum of five hundred ($500) dollars, and in addi- tion thereto a monthly benefit for and during the term of three years, fol- lowing said accident, a sum equal to fifty per cent of such workman's average wages plus ten per cent of such average wages for each child under sixteen years of age at the time such benefits are payable and ten per cent of such wages additional for five or more years of continu- ous service with his then employer, in any case such monthly payments however shall not exceed the average wage of stfch employe nor the total sum of three thousand ($3,000) dollars. Second. In the event that such injuries shall incapacitate such workman from the pursuance of his usual work he shall, during the period of such incapacity, receive from such fund a monthly benefit equal to one-half of the amount of his average monthly wages during the preceding year plus ten per cent of such wages for each child under sixteen at the time "such benefits are payable and ten per cent of such wages for five or more years of continuous service with his then em- ployer, such benefits, however, not to exceed the total sum of two thou- sand ($2,000) dollars; provided, however, that if death shall result from said injury within one year from the date of said accident, the legal representatives of such workman shall receive from such fund com- pensation upon the basis provided in paragraph one hereof, less such sums as may have been theretofore paid such workman under the pro- vision of this paragraph. Third. It is further provided that the following injuries shall en- title the workman, in lieu of other benefits at his option, to compensa- tion on the following basis: (A) For the loss of one hand, twelve months wages. (B) For the loss of one arm, eighteen months wages. (C) For the loss of one foot, nine months wages. (D) For the loss of one leg, twelve months wages. (E) For the loss of one eye, six months wages. And in case of the loss of both hands or both arms or both feet or both legs or both eyes, he shall be entitled to a sum equal to his average wages for a period of four years, not, however, in any case to exceed the sum of three thousand ($3,000) dollars. Fourth. In the event that any workman who has been employed for a period of 25 years in the coal mining industry, the last ten years of which he shall have been so employed within the State (or Common- wealth) of shall have reached the age of 65 years and shall become unable to perform his usual labor or labor of any sort about any mine, washer, or tipple by reason of old age, he shall there- after be entitled to receive from said fund a sum equal to 50 per cent of his average monthly wages during the preceding ten years. Fifth. In determining the amount of the monthly benefits to be paid under the provisions of this Act, regard shall be had to the differ- ence between the amount of the average monthly wages of the appli- cant before the disability and the average amount such workman is able to earn after the beginning of the disability on account of which such benefits are paid; and in case such workman shall be able to perform some sort of labor the amount of wages thus received for partial serv- ice shall be deducted from the average wages upon which his benefits would otherwise be computed, and he shall receive upon such difference the percentages to which he would be entitled to receive in case of total disability. Any workman who is entitled to benefits under this Act or the personal representatives of any workman who shall have been killed by such accident shall file with the State Auditor (or any other agency authorized to administer the fund) proof of such claim upon such form as shall be required by the said State Auditor (or other agency), such proof to be sworn to by such applicant and by three disinterested per- sons, one of whom shall be a practicing physician, and each of whom shall be familiar with the facts, and who shall separately certify under 116 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS oath their belief as to the right of said applicant to receive the benefits applied for under the provisions of the Act. It shall be the duty of the mine superintendent of any mine at which an accident shall occur, and of the mining inspector of the district in which such mine is located, to make a joint report to the State Auditor (or other designated author- ity) of the facts surrounding such accident, and of all facts of importance in passing upon the validity of the claim or claims upon said indemnity fund growing out of said accident. Sixth. The State Auditor, when proper proof has been made of the justice of any such claims, shall draw his warrant payable to such beneficiary upon the filing with him, in the event of death, the acknowl- edgment of the legal representative of such workman that the money so received is in full satisfaction of all claim or claims which said appli- cant personally or as such representative may have on account of dam- age arising from the injury for which such indemnity is paid; and in case of disability the acknowledgment of such beneficiary that the money so received is in full settlement of all claims which such beneficiary may have on account of such injury for the time for which such benefit is paid. Sec. 5. The provision made for indemnity of employes under this Act is and shall be construed as being in lieu of and in satisfaction of all claims for indemnity against any employer by any employe by rea- son of any injury received in the course of his employment, and the acceptance of any benefit under the provisions of this Act by any per- son or persons shall constitute a bar against any action brought by any such person against his said employer on account of any such acci- dental injury. Sec. 6. The institution of any suit in law or equity by any em- ploye against his employer for damages on account of personal in- juries received in the course of his employment as aforesaid, shall con- stitute a forfeiture of said employe's right to receive indemnity from the fund herein provided for and the amount to which said employe would in the absence of such suit be entitled to receive from such fund, and in addition thereto his proper court costs expended in defending such suit shall be paid by the State Auditor (or other agency authorized to administer the fund) to said defendant employer upon the termina- tion of which to reimburse him to that extent for the judgment and costs for which he may become liable in any such suit; the total amount of such payment, however, shall not exceed the sum of five thousand ($5,000) dollars; Sec. 7. In the event that the State Auditor (or other agency authorized to administer the fund) is not satisfied as to the jus- tice of any claim made for indemnity from said fund, he is author- ized to require such additional proof as in his judgment is necessary to fairly establish the rightfulness of the claim so made. If any workman applying for benefits under this act refuses to submit himself to any required examination or in any way obstructs the same, his right to compensation under this Act shall be suspended until such examination shall take place and shall absolutely cease unless he submits himself to such examination within one month after being requested to do so. Sec. 8. There is hereby created an Advisory Board to consist of three members to be appointed by the Governor, by and with the ad- vice and consent of the Senate, one of whom shall be a representative coal operator and one a representative coal miner, the members of such board to be appointed for three years, and to receive a compensation of five dollars per diem, together with their necessary traveling and hotel expenses, for the time necessarily engaged in performing the said duties. Such Advisory Board shall have general control and super- vision of the administration and execution of the provisions of this Act, shall hear and determine all disputes arising between the State Auditor (or designated agency) and claimants for indemnity here- under, and shall make annual report to the Governor of the condition, AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 117 operation and affairs of such fund at such time as may be designated by the Governor. It is hereby made the duty of the Auditor (or desig- nated agency) and Treasurer to make report to said Advisory Board at all reasonable times on demand of the condition and affairs of such fund and of all acts by them performed under the provision of this Act. Sec. 9. Should the proceeds of the special tax herein provided by this Act at the end of three years after the going into effect of this Act be found to be in excess of the amount necessary to pay the in- demnity provided for in this Act, the State Auditor is hereby authorized to change the amount of the levy herein provided for and the Board of County Commissioners of each county in the Commonwealth, upon being notified in writing of such change, shall thereafter be authorized and required to make levy of the amount of tax so specified by said Auditor (or other designated authority) as being sufficient to pay the indemnity provided for in this Act, and the rates so fixed by said Audi- tor (or designated authority) shall be annually levied as ordered by said Auditor, which levy shall in no case exceed the amount provided in Section 1 of this Act. Sec. 10. It shall not be lawful for any attorney or agent of any workman or the legal representative of any deceased workman entitled to indemnity under the provisions of this Act to receive as a fee for his services in connection with securing the payment of such indemnity a sum in excess of five per cent (5%) of the amount collected, and in no case to exceed $25 for all services rendered in connection with the pay- ment of indemnity for any one accidental injury. Sec. 11. Any manager, agent, foreman, accountant, person or per- sons who represent any corporation, partnership, association, person or persons engaged in the mining or management of any coal mines or coal washers in the State (or Commonwealth) of , or any person or persons liable for the payments herein provided for who shall violate the intent of this Act by inaccurate reports of tonnage of coal produced by them, or who in any manner hinders or obstructs the Auditor of State in ascertaining facts bearing up any case provided for in this Act, or who may refuse correctly to .make out such reports as are required by this Act, or as requested by the Auditor of State, or submit to its provisions, when liable therefor, and any person who shall knowingly and willfully assist an applicant in a fraudulent attempt to obtain benefits hereunder, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined for each offense the sum of not less than $100 nor more than $500 and be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not less than one month nor more than six months, or by both fine and imprisonment. The proceeds of all fines collected under the provisions of this Act shall be forwarded to the State Treasurer and by him accredited to the Em- ployers' Accident Indemnity Fund. Sec. 12. No indemnity or benefit shall under the provisions of this Act be due or payable where the disability is due to the willful carelessness or gross misconduct of the employe, or unless such dis- ability shall continue for more than seven days, and every claimant is hereby required to give notice of such claim to the State Auditor (or other designated agency) within thirty days after the happenings of such accident. Sec. 13. All benefits and indemnity provided for by this Act shall be paid only to the beneficiaries or to their legal representatives other than assignees, and no benefits under this Act shall be assignable or subject to attachment or execution or be liable in any way for any debt of any workman on account of whose disability such indemnity is pay- able. Sec. 14. The tax herein provided for shall be due and payable upon all coal mined in the State (or Commonwealth) of on and after the first day of October, 1911; the indemnity herein pro- vided shall apply to all accidental injuries occurring after January 1, 1912. 118 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS Sec. 15. All expenses of administration of the provisions of this Act shall be a charge against the State and shall be provided for by suitable appropriation by the General Assembly. Sec. 16. This Act shall be in full force and effect on and after its passage. Report of the Advisory Committee on Mineral Statistics. George W. Riter, Salt Lake City, Utah, Chairman. To the American Mining Congress, Chicago, 111. Gentlemen: Your Advisory Committee on Mineral Statistics pre- sents its first progress report after having been in existence as a com- mittee for only part of a year. The Committee owes its existence to the growing regard for ac- curate mineral statistics, not only for those dealing with mineral pro- duction, but even more for those dealing with economic results. The investing public now demands data covering a wider range than ever before. Moreover, there is a feeling that the attitude of the federal gov- ernment with reference to the unsold mineral lands of the public domain, and also with reference to a protective tariff on mineral products, will hinge on the more recent economic history of the mineral industry in its various branches. In discussing the mineral resources of our country, the word "Conservation" is being used with increasing frequentcy. .Whatever meaning be placed on this word, wise legislation can hardly be reached in the absence of an accurate record of the results attained in recent years in the various branches of the mineral industry. Unfortunately, this record is far from complete, and the purpose of this committee is to encourage the completion of the record by those who have the means of doing so. The statistics on gold and silver afford an interesting case in point. Perhaps the best available history of this branch of the mineral industry is to be found in the report of the Special Census of Mines and Quarries for 1902.* According to this report, the gold and silver mines of the United States (including argentiferous lead mines) taken collectively, do not pay their own way. It appears (Table 1, page 510), that producing mines, 2,992 in number, sold their product for the year for $18,644,400 above the cost of production, but that non-producing concerns, listed to the number of 3,252, spent $21,551,358, without getting any returns. The conclusion is that the gold-silver-lead mining industry fell some $2,906,958 behind for the year. Omitting placer mines from the com- putation, the deficit is much greater. If the report falls short of the truth, more than likely it does so in not disclosing the whole amount spent on non-producing properties, because mines having no production are more apt to escape making returns. But the trouble with the figures is that they are all lumped together. Your committee has therefore suggested to the Bureau of the Census that in compiling the returns gathered in 1910 from metal mines, the data be handled so as to make separate tabulations for mines that are profit-paying and for those that are non-profit-paying; also, with special reference to gold, silver and silver-lead mines, that the data be tabulated so as to group the mines according to the nature of their out- put. The Director of the Census promises to follow this suggestion so far as may be practicable, and announces that every suggestion that is made with a view to making the census reports a source of useful in- formation to practical mining men, will be welcomed by him. We are pleased to report that a similar attitude is assumed by the United States Geological Survey. Indeed, the compilation and publication of *Special Report of the Census Office. Mines & Quarries, 1902, 1, 123 pages. AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 119 statistics of better sort seems to depend entirely on the willingness of producers to keep accurate accounts and to report their data to com- piling offices. At the instance of your committee, acting through members of the Senate Committee on Mines and Mining, the practice of the General Land Office with reference to mineral survey plats has been modified so that all plats will hereafter be duplicated by photographic or print- ing processes, instead of making each copy long-hand, as was the cus- tom for so many years. The new rule will effect a great saving in time and labor, as well as marked decrease in the charges made against each individual applicant for patent to mineral land. It is of course impossible for any one committee or set of officials to decide just what statistics ought to be compiled for the various branches of an industry so vast as that of mining. The best the com- mittee can do is to pave the way for closer relations between producers and statisticians, and to impress the idea on every individual producer that suggestions and criticisms will be welcomed by the statistical offices of the federal government, if made in a spirit of helpfulness, and with a view to making the published reports of more practical value. Report of the Committee on General Revision of the Mineral Land Laws. E. B. Kirby, St. Louis, Mo., Chairman. The Committee had assigned to it the work of securing action from the Congress of the United States, upon the request of the American Mining Congress for a general revision of the mineral land laws. By the time the list of committee members had been appointed and had conferred and agreed upon their plans, the winter session of Congress was so near its close, that it was found that no effective action was then possible. During the special summer session there was a general understanding in the House and Senate that no general legislation was to be introduced, and this understanding prevented the consideration of our measure. It was, therefore, decided to undertake it early in the regular session this winter, at which time a joint resolution on the following lines will be introduced through our friends in Congress: That Committee is instructed to pre- pare and submit at this session a mode of procedure, whereby Con- gress may undertake a general revision of the mineral land laws of United States in the way which will best promote the public welfare and meet the peculiar needs of the Mining Industry. The plan recommended should provide a practical means whereby Con- gress may utilize the best experience and judgment available in the industry and which will give the mining regions of the United States and Alaska ample opportunity for public hearings and the discussion of remedies. In the meantime, your Committee has taken up the matter with the governors and the United States senators and representatives of the western states and territories 'affected. It has informed them of the request of the American Mining Congress for a general revision and its reasons therefore, and of the aforesaid joint resolution to be introduced at the next session. The replies show that in this under- taking the American Mining Congress has not only no opposition, but the general approval and support of the public men of western states, while a number of them show a keen personal interest in the matter. It is clear that with the support promised and the non-partisan nature of the measure, that there will be effective action by Congress at the next session. After Congress has empowered some committee to act, your Committee hopes to have the opportunity of presenting to it, such detailed information and suggestions as may aid in preparing a plan, whether for a Commission or otherwise, which will .be satisfactory to Congress and accomplish the ends desired. Your Committee believes 120 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS that this may be secured through a wisely selected commission, authorized to draft a revised code for the use of Congress. This com- mission should hold public hearings in the principal mining centers of the west and Alaska. It should call before it, men prominent for their knowledge of prospecting, of claim locations, of mine operating, mine litigation, and the history of mining laws, and should invite opinions from the public, bearing upon the specific points at issue. The authori- ties and experience of other mining countries should also be consulted and the recommendations of the commission should be presented in the forms of a fully drafted code. . .It is clear that there is a best practical solution for each one of the difficult problems involved in a general revision of the mineral land laws, but in order to determine these best solutions, all opinions must be brought to a focus before some authoritative body which has the power of decision. Moreover, in order to assure the general approval and acceptance of reforms affecting so many varied interests, the per- sonnel of this body should be such as to command confidence and the mining communities should have opportunities to present their views before it. There is a wealth of learning and practical experience in the country, which is availablbe for the work of framing a revised code, but it is distributed among many men and must be focused by the plan indicated. i I . ' I. *! In order to properly follow up the business now under way, your Committee asks that it be authorized to continue its work during the coming year. A memorandum is attached, explaining the request of the American Mining Congress for revision and the reasons for its actions. Report of the Committee on Standardization of Elactrical Equipment in Metal Mines. General Irving Hale, Denver, Colo., Chairman. Your committee on the standardization of electrical equipment in metal mines begs to report that owing to the sudden and severe sickness of its chairman, General Irving Hale, on September 29, the work of this committee was impeded to such an extent that it is impossible for your committee to submit detailed findings herewith. Yours truly, H. S. SANDS. CHARLES A. CHASE. President's Annual Address. BY JOHN DERN, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. As representatives of the mineral industry of the United States, we are assembled in the great enterprising, truly American City of Chicago, in our fourteenth annual session. It seems to surprise some persons that a mining congress should be held in Chicago, instead of in some so-called mining' center. I hope to convince you, before I finish, that the mining industry does not deserve the limitations that many minds impose upon it, but that, on the contrary, its scope is so broad that any community where civilized men dwell together is an appropriate place to hold a mining congress. But aside from that, our Illinois friends, in view of the statis- tics that were given us by Mr. David Ross, at Los Angeles, last year would probably resent the insinuation that theirs is not a mining state Mr. Ross informed us that Illinois ranks third among the twenty-live coal producing states of the Union. He also claimed that his state had mined 733 million tons of coal in the past one hundred years, and that it has 200 billion tons left, which I for one am ready to concede is a large quantity of coal. For fourteen years the American Mining Congress has been working to educate the general public to the importance of the mining industry, and to teach the men engaged in the various branches of that industry that they have wants and needs, which can best be advanced by organized co-operation. I congratulate the members on the progress that has been made, the prestige that has been acquired, and the results that have been achieved. As one who has been connected with the movement from its inception, I can appreciate the difference between the early meetings and this en- thusiastic and representative gathering. Not that there was any lack of enthusiasm at the beginning; not that I would detract from the honor that is due the patient, energetic optimists who did the pioneer work, and kept the Mining Congress alive when its excuses for existence, measured by results, seemed few and weak; but we have grown and have developed into a power. Let us hope that this power will always be used for good. 122 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS In the beginning, our chief, almost our sole object was to secure the establishment of a Department of Mines in the National GoveVnment a worthy purpose, and one that has even yet not been fully achieved, although we have been instrumental in causing the first step to be taken. At our annual sessions, this topic was always uppermost in our thoughts, and aside from that we had no 'very definite policy. Many other subjects were discussed, but we can now see that they were more for the purpose of filling in the time than for the promotion of any sound, logical program. The result was that the American Mining Congress was not taken se- riously in many quarters. Prominent mine operators denied the right of this organization to speak for the industry as a whole. Influential journals jeered at our efforts, and derided the personnel of the Congress. Doubtless the criticisms were in the main justi- fied, but the American Mining Congress is not the only thing that has had humble beginnings. Work Continues Despite Obstacles. At any rate, in spite of these discouragements and obstacles, the work was kept up, the methods of procedure were improved, and more definite aims were evolved. The idealistic leadership of Judge Richards, who for seven troublous years was president, fol- lowed by the efficient administration of Dr. Buckley last year, and always supported by the energy and capacity of our Secretary, Mr. Callbreath, gradually produced an association that justified itself, and won the respect and allegiance of many who had formerly looked at it askance, but who are now among our most valuable members. In the words of Judge Richards, the Mining Congress has "made itself respectable," and it now claims that it truly repre- sents the mining industry of the United States, and that its delibera- tions deserve the consideration due the combined voice of those who are engaged in mining pursuits under the American flag. I make this statement confidently, but not boastingly. It is true that our membership is not yet as large as it ought to be, or as it would be if we had induced all classes of mine operators and workers to give us their active support, as they will surely do when they awake to the fact that it is to their own interest to do so. We do not wish to sail under false colors, or claim to be what we are not. We are very desirous of getting the eastern coal miners, and oil miners and iron miners to ally themselves more heartily with the western metal miners, because our interests are mutual PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 123 and identical, and in union and co-operation will be found the strength to carry out the great purposes this Congress has in view. We candidly, if regretfully, admit that, as our labor union friends would say, we have many fields yet to organize. Mining Congress Alone in Field. Great numbers of men engaged in branches of the mineral industry have not affiliated with the American Mining Congress, and give no thought to its existence. The misfortune is theirs more than ours, and sooner or later they will realize it, and come in and do their share for the common good. But already we claim to speak with the voice of authority, because there is no rival organiza- tion that assumes to occupy the same field as we. Societies such as the American Institute of Mining Engineers are technical in their objects and work, which we are not. That is, they are con- cerned with the scientific problems of practical mining and metal- lurgy questions in which we are all vitally interested, but the details of which this Congress does not pretend to make its special field. Such societies, therefore, have our heartiest good-will and admiration, and they have not the slightest reason for failing to co-operate with us, and give us the benefit of their invaluable aid. Nothing would please us better than to have all the members 'of these societies join the American Mining Congress, so that they may have the opportunity to do their share in advancing the larger, general interests of mining, instead of devoting their energies and talents exclusively to the details of their own specialty. Many of these scientific men we already have with us. We need more of them, and we want all we can get. The American Mining Congress requires the best thought and most advanced ideas that can be had. But what is nreant by "the larger interests of mining," to which I have just alluded? In other words, what are the specific objects of the American Mining Congress? Dr. Buckley said last year that they were "to foster and promote mining in all its various branches," and perhaps they could not be more concisely stated. This state- ment, however, is so general as to be vague; and yet to particularize would be to set limitations and restrictions that would be hard to define, and that would certainly vary with conditions from time to time. As questions come up, be they political, social, economic or scientific, this Congress will discuss them, so far as they affect or relate to the mining industry. But to give some conception of the activities of the Congress, I might mention a few of the subjects that have received attention, and some that are still before us. 124 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS I have already said that the scientific and technological prob- lems of mining are not the ones we aim to discuss. But to encourage work of this nature, so that efficiency may be increased and waste decreased in mining and metallurgical operations, is one of our chief objects To induce the Government to help the miner as it helps the farmer is one of the things we have constantly striven for, and we expect to keep hammering away at it until we get what we deserve. Uniform Mining Laws. To secure the enactment of uniform mining laws in the sev- eral states, to the end that mine accidents may be minimized and the health of workers protected, is a subject that has been most carefully investigated by this Congress, and a model law has been prepared, that we believe could well be used as a basis by all states, with such modifications as local conditions might require. To eliminate the fake promoter and all other sorts of mine frauds is another end we have in view. To work for true con- servation, and to aid the government in formulating a fair and just Alaskan policy, are objects to which we are committed. We have had committees to investigate sm/elter rates, railroad rates, vertical side line law, general revision of mineral land laws, coal tax insurance fund, and the standardization of electrical equipment. It is apparent from this partial list of subjects that our activities have touched both our internal affairs and our external interests. To a few of the subjects that I have mentioned I will presently make more extended reference, but I have merely been trying to show that the American Mining Congress makes it its province to consider any sort of a question that in any way affects the mining industry. When we speak of the mining industry a gooicl many of us are prone to think only of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, coal and iron mines. We should rid ourselves of this narrow conception. The American Mining Congress aspires to stand for the mineral in- dustry in its broadest sense. All of nature's bounties come from the soil, and the products are of two classes, vegetable and mineral. Everything that is not vegetable is mlineral, and should be classed in the mineral industry. The scope of mining is greatly increased when we add such other metals as platinum, tin, aluminum, anti- mony, tungsten, quicksilver, bismuth, nickel, magnesium, manga- nese, and the gems and precious stones; but it is very much more enlarged when we consider the non-metallic minerals, including petroleum, natural gas, salt, gypsum, lime, cement, asphalt, sand, PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 125 gravel, stone, slate, phosphates, rocks, sulphur, asbestos, graphite, mica, pigments, fertilizers, abrasive materials, chemical materials, mineral waters, and the clay products, which embrace the brick and tile industry. These and many more are just as much parts of the mineral industry as are the seven first mentioned metals, and when ' considered in this proper light, our industry assumes truly majestic proportions. Broad Aspect of Mining. The mere mention of this broad aspect of mining ought to be sufficient to silence those superficial critics who insist upon calling mining a species of gambling. It is nothing of .the kind. It is, in its every phrase, a legitimate, useful, honorable business, and it forms the basis of many of our greatest enterprises. There are frauds in mining, but so are there in farming. There are fakirs in mining, but so are there in manufacturing. There are crooks in the mining business, but so are there in banking and railroading. And yet, in the minds of many well-meaning and honest people, mining seems to be judged by its parasites and by those who in no way stand for real mining. I apprehend right here in Chicago, if a banker learns that one of his customers is interested in a mine, he will at once conclude that that customer is a speculator and a gambler, and that his credit must be watched with unusual ca're. Now, it is needless for us merely to decry this attitude. We know that it exists, and if we are candid we must admit that there is a reason for it. The reason is to be found in the insane mining booms that crop up from time to time, when men let their imaginations run riot, disregard all laws of probability, and make the most absurd representations and prom- ises. That is when the fakir and the fraudulent promoter get in their deadly work. And when the bubble bursts, and things get back into their proper perspective, when the unfortunate dupes have lost their money, they do not realize their own folly in listen- ing to the wily stranger, but they hurl imprecations at mining, as the quintessence of all that is crooked, and rotten and evil. The Amer- ican Mining Congress can perform no greater service for itself and for the public than to eliminate mining frauds, and to see that the investor in mining securities gets a square deal and a "run for his money." These frauds are, of course, principally attached to metal min- ing, and the stigma therefore rests chiefly upon that important in- dustry. I will not go so far as to say that mining is as safe as any other business, but I will say that., when conducted with proper 126 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS skill, knowledge and ability, its risks can be so greatly minimized as to make it a relatively safe venture. It cannot be denied that the development of a new mine has a large element of chance. In spite of favorable geological conditions, the outcome is often dis- appointing. It is impossible to see into the ground, and opinions can only be based upon visible evidence. But the possible returns are so large that investors are willing to take these chances. Those who put their money into a mining scheme with a full knowledge of these conditions seldom complain if failure results, provided they are sure their money has been honestly and intelligently ex- pended. That is what we are endeavoring to bring about, and when we succeed metal mining will move up to its proper place as a con- servative, legitimate business. Alaskan Situation. The American Mining Congress has for several years taken a special interest in Alaska, and any matter concerning that won- derful but apparently distressed country is sure of our prompt and sympathetic attention. The true status of the situation in Alaska seems to be hard to find out. So many conflicting reports are re- ceived that the average citizen finds himself perplexed and in doubt about the facts. One day we hear that the coal deposits of Alaska are fabulously large, and of the finest grade in the world. The next day we are told that the quantity of coal has been grossly overestimated, and that it is not very good coal anyway. From one source comes the information that its bodies of copper ore are the greatest ever discovered, and from another source we learn that these mines are vastly overrated, and that they cannot compete with the mines of the States. First we are startled by a tremen- dous scandal about certain private interests grabbing and monopo- lizing the great harbor of Controller Bay, and then we get sets of resolutions from the city council and chamber of commerce of the city of Cordova, stoutly maintaining that Controller Bay is no harbor at all, and that Cordova Bay is the only feasible water out- let. On the one hand we are solemnly assured that the people of Alaska fervently desire home rule, and the next returning traveler reports that he was unable to find any real sentiment of that kind. These conflicting statements are very disconcerting to the man who is trying to keep himself in a judicial frame of mind, so as to judge fairly and avoid prejudice. What we seem to need more than anything else is accurate, reliable, unbiased information. What can we do until we get the facts? I am convinced that the people of the United States, through their government, will do substan- PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 127 tial justice to their countrymen in Alaska, just as soon as they have indisputable data about conditions as they actually exist. A very appropriate step would appear to be the appointment of a special congressional committee, or some sort of a governmental commis- sion, composed of disinterested men of distinguished ability and unquestioned probity, to make a thorough investigation of Alaskan conditions. The mission of these men should not be to bolster up the pet views of any one man or set of men, but they should go for the sole purpose of gathering information, so that the government of the United States can act intelligently and in the light of actual facts, instead of floundering about in the dark and reasoning from doubtful premises. This suggestion may possibly cause our Alaskan friends to groan, because is seems to portend further delay in the adjustment of their troubles. It is quite conceivable that the opposite would be the result. Certainly very little progress* is now being made in the settlement of the vexed problems, and it is not apparent that a speedy and satisfactory solution is in sight. If the proposed com- mission would work diligently, and not protract its hearings un- necessarily, its report might be expected within a reasonable time, and if that report commanded the confidence of Congress, its sug- gestions for the relief of Alaska might quickly be enacted into law. And anyway, better 'a little delay and settle the question right, than to act blindly and make mistakes. Population Increases 764 in Ten Years. , That there is something wrong in Alaska seems beyond doubt. When a body of patriotic citizens, emulating the illustrious Revo- lutionary tea destroyers of Boston, organize a Cordova coal party, it is obvious that they have a grievance. When we hear it said and repeated that Alaskans look with envious eyes upon the kind of government that is enjoyed by their Canadian neighbors, just across the line, and complain bitterly that their own government is treat- ing them unjustly and unfairly, and is loading them with unreason- able burdens and restrictions, it is a burning shame that we do not at least find out whether their grievances are real or fancied. When the population of that wonderful northern empire increased only 764 in the ten years from 1900 to 1910, it looks upon the face of it as if its development were being retarded, whereas, it should by all means be encouraged. The American Mining Congress last year adopted a most ex- cellent report of its committee on Alaskan mining laws. That report contained a number of observations and recommendations "128 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS that seem to be eminently sensible and fair. We believe that those suggestions could be advantageously heeded by those whose busi- ness it is to legislate for the territory, and by those whose business it is to administer the laws. In addition to what our organization has already attempted to do for Alaska, we stand ready to help in any way that lies within our power. We are fully in accord with the policy of preventing the resources of that vast territory from falling into monopolistic control, but we cannot understand why fear of that danger should so blight activity that progress and development are at a standstill. Are our statesmen not resourceful enough to devise measures that will permit development and yet prevent monopoly? I think they are; but they want the information that is requisite to intelligent action. What is needed is a more thorough understanding of the situation. Conservation a Live Issue. At our session in Los Angeles, last year, the subject most dis- cussed was the conservation of our natural resources. This should not be considered as a fad, but as a live issue, and one that jus- tifies the interest it has awakened. I suppose it would be hard to find a man who would not avow himself a conservationist, although he might reserve the right to decide for himself what conservation should properly mean. The ordinary conception of the conserva- tion policy that has been recently developed in this country makes it mean the protection of forests, the prevention of a water power monopoly, and the leasing of coal and oil lands. These are impor- tant topics, especially to us, since they all have a direct effect upon the mining industry. I think I voice the sentiment of mining men generally when I say we give our unqualified and unstinted approval to any well- directed efforts to prevent forest fires, to lessen the waste of our timber resources, .and to avoid the damage that may result from in- judicious deforestation. There can be no sound objection to a ra- tional forestry policy, and the argument is all in its favor. We do not believe, however, that it is necessary to administer this policy in such a way as to hamper or interfere with legitimate mining operations. A just forestry policy, must not impose burdens upon mining, but must recognize the rights and needs of that industry, and co-operate in its advancement, instead of placing obstacles in its path. Mining, likewise, should refrain from ruthless, careless and wasteful destruction of timber, and should willingly comply with the necessary regulations prescribed by the forest service. In PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 129 short, there should be sympathy, not antagonism, between the two I also believe I speak for the large majority of the Western mining men when I say that, notwithstanding many strong points in its favor, we are not impressed with the wisdom of a plan to lease coal and oil lands. We believe that the rapid and systematic development of this class of lands can best be brought about by continuing the system that now prevails, and under which prac- tically our entire mineral development has taken place. We also believe that many of the abuses that have been brought to light, such as dummy entries of coal lands, are directly traceable to a lax enforcement of the law. Revision of Mineral Land Laws. There is little doubt that if a leasing system were adopted, it would not stop at coal and oil lands, but would expand to all min- eral lands. Most of us recognize that our mineral land la\\s are imperfect in some details, and the American Mining Congres. 1 has a committee that is trying to work out a plan for a general revision of those laws. We know that the present system permits wrongs and abuses which call for better regulation, but we believe these can be corrected without upsetting the entire present policy and entering upon a wholly new path. The prevention of monopolies that will have the power of extorting unreasonable prices from the consumer is sound policy, which we all approve. That it is im- possible to prevent such monopolies under the present system is absurd, and that the leasing system will automatically prevent them is doubtful. That the mineral land policy of the United States, under which the prospector is guaranteed the full benefit of his discoveries, has been a horrible mistake we flaMy deny. On the contrary, we maintain that it has been a beneficent policy, and that it has been the chief factor in winning the western half of this con- tinent in settlement and civilization. It is true that great fortunes have been made out of mining, but they are exceptional ; and it is these exceptions that furnish the incentive to the prospector to brave the wilds and hardships of the remote places of the earth, in search of the treasure that is to be his own when he finds it, and that will make him another of the exceptions. Even under the present liberal law, very, very few are so lucky as to have their dreams come true. Would the prospector be equally bold and venturesome if he knew that he could get noth- ing but a lease on his discoveries ? Would not the fear that a ca- pricious readjustment of royalties might rob him of the greater portion of his profits be strong enough to deter him from going 130 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS ahead as he would if he knew that everything he might find would be absolutely his own? To a man who has been close to the game, it looks as if this would be the result. It seems to me that the ques- tion of getting a revenue out of the mineral lands is of decidedly minor importance. The most far-reaching and valuable result of the pioneer prospector's work is in opening up and developing tracts of the public domain that would otherwise remain untouched. The win- ning of these wild places to settlement and civilization extends our agricultural area and widens our markets. This is of such vast benefit to the whole country and to all the people that it is idle to say the nation has wasted its resources because it has given the dis- coverer title to his discovery. It would be just as logical to con- demn the homestead law, which is universally conceded to be the wisest policy this country ever adopted. There is no difference ; the same principle underlies our mineral land system arid our ag- ricultural land system. We believe it is a wise principle, and we believe it would be a step backward instead of forward to abro- gate the beneficent policy that has been the chief factor in develop- ing the country, especially the west. Furthermore, the seeking out of nature's bounties and bring- ing them forth for man's use is incomparably more important, and more beneficial to all the people, than the mere collection of a trib- ute for the benefit of the general government. Safeguarding Water Powers. What to do with our water powers is a question that is not easily answered. It is alleged that there is in existence or in pros- pect a monopoly sthat aims to control the water powers of the coun- try. If this assertion has any basis in fact, it deserves the most careful attention. One of the country's greatest natural assets is its water powers, and these should be looked after, so as to get the greatest good for the greatest number. Certainly, the most im- portant thing is not to make these water powers a source of rev- enue to the government, but to safeguard the public interest by providing that power can be obtained by those who need it at the lowest possible rates. Give our people the benefit of cheap power, and they will have an enormous commercial advantage over other nations less favored by nature. It must be remembered, however, "that it takes "capital, and lots of it, to develop these water power projects, and if we are going to have the power that is now going to waste harnessed up and made to serve us, we must encourage .capital to do so by permitting it to make a reasonable profit. It PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 131 seems to me that a water power is a public utility, just as much as a railroad is. and instead of being treated strictly as private. prop- erty, it should be controlled by state laws, as other public utilities are controlled. A water power located in Oregon is of no use to the people of Maine or Florida, so why should they prescribe the regu lations ? It sounds like good sense and good ethics to turn the water powers over to the states in which they are situated. I have briefly adverted to these well-known features of the conservation question. Whether the view I have expressed be ac- cepted or not, I want to add that these matters are, after all, of relatively small importance. There is a broader conservation that applies with particular force to the mineral industry. Conserva- tion means saving, and s'aving means the elimination of waste. The waste in mining is something frightful and, unlike the waste in for- estry, it cannot be replaced or restored. Waste in Coal- Mining. I have heard it claimed that in coal mining fifty per cent of the coal is left in the mines, and therefore wasted. Manifestly, the reason is that it does not pay to mine cleaner, and so the waste goes on. The value of the coal production of the United States in 1909 was $555,000,000. According to this, we are wasting over half a billion dollars' worth of coal every year. I submit that here is a field for conservation that makes our ordinary ideas of the sub- ject dwindle into insignificance. But the loss does not end here. To convert coal into power, by means of boilers and engines, is no- toriously wasteful. Engineers tell us that engines only deliver from five to ten per cent of the energy that is contained in the coal. Think of the benefit that would accrue to mankind from a conservation that would reverse the figures, and enable us to use ninety-five per cent and lose five, instead of using five per cent and losing ninety-five ! Similar examples can be cited from other branches of mining gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc. In many mines large quantities of ore are lost through lack of skill in extracting it. In others, im- mense tonnages are left standing because the ore is too low grade to be profitably worked by the methods in use. Conservation here means the development of improved mining and reduction methods, and the dissemination of knowledge so that efficient methods will be used. After the ore is mined, there comes the metallurgical loss^ which is often greater than the mining loss. At the great gold mines of the famous Mother Lode, in California, the average re- 132 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS covery probably is not above eighty per cent of the assay value of the ore. It would cost more to get the other twenty per cent than it is worth, so it is thrown away. Some of our greatest copper mines, which have plants that are pointed out as marvels of human skill and ingenuity, do not save over seventy per cent of their min- eral, sometimes because no better work can be done by concentra- tion, and sometimes because they can make bigger dividends by crowding through big tonnages with an indifferent extraction, than by treating a smaller tonnage and getting the maximum possible extraction. In lead and zinc concentrators the same terrific losses are con- stantly recurring. When a miner ships a car of ore to a smelter, if the assay shows that the ore contains zinc, not only does the smelter refuse to pay for the zinc, but it charges the miner a penalty be- cause it is present. These things cause no comment, since it is the best that can be done by known processes. Metallurgical Knowledge Small, Viewed in its laigest aspect, it must be admitted that we need not be conceited about our metallurgical knowledge. Doubtless, in times to come, the crudity of our present day methods will be mar- veled at, after our wastefulness has forced future generations to evolve a real conservation, to stop these losses, and has taught mankind that, although our Mother Earth is prodigal with her gifts, yet they are not inexhaustible, and are not to be thrown away, but are blessings to be appreciated. Is this all idle talk, visionary, im- practical dreaming? In this day of wireless telegraphy and flying machines, who will dare stand up and say anything is impossible? I have merely pointed out that, rapid and wonderful as our prog- ress has been, we have hardly made a start. In the bright lexicon of mining science there should be no such word as complacency, be- cause the possibilities and not only the possibilities but the needs of the future generations have no limits. Here is a policy of con- servation that spells the advancement of the human race, and about that there can be no disagreement. Progress is always gradual, and generally slow. It is not to be expected that we will travel very far toward the millennium in our generation, but it is for us to do what we can. Every man engaged in any branch of the mining industry should feel that it is his duty to contribute something to the sum of human knowledge and human happiness, and he will be eager to do so when he comes to realize that there is no joy like the joy of creating something new and valuable. PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 133 A great deal can be done and is being done by institutions of learning and scientific societies. I should like to pay a more ex- tended appreciation to our colleges and schools of mines, because they richly deserve all the praise that can be showered upon them. But I want to refer especially to a subject of prime importance, the National Bureau of Mines, which we claim as the child of the American Mining Congress, and from which we hope for great, things. The Bureau of Mines. The American Mining Congress for years demanded the crea- tion of a Department of Mines and Mining in our national govern- ment, with representation in the President's cabinet. Due directly to the efforts of our organization, Congress finally created a Bureau of Mines. That our efforts were successful was due to the support of the distinguished guest who is to honor us by his presence during our present session, and whose wisdom, high-mindedness and sin- cerity of purpose we all acknowledge and applaud, President Wil- liam Howard Taft. Congress created the Bureau of Mines, but the usefulness of the bureau has so far been circumscribed within very narrow limits. It is true that it has been permitted to do some extremely valuable work to lessen the number of accidents in coal mines, but aside from that its chief work has been to test fuel for the government so that when Uncle Sam wants a load of coal for the capitol at Washington or for one of his battleships, he will get his money's worth. No doubt this is a necessary and important function, but we are not satisfied with this amount of aid for the mining industry. One of the important tasks before us is to create a demand that the Bureau of Mines be given a chance to do some of the things that we expected of it. Give it a chance, and we have no fear that it will not quickly justify itself. If we can convince our congress- men and senators that the Bureau of Mines ought to have the authority and the appropriation it asks for, our able and good friend, Dr. Holmes, and his assistants, will promptly demonstrate that the money could not have been better spent. We believe that the Bureau of Mines ought to be to the miner what the Department of Agriculture is to the farmer. When the Department of Agriculture was created, it was the object of much criticism and yet it is now one of the most important factors in our national life, and nobody wants it abolished. I am an ardent admirer of the Department of Agriculture and of the work. that it is doing. So far as tangible results are concerned, I believe it is 134 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS the most useful branch of our government. It tells the farmer how to maintain the fertility of his soil by rotating crops ; when and how to plow his land; what sort of crops to raise, and how to get the highest yields; how to irrigate his land if it does not rain enough, and how to drain it if it rains too much. If the farmer wants to raise livestock, it tells him all about every kind, from bees to beef. If he wants to know what crops would be profitable- in his country, it will cite him the relative advantages of peanuts and prunes, or sweet potatoes and alfalfa. If the San Jose 'scale, the gipsy moth, or the cotton boll or alfalfa weevil are getting in their deadly work, it will send out experts to study the pest; and figure out how to get rid of it. If he is afraid the frost is going to damage his fruit trees, he keeps his eye on the weather signals. If his hogs get the cholera, it sends him a batch of serum, that will render the live ones immune,, and it will incidentally offer a bit of advice as to what to do with the dead ones. It tells the house- wife how to cook the meat, how to bake bread, how to take care of the milk, how to make the hens lay, what to plant in the garden, how to get rid of mice, and how and why to swat the fly. These and ten thousand other things have helped to increase the value of farm products, and to make life more worth living. This work is of such colossal importance that I should like to explain the activities of the department more fully in another way, so as to make it better understood, but such a recital would be tedious. I will say, however, that the Department of Agriculture is divided into nine bureaus, besides several so-called offices and divisions. These are enumerated as follows : Weather Bureau, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Plant Industry, Forest Service, Bureau of Chemistry, Bureau of Soils, Bureau of Ento- mology, Bureau of Biological Survey, Division of Accounts and Disbursements, Division of Publications, Bureau of Statistics, Office of Experiment Stations, and Office of Public Roads. The Government appropriated about $17,000,000 for the Agri- cultural Department in 1910. Secretary Wilson's report for that year covers 156 printed pages, and concludes with the following v/ords : 'The foregoing is a brief account of what the Department has been doing during the past year to help farmers through research and demonstration. We have been diligent to contribute toward heavier crops, owing to high prices for the necessities of life, and we feel justified in thinking that our efforts and those of the scien- tists of the states are telling in the grand totals set forth. The day's PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 135 work on the farm is accom; lishing more, and the acre is yielding more. During the past year such attention has been given to demon- stration in the field of what is known to advanced students, that men of limited means and circumscribed condition^ might learn by object lesson better methods and thereby increase their incomes and also contribute to the magnitude of our crops. "Science that is not applied is dead." A Plea for the Mining Industry. If these great things are done for agriculture, why riot do something for agriculture's sister mining? Be it remembered that man's every need is supplied by our Mother Earth. Out of the earth's crust comes everything we eat, drink, wear or use, all our habitations, conveyances, tools, and in fact everything we have, be it necessity or luxury. Agriculture and mining are the twin sciences that divide between themselves the work of extracting these things from the earth. Agriculture has the vegetable king- dom, and mining the mineral kingdom. Is there any reason why agriculture should be made the favorite child of our government, while mining is treated as a step-child ? The two sciences are of equal importance, and neither could exist without the other. We are not in the least jealous of the treat- ment that has been accorded to agriculture. She merits it all and more. We only plead that mining be likewise recognized, and given her just dues. To those who argue that agriculture is the more important, we say, "Pause and reflect whether any sort of a civilization could be possible without the products of the mines." It is undoubtedly true that no mining or any other sort of work could be done without agriculture to feed the workers ; but at the same time agriculture alone is helpless to advance the human family in its onward march toward higher and better things. What Alining Docs for Civilization. Let me cite a few simple, homely examples. Does agriculture want to raise a crop? Let mining first furnish the implements wherewith to till the soil and harvest the grain. What sort of a civilization would it be that had to plow the soil with a crooked stick, and harvest and thresh with the naked hands? When you sit down to eat a meal, agriculture furnishes the food, but mining supplies the stove, and probably the fuel, to pre- pare it for the table, as well as the pots, kettles, dishes and utensils. How far would man have progressed if he had to eat his food 136 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS raw, or had to cook it on the end of a stick over a wood camp-fire, and eat it with his fingers? Do you want to build a dwelling? Agriculture will furnish the wood, but mining must provide the stones, bricks, mortar, cement, plaster, the paint, the windows, the door-knobs and hinges, the plumbing, the heating apparatus, the gas or electric light fixtures. A sorry sort of a house it would be without the products of the mines, and one habitable only by primitive savages. Do you wish to travel from place to place ? Show me the vehicle that could be constructed from the products of agriculture alone, and I will show you that it represents a civilization not far removed from barbarism. Your carriages, your automobiles, your railroads, your flying machines would be undreamt of without the materials produced by mining. Do you wish to telegraph or telephone ? The message goes over a wire provided by mining. Do you want to know the time of day? A wooden sun dial is about the only conceivable time-piece that agriculture could provide. But I need not multiply examples to convince any reasonable person that mining is by no means second to agriculture, but is its equal in every respect. As I have said, it would be a physical im- possibility to have any sort of a civilization with agriculture alone. Man is the only one of God's creatures that makes use of the min- eral products, and perhaps that is the index of his superiority ove r all other forms of life. Mining men themselves do not always fully appreciate the dignity of their calling. There is no higher or nobler one in the world. Ample Justification for Government Aid. For these reasons we feel ourselves justified in asking for more ample aid from the government. Mining operators are not all millionaires. Many of them, in fact most of them, are men of limited means, who are struggling along, trying to make a living out of their claims. To such a man, research and demonstration would be of great benefit. Experiment stations would give him the information he needs, in order to work more intelligently and more efficiently, just as such stations have helped the farmer. Great corporations can employ the best and most expert talent to work out their own problems, but such discoveries as they make are for their own benefit, and not for the benefit of the general public. An invention, such as an improved metallurgical process, seldom comes as an inspiration, but is evolved out of a long, tedious, series of tests that require special knowledge and training, PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS 137 as well as time, apparatus, and material. Manifestly the poor operator can do no work of this kind, and it must be done for him, just as similar work is done for the farmer. I trust I have ijiacle clear both the analogy and the necessity. In conclusion, let me say again that the American Mining Con- gress aims to stand for all branches of mining. It was founded by the -metal miners of the West, but we Westerners have learned that the value of our metals is insignificant compared with the coal, iron and petroleum of the East. We want East and West to join hands, and make our organization truly representative of the min- ing industry of the whole country" The Public Lands Question. BY HON. WILLIAM SPRY, GOVERNOR OF UTAH. In discussing the question of conservation, permit me to assure you at the outset that I do not come before you as an advocate of the so-called State's rights phase of this important subject. The public domain of this country is the exclusive property of the United States, subject only to the control and disposition of Congress. The National Government has acquired title to its public lands by suc- cession to Great Britain, by cessions from the original thirteen states and by purchase from, foreign governments. Differing as to conditions of cession to that portion of the public domain which lies north of Florida and east of the Mississippi the original states were agreed in this one particular, namely, that the territory thus ceded should be a common fund for the joint benefit of the then members and all future members of the Union. Differentiated as were opinions on the terms of admission of new states, justice ultimately prevailed and territories are admitted to the Union on equality of terms with the original states. Under a reasonable construction of our constitution, the right of Congress to administer and dispose of the public lands of the United States as it sees fit and proper cannot be questioned. The question of the policy of that administration, however, is one upon which opinions are widely different. It is a subject of surpassing interest ; if, indeed, it is not a subject of deep anxiety. It is to the question of "policy" of administration and not of right to administer that I shall address my remarks. First Conservation Congress. Four years ago, at the suggestion of the Inland Waterways Commission, President Theodore Roosevelt invited the various gov- ernors, the senators and representatives of the Sixtieth Congress, and men of prominence in public affairs to confer together on the conservation of the natural resources, and in May of 1908 there was held at the White House the first conservation congress. Called ostensibly for the purpose of considering the use and con- servation of the mineral resources, of the resources of the land and the resources of the water in every part of our territory, as matters of vital concern to the nation as a whole and to all the people, it was THE PUBLIC LANDS QUESTION 139 reasonably assumed that the discussions would be along the line of waste prevention and that from them there would be evolved a policy of foresight in the administration of the public domain a policy which, in its practical application, would have in view the needs of the future, while adequately meeting 1 the demands of the present. This conference, for some season or other, resolved itself into a more or less spectacular, \vordy exploitation of facts regarding the exhaustion of natural resources. From the modestly expressed fear that the present day wanton waste of the natural resources would work a hardship on future generations, the radical conservationists, supported by extravagant statements as to the depletion of the timber, the coal, and the min- eral supply of the nation, grew alarmed for the material prosperity of the succeeding generation, and, taking advantage of a vague public understanding of the meaning of conservation, soon had the country on the very verge of a public resource famine, so por- tentous as to demand drastic changes in the administration of the public domain. Statistics were presented, which at the time were unchallenged, by which it was proven that within a comparatively few years the people would actually suffer from the cold for want of coal, that the vast mountain ranges would be stripped of their ores and precious metals, that the iron age would be a thing of the past and that the present medium of exchange would have to be abolished in brief, that the grea,t American republic would shortly face a veritable bankruptcy of public resource. Shrinkage in Public Resources. I believe I am safe in saying that the pages of history fail to disclose such a remarkable shrinkage in public resource, in so short a time, as the shrinkage which followed in the immediate wake oi this first and subsequent conservation congresses. The boast of the American people that they are possessed of a nation of un- equaled, not to say unsurpassed, natural resource, has been tem- porarily silenced by the conservationist and the bright future has been obscured by imaginary dark clouds of doubt and uncertainty. The state executives departed from the first conservation con- gress filled with conservation ideas, and with the understanding that the several states were to have an influence if not a voice in shaping the future policy of public land administration, promptly appointed state conservation commissions, to act in conjunction with the national government. 140 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Time has demonstrated that there was no clear understanding on the part of the states as to their participation in the conservation movement. I believe I am within the fact when I say that time also has demonstrated that the states have had much less to do with conservation in recent years than they had prior to the first Congress. The only tangible result that has come from the earnest efforts of- public spirited men who enlisted their services with the Utah State Conservation Commission is the accumulation of facts regarding the public resources of Utah mineral, coal, water and soil which establish the previous estimates of its wealth of natural resources as ridiculously low, and demonstrate that the variety and extent of this resource is impossible of even approximation ; and so it transpires that while the national conservation advocates continue to hold conferences given over largely to the discussion of resource shortage, the State Conservation Commission of Utah has fallen naturally and rightly into the discharge of duties 'that would ordinarily devolve upon a bureau of research and publicity and it is today supplying information on the bountiful natural resources of the state. Conservationists One-Sided. The great trouble with the discussions of the National con- servationists has been that they have been altogether too one-sided ; too much has been said of the exhaustion of coal and too little has been advanced concerning the fact that we are leaving the age of steam behind us and entering on the age of electricity ; too much has been said of the depletion of the timber supply, while far too little has been said regarding the cement era ; too many contracted papers have been presented on the exhaustion of the mineral re- sources of the nation, and the mineral deposits have been grossly underestimated. I have no desire to combat statistical arguments regarding mineral exhaustion with statistical arguments regarding mineral wealth ; but I do desire to say in passing that Utah will place mountains of the largest and choicest iron deposits in the world against rows of figures on the exhaustion of the iron supply of the nation ; it will place thousands of square miles of coal measures against the estimated end of the coal supply measured by tons ; it will meet figures on the passing of the copper output with moun- tains of copper ore, and it is perhaps pertinent to here observe that when the first statistics on mineral exhaustion were being presented at Washington in 1908, a Utah man was perfecting his plans for a new method of handling low-grade copper ore that then lay in the THE PUBLIC LANDS QUESTION 141 "exhausted" or non-producing zone and consequently found no place in the elaborate statistical data, and that since his method was put in operation the "exhausted area" has developed into one of the greatest copper producing" camps in the world. Exhaustion of Soil. Too much has been said regarding the exhaustion of the soil. I submit that soil exhaustion is a problem for conservationists to handle ; but it resolves itself absolutely to an elastic policy that will meet local conditions. It is perhaps true that the soils of the East have been worked too steadily without sufficient fertilization; it is absolutely true that in the West nature replenishes and fertilizes her soils through the nutrition that comes from the everlasting hills. Irrigation produces crops and at the same time conserves the strength and adds to the life-giving properties of the soil.- Mind you, I do not desire to be understood as being opposed to conservation nor to wholly condemn the system of its operation. I believe in the forest reserve. In our own state, for instance, I have seen great watersheds rejuvenated through government supervision and the water supjply regulated and purified ; but I do not believe in the withdrawal of agricultural lands to be placed in the forest reserves, upon which lands nature herself never pro- duced trees and upon which lands human agencies will never pro- duce forests. It is in these withdrawals and the withdrawals of agricultural lands, because of possible oil deposits, that the hard- ship lies and it is in. urging these withdrawals that the radical con- servationist does his greatest mischief. I do not believe that the conservation of the coal supply means the cessation or even the curtailment of coal production. Conser- vation of the coal supply resolves itself into a question of national or state regulation in the matter of its production. In other words, I believe it is within the range of possibility to so regulate the operation of coal mines as to recover and save for useful purposes a vast percentage over what is now actually mined. It is within the province of the conservationist to urge, as it is within the range of good business judgment to demand, that the exhaustion of one particular coal claim or deposit shall not mean 'the caving in and total destruction of its workings, but the saving thereof for the use and benefit of the adjoining property. Cannot Approximate Mineral Resources. I have absolutely no sympathy for the bugaboo of mineral ex- haustion. No man or set of men will assume to estimate the min- 142 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS eral deposits of this nation. Not until the surface of the entire United States has been honeycombed by the prospector and miner will any thoughtful man attempt to approximate the mineral re- sources of the nation, and then no man will have the temerity to fix a limit to which the sciences may go in discovering new processes of extracting and making useful the mineral deposits of Mother Earth. Now as to the policy of the administration of the public do- main. First of all, bear in mind the fact that the states of the Union are admitted on terms of equality. With this fact firmly established, consider that the nation has operated for many years under a liberal policy in the disposal of its public lands; that the broad terms of this policy have been fundamentally responsible for the growth, development and wealth of the great centers of the East; that an empire 'within an empire, the great empire of the West, is approach- ing an era of development that from all indications will eclipse the wonderful growth of the East ; that the sale of agricultural lands was primarily responsible for the growth in population in the East ; that the development of the mineral resources added to the wealth of the East, and that the use of all the bounteous, gifts of nature made the East what it is today. Because of the extravagant representations which have here- tofore been mentioned, the former liberal policy of the National Government has been materially curtailed ; vast areas have been withdrawn from entry, particularly in the West; new and radical departures in the regulations governing the handling of mineral and oil lands have been adopted, while it is now urged that water power sites should be withdrawn from entry. The leasing of min- eral and oil lands and water power sites by the government is being- considered as a method of carrying out the conservation idea. Present Policy Should Not Be Pursued. Many reasons can be advanced why such a policy of admin- istration of the public domain should not be pursued. Permit .me to mention briefly the most important : Under this policy the states wherein the public domain as yet lies practically in, its virgin state are deprived of that benefit that accrues to the older states through the disposal of its public domain and use of the natural resources. It is obvious that the develop- ment which came to the older states, through the disposal of the public domain to individuals, will be deprived the younger and less developed states and that, while the greatest direct benefits of the former liberal policy accrued to the individual states wherein such THE PUBLIC LANDS QUESTION 143 sales were made, the direct benefits not only from the sale but from the development of the public lands in the Western states, under the present policy, will go to all the states of the Union. Suppose the government leases its mineral and oil lands and its water power sites and remains forever vested of title, who can estimate the loss in revenues from taxation that may be suffered by the states wherein these valuable resources are located, which revenues have for years been accruing to the older states because their resources have been vested in private or corporate ownership and become subject to taxation by the states a thing which it ap- pears will be utterly impossible under the leasing system so long as the government holds title, since government lands cannot, under the constitution, be subjected to taxation. This phase of the leasing system alone condemns it as a policy in absolute violation of the spirit of equality of rights in the public domain. A material factor in the growth and development of a state is the distribution of the burden of taxation. Take from the state its right to tax mining claims, the mineral and oil output, and the power sites within its boundaries, and you rob that common- wealth of a revenue that has been a source of ever-increasing in- come to the older states ; and increase instead of diminish the bur- den the freeholder is already called upon to bear. Discussion of Leasing System. Perhaps a legal |:xpert can enlighten you as to the power of states to tax even tii net proceeds of mines under the proposed leasing system from the government. Carry the mineral leasing policy a step farther: If it is proper that the pioneer prospector, the man above all who stakes his all on a chance that he and his fellow men may prosper, the man who invests his money, his talents, his energy, in delving after the min- eral deposits of the public domain, and who, after the expenditure of his means, finds a "pay streak," installs machinery, opens up a vein of 'ore, which but for his persistency would have lain hidden for centuries, must turn over to the federal government what he has found, and if he will continue to develop it he must do so as a lessee, why should not the same policy be proper in the matter of agricultural lands? In short, let the homeseeker select a piece of raw land which he regards as a possible producer of agricultural products, let him clear it of sagebrush, let him plow and seed the same, and, if in an arid section of the United States, let him at his own expense acquire and deliver to that land the water which is necessary to produce 144 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS the crop, and then if the experiment is a success and he secures a rich harvest, let him become a lessee of the federal government and work his land, not as a freeholder but as a tenant of the national government, which becomes his landlord. And I submit that if we are to wait on the national government for the putting of the mineral and oil and agricultural lands in condition for tenancy, fu- ..ture generations will be amply provided with undeveloped resources, both land and mineral. Landlordism Autocratic. Aside from this, landlordism has always been autocratic, while tenantry has developed peoples who lack in the two most glorious qualities of American citizenship loyalty and patriotism. Out in the West we have been building up our country by urging people to own their own homes, to own their own places of business, and to own the business in which they are engaged, and it is the only policy that will make toward intelligent, broad-minded, progressive citizenship. Tenantry is repugnant to the ideals of American citizenship. While I have pronounced views on the public land policy, I do not want you to regard me as a radicalist. While I do not believe that under the present law the states have the legal right to a voice in the administration of the public domain, other than their repre- sentation in Congress, they have a moral right to insist on a policy that shall be in harmony with the previous policy and calculated to develop and upbuild the country. Whether Congress should or should not transfer the control of the unappropriated public lands to the respective states wherein they lie, is a question upon which there is much agitation. Laying that problem to one side, I do believe that the public land within the boundaries of any state ; that the minerals thereof, the oil deposits, the timber and the natural resources individually and collectively should be administered on terms of equality in every state of the Union. And there is but one term of equality; that is the dispo- sition of those lands to the bona fide homeseeker, to the prospector and to the miner. Maturing States Entitled to Resources. I believe that the Federal Government legally exercises super- vision over the public domain in the entire United States, but the moment the policy of that administration makes for the benefit the whole of the United States at the expense of the growth, de- velopment and prosperity of a state that is entitled to the same. THE PUBLIC LANDS QUESTION 145 benefits from the public domain as have been enjoyed by others, the policy is in violation of the spirit of fairness and equality. The fact that the resources of some of the older states have been par- tially or even wholly exhausted should not for a moment argue that the younger or the more conservative states should be deprived of their resources. In other words, the natural resources within the given boun- daries of a state, whether vested in private, state or federal owner- ship, constitute the capital upon which that particular state must conduct its business, and that capital should not be impaired by stagnation. In my opinion, the business of the government and the business of the state is being properly conducted when the public lands go to bona fide homeseekers, when its minerals are being converted into the wealth of the state and the nation, and wheri its waters are being used for irrigation, transportation and power, and when its timber is cut to build homes, schoolhouses and public build- ings. And the capital of the nation and the state and the individual is being impaired when the use of these great natural resources whose development creates life and prosperity is so restricted as to prevent their free and unlimited development. Past, Present and Future of Copper. BY HORACE J. STEVENS, HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN. The great copper industry of the present day is a thing of small beginnings. One century ago, in the year 1811, the world's production of copper was a trifle under 10,000 long' tons, an amount smaller than was secured last year by any one of more than twenty different mines. During the present year the great Anaconda mine, of Butte, has produced, during nearly every month, as much copper as was supplied by all the mines of the world, in the entire year of 1811. The Past. Fifty years ago, in 1861, the world's output of copper was but a trifle more than 100,000,000 pounds, a production that was ex- ceeded, in 1910, by the Anaconda, American Smelters Securities Co., and Phelps, Dodge & Co. The production of the year 1900, the last of the Nineteenth Century, was just fifty times as great as that of the year 1800. Should the same ratio of increase be main- tained during the Twentieth Century, the output of the year A. D. 2000 would be 24.318,150 long tons of copper, twenty-five times as much as the present production, and even a fifty-fold increase for the Twentieth Century would allow an average increase of less than four per cent, while the average annual increase, for the decade beginning 1900 and ending 1910, was almost exactly seven per cent, compounded yearly. Those who foresee a complete col- lapse in the copper industry would do well to give consideration to the actual figures of increase during the past. The copper industry does not move forward at even an approximately steady rate, from year to year, but is given to advancing by great leaps, almost in- evitably followed by periods of quiescence, or even of actual retro- gression. High prices for the metal stimulate production, while curtailing consumption, and, as a direct consequence, output is in- creased, which decreases prices, which in turn brings about de- creased production, due to the inability of small and weak pro- ducers to stand .the strain of low prices. Decreased production again brings about high prices, and the cycle is begun anew. Much the same conditions existed in the American iron and steel industry for 50 years, until the formation of the United States Steel Cor- PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF COPPER 147 poration, which, while unable to prevent periods of depression, as its sponsors fondly hoped, has proven a wonderfully steadying factor in the iron and steel market, serving the purpose of a gigan- tic balance-wheel. Grow tli. The growth of the copper industry is best shown by the fol- lowing figures of the world's production, by decades, in long tons : 91,000 tons in the decade ending 1810; 96,000 tons in 1820; 135,000 tons in 1830; 218,000 tons in 1840; 291,000 tons in 1850; 507,000 tons in 1860; 900,000 tons in 1870; 1,189,000 tons in 1880; 2,373,000 tons in 1890; 3,708,000 tons in 1900; 7,390,000 tons in 1910. The influence of the electrical industry upon the consumption of copper is plainly shown by the figures since 1880. The production of the seventh decade of the Nineteenth Century was only 900,000 long tons, or a trifle less than ten times the output of the first decade of the century, while the production of the last decade of the century, ending 1900, was more than forty times the output of the first decade, and was more than four times as great as that of the decade ending in 1870, only thirty years before. The output of the decade ending 1910 was more than six times as great as the output of the decade ending in 1880, and was almost exactly double the produc- tion of the previous decade ending in 1900. The production of copper by the world, amounting to approximately 7,390,000 long tons, for the decade ending 1910, amounted to more than three- fourths of the total world's production of copper for the entire preceding century. Figures of production and consumption of any given com- modity in universal use may differ from year to year, according to whether a surplus is accumulated, or a preceding surplus is drawn upon, but over long-term periods, production and consumption necessarily are the same, and, figured by decades, it is safe to say that the figures of production are practically the figures of con- sumption. At present there is a copper surplus, of which much is heard, but to show how comparatively unimportant the present sur- plus is, when compared with the figures of output for the preceding decade, it may be stated that the world's surplus of copper, at the present time, is slightly less than 300,000,000 pounds of finished metal, or a trifle under 135,000 long tons, an amount less than 5^2 per cent of the total production of the decade, and equivalent to only about eight weeks supply of copper, at the present time meas- uring the supply either by productive capacity or by consumptive demand. 148 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS * Very exact figures are available regarding production, divi- dends, costs and metal prices of the mines of the Lake Superior district since the first production was secured, in the year 1845, the total output for that year having been only 24,880 pounds of fin- ished copper. The total production of fine copper, by Lake Superior mines, from 1845 to 1910, inclusive, a period of sixty-six years, or two-thirds of a century, was 5,122,478,402 pounds, having a gross value of $726,849,840, from which were paid dividends of $182,- 824,770, the ratio of dividends to gross values, for this entire period, amounting to 25.1 per cent, and dividends, divided by cop- per production, show average dividend payments of 3.56 cents per pound. The average price received for all Lake Superior copper, for this period of sixty-six years, was 14.19 cents per pound, which- after deduction of dividends, leaves an estimated cost of 10.63 cents per pound, for all years. By adding the figures of expenditures on unproductive mines, amounting to about $60,000,000, the cost of Lake Superior copper would be made almost n l / 2 cents per pound, and by adding a further $15,000,000 for assessments on mines that have since repaid in dividends the original assessments, the cost of copper would be made about 11.85 cents per pound, leaving a net margin of profit, for the entire production, of almost exactly two cents per pound, plus the present aggregate value of the various active mines. Average Cost of Lake Superior Copper. Omitting the production of mines that have not proven profit- able, the average cost of Lake Superior copper, yielded by dividend- paying mines, has averaged about 9.5 cents per pound, for all years, and the present cost of making copper, by all of the producing Lake Superior mines, probably is slightly above nine cents per pound. The actual average cost of making copper, in the leading producing fields, probably is between nine and ten cents per pound, at the present time. Some of the newer fields, which are skimming their cream, show lower costs, but it is difficult to see where the world will be able to produce its copper, in years to come, at an average cost materially under ten cents per pound, this figure excluding the limited production of badly planned and badly managed mines, which yield only a small fraction of the total copper output, but secure their metal at an average cost very much higher than the average cost of all mines. For the immediate future, the supply of copper in sight is fully adequate, and no unduly high prices need be anticipated, but the figures clearly foreshadow another boom period, within the next PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF COPPER 149 two to four years, at which time the alarmists will be as badly scared, for fear that the copper supply is petering out, as they now are for fear that the production is so much greater than consumption that nothing but permanent disaster is in sight. Allowing an average increase of consumption of 7 per cent yearly, the figure that has ruled during the first nine years of the present century, 1 the world's requirements of copper will amount to approximately 1,650,000 long tons in 1920; 2,975,000 long tons in 1930, and 5,350,000 long tons in 1940 the latter named year, now only 29 years ahead, calling for a copper output almost six times that of the present rate. Twenty- nine years ago, or in the year 1882, the world's production of copper was 181,622 tons, or about one-fifth of the present output. Allow- ing for even a five-fold expansion during the next three decades, to correspond with the five-fold expansion in the three decades past, the world's copper requirements in 1840 will be more than 4,500,000 long tons. Should the ratio of increased production and consump- tion remain at an average of seven per cent for the balance of this century, the world would yield and consume, in the year A. D. 2000, about 175,000,000 long tons of copper, a quantity of the red metal more than double the tonnage of the world's present produc- tion of iron and steel. The First Decade of the Twentieth Century. A survey of the progress made by the copper industry during the first decade of the Twentieth Century, now lacking only a few weeks of completion, shows no revolutionary changes, but does show steady and in some cases phenomenal progress, in nearly every division of the industry. In the matter of mines, the old districts of Butte and Lake Superior remain the largest producers, but Arizona, with a half dozen important copper fields, passed Montana in output in 1908, though again taking second place in 1909. In copper mining, the most important development of the decade has been the making of the so-called porphyry mines, in which dis- seminated copper sulphides are mined from chistose or porphyritic country rocks. The development of such important new producers as the Utah Copper, Nevada Consolidated, Miami and others of this class, has alarmed many people, who jump to the conclusion that the so-called porphyry mines must close down the older mines, developed on veins in Butte and other camps, and on the stratified trap beds of Lake Superior. There is no real occasion for this alarm, as the porphyry mines, while highly important, are not apt to be developed in large numbers. In fact, the entire western part of the United States has been scoured, by the keenest and strongest 150 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS aggregations of capital in the copper business, for promising coun- try-rock deposits, with a net result, to date, rather insignificant in the number of properties developed, though highly important in output secured already, and even more important in promise of future production. When the Mesaba iron range was opened, eighteen years ago, a similar wave of pessimism swept over the mine-owners of the older iron ranges in Michigan and Wisconsin, but time has proven that the high-grade ores of the Mesaba, capable of being mined by steam-shovel, at wonderfully low costs, are absolutely necessary in furnishing an adequate supply of ore to the iron and steel works of this country, and similarly it will be found, as time passes, that the production of the porphyry mines is abso- lutely essential in supplying the copper needed by the world, at any- thing like a fair figure to the consumer. Processes of actual ore extraction have been modified and improved, in many fields, with a resultant increase in safety to miners, and decrease in cost of ore extraction. The steam-shovel has come to stay, in copper mining. Mines Slo^v to Adopt Electric Power. Strange to say, the copper mines, which are vitally interested in extending the use of copper, were somewhat slow in adopting electric power, but rapid progress has been made in this direction during the past decade, and all of the mines of Butte are now elec- trified, while there has been a great increase in the use of electric energy in the Lake Superior district. The constantly increasing use of hydro-electric power is now restrained, and further restraints are threatened, by the conservationists. The newly adopted system at the Anaconda mine, in Butte, which combines the utilization of hydraulic, electric and pneumatic power, offers great possibilities of pliancy and economy, and the lead of the Anaconda is likely to be followed by many other important mines. In ore reduction, material progress has been made in concen- tration, the very general adoption of Wilfley tables and similar devices permitting the saving of fines previously wasted. Hydraulio classifiers, settling tanks and a variety of ingenious devices for the saving of the uttermost mineral values', have aided in this work, and are now found in most important mills. Slimes, previously wasted, are now carefully collected in slum-ponds, and reworked ; with an aggregate yearly extraction of many millions of pounds of copper formerly wasted. Perhaps the most striking progress made during the past decade, in any division of the copper industry, has been in smelting. No new principles have been adopted in either reverberatory or PAST, I'kKSEXT AND FUTURE OF COFFER 151 blast-furnace work, but reverberatories of a gigantic size hitherto unknown have been adopted at many plants, while even more strik- ing progress has been made in the capacity of blast-furnaces. Ten years ago, a 3OO-ton blast-furnace was considered exceptionally large, and near the possible maximum of size, but the Washoe works of the Anaconda Copper Alining Co., again blazing the way, now have two furnaces, each 56 inches by 51 feet in size, with a maximum daily smelting capacity of 1,800 tons each, and a third furnace that is 56 inches wide and 87 feet long at the tuyeres, this mammoth furnace actually having smelted 3,100 tons within 24 hours. It has been my privilege to see this great blast-furnace with smelting in progress at the western end, while the eastern end was frozen, and repairs in progress within the bosh. The past decade has been a further extension of the electrolytic process of refining, and the great bulk of the world's copper now is refined by electrolysis. In fact, very little finished copper, other than electrolytic, reaches the market, except from the Lake Superior mines, the product of which commands a premium by reason of its extra toughness and superior adaptibility to drawing and stamping. With depth, many of the Lake Superior mines have shown a marked increase in arsenic, and for this reason a considerable part of the Lake Superior copper now is refined electrolytically, and sold as electrolytic and not as Lake copper. Combines and Mergers. At various times in the past efforts have been made at copper corners, but these have proven uniformly unsuccessful. The first copper corner was by the Associated Smelters, of Swansea, and might be termed the original copper trust. The Associated Smelters, which flourished from 1840 to 1860, were most arbitrary in their operations, buying cheaply, selling dearly, and zealously guarding their smelting processes. As a result of the very short-sighted policy of screwing prices of ore and matte to the lowest possible figures, while selling the finished product at the highest possible prices, with the ore producers aggravated by arbitrary charges for draftage and moisture, and the further grievance of unfair assay methods, the mine-owners were led to build independent smelters at and near the mines, in most of the principal copper producing dis- tricts, these effectually destroying the power of the Associated Smelters of Swansea as the arbiter of the copper industry. The second attempt at a copper corner was made by the Societe des Metaux, of Paris, under the leadership of M. Secretan, the Societe des Metaux becoming, in February, 1887, one of the six- 152 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS teen underwriters that organized the Syndicat Secretan, with a nominal capitalization of $13,587,000. This syndicate contracted with the leading copper producers for their output, and speedily advanced the price of the metal to 17$ cents, effecting an increase of more than 50 per cent in price within one month. Consumption immediately declined to a low figure, and the Secretan Syndicate borrowed enormous sums, to carry its rapidly accumulating copper, from French, German and English banking houses, the Comptoir d'Escompte of Paris alone lending the enormous sum of $33,368,000 to the Syndicat Secretan. This corner broke early in 1889, after about eighteen months existence, and in a single day, in the spring of 1889, the price of copper dropped from 70 down to 35 per long ton. About four years were required to clean up the wreckage remaining from this ill-advised corner, and put the copper industry soundly on its feet again. The third attempt at a copper corner was made in February, 1889, by the organization of the Amalgamated Copper Co., which corporation maintained the price of copper, arbitrarily, at 17 cents per pound, until October, 1901, when an accumulation of 200,- 000,000 pounds of metal compelled a break that took the price of copper down to about 12 cents a pound, and about three years were required by the industry to recover from the effects of this corner. The price of 26*4 cents per pound, reached in March, 1907, by Lake copper, was not the result of any corner, but came about through an ill-advised scramble by consumers, who feared that they could not secure the metal. As a result of the high price, con- sumption was curtailed sharply in all directions, as happens in- evitably under such unsatisfactory price conditions, and the cop- per industry of the world still suffers from the existence of a sur- plus of slightly under 300,000,000 pounds of metal, remaining from a surplus that, including both visible and invisible supplies, reached about 450,000,000 pounds at the end of 1909, since which time there has been a small but steady decrease in surplus from month to month. Tendency Towards Larger Units. The tendency in copper mining, as in all other branches of in- dustry, is toward combination in ever-larger units. This tendency is based upon and governed by purely econpmic laws, and the laws of political economy are so much stronger than any law ever de- vised by a parliament, or any ukase ever promulgated by a despot, that it requires no spirit of prophecy to forecast the ultimate out- PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF COPPER 153 come of the present clash between the laws of political economy and the laws of Congress. In the copper industry the great bulk of production now is fur- nished by about a dozen different interests. The Amalgamated Copper Co. has a productive capacity of about 300,000,000 pounds yearly, with an actual output last year of 223,808,546 pounds. The American Smelting & Refining Co., or Guggenheim interests, have a productive capacity only slightly inferior to the Amalgamated, with an actual output of 174,150,000 pounds in 1910, which figure will be exceeded materially this year. The production of Phelps, Dodge & Co. was 116,888,070 pounds in 1910, while smelter pro- duction, including custom ores treated, was 138,805,562 pounds, and the sales agency of this firm handled 194,138,696 pounds of copper last year. The Calumet & Hecla, with its subsidiaries, has a productive capacity of nearly or quite 150,000,000 pounds yearly. The Rothschild interests, controlling the Rio-Tinto of Spain, and the Boleo of Mexico, have a copper output of more than 100,000,- ooo pounds yearly. The leading copper producers of the world are now operating under check, a 10 per cent reduction in output having been put into effect in August of last year. Under the Sherman anti-trust law, this checking of production would be considered criminal, if it could be proven, yet the reduction of output was absolutely, necessary in order to save the copper industry from a prolonged period of utter demoralization, during which scores of millions of dollars would have been lost by investors, and a quarter million or more of work- ingmen would have suffered severely, many of them losing their jobs, and the remainder suffering severe cuts in wages. We have the authority of eminent statesmen, totally devoid of business ex- perience, that the Sherman act is a panacea for all ills of the body politic, yet no sensible business man would do otherwise, if he had the power, than to reduce production at a time when a surplus product threatened not only the small remaining profits, but the very foundations of the copper industry. The issue thus is drawn very plainly between our present politico-criminal law and all the laws of business and of political economy. Business and Politics. I have no connection, direct or indirect, with any copper min- ing company or copper producer, except that, in a general way, I have small business dealings with a great majority of the actual copper producers of this and foreign countries, hence I speak with- 154 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS out personal prejudice, and not as the mouthpiece of any individual copper interest. The greatest present menace to the copper industry in the United States is a menace that is common to all branches of mining. The entire American industry of mining is threatened by men op- erating under the names of progress and reform, whose slogan is conservation, but who are political economists of the Stone Age, and first cousins, in mental capacity, to the Troglodytes. The con- servation experts of the forest service are systematically hamper- ing legitimate mining operations throughout the Western states, and both law and justice are disregarded by these conservationists, while the federal departments affected are governed more by rul- ings than by law. Congress has made the very grave and dangerous mistake of endowing the executive departments of our govern- ment with the power to promulgate rulings that have the force of law, and in some of the departments rulings have been put into effect that not only are arbitrary and unjust, but that also are abso- lutely illegal, yet the poor miner, who has complied with all the re- quirements of the law, is liable to see his property, to which he is clearly entitled, both by law and justice, taken from him by the officials of the forestry service, under the slightest pretext, and is denied access to or recourse by the courts. The most odious forms of despotism can show nothing worse, in this particular, than the hideous imposition under which honest miners are suffering in the Western states of our country. Anaconda and the Guggenheims. The conservationists, many of whom might with greater truth be termed conversationists, would close the Washoe Works of Montana, the greatest reduction plant in the world, with a monthly output valued at millions of dollars, employing thousands of men, and indirectly giving employment to tens of thousands of men, under the childish plea that the smelter fumes are injuring timber on the federal forest reserves timber that, in a pinch, might fur- nish fairly good lodge-poles for Indian tepees. The Guggenheims are the bogey-men with which the conser- vationists most frequently alarm the public. We have had it dinned into our cars by innumerable patriots seeking office, and repeatedly set before our eyes, in every yellow newspaper and muck-raking magazine, that "the Guggenheims are stealing Alaska." As a mat- ter of fact, the Guggenheims control a copper mine in the interior of Alaska that is a wonder in its way, yet which cannot be rated at more than a third-class property. This mine, the Bonanza, is a PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF COPPER 155 sort of copper-plated gold-brick, in that an interior core of lime- stone is surrounded by phenomenally high grade bornite and copper glance. No competent mining man who has visited this property ever has estimated the amount of ore in sight, and safely to be in- ferred, as capable of yielding more than 100,000,000 pounds of fin- ished copper, a total production equivalent to only one year's max- imum output by any one of the six leading copper mines of the world. In order to get this ore out of a wilderness the Guggenheim interests have built the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, a line of 195 miles length, variously estimated to have cost from $13,000,000 to $25,000,000. The gross value of all the copper con- tained in the Bonanza mine, taking the outside estimate of tonnage, is considerably less than the lowest estimate of cost of this rail- way, and the net profits derivable from the Bonanza mine cannot, by the most liberal figuring, be estimated at more than $4,000,000 to $5,000,000. Instead of being commended for their enterprise and courage in building this railway through an arctic wilderness, the Guggenheims are held up to public scorn as thieves and robbers. This railway cuts through workable beds of coal, but is prohibited by the federal authorities from developing or using this coal, and is compelled to import inferior coal from British Columbia, at a cost more than double that of domestic coal, if its mining were per- mitted. Not only does the railway suffer from this arbitrary ac- tion by the federal government, but the 50,000 unfortunate Amer- ican citizens who live in Alaska are compelled to pay double or triple the price they should pay for fuel, through efforts of the con- servationists, backed by the federal government, to "save" the coal for some future use, at an indefinite date. It scarcely seems strange, in the light of this situation, that mourning was donned in Alaska \vhen the high priest of conservation reached that land, which the conservationists seem to consider a sort of penal colony. The con- servation of our mineral, timber and power resources should be ef- fected along legal and business lines, and not under the guidance of spiritualistic visions. The reformers as these gentlemen advocate themselves, are ad- vocating the government building and operation of railways in Alaska, and the government ownership and operation of coal mines, which is state socialism, pure and simple, and any man seriously ad- vocating such a policy is a socialist, no matter what he may choose to call himself. It is further advocated by the junior senator from Wisconsin and his official and unofficial organs that the government also should buy the Copper River & Northwestern railway from the 156 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Guggenheims. Doubtless the Guggenheims will be very glad in- deed to sell their railway, which is threatened by tidal floods and glacial floods, with its principal bridge across ' the Copper river threatened by a glacier itself, but it is difficult to see where the long- suffering taxpayer will benefit by such a purchase. The federal government already has withdrawn immense tracts of oil, coal and phosphate lands, and the next step in this cleverly devised socialistic propaganda will be to withdraw from entry or inhibit mineral entries upon iron, copper, lead, zinc, silver and gold lands. Figures of Conservationists Ridiculous. The pretext for past withdrawals is that our mineral resources are being depleted so rapidly that there is danger of their extinc- tion in the near future unless administered by an all-wise and all- powerful central government, which can make no mistake and can do no wrong. The figures regarding our natural resources, put forth apparently in earnest by some of the leading conservationists, are so utterly ridiculous that it is impossible to regard them seri- ously. There is more iron ore, existing in a single county in my own state of Michigan than any professional conservationist ever has estimated to exist in the entire world. This is made as a plain statement of fact, and those who think, to the contrary are chal- lenged to impeach the assertion. The lawless actions of the forestry bureau, which is perhaps the most odious of our bureaucratic iniquities, have been of a sort to arouse the alarm of all thinking men who believe in self-govern- ment. Apparently it is the cunningly devised scheme of the leaders of the so-called conservation movement to expropriate the public lands now held by -the federal government in trust for the benefit of any and all citizens who will develop them and hold these public lands for the sole benefit of the bureaucrats, who will enjoy the usufruct, through a carefully planned system of leases, by which the water power, forests, mines and arable lands will be leased to corporations that are amenable to the benevolent control of the doctrinaries and to individuals who can be terrorized to conform to the exactions of the bureaucracy. The opportunities for graft that are contained in such a system are almost inconceivably great, and, comparing their claims with their actions, the conclusion is irresistible that the conservation movement, as now managed, is not a genuine effort to improve the condition of the American people, but a cleverly devised scheme to deprive the people of their landed heritage and fix upon their necks the iron collars of serfdom, to the PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF COPPER 157 end that a more gorgeously and richly endowed bureaucracy may flourish upon the soil of what once was a free country. It is said, and apparently with reason, that the spy system of the United States is now the finest and most extensive in the world, excelling even those of Russia and Turkey, heretofore the most progressive nations in the matter of thoroughly organized es- pionage. We also have the benevolent activities of an attorney general who is now vigorously prosecuting the kindling-wood trust. It is obvious that the shaving-paper combine and the office-towel monopoly had better watch out, for their turn may come next. Why does not the attorney general prosecute the labor trusts, unions, which already are trusts in the meaning of the interstate commerce law, existing in open defiance of the beneficent provisions of the Sherman act? The answer seems obvious. The present activities of the United States Department of Justice, as it is termed officially, afford a spectacle for gods and men. Business Suffering from Uncertainty. Business throughout the United States is suffering from un- certainty which has been accentuated, rather than decreased, by the recent decisions of the Supreme Court, which read into the Sherman act a provision that only "unreasonable" restraint of trade should be punishable under the terms of this act. As Richard Olney justly remarked, this leaves the Sherman law about as clear as if Congress were to pass a law stating that only a "reasonable" tariff should be imposed, and leave the adjustment of all duties to the Supreme Court of the United States. This nation has been made great and prosperous by the initiative and enterprise of the individual, yet the theorists bid us throw aside the habits and course of conduct of centuries, and depend solely upon the initiative God save the mark of the bureaucrats. W T hy not speak out boldly what all sensible and patriotic citizens are thinking throughout this country? We are suffering from a most odious form of bureaucracy, fortified by an extensive system of paid spies, an organized claque, a clever press bureau, and the sys- tematic support of that section of the press noted mainly for its dubious motives and devious politics. Some citizens with defective hearing take the clamor of this portion of the press, desirous of cheaper wood pulp, for the real voice of the nation. It is time that the yellow newspapers, muckraking magazines and purely political conservationists were told to stand aside and permit the federal government to be run once more in accordance with law and com- mon sense. Some of the gentlemen who are preaching progress 158 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS and conservation have combined moral platitudes with business turpitude, and label their product as reform. In the name of prog- ress they bid us turn our faces to the rear; in the name of conser- vation of our natural resources, for generations yet unborn, they forbid us to utilize the mineral power and timber resources re- quired for the needs of the present generation. Their plan of state ownership of mines and water powers is state socialism, very thinly disguised. These men are enemies of the republic, who under the specious cloak of declamatory patriotism would rob us of our right to self-government. Our worthy president takes the stand that because the Sherman act is law it must be enforced rigidly, regardless of consequences. If this be the case, it necessarily follows that all federal laws must be rigidly enforced, regardless of consequences, and it would be interesting to learn why our federal government does not enforce, or even attempt to enforce, the fifteenth amendment to the Consti- tution of the United States, which reads as follows : "The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude." Is it possible that the Sherman act takes precedence of the Constitution? Conservation and the People. BY JESSE KNIGHT, PROVO, UTAH. This Mining Congress is convened, I take it, not only for the purpose of considering the interests of the mining industry, but the best interests of the American people as a whole. Coming from a state that has in its advancement been freighted with diffi- culties, as have many of the inter-mountain states, and assuming- no knowledge but that acquired in the tough school of experience of a Western trail blazer and pioneer, I must be permitted to ex- press my views, as such, if at all, before this Congress. Personally, the greatest efforts of my life have been directed toward the development of the mines of the West, particularly those of my own state; and as a miner I have always had great hopes for the future of Utah and not only for the future of Utah but for the now rapidly advancing inter-mountain states. If I am to judge the future by the past, this region of which I now speak still appeals to me as a land of promise. I have seen it made what it now is largely by individual effort, and without government aid. As the years have gone by I have observed the Western spirit everywhere in the development of its latent resources until it has secured, in a measure, that recognition the inter-mountain states so richly deserve. We of the West have made, under very adverse circumstances, a region now of great wealth. Not only that, but unaided as we were, we have contributed immeasurably to the wealth of all sections of our great country. Mindful of the hard- ships, struggles and experiences of years that have gone before and being hopeful of the future, I trust I may be pardoned if I express at this time and impress upon you, some of my personal views and experiences concerning governmental policy toward the undeveloped resources of the inter-mountain states. I desire to speak briefly of the so-called Government conservation policy. Personally, I have felt the effects of conservation. Some years ago, over on White River in our state, on what is known as the Gilsonite veins, several hundred mining locations had been made by mining men and American citizens in good faith, under the mining laws. That these locations were valuable is beyond question, and that they were situated on the public domain seemed 160 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS to prompt some of the officers of the National Government that the government ought to adopt some means of conservation and to refuse to part with government title until the government received directly some benefits thereby. Personally I was the owner of about forty of these claims, on which, for five or six years, I had per- formed the annual assessment labor as required under the mining laws. In the immediate vicinity of these claims, a St. Louis Gilsonitc Company, a corporation, was operating similar mines and had a monopoly of the gilsonite product and thereby was acquiring great wealth. Individuals were not permitted to patent their claims. The government in its conservation plan proposed leasing, and leasing at that time meant leasing to this St. Louis Gilsonite Company. Thanks, however, to certain senators and especially to the Hon. Jos. L. Rawlins, then senator from Utah, and a power in the Senate of the United States, by whom it was seen that conservation along leasing lines of the public domain was not a true governmental policy. During these years myself and others were doing all in our power to comply with the mining law and to secure title to our locations, but it seemed to us a hopeless task. We were finally assured on every hand, so far as the government officials were con- cerned, that we would never be able to do so ; in fact we received that assurance not only from public officials but from this St. Louis Gilsonite Company as well. Discouraged and impoverished as some were in seeking to comply with the law by doing the work upon these claims, the claim owners, one by one, sold their interests, and I did so too, to a too well recognized American institution, a private corporation. Now the sequel of this brief story is the thing to which 1 especially desire to call attention. Scarcely six months had passed by, after the passing of the rights of the individual mine claimants, to this corporation, when the patriotic law makers of the Congress of the United States saw the light and reached the conclusion that those Gilsonite claims were entitled to patent, and proceeded to enact such legislation as would provide an open way for the Gil- sonite Company to acquire those deposits of mineral, the value of which was at least millions, and which under the conservation idea, had been so strenuously denied the individual citizen. Then again in my own state when I stop to consider the vast areas of coal lands, undeveloped, untouched ; and when I consider how the railroads and big combines have already secured sufficient coal deposits to enable them to operate without stint for fifty or a CONSERVATION AXD THE PEOPLE 161 hundred years ; and when I stop to consider the present prices that are being charged the people for that product ; and when I stop to consider that the conservation plan of the National government is to withdraw from the market coal lands that have not already been acquired, I cannot help but feel that the effect of such a policy means the monopoly of the coal industry by the present railroads and combines and the prevention of competition on the part of the individual citizen therewith; and that conservation along. these lines means the enslavement of the Western people and the retardment of growth of the whole inter-mountain region. Then again the conservation idea as a governmental policy is being directed to the possibilities for the development of power and light that may be generated by the utilization of the waters of the public domain. This governmental plan of withdrawing these rights so that they may not be acquired by individuals, and of leasing them, appeals to me as being wholly in the interests of those favored corporations that have already acquired the best and most favorably situated power sites that are to be had, and that the in- dividual citizen if he is to compete with these companies and de- velop these resources must enter this field not only under the dis- advantages that now obtain, but that he cannot secure any perma- nent rights and must submit to becoming a tenant under limitations that would render his investments hazardous. Not only must he pay to the government a rental in an amount that in my judgment would insure failure on the part of his undertaking in order to be- come a competitor to the already too favored monopolies operating in this field, but he must spend his capital on the less favored, least desired and more expensive projects. If a policy such as this means conservation, then it means that the waters of the public domain must continue to waste until such a time as they may be utilized by those who are to be accorded the superior advantage of a posi- tion calculated to ruin every public-spirited individual who may enter the field against them or any competitor who will be so ven- turesome as to place his money against them under these adverse conditions. Why conserve the waters of the public domain that can be utilized for the development of power, heat and light? If the government wishes to conserve, it should be borne in mind that running water, unless utilized, is waste; if utilized, it produces power, heat and light, thereby conserving coal and the oil of the earth from consumption and preserving them for the generations to come. 162 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Personally, I desire to see the vast resources of the West de- veloped along lines that will render its fields of operations competi- tive, that will not require contribution on the part of the people to a favored few; on lines that will enable the West to thrive and grow in accordance with true Western spirit and enterprise ; and on lines that no one shall be thwarted by special legislation calculated to subject him to inequality in the grand march for future advance- ment. Personally I know of streams of water in the high mountains that are either under the reservation act or taken off the market entirely where it is almost impossible for coal to be hauled. It seems to be in cases of this kind it is absurd to say they shall not be used. We would even make reservoirs above these little plants that would hold back waste waters and bring more land into cultivation. All these steep mountain streams in the West can be used for power and drop back into their natural course without being a hindrance to irrigation in any sense. In other words, the reservoirs that would be built to protect these plants in times of low water would of necessity help the lands that have no water in time of need. Our forefathers fought to avoid being leasers. They believed in the principle of individual ownership and rights. They believed in the principle of equality and bled and died for it. Let us keep and preserve our inheritance so costly acquired, and preserve, if we can, that individual independence along commercial lines that will not mean government conservation for the favored few. Mining As An Investment. BY JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, NEW YORK CITY. The recommendation made by President Taft and Secretary Fisher with reference to the leasing by the Federal Government of the coal lands within the public domain, especially the Alaskan coal deposits, will, I am sure, meet with the hearty approval of the American Mining Congress. I speak confidently as to this because of the fact that in 1905 I was one of a committee appointed by President Roosevelt to suggest revisions in our Federal mining law. We gave considerable study to coal mining, and unanimous- ly recommended in our report that in the future the government should not sell, but should lease, its coal deposits. But unfortu- nately, for some one of the many inscrutable reasons responsible for the materialization of recommendations of this kind, no definite action was taken by the authorities in Washington to whom our report was submitted. Our lamented friend Mark Twain once described a mine as "a hole in the ground owned by a liar." I strongly suspect that he was influenced in thus stigmatizing a mine by having dropped money into some "hole in the ground" during his tenderfoot days in Ne- vada. Unfortunately this definition has gained wide currency and tias been accepted by way -of consolation by those who have had similar unfortunate experiences in their mining investments. Now, I have always resented this imputation against the in- tegrity of the honest miner, but in a spirit of compromise have been willing to accept the amended definition of a mine as "a hle in the ground owned by an optimist." The miner is by nature an optimist. It is that optimism the hope that springs eternal in the miner's breast which has inspired him with that indefatigable en- ergy and indomitable pluck that has made the miner the pioneer of civilization, and I submit to you gentlemen that such characteris- tics are incompatible with anything but honesty of purpose. Take the case of old Jim Wardner, for whom the town in the famous Coeur d'Alene district of Idaho has been named. Not even his bitterest enemy has ever accused Jim of being a liar ; nor have his most loyal friends ever denied that he was an irrepressible op- timist ! The career of Jim Wardner, in common with that of many old-time mining- prospectors, was characterized by vicissitudes. 164 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MIXING CONGRESS Jim was alternately a millionaire and a bankrupt. At the time of which I speak Jim was in the latter predicament. Meeting a mutual friend on the street one day, he asked for the loan of two hundred dollars to enable him to continue sinking a shaft upon a quartz vein he had recently located. In return, Jim offered to give his friend an interest in the property, and held out the lure by telling him that he was on the edge of a great pay shoot of ore very similar to one of the famous ore bodies that Jim, himself, had discovered in the celebrated Bunker Hill and Sullivan mine. "I feel sure," said Jim, "of all formations, and that I am within three feet of a million dol- lars." Jim obtained the two hundred dollars, and his friend did not see anything of him until several months afterwards, when he accidentally met him on the street. "Well," said he to Jim, "how is the mine getting on ?" "Well," replied Jim, "the last time I saw you I told you that I was within three feet of a million dollars. Now I am sorry to say that the result of my work in the shaft makes me believe that I am at least a million feet from three dollars." Reverting for a moment to the subject of holes in the ground and I myself have had considerable experience with holes in the ground, having dug many and having myself fallen into some of them if the term "liar" is to be regarded as inseparable from a hole in the ground and for my own part I do not think it is I would offer the definition of a mine as "a hole in the ground sold to gullible investors by a lying promoter," and that is where I have found in my experience that most of the lying connected with min- ing comes in. Now, all this is by way of preface to the consideration of min- .ing investments. 9 Unscrupulous Promoter Should Be Eliminated. While I fully recognize its achievements in the past, and while I keenly sympathize with its present earnest endeavors, I never- theless am of the opinion that by far the best service that the Ameri- can Mining Congress could render to the mining industry and the investing public would be to exert its powerful and far-reaching influence in behalf of honest mining finance. There is no use trying to blink facts ; there is more downright swindling in mining than in any other legitimate industry, and especially is this the case in boom times. Unfortunately the losses in mining usualy fall upon those who can ill afford to sustain such losses. There is not only the opportunity, as I have said, but, in my opinion, there is a duty to be performed by the American Mining MINING AS AN INVESTMENT 165 Congress in this connection. I believe that by energetic co-opera- tion with other organizations that have the welfare of legitimate mining at heart the unscrupulous promoter could be eliminated and the public educated as to the nature of mining investments. Indeed, this question would, in itself, tend to the suppression of frauds in mining. Drastic legislation is required in connection with the flotation of mining companies and, indeed, this applies to many other industrial companies to compel them to publish before the flotation of the companies reports of reputable engineers to state the price at which the properties were acquired by the vendors, the amount of the promoter's commission, etc. This is the English law, and it works well there. Furthermore, mining companies, after they have been floated, should be compelled by law to issue full monthly and annual reports as to the financial status of the company, the ore reserves, the condition of the lowest development in the mine, etc., etc. If the pure food and drug act could be ap- plied to mining, so that the investor would be able to ascertain the ingredients of a mine, much poisonous stock would be withdrawn from sale, and honest enterprises would find more money for their development. "Ten Commandments " for Investor. First of all, the subject of mining investments should be given authoritative and wide publicity, and the following essential facts impressed upon the public : First, that a mining investment should not be made by anyone to whom the loss of the investment would involve serious financial distress. Second, that there is an important distinction between investments in mining- prospects (which are of a highly speculative character) and investments in well-developed mines. Third, that an investment in a mine differs from other investments in one vitally important particular that is, the life of a mining investment is relatively a short one, and, therefore, the higher rate of dividends paid does not, in itself, justify the investment. To this general admonition I would subjoin the following mining "Ten Commandments," under a caption "Dont's." First, don't invest your money in a mining property solely because a friend of yours even if he be a blood relation became rich through some fortunate investment in mining 1 stock. Second, don't, on the other hand, be deterred from investing in a mining property because another less fortunate friend became bankrupt through some other mining investment. Third, don't allow any insinuating not to employ the shorter and uglier term promoter or mining stock broker to make you 166 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING .CONGRESS forsake your natural modesty and convince you that because of your success, in your own line of business you are yourself com- petent to determine the value of a mine. Many men of business ability in their own lines have made trips of self-deception to see for themselves the valuable investments offered them. Motto : "Shoemaker, stick to your last." Beivare Rich Specimens. Fourth', don't be influenced in your desire to purchase mining stock by the "rich specimens" that the mines have produced, even though you yourself have seen such "specimens" in the mine. "Specimen rock" of this kind is no criterion of the average grade of ore upon which the success of the mine depends. A well-known mining capitalist of a former day was shown some very rich speci- mens of ore from a certain mining property and asked his opinion as to the value of the property. His reply was: "You might as well show me the hair from the tail of a horse and ask me how fast that horse can trot." Fifth, don't buy stock in a mine because it has produced a profit of millions of dollars in the past, for obviously the mine is so much the poorer for the millions already extracted. Sixth, don't purchase stock in a mine because it is in a far-off country, even though "distance lends enchantment to the view." As a matter of fact, remoteness and inaccessibility of a mine should rather make one hesitate to invest. Seventh, don't buy stock in a mining company solely because it adjoins another mine of great value. This may be interesting but it is by no means conclusive as to the value of the mine in question. Eighth, above all, don't buy stock in a mine unless you have the unqualifiedly favorable report made by a mining engineer of in- tegrity, ability and experience, and one who has made a success in the investment of money for his clients. An engineer may have the best obtainable technical training, supplemented by considerable practical experience, and yet lack certain qualifications in his pro- fessional constitution that determine success or failure. Ninth, don't buy stock in a mine unless you are sure that the board of directors are honest and competent because honest and capable management is just as essential to success in mining as it is in other enterprises. Tenth, in short, don't abandon all your good common sense just because the investment happens to be one in mining and not in some other class of industrial securities. MIXING AS AN INVESTMENT 167 Now, these remarks are made in no pessimistic spirit, for there is no keener optimist within the bounds of reason than I myself as to the profitableness of mining investments. The suggestions I have made are for the protection of the honest investor and in the interest of honest mining. While in these remarks I have held out to you the red flag of danger, nevertheless, when the track is clear and in good condition, I have great faith in the safety of mining investments. And speak- ing with a proper appreciation of the importance of this statement, I have no hesitancy in expressing the opinion that, conducted upon the right basis, and when extended over many operations, there is no business more attractive and more safe than that of mining. Importance of the Malm Process in the Metallurgy of Complex Ores. BY A. G. BROWNLEE, IDAHO SPRINGS, COLORADO. Before the practical application of cyanide of potassium (K. C. N.) to the recovery of gold from its ores, profitable operation in the gold mining industry was confined to the treatment of such ores as were rich enough to stand the abuse and waste then preva- lent under less efficient methods of extraction. The truth of the fore- going statement is sufficiently well established to not require repe- tition of technical details that are now well understood. However, the radical and welcome change in the profit producing capabilities of the gold mining industry, brought about through the discovery of the cyanide method, had proved of such economic importance that a brief review of its history may be repeated with profit : Over two hundred years ago (1704) the chance manipulation of impure chemicals resulted in the formation of the first cyanogen compound known as "Prussian Blue." The accidental discovery was made by Diesbach, a color manufacturer of Berlin, who never understood or realized the importance such a discovery would lead to in the science of metallurgy. Diesbach's interests were centered in the dye industry. Without entering into details of subsequent discoveries and new knowledge acquired, the foundation of which was the chance manipulation mentioned, it may be stated that it was not until seventy-eight years later that Scheele determined the composition of the compound, and succeeded in obtaining an acid from it which he named "Prussic Acid," a virulent poison. That gold was soluable in potassic cyanide was known to Hagen as early as 1806, and in 1844 Eisner stated that gold and silver could be dissolved in potassium cyanide without decomposi- tion of water, and also that the dissolution of the metals was in consequence of the action of oxygen, which, absorbed from the air, decomposed part of the cyanide, thus forming a double salt-auro- potassic cyanide, which is recognized and known as "Eisner's Equation," as follows : 2Au + 4 Kcy + O + H 2 O = 2AuKcy 2 + 2KOH. Four years before Eisner's valuable contribution to the subject, Elkington proclaimed that K C N,./>/iw electricity, would dissolve THE MALM PROCESS 169 gold and three years later (1843) Prince Bagration of Russia set forth the fact that K C N alone, without electricity, would dissolve gold. That able scientist also contributed further valuable informa- tion to the subject which up to that period remained quite obscure. Elkington probably macte the first practical application of K C N as a gold solvent. He patented the operation of electroplating in 1840, the process being the same that is used today, with but slight modifications. For some time after the important work of Eisner in 1844, strong solutions of cyanide were used, and it remained for Dr. Henry Wurtz to announce in 1866 in the American Journal of Science that weak solutions would also dissolve gold. This was a revelation of the first magnitude in economic metallurgy, and Julio Rae of Syracuse, N. Y., was the first to profit by the increased knowledge of the subject. He applied for a patent covering the use of cyanide in ore treatment using agitation to hasten the action, and the patent was granted in 1867. Rae's process, however, was never put to commercial use, and the same remark applies to in- ventions of others along similar lines which followed in rapid suc- cession, including the more important work of Simpson of Newark, X. J., who obtained a patent in 1865 for separating gold and silver from their ores by the use of cyanide, using an alkali to correct acidity, and precipitating on zinc. Simpson's claims covered the ground fairly well, nevertheless they brought forth adverse criticism from rival scientists who ques- tioned its commercial value on account of the high cost of the salt used, its instability, poisonous nature, etc. Notwithstanding such criticism, the various steps chronicled, which are only a few of the many that were taken incited other chemists to further work on various cyanite methods which culminated in the English patents granted MacArthur and Forrest of Glascow in 1887, the validity of which were disputed except in so far as they applied to the pre- cipitation of gold from cyanide solutions by zinc filaments, a strong legal fight being made by the inventors to establish the basic claim of originality in the use of weak solutions as having a selective action for gold over the base metals in the ore. It is not intended to extend these notes to a discussion of the worth, merit or validity of the many patents that were granted in this and other countries, covering claims that were made by the sev- eral inventors named, or of important claims of other inventors not mentioned, otherwise this condensed review would develop into a book, the existing literature on the subject of which has already ex- 170 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS panded into a fair sized library which may be consulted in detail. Neither is it thought wise to encumber this statement with the details of operation as now practiced in perfected methods of cyanide treatment the development and use of which is directly or indirectly responsible for a fourfold increase in the world's pro- duction of gold since the adoption of the MacArthur and Forrest methods less than twenty-five years ago. The- inventions for this process have been many, but the sub- stantial improvements have been few ; the process is recognized as the mpst valuable advance in the metallurgy of precious metals which the world has known,, due to the basic principle of getting gold into solution through the agency of an inexpensive solvent. That is the triumph of the art, for by such means control of opera- tion and high recovery of metal value is obtained, which was there- tofore unsatisfactory if not impossible in other processes. Development of Cyanidation Process Gradual. The history of the slow and measured steps preceding the ulti- more development of cyanidation, commencing with a chance dis- covery, and its dilatory adoption in the art of metallurgy should lend encouragement . to present research work along similar lines with a view of demonstrating that like methods may be made appli- cable to the base as well as to the precious metals. It is something important to know that a fundamental basic arid economic principle has been discovered even if the details of manipulation remain to be supplied in extending its usefulness, for any process that is sound in theory ought to successfully be put into practical use, and the history recited of the cyanide process, which was first skep- tically received, then ridiculed beyond reason, investigated grudg- ingly, but finally adopted and successfully operated, should teach a lesson that should not be forgotten in the future consideration of other methods that have for their object the brushing away of the cobwebs of metallurgical ignorance and prejudice which too often dominate selfish efforts in last endeavors to bolster up and retain antiquated methods that have been faithfully tried and found wanting. Years of experience and a plentiful supply of hard knocks have taught the practical mine operator that it needs no Sherlock Holmes to point to the fact that the great problem still confronting the precious metal mining industry is not connected with our economic systems of mining but with wasteful metallurgy, particularly in the successful handling of our almost unlimited supply of complex or so-called repractory ores. The situation cries aloud for improved THE MALM PROCESS 171 methods that will prevent further dissipation of such natural re- sources, and if the new lUireau of Mines at Washington wishes to add to its glory in the more important work of the conservation of human life, let it next direct its attention and efforts to the conserva- tion of that material so flagrantly wasted in futile attempts to save adequate values from the complex sulphide ores of commerce, the present treatment of which is distinguished by abuse and waste that should be arrested without delay: In the State of Colorado along such methods of practice have been used so long that all the ores that were rich enough to stand the abuse or which were peculiarly amenable to the methods in vogue, are nearly exhausted, and a sentimental cry has gone forth for the discovery of new mines, the product of which will be rich enough to insure a continuation of the bad practice. And this, too, in spite of the fact that in nearly all the old established camps throughout the state there are almost unlimited supplies of ore already at hand, developed, exposed and ready for handling, but which are jiot amenable to treatment by those methods which are designed for the extraction of easy money without regard for the rights of the producer or the conservation of product. The intrinsic worth of the ores referred to are as great or greater in aggregate metal values than was contained in the simple ores which have been exhausted requiring only a favorable method of treatment to make them available and profitable, therefore, it is quite plain to see that it is not more mines but improved metallurgi- cal methods that are required to restore prosperity and activity to our languishing industry. The foregoing recital and remarks may appear somewhat im- prudent in view of the ultimate success of cyanide methods as at present established, but, unfortunately, all the skeptics are not silenced. A number remain who will proclaim that they can see no opportunity to extend the use of the principles referred to. With such men the value of a basic principle is not understood, or their judgment is warped and distorted by reason of personal interests in antiquated methods which they are fearful may be disturbed by new knowledge, hence their activity in trying to preserve the dark ages of metallurgical mis practice. . Ores Brought to Surface in Solution. It is generally believed that nature brought the bulk of our ores to the crevices in the earth's crust, contained in solutions or vapors from which they were precipitated by reason of changing temperature, influenced by local conditions and surroundings. How- 172 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MIXING CONGRESS ever that may be, the basic principle of getting metals back into the condition (solution) from which they originated, may or may not have a vital bearing in the success of subsequently recovering them in metallic form, nevertheless, going back to nature's method as against the artificial methods of man, however inventive they may be, is a phase- of the situation that is worthy of serious con- sideration. The vital question, however, is: Will the problem be solved of saving the values in our complex ores as effectively as it has been solved in cyaniding the so-called straight gold ores? The answer is : Yes, it will be for the true scientific and tech- nical world has always responded to the demands of industrial economy, and there is little doubt that in spite of the skeptics there is enough serious talent at work to arrive at satisfactory conclusions. Cyanide lixiviation has but one competitor, chlorination, but both processes are not always adapted to the same ores, so that in many cases they have distinctive fields for exploiting. The history of the present status of chlorination, and of the numerous steps leading up to its present high development, is not unlike the history of cyanidation up to the time when the canny Scotch chemists ap- plied it to practical use in ore reduction in spite of the adverse criticisms that were directed against it. As early as 1848, sixty-three years ago, Prof. C. F. Plattner demonstrated the use of chlorine as an active agent for the extrac- tion of gold from its ores. Plattner's method involved dead roast- ing of the ores in a reverberatory furnace, then slightly moistened with water and charged into vats. Chlorine gas generated into another vessel was introduced at the bottom of the vat and allowed to permeate the ore, converting the gold into its soluable chlorides which were dissolved in water and precipitated by ferrous sulphate or other suitable reagents. This was practically the first "Chlorination Process" and its importance incited other metallurgists to further research. The use of chlorine in one form or another continued to be exploited and has been the means of adding many millions of dol- lars to the world's store of wealth, chiefly through its use in chlor- idizing roasting for pan-amalgamation and hyposulphite lixiviation, and in the vat and barrel chlorination processes, but until quite recently its application has been directed and confined to the recovery of gold -without due regard to the recovery of the base metals which usually accompany it, the value of the base metals in many cases exceeding the worth of the recovered gold. However, in spite of THE MALM PROCESS 173 the fact that it has long- been known that chlorine will break up all the metallic sulphides in a complex ore, it has never been used com- mercially for that purpose until quite recently, and even now only in a limited way, chiefly by foreign metallurgists. Such disuse is not due to want of efficiency in the agent, but to the lack of prac- tical methods of manipulation in what has heretofore been regarded as a difficult operation. Contributors to ll'ork. In a communication of this character space will not admit of a detailed account of the many important steps that were taken in experimental work with chlorine. Its history is almost parallel with that of cyanide, besides, in view of the rejection of many discoveries which proved to be commercially worthless^ but which, neverthe- less, proved of scientific value in the process of elimination, even a passing notice of such work must be confined to the names of but a few of the principal contributors to the subject and the approx- imate dates of their operations, as follows : 1848, Prof. C. F. Plattner. 1849, Dr. Dufles. 1857, C. F. Deetkin. 1868, Henry Tindall. 1869, Henry F. Eames. 1872, Milton H. Stowe. 1873, Joseph Kallmes. 1879, Ottokar Hofmann. About this time the Mears barrel process was introduced, fol- lowed by several others such as the Newberry-Vautin, Pollock, Boynton, et al., involving the use of chlorine in both the liquid and gaseous state, generated inside or outside of the barrel and used in connection with a vacuum or under heavy pressure. 1888, Adolph Thies. 1896, Alf. Sinding-Larsen. 1902, Swinburn and Ashcroft. 1903, Maxwell and Sawyer, Baker and Burwell. 1906, William Koehler. 1907, Diehl and Koehler. 1003 to 1907, John L. Malm. The importance of the work of the several metallurgists men- tioned is difficult to determine, for even those who made failures left warning signs in the pathway of those who followed. Thus later investigators profited by example, and avoided pitfalls into which they too might have stumbled. 174 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS The field of metallurgical research is strewn with failures, yet it is largely due to the experience and knowledge acquired in such failures that successes have been evolved. Such failures are usually charged to the "mistakes of science," but be it said to the credit of the true scientist that while he makes failures, he is the first to dis- cover and correct them, and even the mistakes are turned to profit- able account in the process of elimination for after all a successful invention is a growth not a creation. Therefore, while we impatiently listen to the criticisms of the skeptic who claims that any process which promises to recover all the metals is entirely too revolutionary in character to merit serious consideration, he must be shown that the wonderful advance in the art is not revolutionary but evolutionary, and that he can no longer hide behind the illogical argument that "It is too good to be true." The Malm Process. The ore is crushed to about ten mesh, is properly dried and fed to a revolving tube mill, where it is subjected to the action of chlorine gas. The ore is fed continuously into one end of the tube mill and is discharged at the other end. The chlorine gas is ad- mitted by an ingenious device without loss to the tube at the ore discharge end. The ore is kept in contact with the gas long enough to chloridize only from 40 to 70 per cent of the metal contents. By a proper regulation of the ore and gas supplies and the admission of air the temperature due to chemical reaction can be controlled and adjusted. After this partial chloridization in the tube mill, the ore is conveyed by an automatic carrier to a roasting furnace, preferably of the multiple hearth type. Here the partially chloridized ore is subjected to the action of the heat, which is fur- nished by the burning sulphur. The heat breaks up the iron chlorides irrespective of their condition and liberates chlorine free or as hydrochloric acid, thus leaving the iron in an inert oxide con- dition, thereby eliminating the iron and manganese from subsequent reaction. The chlorine gas or hydrochloric acid thus liberated unites with the sulphides of silver, copper, lead and zinc, forming chlorides of those metals. Simple and effective means are provided to prevent escape of chlorine should the same be in excess. The ore so treated in the furnace is passed to an agitator to which is added water or mill solutions. As all the reactions in- volved in the process are exothermic, sufficient heat is generated at this point to make possible the solution of such chlorines as lead chloride. Additional chlorine may be added at this point, if nec- essary, to bring the gold into solution. From the agitator in which THE MALM PROCESS 175 all the metals go into solution as chlorides, the solution is passed to properly designed filter presses in which the gangue, which will ordinarily consist of silica, sulphur and the oxides of iron and man- ganese, is retained. The solution containing the chlorides passes from the filter presses and is agitated in the presence of metallic copper, which precipitates the gold and silver, which is parted by the usual method and cast into bars. The solution from which the gold and silver has been removed is decanted and agitated in the presence of metallic iron, which precipitates the copper. The solution is then agitated in the presence of metallic zinc, which precipitates the lead, and, if necessary, it is agitated in the presence of zinc oxide, chlorine gas and sulphur dioxide to re- move ^ron, manganese or lime, which may have entered the solution either on account of insufficient decomposition in the roasting fur- nace or through the substitution method employed in the precipita- tions referred to. The solution after the above mentioned treatment contains only zinc chloride in solution, and when this solution through successive cycles has reached a sufficient concentration of zinc chloride, it is passed to vacuum evaporators in which all trace of moisture is re- moved, fused and run into electrolytic cells. Here the electric cur- rent is applied, which deposits the zinc in metallic form and lib- erates the chlorine for refuse, the entire loss of chlorine in the complete cycle of operation approximating about 2 per cent. The zinc cells are operated at a temperature of about 450 C., and the gas escapes from the cells at a temperature approximating the above figure. This chlorine gas is passed under the evaporators, thereby supplying heat for the evaporation, and also partly cools the gas, which is essential before reusing it in the tube mill. The various precipitates of gold, silver, copper and lead are separately collected in filter presses, dried, melted and cast into bars ready for ship- ment. The molten metallic zinc is tapped from the electrolytic cells at regular intervals and run into molds. Simplicity Proper Word for Malm Process. The foregoing brief outline includes operations the successful manipulation of which will doubtlessly be challenged by the metal- lurgist whose knowledge is limited to European difficulties and prac- tice. For the information of such, it may be stated that Mr. Malm does not lay claim to originality or anything new in the chemistry of the process, but it must be quite plain to the student that he has 176 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS devised new chemical applications and perfected mechanical ma- nipulation in a marked degree to come within the scope of sim- plicity thus outlined. Simplicity is the proper word which described the culmination of Mr. Malm's laborious work, extending over a pe- riod of several years in this country and abroad. .Naturally he has been materially assisted by the more recent manufacture of improved apparatus which has lately become stand- ard in such chemical work, nevertheless he was compelled to "scrap" many thousands of dollars' worth of apparatus and ma- chinery before finding the article suitable to continuous usage. As a typical example of the elimination of such difficulties, it may be stated that in his first experimental mill, located at Corbin, Montana, much fragile and delicate earthenware and porcelain apparatus was used, including breakable valves, stopcocks, etc., used in conducting or controlling chlorine gas. In the large commercial mill which Mr. Malm is now constructing for the Western Metals Company of Denver, located near the town of Georgetown, Colorado, all con- duits of gas are safely and securely laid in and below the surface of the* concrete working floors, and there is not such a thing as an earthenware, porcelain or hard rubber valve or stopcock in the entire plant. Simple oil and water-locked switches, diverted by means of "U" tubes made of lead and ordinary rubber hose fitted with wooden pinchcocks, solved such difficulties in an effective and economical manner. The foregoing is but a fair example of one of the several per- fected and improved mechanical methods that have been devised by Mr. Malm to bring the heretofore complicated operation within the range of simplicity and durability. There is now no depart- ment of the plant, which is very nearly completed, that cannot be successfully operated by unskilled labor, superintended by one com- petent manager, assisted by one skilled chemist. The change or play between the "ic".and "ous" chlorides of iron, manganese and copper are of vital importance in the opera- tion, and Mr. Malm has mastered a control which not only elimi- nates many difficulties heretofore encountered, but he has done it in such a simple and effective manner that it appears difficult to un- derstand why the discovery was not made long ago. Retrospec- tion, after the thing is done, is quite simple, but it took patience and skill to do the real work. The play referred to has much to do with the clarification of complex solutions which have always been a bugbear to the metallurgist, but the abnormally high recovery of all the metals by substitution and precipitation, except zinc, which THE MALM PROCESS 177 is recovered electrolytically, clearly proves that Mr. Malm has solved the problem in a very effective manner, practical in its appli- cation. There are so many important details of manipulation that have been simplified and made practical that space forbids a tech- nical description. Suffice it to say that they have been carefully examined and passed upon by independent engineers and metal- lurgists of national reputation and sound judgment, who have pro- nounced the complete operation as the most simple and economic method that has been devised in commercial metallurgy since the advent of cyanidation, over which chlorination now promises to have a much wider field of usefulness. Costs. From sixty to seventy per cent of the cost of operating this process is for electric power, depending very largely upon the metal contents of the ore to be treated. Direct current at relatively low pressure is used for the electrolytic work, which applies to zinc only, and the consumption of power varies with the zinc, or zinc equiva- lent, contents of the ore. In practice an actual recovery has been made of 14.2 to 14.4 pounds of zinc per horsepower day, there- fore, with electric energy at a cost of $50 per horsepower year, or sixteen cents per day, the cost of converting zinc chlorides into metallic bars of a premium brand would amount to but a small fraction in excess of one cent per pound. Such brands of electro- lytic zinc are now being manufactured abroad under chlorination methods of a more complicated character. than the Malm process. They are exported and sold in New York City at as high a pre- mium as two and one-half cents per pound in excess of New York quotations for spelter, which is an impure produce of the smelters. It is only claimed that not less than go per cent of the values of all the metals may be recovered from an ore by this process. However, actual practice on a tonnage basis has shown that a much higher saving may be made, and the following example of the re- duction of a very difficult refractory ore will serve to illustrate the recoveries obtainable : CRUDE ORE. METAL EXTRACTION. Assay. Price. Value. Per Cent. Weight. 0.18 ozs. gold @ $20.00 per oz. = $3.60 90 0.162 oz. i:U)7ozs. silver .50 per oz. = 6.98 91.6 12.796 ozs. 4.78% lead @ .04 per Ih. = 3:82 97.4 93. lb?. o.(8% copper .13 per Ib. = 1.77 99.3 13.5 Ibs. 9.00% zinc (a) .05 per Ib. = 9.no 94.2 169.5 Ibs. Average $25. 1 7 93.68+ $23.58 178 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS The average cost of handling this ore from mine to market, including all charges, was as follows: PER TON. Mining, development, tramming and general expense $ 4.00 Entire cost of treatment 5.32 Royalty 85 Handling and loading product 05 Freight charges 1 .68 Marketing charges 1.02 Miscellaneous . .65 Total $13.57 The 'average profit per ton was $10.01. By present methods of concentration followed by smelting and refining, the gross proceeds on this ore were $10.75 P er ton, while the total costs per ton were $8.8$, leaving a profit of but $1.90, or $8.11 in favor of the chemical process, an increase in profit of 400 per cent. The cost of treating an ore of the composition mentioned, con- taining only one per cent zinc, would be $2.44 per ton, increasing about 36 cents for each additional one per cent of zinc. However, costs in this process are not generally calculated per ton of ore treated, which are quite variable, depending almost entirely upon the metallic contents and composition of the crude ore. They are usually determined upon the number of pounds of metal recovered, thereby showing the true economy of the method. Straight lead or copper ores, without zinc, cost considerably less. Advantages of the Process. 1. Applicability to about 90 per cent of all ores. 2. Special applicability to ores heretofore regarded as too refractory and complex for any known treatment. 3. Elimination of ore dressing and mechanical concentration with their extravagant losses. 4. Elimination of fire methods with their attending sulphur and arsenical fumes, consequent litigation and high smelter charges. 5. The complete and economical passing into solution of all the metals. 6. High percentage of recovery. 7. Low cost per pound of metal recovered. 8. Comparatively low cost of installation, considering the completeness of the process. 9. Simplicity of operation. 10. Products in marketable condition. Mr. Malm's valuable work has been carried along the line of true conservation, viz: Utilization without waste.. Under his THE MALM PROCESS 179 methods no one metal is sacrificed to save another, but all the metals of commerce in the ore are recovered, including the here- tofore despised and much penalised zinc. The mechanical losses encountered in the work are only those which cannot be prevented in any operation, however perfect it may be. If it is not perfec- tion, it is at least the highest point that metallurgical skill has reached in this field of operation, and its ultimate value and im- portance is difficult to foresee or estimate. It promises to become as important a factor in the extraction of all the metals in complex ores as the cyanide process has proved in the treatment of straight gold ores. Workmen's Compensation. BY JOHN H. JONES, PITTSBURGH, PA. In presenting the results of the labors of the special commitee appointed to consider, and report upon, the subject of a workmen's compensation act, I desire to call to your attention some of the things which form the basis of the reasoning of your committee, and to submit the same for your approval. The subject of employers' liability and workmen's compensa- tion, in one form or another, has agitated the minds of men for years. Individuals, corporations, states and nations have studied, conferred, and sought solutions. The justice of it. all is generally conceded, and American industry is still seeking the best direction to which to move to accomplish the object of its faith. The coal mining industry is no stranger to either ''liability 1 ' or "compensation," nor did it wait for law to suggest, demand, or compel a reasonable care, in one form or another, of those injured in the pursuit of the industry. That the mining industry has its many problems is not only known to you, but is well evidenced by the birth, development, and achievement of this Congress, and the best testimony in evidence of the value and efficiency of the Congress is this present meeting, its splendid program, and its large and representative character. It is natural then that a subject of so vital importance to the industry should engage the serious attention of the Mining Con- gress, first through a special committee, whose report is in print, and now presented for your present consideration, discussion, and approval. In order to provoke full discussion, the chairman of the com- mittee desires to present this paper as a brief supplement to the printed report. One of the most important points in the whole matter, upon which this Congress should fully inform and declare itself, is to decide upon the best direction to follow in working out a solution best adapted to the mining industry. On this point we have the experience and opinion of practical men in this and other countries. It has been stated that what has been done in England, and what has been done in Germany, are the most important types of action WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION 181 on this subject which we can study. Therefore we will call upon some representative gentlemen to present their experience and views; first, Mr. A. H. Gill, Member of Parliament, of Balton, England, and Secretary of the Operative Cotton Spinners' Associa- tion. Mr. Gill says, in substance: "In England, before the eighties, the common law was the only means of adjustment between the injured and his employer; when negligence of the employer was not apparent or proven it was hard to get compensation. The work-people became dissatisfied and began to agitate for a new law, and, as the result, an employers' liability act was passed in 1880, and while it was an improvement on the common law, the act was not a success, as it embodied the doctrine that an employer should not be liable unless negligence was proved, or if the workman had been guilty of contributory negligence. It has, always, been difficult to succeed in an action under the act as so many means could be found of resisting a claim. The result of the failure to secure compensation caused a further agitation for an improved method of dealing with the problem. This agitation bore fruit for, in the year 1897, an act was passed known as the workmen's compensation act. This act did away with the doctrine of contributory negligence and made the employer liable to pay compensation to a workman who lost time through any accident which occurred while following his employment. At first it applied to certain classes of workers, namely, railway workers, miners, and those engaged in occupations to which the factory and workshop act applied. This last mentioned act created many anomalies, this made necessary an amending act, which was passed. In the year 1906 the present workmen's compensation act was passed and it is a great improvement on the previous one." Twenty-Six Years Perfecting English Act. It is not necessary to enlarge upon this act, but simply to draw to your attention and emphasize the fact that 26 years of agitation by workmen, and 26 years of study, and experiment, by practical men, resulted in a workmen's compensation act that is an im- provement over all previous acts. In closing his remarks Mr. Gill says: (in 1909) "The act is a good one. It has very largely salved a knotty problem. We are not likely to go back on it, and I think that you would be well advised in giving it a careful study." This opinion is fully confirmed by Attorney Packer, of Wash- ington, D. C, who was retained by the United States Government to investigate the English Compensation Act and conditions in the United States. 182 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Another opinion dated Washington, D. C, December 24, 1910: "The Illinois Legislature .should enact a liberal Employers' Liability Act at the special session and then undertake an investiga- tion with a view of the introduction of an automatic compensation law, for THAT view observers now regard as the most feasible and just solution of the vocational ills, accidents and deaths." (Signed) SAMUEL GOMPERS, President Am. Fed. of Labor. And another: "In spite of the fact that every one of the industrial nations of Europe has discarded the system of paying damages on the ground of the liability of the employer, and has adopted in its stead the payment of compensation for industrial accidents ; in spite of the fact that New York has adopted a workmen's compensation act, and that both Wisconsin and Minnesota are considering compensa- tion as the only feasible solution of this problem, the Chicago Fed- eration of Labor and its representatives on the Commission have taken a decided stand that the abrogation of the employers' de- fenses must precede any bill providing compensation. "It is evident from the letter which the Federation submits, that its officers are not only unfamiliar or unmindful of the eco- nomic waste involved in any employers' liability system, but that they have no knowledge of the total inadequacy of such a system, even when extended by such serious modification of the employers' defenses as the American Federation of Labor advocates. "An employers' liability law meets none of the prime necessi- ties of definite compensation, immediately and automatically paid. Under it every case is a gamble." Signed by the six "Employer" members of the commission of twelve, Illinois Employers' Liability Commission. Again, Major A. R. Piorkowski, representing the Frederick Krupp Company of Essen, Germany, and speaking for the German system "The German accident insurance had its predecessor in the Liability Law of 1871, by which the operators of industrial estab- lishments were liable for the accidents caused by them. The in- jured workmen had to bring proof that the operator caused the accident, and the amount of compensation was determined by private societies. It is evident, that such an institution could satisfy nobody. The consequences were long drawn out, and costly law suits, by which the contrasting interests of employers and employe were glaringly brought to light. WORKMKN'S COMPENSATION 183 The more law suits between both classes, the more hatred and the less understanding there were for what was mutual in their interests. Employers, employes, and the Government looked eagerly for a better solution of the problem. Germans have been called a people of thinkers. They thought, and understood why the liability law did not answer the purpose, did not work for peace between capital and labor. It worked unjustly toward both of them. An accident would not be an accident if it could be foreseen, avoided or prevented. The accident is an inevitable incident of the trade. It is not due, legally speaking, to the carelessness of the employer. Nor is it due, legally speaking, to the carelessness of the employe. It just happens. It can only be put to the imperfections and perils of the trade. Therefore, the only logical and just way to com- pensate for the injuries done is by insurance. First, they proposed compulsory insurance, through an imperial financial institute, that contributors should be employers and the insured. The Reichstag refused this plan. Then the central association of German industries recom- mended the accident insurance. The place of an imperial insurance was taken by the trade associations of the employers. Instead of contributions by the employers and communities came the burden of the first 13 weeks to be borne by the sick funds, to which the workmen had to pay nearly 67 per cent. The administration remained with the employers. The arbitration courts consisted of employers and employes in equal numbers. In 1900 this law received its present shape, briefly- All workmen and administrative officers, the latter provided their annual earnings do not exceed 3,000 marks, are insured against the results of accidents in the course of their employment, if em- ployed in mines, factories, and similar establishments specified in law. In case of disability, compensation is rendered from the be- ginning of the I4th week after the date of the accident. The injured person receives free medical treatment, medicine and other means of healing. The accident associations are self administrative. Their in- ternal administration is regulated by a constitution, enacted by the general meeting. The law says what the constitution is to specify. 184 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS The constitution becomes valid when approved by the imperial insurance office. The general meeting of the association establishes the risk tariff for the different factories, etc., according to the degree of accident risk, and the amount of contribution accordingly. This tariff risk is to be revised every five years and approved by the imperial insurance office. If any gentleman present imagines that the German system would be a success in this country, let me quote from the New York Commercial of Friday, October 20, 1911 (4 days ago) under the heading "Liability Men Criticize State Insurance System." After much discussion and an attack upon the suggestion of Governor Woodrow Wilson, as to state accident insurance, it reads : Nearly every speaker alluded to a recent review of the Ger- man state insurance system, written by Dr. Ferdinand Friedens- burg, who has recently retired after 20 years at the head of the senate of the imperial insurance office of the German E'mpire. -Dr. Friedensburg does not find the German system, as it has worked out in practice, by any means ideal. He does not condemn the prin- ciples underlying the workmen's compensation for accidents. Dr. Lott quoted him as saying that charity crept in and cor- rupted the system at the beginning; that "workmen very soon got accustomed to bringing their complaints, doubts and claims of any nature whatever to the imperial insurance office, often without ap- pealing to any intermediate instance," that the imperial insurance office, which is intended to handle questions of law, is overburdened with frivolous and unfounded claims ; that "the expenses of the system continued to grow as the force required increased" ; that "the number of officials in the imperial insurance office has multi- plied in tune with the ever-waxing burden of work" ; that "the number of accidents grows with monstrous speed" ; that "in 1886 100,159 accidents were reported and 10,540 (10 per cent) compen- sated; in 1908, 662,321 accidents were reported and 142.965 (21 per cent) compensated"; that "often an accident is sought for and arranged" ; that "sometimes a chronically sick man swears that his old illness is the result of a recent accident and gets consequential help" ; that "the communal chiefs act entirely under the belief that they ought to help their local residents, as a result of the common opinion that the insurance funds have more money than they know what to do with, and this idea strikingly deadens the conception of legality and love for the truth" ; that "naturally the universal laxity, WORKMKX'S COMPENSATION 185 the payment of unjustified claims, and the extravagance practiced justified claims, and the extravagance in equipping hospitals and sanitoria impair the integrity of insurance funds" ; that "employers do all thai is possible to escape their burdens, which they feel to be unjust and in vain enormous sums are annually extracted from them in fines," that ''industrial unions and insurance institutions have been repeatedly on the brink of bankruptcy. Dr. Friedensburg points out that the excessive cost of the insurance system, which is one result of the degradation of the system into charity, is complained of by employers, and that state insurance, therefore, reacts injuriously upon Germany's industry. He says: "As. a result of the costs of insurance, which have gradually become monstrous, German industry is put at a disad- vantage and is hampered to the extreme in its competition with foreigners/' Caused Rise in Prices. Indeed, Mr. Friedensburg makes the astonishing statement that the German system of workmen's compensation is held responsible for the marked rise in prices which is felt to be oppressive by all classes of the German population. Mr. Wolfe is of the opinion that whether the state will under- take the employers' liability business to the exclusion of the com- panies depends upon the attitude of those companies and their disposition to co-operate with the state in the solution of the eco- nomic problem. He said that employers' liability insurance repre- sents more than one-half of the entire liability business transacted and consequently the question of state insurance is of vital interest to the underwriter. While heretofore the question may have seemed to the under- writers a fad or a form of socialistic doctrine and an interference with the right of contract, a discourager of thrift and an encourager of malignering and intentional accidents, public opinion is over- whelmingly in favor of entering the cost of human accidents as a part of the cost of production, and the underwriters, in the opinion of the speaker, must face the situation accordingly. Mr. Wolfe believes that a desirable law would embody the following features. First. A statement of the circumstances under which the em- ployer becomes responsible for an accident during the hours of employment. Second. A definite scale of benefits to be paid by the em- ployer when he is responsible. 186 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Third. A requirement that every employer to whom the law applies shall file with* the commission, mentioned hereafter, satis- factory evidence that his responsibility, for the payment of benefits for which he becomes responsible is guaranteed by a corporation authorized to transact the business of liability insurance. Fourth. The appointment of a commission (some of the mem- bers of which should have a knowledge of the technical side of employers' liability insurance) which would classify risks, and would, after the necessary investigation, fix the minimum and the maximum rate which would be charged any corporation authorized to furnish the guarantees. Fifth. A provision that the commission may, after hearing evi- dence, order the installation of proper safety devices in order that accidents may be prevented as far as possible. Sixth. A provision that those employers having more than a certain number of employes may, instead of becoming insured in a private company, elect to deposit with the state the minimum premium required by the commission, which deposit is to be in- creased from time to time as required by the commission, in order to cover the present values of benefits to be paid, and is to be withdrawn on filing with the commission satisfactory evidence that the deposit is not required for the payment of claims. Mr. Rowe stated that obviously the trouble with state insurance, viewed from an impartial angle, would be the mixing of politics with it. "Workmen's compensation insurance," he said, "can only exert its effect as a blessing if free from all exaggeration and particu- larly from the conscious or unconscious love-making with the 'lower classes.' ' ; "Such insurance," he s'aid, "must be issued by an independent institution free from all partiality." * * * Employers and employes should not lose sight of the fact that less than 50% of the premiums paid goes to the real beneficiaries. Whether or not this may be considered economic waste is for others to judge. Here, then, are introduced two methods, one the "Employers' Liability Act," which has been discarded by practical men, the other the "Workmen's Compensation Act," now before us, and be- tween these two we are called upon to choose. Your committee urges a workmen's compensation act as best fitted, by experience and practice, to the mining industry. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION 187 The liability act appears, to your committee, to be unjust and unreasonable, in principle and in practice the very mention of it suggests lawyers, courts, delays, annoyance, strained relations, ex- pense to employers, and loss to workmen. In one word, it means "fight." The compensation act means "payment." The former is an unknown quantity; the latter is a fixed principle known and computed in advance, and provided for. The record of the liability act is said to be about 50% adjustment the compensation act means 100% adjustment. Adjustment under a liability act is reported by one large coal operator to be injurious in 80% of cases in a large disaster, in that it would shower money into the hands of the inexperienced, where value is unknown, and where money and widows are soon parted. That this is no idle dream is no doubt known to every man here, and the speaker has had enough experience to "fill a book." Just one experience will suffice to illustrate. During the past two years a certain widow, of a miner, received a so-called liability adjustment. Two of the first purchases made were a gold watch and a silk dress, which added to other things made the expenditure for the first month $900.00. She spent over three thousand dollars a year" for these two years, and now finds herself and five children objects of charity. Surely it cannot be argued that this is the compensation intended. True, it was her inexperience and failure to value money that worked the mischief. This is the very thing we argue. This woman is a fair type of those with whom the mining industry has to deal, and the illustration is from life and by no means an isolated case. Under the compensation act no such temptation would have presented itself the adjustment would have simply continued the natural earning and pay conditions for a period of years, insured the woman against her own inexperience and extravagance, insured to the children the real object of the act, and be a blessing to the family and to the community. Liability law adjustment, in the judgment of the committee, is a mistake is uncertain and unreasonable is an injustice to all con- cerned, and is prejudicial to all the best interests of a miner's widow and children that it defeats a good intention, and does not insure the care, education, and opportunities of life, supposedly vouchsafed, to the husband and father, by a lawVhich caused him to risk and lose his life in an honest belief, and a sincere endeavor, to provide for his family. In short, it looks as though the most 188 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS ardent supporters of an employers' liability law, are ambulance chasers and those who could hope to profit by a disturbed condition, as between capital and labor. It may not be out of place to again quote from the remarks of Mr. Gompers, who says : "As a principle, compensation is wisest, is best, and more economic, and would not tend to disturb the rela- tions between the injured workman and his employer, as does liability." Surely no one will argue that the best interests of the yforkmnn are overlooked in this opinion. As to the question, Who should pay the cost? there is no need to take up your time in argument. It is conceded to be a legitimate charge on industry, and that every industry ought to bear its own cost. Liability Act Wrong in Principle and Practice. It is also conceded that labor is just as necessary for the maintenance of industry as any other commodity, and that the cost of compensation, as a fixed principle of industry, should be reckoned with in placing a price upon the finished product. Upon the grounds stated we believe the liability act to be wrong in prin- ciple and practice, and that the injustice of it falls upon those who are least able to bear it, on the one hand, and, upon the oth'er hand, this injustice would fall upon those who are supposed to be wealthy, which supposition is based upon opinion thoroughly unfamiliar with the facts, and therefore incompetent, an opinion of those who do not stop to consider whether or not the cost of their wishes is within the possibilities of the industry, or to take into consideration the fact that not one out of ten coal companies could stand the cost of some of the disasters which have occurred during the last few years, under a liability act, or the further fact that less than ten per cent of the coal companies have as much money invested as the cost of some of the mine disasters of the past three years, and that a liability act would bankrupt ninety per cent of the companies should this class of disaster visit their mines. Surely such a law would endanger the industry, and therefore cannot be the sober judgment, or even the sincere desire, of either workmen or employer. The mining industry should stand ready to bear the burden of its own accidents it should stand ready to pay a tax of one cent per ton of coal mined to meet the necessities of the case and to pro- vide the necessary funds. It should stand ready to have this fund administered wisely in the interests of the workmen and their families. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION 189 It has always stood ready to consider, and has introduced every known precaution to prevent these accidents, and to safeguard every man employed above or below the ground. It considers all this right, reasonable and just, and that the best direction to move in, to accomplish best results, is the passing of the workmen's compensation act. This consideration of the subject is not based upon selfish or narrow motives. The company I have the honor to represent oper- ates in five states the cost, to our company, under this act, and which act it approves of, will mean fifty to sixty thousand dollars a year, and it is only one of many, all of which goes to show that the industry is actuated wholly by humane motives, and a sincere desire to squarely meet the conditions of the times, therefore the honesty of the mining industry view of the matter must be self- evident to every right thinking man. In the preceding argument we have referred to the best direc- tion to move in to accomplish the best results, and have clearly stated our reasons in favor of the compensation act. There is an- other important point to consider with reference to this act, namely, the mining industry must give its best thought to the method of introducing and passing the act it cannot be left to the unfamiliar majority. The combined co-operative influence and wisdom of this Congress is vitally necessary to guide public opinion and legislators in this important matter. The necessity for reasonably uniform legislation by the different states of the Union must not be lost sight of. Uniformity of legislation on all subjects of common interest is one of the most important questions of the times. It was the Hon. Seth Low, President of the National Civic Federation, speaking upon this question, who said : "If one industrial state makes a change in the law of master and servant, or of negligence, it may unwitting- ly greatly endanger its manufacturing industries, but if the competitive industrial states will move 'correspondingly along the same lines, no one of them is likely to be en- dangered, and the w r hole country may be benefited." And, along the same lines, it was Senator Root who said : "The time has come when each state must legislate on matters of common interest from the point of view of one of a family of states, rather than from the point of view of an individualism that is self sufficient the people of the country have grown together in so many ways, without regard to state lines, that, unless fairly uniform 190 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS legislation can be had upon a constantly increasing number of subjects, the demand for action by the central Govern- ment is likely to become irresistible, and, in time, even to require an amendment of the Constitution of the United States to give to the central Government the power the states fail to use for the common benefit." It is to bring about just this uniformity that we recommend to this Congress the appointment of a general committee, and we might go a little farther than the printed recommendation and have this committee consist of one man from each of the several states, this general committee to have charge of the enactment of the law pre- sented by the committee, each appointee to act as chairman of a committee of five within his state, composed of himself and four other members, charged with the duty and responsibility of seeing to it that the state legislatures of those states shall pass this law. The necessity for careful study, for the wisdom which comes from the multitude of counsel, and for definite and determined action, is clearly evident. The American mining industry should here go on record as favorable to that solution of this problem which is right, reasonable and just to the industry, to the employer, and to the employe. A law that strikes at the life of the industry will be a calamity. A law that does justice to employer and employe, that operates, and compensates, without delay, friction or loss, will be a blessing. May the "wisdom which cometh -from above" lead and guide us into that which is best. Workmen's Liability Insurance. BY C. O. BARTLETT, CLEVELAND, OHIO. During the last few years, and especially the last year, very much has been said about workmen's liability insurance, and quite a number of our states have enacted laws pertaining to this im- portant question. The bone of contention is, Who shall pay the bill ? It is certainly very nice for every workman in a mine, factory, or on a farm to have a workman's insurance policy, and especially would this be true if somebody else paid the premium. There seems to be a sort of general opinion that insurance companies are robbers, that they have made vast fortunes out of the employers' insurance business, and if the state or general gov- ernment would go into this business, the rate would be very much less. Now the true facts of such matters, judging from the past, are that all business done by a city, state, or general government costs nearly twice as much as when done by private corporations or individuals, and we see no reason why there should be any varia- tion from this general rule in the insurance business, and I think it is fair to assume that when any state, or the United States as a whole, get into the liability insurance business, the cost will increase the same as it has done in other lines, and the idea that a lot of money will be saved is only a myth. In taking up this question, we should consider, and consider most carefully, that where there is one large mining corporation or other corporation, there are hundreds of smaller ones doing busi- ness in every state, and I wish to speak especially of these medium sized corporations or companies. The large companies like the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company, the United States Steel Corporation, the Pittsburgh Coal Company, the Standard Oil Company, the International Harvester Company and some others of similar type control very largely the selling prices of their products ; in other words, when they say thumbs up, up they go, and when they say thumbs down, down they go, but the medium fellow, with competition on every corner cannot do this, and if we add to the expense of these companies, even at the rate of i% a year on the capital stock, it will mean just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow that thousands of them will go to the wall. 192 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS To illustrate this fact, let me state that two years ago the state of Ohio, which is one of the largest manufacturing states in the Union, one of the best located for manufacturing purposes, with plenty of coal at a low price and of a good quality, with cheap iron ore of a good quality, the best of water and rail transportation facil- ities, the best of farming lands from one end to the other to supply bread and meat, and perhaps more advantages than any other state in the Union, put a tax of i/ioth of i%, that is a special tax of i/ioth of i% on all corporations, and last year they increased this by 50%, making a yearly tax of i l / 2 mills on every dollar of the capital stock. In other words, a company of $60,000 capital stock is now compelled to put into the State treasury as a special yearly tax $90 per year. This may seem like a small amount, but last spring more than 1200 of the Ohio corporations were delinquent in this special tax, the delinquency amounting to more than $2,000. To further illustrate, if a tax of one cent a ton were put on all coal mined in the United States, it will mean very nearly i% on the selling price of all the coal mined in the United States, and according to Mr. Parker, the output of coal in the United States in 1910 was 501,000,000 tons, and at ic a tojn means over $5,000,000. I do not hesitate to state that the 33 million tons of ore mined in the state of Ohio last year did not pay dividends to the owners of the mines of more than 2% and a tax of i% would mean ruination to very many of them, for we assure you that a great many mines in the state of Ohio are earning extremely small dividends. According to this same report by Mr. Parker, the average price of bituminous coal is a little over $1.00 a ton. Now then, it has never been estimated by any actuary that the Workmen's Liability Insurance tax against any mining or other company would be less than this amount, and probably it will be very much more, possibly 200% more ; in fact, we are told by insurance companies that it will be fully this much and we have no reason to believe that the insur- ance companies are liars. At any event, so important a measure as the workmen's liability insurance should receive the most careful consideration. When we look at it carefully and boil it down, it simply means this: that all workmen in mines and factories will have a liability insurance policy, so that in case of accident they shall draw a cer- tain amount a week, say 60% of the amount of their wages ; that in case of death, their families will draw a certain amount a week up to a certain maximum, say three or four thousand dollars. \VORK.M H.VS LIABILITY INSURANCE 193 So far this seems easy. It is certainly a mighty good thing for each workman to have an insurance against injury or death, but from here on comes the question, Who shall pay the bill? Nat- urally the workmen are anxious for the employer to pay the premium, and naturally the employer is somewhat loath to do it. We must not forget the fact that over 80% of the men engaged in business, mining or other kinds of business, do not meet with success. Again, I wish to say to the miners and manufacturers that if it is legal to insure the workmen in the mines and factories throughout the cities and towns, is is equally as important to insure the workmen on the farms. There seems to be a sort of a prevailing idea that mining is a very dangerous occupation, yet statistics show that mining is far less dangerous than a very large number of manufacturing indus- tries. By statistics given by the government, it is found that in the state of Pennsylvania mining is about one-thirtieth as dangerous as making nuts and bolts. It is not more dangerous than railroading and only half as dangerous as farming. By such statistics as can be had in this country, and especially in Germany, more than 45% of all the accidents happen on farms, and there is no question what- ever in my judgment but what farming as it is carried on at the present time in the United States, with its improved machinery is far more dangerous than mining. Now if it is necessary to protect the fellow in the mines, at the bench or forge, why is it not equally as well to protect the man on the- farm, behind the plow, or behind the corn shredder and anything that protects one without protecting the other should never be sustained by any one court and I hope it never will be. Very much is being said about the high cost of living. There are two very important reasons for this ; one the scarcity of water. When the rain fails to come, the corn, wheat and vegetables wither and die. The other reason is the scarcity of farm labor throughout the entire country. You cannot expect the boys to remain in the country and work twelve hours a day for a dollar and a half or less when they can get two or three times this amount in a mine and work six or eight hours a day, or in a factory and get at least double the amount. Now if we throw in an insurance policy be- sides, it will add to the burden. That all manufacturers of the United States are very much interested in this question and are very anxious indeed to have some law enacted, there is no question, and I feel sure I am speaking the sentiments of a very large part of the manufacturers in the state 194 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MIXING CONGRESS of Ohio when I state that they do not feel as though they should pay the premium. It seems to me that the only just way to do this is for the employer to pay half and the employe pay the other half and let the general government, either State or National, bear the expense of the burden of carrying out the provision of the law. The true object of a liability insurance should be to prevent accidents and from an experience of many years, I feel absolutely confident in making the assertion that if any mine or factory in- sures its employes and pays for the entire insurance, that the num- ber of accidents will increase very rapidly indeed ; in fact, I haven't the slightest doubt about it, but if you say to the workman, you pay half of this and I will pay the other half, then you will have prevented to a very large degree all accidents, for the reason that the workmen will be equally as interested and will try in every way to prevent accidents as well as the employer. Another very important measure, and we think by far one of the most important of this whole question, is that this will bring the employer and employe to a very close and very friendly rela- tionship, and that is one of the great questions which the manu- facturers are trying to solve today, for say what you will, we are all in the same boat and should work in harmony as much as possible. It is a terrible thing for the head of any mine or factory to learn that one of his workmen has met with a serious accident, possibly one or both legs broken, and you can rest assured that every one of us are only too glad to do anything in our power to prevent these things, but we fully realize, however, that accidents will happen, that they always did and all it is possible for any man to do is to prevent them as far as possible. In other words, I wish to emphasize the fact that prevention should be the main object in any workmen's liability insurance law. That should be the goal at all times, in all places, and under all conditions. Very much has been said about the splendid laws regarding liability insurance in the Old Countries, and especially is this so regarding Germany. One would almost believe by hearing some of the addresses and by reading some of the articles of the magazines that it was almost a paradise to work in Germany ; that it was next to a front seat in Heaven, but like all other questions, there are two sides to this one, and the other side we don't hear so much about. They do not tell us that the taxes in Germany are two and some- times more than four times as much as they are here ; that is, the direct tax, and then there is another tax there, too, in this great WORKMEN'S LIABILITY INSURANCE 195 Germany, a tax that is far more mighty than dollars and cents, and that is that every boy must be taken from his home and give five years of his time to the army. Will you just for a moment consider what this tax would mean to you and to me? Just as your boy or mine is ready to enter college, how would you like to have the government step in and say: "Here, Charlie, or William, you come with me for five years ; I want you ?" and he has to go. Now, then, if an observing man knows anything, he knows that army life is very bad for a young man and I am told by good authority by some of the men who have been through this army in Germany that many of the good, moral boys, in fact the majority, that enter the army come out very bad men at the end of their term, and I say right here that if there is any one thing that I am thankful for, it is that we do not live under such laws as they have in Germany. But let us go a little further into these wonderfully good laws of Germany. One would almost be led to believe than many of the workmen would immediately go back to work under these favor- able conditions, but how many mechanics from your town left for Germany last year? I venture to say that you would count the number on your four fingers, and I can furthermore venture to say that then you can divide it by four and in many cases you can sub- tract one from this amount. On the other hand, how many of the workmen from that country have come to this country to better their conditions? Over one hundred and eighty thousand German people came here last year, and they have bettered their conditions, and we are very glad to see them and want them to come. In Germany the employers only pay one-third of the cost, and I repeat that we should consider and consider most carefully before we burden our mining operators and manufacturers with the tre- mendous cost of Workmen's Insurance. If this agitation and legis- lation against the business industries of our country keep on the the rate they have for the last two years, very serious consequences will surely come and this country will realize that we have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. The Federal Investigation of Ore Treatment Problems. BY W. N. SEARCY, SILVERTON, COLO. It is rather embarrassing to me to undertake to discuss a ques- tion of this character which must naturally touch upon some of the technical phases of mining, when I myself am not actively en- gaged in the actual business of mining. I am interested in mining property; all that I have is invested in the mining country. I represent men who are engaged in mining; and, therefore, have been selected by some of my friends in Colorado to undertake to tell you a little about this subject. I will ask that you bear with my want of oratorical talent, for I hope that whatever may be lacking in oratory may be made up by the appeal which the plain facts con- cerning the mineral industry itself must make to your sound judgment. If the Federal Government takes hold of this proposition to solve the treatment of ore, it will deal only with general problems ; it will only undertake the more intricate and difficult problems, and, therefore, it will be working not for any one section, but for the people of the United States. I take it that this mining congress itself will not take up any sectional issues, and while in undertaking to discuss this subject, I shall refer to some sections of the West, perhaps to some sections of Colorado, I wish you to understand, in fairness to this convention, that I refer to those localities only as illustrations ; for Illinois and Michigan and Utah and Missouri are interested in this problem in the same way as is Colorado. Our President's address, as delivered to you this morning, goes quite fully into the foundation for asking Federal help in the solution of these questions. He has explained to you very fully the work which has been performed by the agricultural experiment department of the United States. He has shown you how valuable that work has been, and the tremendous amount of good that has been accomplished. I will not repeat that part of the argument. What Mr. Dern has presented to you upon that subject should be enough. Now, in order to consider whether the Federal Govern- ment should undertake to help solve these problems of ore treat- ment, it is necessary first to consider to a limited extent the im- portance of the industry itself. If you will take the eleven states ORE TREATMENT PROBLEMS 197 situated west of the Eastern Colorado line, you have the distinctively mountain states of our country. If you will add to them the ter- ritory of Alaska, you have what may be called the metal mining section of our country. This is not because Missouri does not produce more zinc than some of those states, nor because Michigan does not produce more copper than some of those states, but be- cause in those western states the mining' industry is the basic or foundation industry. Mining in those states and territories bears the same relation to general industry there that manufacturing does to general industry in New England, or cotton raising to the in- dustry of the South. Furthermore, if it were not for the mining industry existing in large sections of these mountain States their progress would be very materially handicapped and their final development would be greatly limited. I desire to give you a local illustration : There is a section in Colorado known as the San Juan Mining district. I want to use it as an illustration. That territory is formed by the crossing of the great Continental or Rocky Mountain Divide, by the San Juan Range of mountains, thus creating a large and very precipitous mountain country. For instance, in my little county there are probably 20 or 25 mountains rising to 13,000 feet elevation, and our engineers tell us that if the entire county were leveled down it would all stand above the timber line. Silverton, our county seat, has an altitude of 9,000 feet up so high that summer heat is unknown. Now that territory itself covers practically three thousand square miles of country, that is, the mineral section alone is the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined ; but the important thing is that all of that territory would be vacant, all that territory would be idle, all that territory would be practically useless and unoccupied were it not for the mining industry. That same condition exists in Utah ; it exists in Idaho ; it exists in all of these Western states that I have men- tioned, and if the mining industry is not to be protected and pre- served, we are going to leave a great portion of the western section of the United States practically unoccupied. We cannot afford, as citizens of the United States, to neglect or overlook any possible measure or step which may make that portion of our country populous and prosperous. But that is not even the most important prosperity phase of this subject. While I have mentioned to you a mining district in Southwestern Colorado, as an illustration, which covers three thousand square miles of mountain territory, I wish to state that south of that territory is a farming country which is fertile, well-watered, capable of producing almost any 198 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS product of the temperate zone. Now that farming territory, in- cluding therewith the mining section, covers an area of 20,000 square miles, and extends into the southeastern part of Utah, the northwestern corner of New Mexico, and it extends far eastward in Colorado. Now that agricultural territory of 20,000 square miles is equivalent in size to Massachusetts and Connecticut and Delaware and New Jersey combined. It is capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of people. Yet that agricultural territory, under present conditions, would not know prosperity if it were not for the mining cities up in the mountains which make a market for the agricultural products. I desire to use this illustration to show you by a concrete example the importance to Colorado and to Utah and to Nevada and to Idaho, and to every other State, of preserving and conserving the interests of the mining industry itself. Now it goes further than that. In the state of Colorado, and, I dare say, in Utah and the other Western states, the mining in- dustry forms the basis for the best market that the coal miners themselves know. We have a great deal of coal in that country, as you have here, but it takes the mining industry to stand in the place of your manufacturing and transportation industries of the East. Another idea that is worth considering. That western country that I have described, including Alaska, covers nearly one-half the entire area of the United States. Alaska alone is equivalent to five of the -largest states you would be likely to name, excluding Texas. That big western section should not be brought into com- petition with the eastern agricultural sections, when by proper en- couragement of the mining industry in that western metal-pro- ducing country, it will provide its own market and prevent agri- culture of the West from competing with and injuring agriculture in the East. Now this is only a general consideration of the im- portance of the mining industry in that western section alone. The same considerations apply in a general way to the metal mining industry in Illinois, in Missouri, in Wisconsin, and other states. The metal mining industry has another phase more important than mere present property for our generation. . Something has been said about conservation. Now, I may not agree entirely with the views recently expressed concerning conservation, but I cer- tainly do agree to some extent ; and that is to say that true con- servation should be a conservation which saves for the people and not one which denies use to the people. ORE TREATMENT PROBLEMS 199 This is pre-eminently the age of metals. It is the age of elec- tricity. It is the age of invention. It is the age of speed It is the age of machinery. Fifty years ago if you had been sitting in this hall and holding a convention and a neighboring building were being erected you might have heard the blows of the carpenters' hammers. Today, a building is being erected there ; and some- where away off in another part of the city there is situated a tre- mendous plant involving tons and hundreds of tons of iron and steel and copper in its construction. From that plant run electric wires, involving more tons of copper, out through the city, until they ramify every street and avenue in the metropolis. One of those wires is attached there on the side of the new building to some kind of an electric machine. The building itself is of steel. The machine that makes the noise is of steel, copper and iron, and instead of the whack of the old-fashioned hammer, you hear the vibrations of the machine hammer riveting beam upon beam and erecting a structure almost wholly composed of metal. Yet the giant steel frame you view from the window is merely an ordinary business building- of this day. That building is only an illustra- tion. We have passed by the old days of wood and stone. The cradle and the coffin are made of metal. The conveyances that we ride in along the street and the pleasure boat are made of metal. The man-of-war and the fortress resisting the guns must be made of steel. Mining and Agriculture Rquall\ Important. As our chairman told you in his very able address this morn- ing we are coming to the place where people will realize that mining, in its broader phases, and agriculture are but two equal supplemental divisions of the industry of our Nation, one as im- portant as the other. The Government geological report for 1909 shows that in 1880 we used substantially $185,000,000 worth of metal produced from our storehouse. By the year 1900, twenty years later, that had increased to $511,000000. In other words, after allowing for all reasonable change in the price of the commodity per pound, in twenty years we more than doubled the demand upon our store- house for the use of metal therein contained ; and in 1909 we had reached something like $750,000,000 annual production, proving that by 1920 we will again have doubled the demand upon the storehouse for the use of metal. Now I do not believe it would be conservative or sound to say that we are rapidly approaching the place where metal cannot 200 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MIXING CONGRESS be found, nor that we are immediately going to exhaust that store- house. I do not believe that we have reached the place where any calamity views need be entertained, but I do believe we have reached the place where common sense and sound 'business policy should call upon the people of this Nation to use every reasonable endeavor to see that the metal extracted from the earth each year is put into form where it will be saved and used, and not wasted. That is the problem that is brought before you today. These Western States that I have mentioned and the territory of Alaska produce substantially $250,000,000 worth of metal each year This $250,000,000 worth, of course, includes silver and gold, and it is only fair to state that in certain sections of the country, like Cripple Creek, the miners have been able to effect a fairly success- ful saving of gold and silver contained in the ore, possibly 90% ; more probably an average of only 85% 'of the silver and gold con tained in the ores bearing only those two products. But that is not the problem. The problem that arises in those mining sections is in treating what we call refractory or complex ores. The big veins cutting through the mountains contain lead and zinc and copper and iron and manganese and quartz, and perhaps a half-dozen other metallic contents, combined in almost every conceivable form anil proportion ; and these big low-grade veins form the solid per- manent basis of the mining industry. Now, when you realize that a lead smelter cannot treat zinc, but must burn it up, and that a zinc smelter cannot successfully treat other metals, you will readily realize the difficult problem which is immediately presented to the man who is grinding that ore and sending it to the market. In this class of ore, known as refractory, or complex ore, I believe it is safe to say that in the average low-grade mining district the saving effected in the course of milling does not exceed 70% of the value of the contents. Seventy per cent saving necessarily means a 30% loss or waste, because as a general rule the tailings from the mill go into the streams or are scattered over the surface of the earth without being in any way conserved. Therefore, the loss that is suffered is a permanent loss. It might be well to explain that in the low-grade mining dis- tricts of Colorado, Utah, and other states, where the veins are known to occur, these low-grade ores in general carry values of from $4 to $20 per ton. Now when you consider that these me- tallic contents are included along with quartz, or other material constituting one-half or two-thirds of the total tonnage, and when you take into consideration the railroad freight that must be paid ORE TREATMENT PROBLEMS 201 per ton and the rather high charge that must be imposed by any smelter that undertakes to treat ore containing so much silica, you will readily realize that the miners cannot ship that crude low-grade ore to a smelter and have it successfully treated. Therefore the burden is imposed upon them of first separating out the silica or the quartz contents in connection with their ore. Next they must confront the problem of undertaking to separate zinc away from the lead, copper and iron, and at the same time try to save the gold and silver value; so that when they market their product they may be able to send the lead and copper and iron to what is known as a lead smelter and the zinc contents of the ore to what is known as a zinc smelter. This presents a complex and difficult problem. I suppose there are a hundred different forms of mills or of machines or of contrivances that have been invented for the purpose of sep arating and treating these ores. Some are fairly successful in some branches of the industry ; but no general solution of the problem has yet been presented. I believe it is safe to say, as I have told you, that the loss in this branch of the metal mining industry will equal 30% of the total product brought out of the ground. Losses of Rare Metals, in Mining. A further illustration of these losses may be found in the case of certain rare metals. For instance, in one county in Colorado it was discovered a few years ago that minable quantities of tungsten existed. The miners there concluded that they would try to pro- duce tungsten commercially. They found very substantial deposits of that metal. They proceeded to produce the metal, produce it commercially, and I understand they did so at a profit. But in producing the tungsten, as far as I have been able to learn, not less than 30% produced from the ground is lost in the course of milling, before the concentrates are shipped to the market. Another illustration of this same loss is in the vanadium de- posits also found in a southwestern county of the same state. Vanadium is used in hardening and toughening certain varieties of steel and also for other purposes. It is a valuable metal, rather a rare metal. Now in the production of this vanadium which has been found in that county it is reported that one company takes out that ore, ships it all the way across this country and across the ocean to Liverpool, in order to have it treated. The saving in Liverpool may be very good, but there is but little saving to the industries of our country in paying such freight, besides the treat- ment charge. Another company is undertaking to treat the vana- dium on the ground by a process, as I understand, devised by their 202 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS own metallurgists. It is stated concerning their own home treat- ment that the loss is at least one-third of the valuable metal which they have found, saving only two-thirds. Another loss which is worth noticing in the metal producing industry of the west is that of sulphur, arsenic and manganese and other similar materials, and chemicals of various kinds and char- acter. These are disregarded because at the present time there is no profit in undertaking to save them. It is all right to talk of conservation, but no private citizen can afford to spend his own money and operate at a loss for the purpose of trying to conserve the natural resources ; and it is only by the discovery of means which will enable him to conserve the natural resources while working at a profit that any miner will invest money in saving or producing a metal. Now as a final effect of this loss in the treatment of the west- ern metals, I believe it is fair to estimate that the $250,000,000 worth of metal marketed by those western states and Alaska, rep- resent also an actual loss- of metal which is not marketed, of at least $50,000,000 per year in the lead, copper, zinc, gold and silver alone, besides all the possible by-products. Then when you con- sider the further loss, say ten or fifteen per cent, in the treatment of the simple gold and silver ores, and when you consider the further loss that is probably encountered in such states as Missouri and Wisconsin and Illinois in the treatment of any zinc or lead ore which happens to be in the leastwise complex, I believe it is safe to say that there stands here a problem of loss to our nation of at least $100,000,000 per year of metal valuable in our industries, and which some day will be indispensable to our industries. This is the problem that this congress, as I understand, proposes to present to the Federal Government ; and it would certainly seem to be worth while for the Federal Government to interest itself in the solution of that problem. Now we have reached the point, in trying to discuss this ques- tion, of considering what it is proposed to ask the Federal Govern- ment to do. I believe there has been more misunderstanding, more misconception of this, not necessarily of the problem, but of its possible method of solution, than any other question that has come before this assembly. If you will stop and study the problem for a moment you will readily realize that the problem is not one to be solved by the United States Government erecting a building like this, for instance, and setting up machinery there and shipping ore to that building to test it by that machinery. Why, if the Gov- ORE TREATMENT PROBLEMS 203 ernment had such a machine today it would send it out to Colo- rado and Utah and mining would go right ahead. We would make other machines just like it. The trouble is that there is no such machine in existence, for the mechanical saving of these metals. If there were, it would be patented by some private individual and he would make a million dollars a year out of it; or if he did not patent it, every mine in the states of Colorado, Washington and Idaho would be using that one contrivance. Therefore, it is not a question of trying to procure the United States Government to erect a plant in Denver, nor in Salt Lake, nor in San Francisco, nor any- where else. The problem is of such a nature that it is going to take years of work by the best metallurgists, by the best scientists, by the best chemists that our Government can afford to employ. I believe that the final solution of this question, will be a chemical and electrical solution and not a mere mechanical solution ; but the work that is to be done must necessarily be done right down in the field where the metals exist. Department of Alines Needed. We need a department of mining of the United States, to be given money to commence on this work. An appropriation of at least $500,000 should be made for Dr. Holmes' Department, so that he can commence upon the investigation of this problem in every mining district of the west. I do not mean by that each little isolated section, but each considerable section which appears to have problems peculiar to itself. In that way in your State of Utah you would be able to have a representative of the United States' Government go in there in your district, analyzing your ore, watch- ing the effect of each milling process that you are trying to put into effect and he would finally, after a few months' study, be able to make a complete analytical report, not only upon your ore, but upon your processes, and your saving and your problems. The same thing could be done down in the San Juan or at Aspen, or up in Idaho, or in other mining sections. Then after the local or field experiment station work has progressed until some definite informa- tion has been obtained to be written down and compiled and printed as a general working basis, field experiment work would probably be undertaken. Until you have reached that stage, there is little necessity for a central plant; but after you have reached that stage then you can locate your central plant at any point convenient for the mining section ; and then you will know for the first time what you actually want in that central plant or what could be devised for it. 204 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS In the report of our President, in his address this morning (and which I believe will become as important as any public docu- ment which has been promulgated in our country for years) he has outlined to you very clearly the work undertaken and accomplished by the Agricultural Department. I believe it is safe to say that the agricultural experiment station work 'of the United States has saved millions of dollars to the farmers. There is every reason to believe, that if the work of the Federal Government is broadened out, the same kind of work, or the same plan, can be instituted, in the mining department, and just as great results will be accom- plished ; and there is some reason to hope that the results may be accomplished even more speedily. In the agricultural problems the question is generally a matter of long observation, of culture of plants, of watching the habits of insects, and of progress from year to year in undertaking to better the conditions of the industry. In other words, it is a culture or growth rather than a solution of a problem. While in the metal industry these problems are in general few in number, and though difficult of solution, yet they are closely related to each other, and when the solution comes the remedy will be immediate and complete. I believe more is to be accom- plished in the metal mining industry by the Federal Government, for the same amount of money expended, than can be accomplished in the agricultural department. Now if the Federal Government by the investment of a few hundred thousand dollars in establish- ing these experimental stations, first in the districts that need them most, and later in any district in any state where a substantial saving to the people may be effected, if the Federal Government, by such limited investment, can save one-tenth of what is now going to waste of those metals, is it not worth while? $10,000,000 saved by a few hundred thousand dollars investment, should be a sound investment, whether for the Federal Government or any private industry. If the Federal Government can be so successful as to make a complete success in the solution of these problems, we have here presented, which are only a part of the problems of the in- dustry, then it will mean a saving to our nation of at least $100,000,- ooo per year. Nation Would Be Benefited. Now I believe that every patriotic citizen of this country views with approval the appropriation by our Congress of nearly $100,- 000,000 for the purpose of supporting the army, that is, just so long as that army is necessary; and I believe that every patriotic citizen likewise approves the appropriation of something like $125,000,000 ORE TREATMENT PROBELMS 205 by Congress for the support of the navy, so long as such a navy is necessary. But I want to ask if it is not sound business as well as sound government to make a limited appropriation for the purpose of conserving and saving and producing the metals with which the armies must be equipped, with which the navies must be built, with which homes and cities and industries must be founded. The first effect of any such a move by the government would of course be a profit to the metal mining industry; but I have tried to show you that it is a foundation industry, a basic industry, in these western states, in Illinois, in Missouri, in Michigan, wherever metal is pro- duced ; furnishing the market to the agriculturalist who stands by ready to supply the provisions ; furnishing the market for the fac- tories of the east that must furnish hundreds of articles to every mining section of the western part of the nation. There is some- thing more about this. The Federal Government by undertaking such a campaign as this is not only bringing profit to the industry, it is not only improving the condition of every state which has the industry, it is conferring a direct and substantial benefit upon the whole people of America. Wherever an industry is enabled to produce at a less cost, or what is the same thing in the operation of an industry, if it is enabled to save the entire product instead of losing one-third of it, then the natural, the inevitable, result will be that the industry itself will be satisfied to take a less propor- tion, and the people at large will receive the final product of that industry for a less price. Today your price of copper, your price of lead, your price of zinc is fixed by the necessary charge on it in order to have it produced at a profit. If the United States Govern- ment can so far help the miners, those who are mining and treating this ore, that they can save the entire metallic contents of the ore, more metal will be produced from year to year with the same work, and the people of the United States will receive a fair share of the benefits at a reduction in price, yet the industry itself making the reduction will not lose, it will receive enough to make it pros- perous. As an illustration of the mining benefits to the whole people, I want to call attention to the tungsten production for one county in Colorado. Because it found it could produce that article com- merically and profitably, it produces 80 per cent of the tungsten of the United States. That would appear to mean profit to that county alone ; but it does not work that way. The county doe* receive profit, but the tungsten is used to double the durability and value of steel, a certain class of steel that is needed by the people ; 206 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS and now that it has become cheap enough, tungsten is used to make the filaments in the electric lamp, and in turn in every home throughout the land the amount of illumination through the electric lamp .for the same cost of power, for the same expense, is prac- tically doubled through the use of the tungsten filament. The same effect is brought about by the successful mining of vanadium. Now they have been able to reach a stage where they save two-thirds of the vanadium, and by using an exceedingly small proportion or fraction of one per cent of vanadium in steel, it seems to double the value of certain high speed tool machines by doubling the dura- bility. In other words, the benefit comes back to the whole people. Annual Waste of Metals Totals $100,000,000. I do not wish to take more of your time, I believe that the members of this convention do not need to be persuaded to vote for a resolution asking Congress for a liberal appropriation for the purpose of enabling the metal miners of the United States to save that $100,000,000 that today is lost. That metal loss is practically a permanent loss. Now, we hear a great deal about conservation. The term is used every place it will apply, and sometimes where it won't apply. I want to tell you, however, that in comparing the conservation of timber and of metal there is something that is well worth considering. If the timber in a certain area of the country be destroyed or be used up, it is possible to re-forest that entire area with better trees than grew there before in 60 to 70 years. In other words, while it is right to save the trees, yet if we do happen to use up the timber in a certain district the loss is not beyond remedy ; it is not one from which we cannot recover. But when we waste the fifty to one hundred millions per year of zinc, lead, copper, tungsten, besides the gold and silver, its loss is practically irretrievable. It is a loss that can not be replaced ; and it is not too much to say, when we are doubling the output of these metal? every twenty years, that whether or not there is danger that we are going to run out of the metal, it certainly is sound, common sense for our Federal Government to cut off that loss if there is any possible way to do it at any reasonable expenditure. As I started to tell you, I believe it would not be necessary to persuade any mem- ber of this convention to vote for such a resolution, but w r e ask you to do more than vote here. I believe it is the duty of the members of the American Mining Congress when they return to their homes, to take up this question with their congressmen and with the friends of their congressmen so that the great metal mining industry (which to a great extent forms the basis of a successful coal mining ORE TREATMENT PROBLEMS 207 industry) so that this great metal mining industry may be placed upon a sound and prosperous basis, where the products extracted from the earth will be saved for the benefit of our people and given to them instead of being wasted. Just one more suggestion on conservation. It may be right in trying to conserve timber to restrict the use of that timber, but in trying to conserve metals I believe that it is not the right method of conservation. If you extract the metals, such as copper, from the earth and put them in the form of bars, they are practically as indestructible above as they ever were below the ground. The right conservation of metal is not to prohibit the people from freely using metal or to try to impose leasing systems or restrictions upon the metal miners so that they cannot mine the metals. The real conservation of metals is to see that the entire metallic contents of the ore mined is saved and put into form where it is practically indestructible for all time. If the Federal Bureau of Mines shall lead the way in solving these important existing problems of the metal mining industry, it will thereby increase the general prosperity of the mining states, promote the welfare of the principal industries throughout all the states, and effect a tremendous saving in the permanent wealth of our country. Portland Cement and Cement Resources of the Southern States. BY T. POOLE MAYNARD,* ATLANTA, GEORGIA. The first Portland cement mill established in the South was that of the Virginia Portland Cement Company, at Fordwick, Va., in the year 1900. During the year 1901, the Southern Cement Com- pany at North Birmingham, Ala., began the manufacture of Port- land cement from granulated slag and hydrated lime. Three plants were put into operation during 1903 the Buckhorn Portland Cement Company, in West Virginia ; the Southern States Portland Cement Company, in Georgia, and the Texas Portland Cement Company, in Texas. In 1904, the only plant in Kentucky was constructed. The production of Portland cement in the Southern states until 1906 was practically negligible. The Standard Portland Cement Company in Alabama was completed in the year 1906, and during this year seven mills produced 1,804,643 barrels, constitut- ing 3-9% of the total output in the United States. During 1907, the Dixie Portland Cement Company of Tennessee and the Dewey Portland Cement Company in Oklahoma were established, and eight of these plants produced 1,814,470 barrels, or 3.7% of the total output. During 1908, the Security Cement and Lime Com- pany in Maryland and the Oklahoma Portland Cement Company in Oklahoma began operations, and eleven plants produced 2,204,840 barrels, or 4.3% of the total output. During 1909, the Southwest- ern States Portland Cement Company in Texas was constructed, and in this year twelve plants produced 3,811,498 barrels, consti- tuting 6.1% of the total output. During 1910, the Atlantic and Gulf Portland Cement Company in Alabama, the Southwestern Cement Company in Texas, and the Norfolk Portland Cement Cor- poration in Virginia all began operations, so that fifteen plants produced 5,717,959 barrels, or 7.9% of the total output. The Tide- water Portland Cement Company in Maryland, the Clinchfield Port- land Cement Corporation in Tennessee, the Piedmont Portland Cement Company in Georgia, and the Choctaw Portland Cement Company in Oklahoma will all be completed during 1911. When these mills are completed, together with the increase in the ca- pacity of the mills in the Southern states now being operated, the *Assistant State Geologist of Georgia. CEMENT RESOURCES OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 209 daily capacity of the Southern mills will be 44,880 barrels, so. that the annual capacity will be more than 16,000,000 barrels. Maryland has two plants ; Virginia, two ; West Virginia, one ; Kentucky, one ; Tennessee, two ; Georgia, two ; Alabama, three ; Oklahoma, three, and Texas, four. Missouri has four plants, and in the year 1909 the value of Portland cement produced in this State amounted to more than two and one-half million dollars. How- ever, according to the distribution of plants by the United States Geological Survey, Missouri is included along with those of the Central states. Geographic Location of Cement Materials of Southern States. Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama occupy three distinct physiographic provinces, i. e., the Coastal' Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the Appalachian Area. This latter area is subdivided into the Appalachian Mountains, the Appalachian Valley, and Cumberland Plateau. The cement ma- terials occur in both the Coastal Plain and in the Appalachian Area, while they are seldom associated in the Piedmont Plateau. Each of the physiographic provinces are characterized by distinct geologic formations, and it is through a knowledge of stratigraphy, namely, the study of the lithology and the sequence of formations that the geologist is able to determine the possibilities in undeveloped regions, and to make known the tonnage available in development, which is one of the most important factors to be taken into consid- eration in the location of plants. West Virginia, Tennesse and Kentucky occupy portions of the great Appalachian Valley and the Cumberland Plateau, and Ken- tucky and Tennessee extend over into the great Mississippi Valley. Cement materials are found throughout these states. Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and the eastern part of Texas lie wholly in the Coastal Plain, and are characterized by rocks of post-Paleozoic age. Oklahoma lies in a separate physiographic province west of the Mississippi. The most important cement ma- terials are found in the Paleozoic. The Geology of the Cement Materials. The Southern states occupy a territory which is characterized by a great variety of calcareous and argillaceous materials eminently suitable for use in the manufacture of Portland cement. The prime factors to be taken into consideration today in the establish- ment of cement mills are (i) the location of the raw materials in close proximity with a suitable fuel supply, (2) adequate transpor- 210 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS tation facilities and (3) good markets. The same factors have been of first importance in the production of pig iron, and it is on ac- count of the association of the raw materials with the fuel supply that the South occupies such a prominent position today in the manufacture of iron and steel. It will be shown below that the raw materials used in the manufacture of Portland cement, along with a suitable fuel supply, occupy a greater area, and are of greater geologic extent in the South than in any other section of our country. The pre-Cambrian rocks have been so altered from their original character through the agencies of diastrophism and meta- morphism that we do not expect to find materials contained in these rocks which will become available for use in the manufacture of Portland cement. The Cambrian formations contain both lime- stones and shales, but on account of the great changes which have taken place in these rocks they are seldom available for use. Where the Cambrian limestones have been recrystallizetl into marbles, re- taining their high calcium character, and where the shales have been little altered chemically, they may be found suitable. The Ordovician was a period of great limestone deposition, and the argillaceous limestones of the Ordovician provide the raw materials for the greater quantity of the American Portland cement produced today. During Silurian time, the deposits in the South- ern Appalachians consisted essentially of shales and sandstones. In the Northern Appalachians, rocks of more than a mile in thick- ness constitute the next succeeding formations above the Silurian, namely, the Devonian, and they seldom contain rocks suitable for use in the manufacture of cement. This great thickness of rock separates the shales and limestones of the Silurian and the great limestone deposits of the Ordovician from the overlying Carbonifer- ous, which contains the only available fuel supply. The Devonian rocks thin out toward the South. The Carboniferous rocks in the South contain not only the coal deposits, but also great thicknesses of limestone and shale and lie almost immediately upon the shale deposits of the Silurian, and in dose proximity to the limestone deposits of the Ordovician. On account of the great thickness of the Devonian and the scarcity of the cement materials in the Carboniferous in the Northern Appalachians it is readily seen why plants have not been located where the raw materials are in juxta- position with the coal deposits, while in the Southern Appalachians the cement materials of the Ordovician and Silurian He in close proximity to the fuel supply contained in the Carboniferous. CEMENT RESOURCES OE THE SOUTHERN STATES. 211 Less is known regarding the cement materials of the Coastal Plain than of the other physiographic provinces. Considerable stratigraphic work has been done in many of the Southern States, both by the United States ( ieological Survey and the state sur- veys, but with a few exceptions detailed economic study of the cement materials has never been taken up. The Miocene marls and Quaternary clays are suitable for use in the manufacture of cement at many localities in Virginia. In Alabama, the Selma Chalk and residual clays occur together, and are known to be eminently suitable, while in Texas calcareous and argillaceous ma- terials in the upper Cretaceous afford the source of most of the cements. Fuels of the Southern States. The areas designated as the Eastern and Lehigh districts in- clude plants in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Massa- chusetts. In this whole 'area the bituminous coals underlie only 14,200 square miles, and the coal fields are confined entirely to Pennsylvania, and can supply the Northern portion of the Southern field as cheaply as the states which lie to the north of Pennsylvania. The Southern states. are underlain by 80,866 square miles of bitu- minous coal, and the 23,000 square miles of 'coal in Missouri is within easy reach of the Southwestern states. The Central states contain 101,320 square miles underlain by coal, including Mis- souri. When the location of a mill in relation to the fuel supply is taken into consideration it is readily seen that the South contains an area seven times as great as that of the Eastern states, and as great an area as the Central states. ^ In Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas the lignites underlie broad areas, and they are being extensively used in Texas at the present time as a fuel supply for the manufacture of cement. The Value of Portland Cement in The average price per barrel of Portland cement in 1910, ac- cording to the figures reported to the United States Geological Survey for gray Portland cement was 88.9 cents per barrel, and $2.86 per barrel for white Portland. This represents the value of the cement in bulk at the mills including the labor cost of packing, but not the value of the sacks or barrels. The average price of Portland cement in the Lehigh district in 1910 was 72.7 cents per barrel ; in the Eastern states the average value was 75.7 cents per barrel ; in the Central states the average value was 91 cents per barrel. In other words, the Southern oper- 212 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MIXING CONGRESS ator receives 21.3 cents more per barrel for his cement than the operator in the Lehigh district; 18.3 cents more than the operator in the Eastern states, and 3 cents more than the operator in the Central states. It is evident from the above facts that the operator who can produce cement in the South as cheaply as in the Lehigh district has a considerable advantage. The extreme Western states have not been discussed, as they are not competitors with the plants east of the Rocky Mountains. Individual States. Maryland was the first of the Southern states to realize that a careful stratigraphic study of her argillaceous and calcareous materials would be of the greatest value in the subsequent investi- gation of her undeveloped cement materials. It was largely, through these investigations that she has today two Portland cement plants. Maryland has 445 square miles of coal. The close proximity of the calcareous and argillaceous materials to one another and to a suitable fuel supply, together with her excellent railway and ocean transportation facilities to ready markets combine to make her ideally situated geographically for the distribution and cheap pro- duction of cement. Virginia is underlain by 1,900 square miles of coal, 150 square miles of which lie in the Richmond basin, 200 square miles in .Mont- gomery County, and 1,550 square miles in the Appalachian area. Virginia is fortunate in having available cement materials in the Coastal Plain in close proximity to the coal deposits of the Triassic. West Virginia jias 17,000 square miles of bituminous coal, be- sides great areas containing 'gas and oil. The association of the raw materials with the great fuel supply assures her a bright future. Kentucky is underlain by 16,670 square miles of coal, 10,270 square miles of which occupies the Eastern Area and is a part of the great Appalachian field; 6,400 square miles of coal occurs in the Western Area and occupies a portion of the great interior field. Little detailed knowledge is- at hand in regard to her cement materials. Tennessee is underlain by 4,400 square miles of bituminous coal, and contains great areas of limestone and shale in close proximity with the coal deposits. The investigation of the cement materials of Georgia is now under way, and the detailed economic study of the whole of North Georgia will be completed in the spring of 1912. The investiga- tion shows great quantities of cement materials in the Carbonifer- CEMENT RESOURCES OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. 213 ous, the Silurian and the Ordovician. The coal fields of Georgia occupy 167 square miles, and the coals of Tennessee and Alabama are available. Alabama has 14,430 square miles of coal associated with suit- able limestones and shales, and the lignite deposits of her coastal plain may make her cementing materials in this area available. Oklahoma is underlain by 10,000 square miles of coal, besides great quantities of oil and gas in close proximity to her cement materials, and with further development in transportation facilities her future in the manufacture of Portland cement will be very- great. Texas has 8,200 square miles underlain by bituminous coal and 2,000 square miles underlain by lignite, and is fortunate in having the fuels associated with available cement materials. North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana have no cement plants at present. However, as the demand becomes greater and the raw materials in these states become better known development will follow. It is easy to draw conclusions from the facts presented. The future development of the cement industry depends on the same factors as that for the manufacture of pig iron and steel. In no other section of the country is there such a vast area where the calcareous and argillaceous materials occur together associated with .such a great fuel supply. For this reason the South is likely to surpass all other sections in the manufacture of Portland cement. Some Reflections on the Disposal of Public Coal Lands. BY DR. JAMES DOUGLAS, NHW YORK CITY. President Roosevelt in a message to Congress on December 17, 1906, on the subject of the public land laws, says: "The present coal law, limiting the individual entry to 160 acres, puts a premium on fraud by making it impossible to develop certain types of coal fields and yet comply with the law. It is a scandal to maintain laws which sound well, but which make fraud the key without which great natural resources must remain closed." Five years have passed since then, but beyond indicting men, innocent and guilty, as malefactors, and withdrawing coal lands from entry* and exploitation, no remedy has been applied which would cure the evident defects in the coal land laws. We all know ^ the particular provisions under which in the past entrymen could secure coal lands at a price of $10.00 to $15.00 per acre, depending upon the distance of the coal from a railroad, and the absurd re- striction of 1 60 acres of land, on which coal was proved to exist, to each entryman, and that at the utmost only two entrymen could combine to work in common. It was a crime under the act for an entryman to secure possession with the intention of selling; though of course when the land became his, under patent, he -could dispose of it as he might see fit. In any revision of the coal land laws, three questions will have to be considered: First. The quantity which should be allotted to a single entry- man or corporation. Second. The terms under which government should part with their coal resources, whether by out and out sale, by lease, or on payment of a royalty. Third. The price which should be paid either by a purchaser, or a renter, or a worker on royalty. The decision of these questions is more or less interdependent. If a certain amount of coal must be secured in advance to warrant the expenditure of the capital necessary to mine the coal, and to handle it as coal or coke commercially when brought to surface, and if this outlay is to be repaid, with a reasonable rate of profit to cover interest and risk, the operator must start with the pros- pect of a certain minimum supply of coal. What that acreage DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC COAL LANDS. 215 should be depends upon the size of the beds, and the initial outlay to utilize to the best advantage the property. In order to get material for discussion I will take as data for the initial solution the production per acre of coal and the ex- penses incurred in erecting the plant of the Stag Canon Fuel Com- pany at Dawson, New Mexico. The mines and plant of the Stag Canon Fuel Company (formerly the Dawson Fuel Company) were purchased by the present owners in 1905. The mines had been opened in 1902, and in addition to the mine equipment a wooden washery and 125 beehive ovens were erected. The surface area of the property owned by the Stag Canon Fuel Co. is 52,152 acres. The coal is assumed to underlie 35,028 acres. Since the mine was opened in 1902 there have been ex- tracted 6,981,220 tons of coal from a seam which varied in thick- ness from four feet to seven feet. The area worked over is 960 acres. Yet in reality this coal has been extracted from 650 acres. The difference between 650 acres and the total acreage worked over represents unprofitable ground, through faults, pinching of the coal seam or decline in the quality of coal below a profitable margin. The production of coal and coke of the Dawson Fuel company and its successor, the Stag Canon Fuel company, has been as follows : Year Tons Coal -Tons Coke 1902 May to Dec 97,840 4,133 1903 371,774 30,325 1904 380,664 39,308 1905 508,008 57,357 1906 663,142 85,211 1907 871,101 165,975 1908 850,318 230,756 1909 1,032,239 283,964 1910 1,302,092 298,685 1911 to June 30 483,321 129,351 Totals 6,560,499 1,325,065 Two Thousand Acres Explored. Approximately 2,000 acres have been explored. One of the drifts from No. 2 entry extends for a distance of one mile from surface to an air shaft from surface. In addition, two diamond drill holes have been extended from the surface through the coal bed. One in Section 27, Township 29 North, Range 20 East, with a depth of 217 feet, shows only three feet of coal; the other hole in Section 34, Township 29 North, Range 20 East, at eighty-three feet depth, shows two feet and two inches of coal. We have determined, there- 216 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS fore, that our thickest coal bed,. adjacent to its outcrop, has yielded 7,350 tons per acre ; that 30% of the ground worked over has been unprofitable, and that boreholes show a decrease in thickness as the principal seams extend under the range. It would probably, however, be fair to assume, from our ex- periences and that of others, taking into account the eventualities already encountered by us, and the risks of mining from explo- sions and other accidents, that as depth is attained the quantity of coal in this or any large given area of unexplored coal lands should be reduced to one-half of its maximum proved quantity, in estimating its final value and by its production of coal. On the above assumption, the 35,000 acres, multiplied by 8,000 and divided by two, contain 1,400,000,000 tons, or, on a production of 1,000,000 tons per year, 140 years' reserve. These lands were on an old Spanish grant the Maxwell. No such quantity of land or quan- tity of coal is needed to induce any corporation to engage in coal mining. But in the following estimate I assume that 50 per cent should be deducted from the estimated coal contents of any given area of coal land, in determining its value and that ten thousand acres, or 40 years' supply at 1,000,000 tons per annum, is the minimum which should be allowed to a corporation willing to erect safe and economical works and equip its mines with every known safety appliance. Value of Coal in Situ. The value of coal in situ may be assumed to be determined by the royalty demanded in any given district for coal to be extracted. In Colorado, uncomplicated by store licenses and so forth, this is about eight (8) cents per ton. If, therefore, an acre in the Trini- dad district yields on an average 8,000 tons of coal, and the royalty is eight cents per ton, the gross value of the coal in the ground is $640 per acre. If the coal were sold out and out, the compound interest cal- culated on the price of the number of years necessary to work out an area large enough to return the purchaser a fair remunera- tion for his investment, compensation for his risk, and profits on the enterprise as a business venture, must be deducted. Original Outlay Costly. The original outlay includes the cost of his surface equipment, which in the West, where the government coal lands lie, must be costly if it is to be efficient. Our experience at Dawson has been that the cost of the sur- DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC COAL LANDS. 217 face plant of a coal mine is by no means a negligible quantity. The wooden tipple and wooden washery, in existence when we bought the plant, were liable to be burned, and both were defective in structural details. As our company believed in the long life of the mines, it decided to erect steel tipples, with screens for accu- rate sizing, and a steel washery. The washery was designed by Dr. Ricketts, after visiting the best equipped coal mines in England and on the continent of Europe. But though complete in itself, since its erection it has been found necessary to increase its capacity, in certain departments, in order to recover from the jig waste some marketable coal, by further crushing and washing. There being no profitable market for by-products, the proposal to erect retort ovens was dismissed. But as we anticipated de- mands for power, besides those of the mining company itself, 446 und'erflue ovens have been erected. As yet only 218 discharge their gases 'under eight Sterling boilers of 300 horsepower each. The heat from each oven has been proved to evaporate steam sufficient to generate ten boiler horsepower. The power plant comprises four cross-compound Nordberg- Corliss engines 19 and 32 by 36 inches, direct-coupled to alter- nating-current generators of 2,300 volts, 400 kilowatts each. The four engines run in parallel. The current from the power house is transmitted by insulated wires at 2,300 volts to rotary converters at substations, where it is converted from 2,300 volts alternating current to 260 volts direct current. There'are three substations. One at Lorita, near Mine No. 5, which is equipped with one 2OO-kilowatt rotary converter, 260 volts, 768 amperes. The substation at Aline Xo. 4 is equipped with two 2OO-kilowatt rotary converters, 260 volts, 768 amperes. The substation between Mines Nos. I and 2 has an equipment similar to that of Mine No. 4. Cost of Plant. The cost of the plant already installed has-been as follows: Cost of two steel tipples and one wooden one $ 82,842.32 Cost of wnshery 426,830.32 Cost of power plant 277,090.78 Cost of ovens 773,130.85 Cost of yard tracks, locomotives, etc 190,671.13 Cost of subsidiary equipment, such as pumps, operated by transmitted electrical power, etc 228,698.83 Total $1,979,264.23 The item for yard tracks includes not only a line of railway of three miles from Mines Nos. I and 2, and another of five miles 218 PROCERDIXCS AMRRTCAN MTXIXG from Mine No. 5, but some eleven miles of track to serve the ovens and handle and store the coal and coke and washery waste. The company considers it better policy to own its own yards than to allow any railroad to approach its mines and tipples and thus de- prive itself of the possibility of competition in transportation. I have not included the cost of workmen's houses, amusement hall, hospital, schools, and so forth, as these are necessary accom- paniments o-f every well-equipped western coal mine ; and some of them are expected to return revenue. The plant may seem to have been needlessly expensive. But having suffered from fire during our own short experience and anticipating a long life for our mines, we built of incombustible material. However, taking the above facts and arguing on the above assumptions, we reach the ' following conclusion : Estimated value of coal land based on one acre of land containing 8,000 tons of coal. 10,000 acres land containing 80,000,000 tons coal Deduct. 50% for risk of mining, land will yield 40,000,000 tons coal Net yield per acre 4,000 tons coal Royalty per ton 8 cts. Royalty per acre $320 Number of tons mined per year 1,000,000 tons Years to exhaust. . 40 Total Per ton coal 10,000 acres @ $320.00 acre $3,200,000 = 8 cts. Cost of plant 1,979,264 = 4.94 cts. Interest on plant investment @ 5% per an- num equals $98,963 per year for 40 years 3,958,520 = 9.90 cts. Total Cost $9,137.784 = 22.84 cts. Payment of 10,000 acres in advance. One dollar compounded at 6% per annum for 40 years $10.29 Royalty of $320.00 -r $10.29 equals present worth per acre 31.10 Total Per ton coal 10,000 acres @ $31.10 per acre $ 311,000 0.78 cts. Cost of plant 1,979,264 4.94 cts. Interest on plant investment (a 5% per an- num equals $98,963 per year for 40 years 3,958,520 9.90 cts. Total Cost $6,248,784 15.62 cts. Fi.ved Changes Should Be Taken Into Account. In determining the cost of coal the fixed charges in this case estimated at 15.62 cents per ton should be taken into account as well as the operating charges. Inasmuch as the plant has to be maintained in perfect working order till the exhaustion of the mines, it seems to me that the cost, as well as the interest on the cost, generally represented by interest on a bonded debt, should be included in the fixed charges. This certainly should be done unless it is extinguished by a sinking fund during the life of the mine. DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC COAL LANDS. 219 The past cost of producing and marketing coal, as compared with the future cost, is not the subject of the present discussion; but I cannot resist referring to two items which must hereafter make it notably higher than it has been. We have been attacking the outcrop of our coal seams, and avoiding deep mining. With such stupendous resources this has been possible and perhaps pru- dent, but we are reaching a period when this very economical pro- cedure must cease, and we, arid the public which we serve, must pay for the fuel the difference between the cost of robbing the out- crop and mining at a mile or more under cover. Moreover, the public very properly demands that our ratio of deaths and of acci- dents shall approach that of foreign mines. It has been admittedly high, and will continue to be high, despite all precautions. Not only is our labor less skilled than that of the old coal districts of Europe, but it is more greedy of gain and more or less infected by the American spirit of risk, which makes all of us willing to im- peril our lives by rushing across the street before a motor or a street car rather than lose a second while it passes us. The instruc- tions given to the miner by the foreman to put in a prop are de- liberately disobeyed because the miner prefers risking his life to foregoing the extraction of half a ton of coal. It is because of this tendency that we must alter our methods, though the alterations increase the cost of coal. This increase is estimated at from 8 to 10 cents per ton. It must cover increased supervision to enforce the observance of rules, electric firing, sepa- rate manways, where electric or compressed air transportation is employed ; more perfect and durable systems of supporting the roof, sprinkling and spraying to reduce the danger of explosion, and other admitted improvements which are being adopted without government compulsion and likely to be made compulsory. Add this to the fixed charges, and the sum means either heavy loss to the operator or increased price to the consumer. Alternatives Open to Government. But to return to the more immediate subject of my address, the other alternatives open to government for the disposal of its coal lands are the rental or the royalty systems. From colonial times actual ownership has been preferred to renting. The ex- periment of renting the mineral lands was tried and abandoned in the early days of Lake Superior mining, but renting was the Spanish method and still works well in Mexico and in South Amer- ica, where no limit is set to the quantity of mineral, land which can be acquired by a single lessor. 220 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS If the government should lease the coal, reserving the sur- face rights, and the same requirements as to initial outlay were either imposed or voluntarily acquiesced in, the rental being a mere annual payment and not imposed on the producer in advance, would be calculated on the acreage value of the coal, exclusive of the deductions for discount. - But in considering the other alternatives, viz., allowing the coal to be mined on royalty or rental, objections may be raised against both systems. If eight cents a ton be a fair valuation of coal in the ground, the government would seemingly get all it was entitled to by accepting that amount ; but under this system the miner has every inducement to mine cheaply and thus wastefully, and to rob the mine of its best and more profitable coal. Under the rental system, which could be based on the calcula- tion of the coal in a given area, less the deductions we have above made, the lessor, as he approached the period of exhaustion, would be paying an exorbitant figure on the balance of value and would be inclined to evade payment. Would not a fair system be to charge a small rental on the total area and a reduced royalty on the coal extracted? Assuming 10,000 acres to be the required area and eight cents per ton to be a fair royalty, would not a rental of say $1.00 per acre on the gross acreage, or say $10,000 per annum, and four or five cents per ton royalty, be equitable? This would secure to the miner his neces- sary reserves and give to the government the value of the coal in situ. The above suggestions are thrown out as subjects for dis- cussion ; but the conclusion forces itself strongly on our conviction that if a satisfactory revision of our land laws is to be reached, the farmer, the miner, the lumberman and the banker must be consulted before the politician acts. The coal miner alone kno\vs the conditions and restrictions under which coal can be extracted with safety to the workman, with profit to the operator and justice to the public ; the metal miner and the mining engineer alone ap- preciate the impossibility of literally living up to the letter of the old mining law, and the lumberman is certainly entitled to be heard before such sweeping judgments are passed upon him as we have heard pronounced of late years. Representatives -of all the in- terests who actually occupy the public lands should sit upon a committee to suggest revision of the laws affecting the sale and the use of the public lands after sale, if such amended laws are to be practically applicable. Condition of the Coal Mining Industry of Oklahoma. BY JAAIKS KLrLIOT, .MA LESTER, OKLA. This subject has been so thoroughly and ably covered by Mr. Bush that I do not think that it will be possible for me to shed any additional light on the subject, other than that which pertains to Oklahoma, to which field my labors have been almost entirely con- fined as an operator of coal mines. It might be well to state here, however, that my first experience in this line of business was that of a miner, not an operator. Oklahoma is one of the few states in which the individual coal operator is still in existence, owing to the fact that it is one of the new states of the Union, and to a large extent, under Government supervision, which has made it almost impossible for strong com- binations to form. The capital invested in the business, therefore, in comparison with that invested in other fields, is vastly less, owing to the fact that there is very little or no capital invested in coal lands, most of it being expended in machinery and equipment. Our coal lands, unlike those of other states, are the property of the Indians and are leased to the various coal companies by the United States Government, in tracts of nine hundred sixty acres each, on a royalty of eight cents per ton run-of-mine basis. The capital in- vested in machinery and equipment throughout the state (which I estimate to be 'about five million five hundred thousand dollars) is small, which is accounted for by the fact that under the terms of the lease, all property, with the exception of the machinery and tools, reverts back to the Indian Nations at the expiration of the leases. Elaborate plants for the mining and undercutting of coal are rarely installed, owing to the fact that in many cases machines are impractical, owing to the heavy pitch of the coal veins, and in cases where machines are practical, the small differential of from eleven to fourteen cents granted to the operator by the Union min- ers, along with their prejudices against them, has not warranted their installation. The amount of capital invested in machinery and equipment for one hundred tons daily production, varies from ten thousand to fifty thousand dollars and depends entirely upon local conditions, which are varied, being regulated by the pitch and thickness of the vein, general roof and bottom conditions, pumping, haulage, etc. 222 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS In treating on the subject of the cost per ton for the last year, it will be necessary for me to sub-divide the state of Oklahoma into four districts, in accordance with the terms of our wage scale, and the character of the coal, which are, namely : Henryetta, Coalgate, Bokoshe and McAlester. The quality varies from low grade bitu- minous in one of these districts, to very high grade bituminous in another, still another district producing a semi-bituminous grade commonly known as semi-anthracite, or Arkansas quality. The cost of production, mine run basis, ranges from a minimum of one dollar and forty cents in the semi-bituminous in the Bokoshe field, to a maximum of two dollars and fifty cents in the McAlester district. Our average cost per ton for the last five years has ranged, approximately, from one dollar and thirty cents to two dollars and forty cents, depending upon the district, and has been steadily in- creasing, owing to the advance in wages granted to labor ; the increased cost of material and supplies ; the competition of oil and gas, and the introduction of foreign coals into our natural market. . As stated above, the cost of mining a ton of coal in Oklahoma has ranged from one dollar and thirty cents to two dollars and forty cents per ton, eighty-eight and one-half to ninety per cent of which has been paid out to labor, the remaining ten to eleven and one-half per cent being paid out for material, supplies, etc. The cost of administration, which includes offices, salaries, office, ex- penses and selling costs, for last year amounts approximately to twenty cents per' ton. For a period of five years this cost has ranged from fifteen to twenty cents per ton. The average selling price at the mines for the year 1910 ranged from one dollar and fifty cents in the Bokoshe field to two dollars and sixty cents per ton in the McAlester field. For the past five years the same average price has prevailed, with the exception of the year 1907, when for a short period the prices ranged from one dollar and thirty-five cents to two dollars and fifty cents. In estimating the increased cost necessary to safeguard the lives of the miners, as demanded by the public at large, I will ac- knowledge that I do not think, if wise and uniform laws were to be enacted and enforced, that there would be any increased cost in connection therewith ; in fact I am of the opinion that there would be a considerable saving in the Oklahoma field. The great diffi- culty we have had to contend with was the failure on the part of the state legislature, in enacting the mining laws of Oklahoma, to co-operate or discuss a single section of the present law with the COAL MIN1\(, INDUSTRY np OKLAHOMA, 223 operators, consequently our mining laws are inadequate and im- possible of enforcement. They bear little or no relation to the field in particular, being a conglomeration of the most radical mining laws of other states. If more uniform and practical laws could be enacted, and some basis of uniform taxation, along the line of that recently adopted in the state of Washington, in full settle- ment of personal injury cases, I am satisfied there would be con- siderable saving in the cost of producing a ton of coal. Under the present system of mining in Oklahoma, the recovery of the entire vein worked is not in excess of fifty-five per cent. This is due to the extravagant system of room and pillar mining adopted in this field, and up to this time permits of no change, owing to unfavorable labor conditions. As I have stated above, there is little or no capita.1 invested by the operators in coal lands in Oklahoma, therefore it has not been customary to carry an item of depreciation in reference to the leases. While the prices received for coal in this field may seem, high to the members of this convention, they must bear in mind that our working time is confined to six months of the year, the aver- age mine not running more than from one hundred to one hundred twenty days, consequently our cost of production and the price received per ton of mine run coal is greatly in excess of that of neighboring states where operating and marketing conditions are much more favorable. In order to meet expenses of operation and to make a fair return on the capital invested, our coal should bring from one dollar and sixty-five cents to two dollars and eighty-five cents per ton of mine run coal. Owing to the adverse market conditions existing in Oklahoma, over forty per cent of our coal is necessarily sold below cost to the various railroad companies of the southwest. This is done for the purpose of keeping our mines open during the summer months, and to enable us to meet the winter demands. In conclusion, it is my opinion that if uniform laws could be adopted throughout the United States, covering the operation of mines, the relationship between employer and employe, relating to terms of employment, a workmen's compensation law, and a Na- tional Board of arbitration to settle disputes, I am satisfied, Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, that it would operate to the benefit, not only of the miner and operator, but to the country at large. The Economics of the Coal Industry. BY W. L. ABBOTT. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. Prospectors are said to have great faith in the blind chance which leads the tenderfoot in the selection of the spot where he first strikes his pick into the ground to -develop a profitable mine, and I presume it is because of my ignorance of the subject that I was invited here this afternoon to discuss the economics of the coal business. If any of you would have an opportunity to arrest a policeman who has pinched you for speeding, or to treat the teeth of the dentist who has given you many unpleasant hours in his chair, you may appreciate one of the reasons why I accepted the invitation. (Laughter.) For twenty-seven years or so I have bought and burned coal for electric 'lighting, and J have come to be firmly convinced that the profits of that business would be considerable were it not for the great amount of the gross income which we have to turn over to the man who furnishes us the coal. (Laughter.) Because of that fact I don't think that I can discuss the question from your viewpoint. I, therefore, will not try to do so, but will discuss the question from the viewpoint of the consumer. The term "Coal Baron" was coined several years ago, and from the fact that it is now falling somewhat into disuse we may assume that had it not been coined when it was, it never would have been. Why is it that with cheaper methods of pro- duction and with expanding markets and prices generally on the increase that the coal operator is neither happy nor prosperous. This is a question which capitalists and coal operators are asking. I .don't know that I have a solution for the question, but some circumstances have come under my observation which probab'ly have a bearing on it. In the summer of 1902 the anthracite coal strike was on. The effect of that long drawn out struggle was, as you know, to create an apprehension that there would be a great shortage of coal during the following winter. The coal operators were not at all slow to seize upon this condition to stamp'ede the market. The prices went soaring to unprecedented height, and their profits likewise. Many of these operators, as is customary, had a great portion of their production tied up in contracts. Some of these contracts, be it THE ECONOMICS OF THE COAL INDUSTRY. 225 said with credit to the operators, were religiously kept; others, however, were cast to the winds. I remember an incident -in my own experience with an operator with whom I had contracted for a number of years, and whose deliveries had been in the main satis- factory. I began to have trouble in getting the deliveries pre- scribed in his contract. This he laid to one cause and another. First there was an accident in the mine; then there was an election, then there was a holiday, then there was another day to sober up; but most of all he couldn't get cars from the railroads to keep the mine running. I finally sent a man to the mine to watch conditions there, and learned that he was getting cars and the mine was running regularly, but someone else was getting the coal. Armed with these facts I went to his office and forced him into the corner, where- upon he good naturedly laid aside all further pretense and answered in about these words : "Abbott, I have sold my mine, to be delivered next April. I am making $2,400 a day, and I don't care a d m." Well, I don't know what the effect would be on me if it were $2,400 a day profit on one hand and a mere business promise on the other hand, but I know the strain would at least be very great, and so it was with many other operators. Following the season of prosperity during the winter of 1902 and 1903 came a long period of depression, four very lean years, during which the operators were looking backward to the golden harvest that had been and forward to a similar harvest which they hoped would be. The occasion came preceding the end of the biennial agreement with the mine workers, a period which termi- nated with March, 1906. During the preceding winter the coal market was again stampeded with tales that there was going to be a great coal shortage, and the prospective shortage in April, through some psychological process which was worked with great success, was made to raise prices in the preceding December, and for three months the . operators again reveled in prosperity. This stratagem was so successful that it was worked again two years later, and now the same specter is being groomed for an encore dur- ing the coming winter. The immediate result of these high coal prices has been to increase the amount of capital invested, the number of mines, and the mining cost. The ultimate result, however, has been to decrease the profits of the business, the output of Illinois mines, the tonnage of coal produced per man, and his average annual wage. Such has been the effect of the biennial raids on coal business by labor, if not acquiesced in, at least taken advantage of by the operators as an 226 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MIXING CONGRESS opportunity to in turn raid the consumer. The operator has had a three months' spree, followed by twenty-one painful months of sobering up. In the end he finds that over the entire period he has lost money, and his business nistead of being one of conservative and continuous profit is subject to short periods of high freshets and long periods of exceeding low water, and all because of an apparent inclination on the part of the operator to raid his cus- tomer under cover of labor disturbances, rather than to protect the customer and the coal business generally from such onslaughts. It is easy to suggest a remedy, but to carry it out is quite another matter. It seems to me, however, that no relief is possible until the operators are able to control their labor, which will not be until they are able to control themselves, and this will only come to pass with extensive combinations which will eliminate small interests and result in large holdings, making it possible to effect a strong organization able to dominate the coal business and deal with labor on something like equal and equitable terms; and if the history of the petroleum business is any criterion, the for capital and for labor and, greatest of all, for the consumer, greater and more powerful this combination, the better it will be I thank you, gentlemen, for your kind attention. (Applause.) The Operation of the Mine-Run Law in Arkansas. BY DR. A. H. PURDUE, FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS. It was not until I was ready to take the train for this Congress that a program reached me bringing the first information that I was expected to present a paper on Conservation in the Coal In- dustry. Because of the brevity of the time for preparation, I shall take the liberty of deviating somewhat from the 'subject assigned me and confine my statements to a single phase of conservation in the coal industry with which I happen to be familiar the one in- cluded under what is known as the mine-run law. Furthermore, I must limit myself to the operations of the mine-run law in Arkan- sas, for I know but little of its results in other states. Somewhat more than two years ago, the Geological Commis- sion of Arkansas directed me as State Geologist to have prepared a report on coal-mining in the state. The work of the report was entrusted to A. .A. Steel, Professor of Mining in the University of Arkansas. While I do not wish to shirk any of the responsibility for the statements herein contained, all fairness requires me to say that they are compiled from the report by Professor Steel. This report, when completed, will be comprehensive, and though its organization does not indicate such, it treats the subject of coal mining in 'its relation to the engineer, the miner, the operator, the public and the state. In the course of his work in collecting data for the report, Professor Steel visited, and was in practically every coal mine within the state of Arkansas, and talked with scores of miners and most of the operators. He is one of our most careful, honest, competent and painstaking observers. The mine-run law was passed in Arkansas in 1905, and as the conditions brought about by its operation are probably the most vital of any that relate to the present condition of the coal mining industry in the state, we offer no apology for having devoted one chapter of 54 pages of the report to this subject. I shall not im- pose upon your patience by entering upon a detailed treatment of this important phase of the coal mining industry in my state, but shall content myself by touching upon some of the most salient points. It might be well to state in this connection, for the benefit of those not familiar with coal-mining methods, that what is known 228 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS as the mine-run law provides that the miner shall be paid for all coal, both lump and slack, taken from the mine. Before the enact- ment of the law in Arkansas, the miners in that state were paid wholely or largely on the screened coal basis, and the great argu- ment in favor of the law was, that not being paid for the slack, the miners were giving the operators a marketable product. While this argument appears valid, it really is not sound, as applied to conditions in Arkansas, for a simple arithmetical computation shows that the competent miner could make more money on the screened coal basis at the rates paid for that, than he can on the present mine-run rates. Another argument in favor of the mine-run law in our state was that the screen often let lumps through into the slack, thus robbing the miner. In some instances, the operators may, through carelessness, have let this occur, but the difference between the sell- ing price of the slack and that of the lump coal at the mine is so great, that it is decidedly to the interest of the operator to pass all the lump coal over the screen. Probably the most vital argument in favor of the mine-run law is that if the miners are paid for only lump coal, they will leave a great deal of slack in the mine as a permanent loss of a natural resource. But in Arkansas, only a small amount of slack was left in the mines for the reason that the coal is loaded with the shovel, and is shoveled up from the floor. The operation of the mine-run law in Arkansas furnishes a fine example of the evils that may follow legalizing a practice which on its face appears equable. No miner or operator has ever looked fully into the results of the law, for it is impracticable for either to have done so. Such investigations can best be conducted through the agency of a public bureau, and this fact supplied the Geological Survey of Arkansas the reason for taking it up as a part of the coal- mining investigations. One noticeable result in the operation of the law in Arkansas is an increase in the per cent of slack. That such has been true is recognized by both miners and operators. Investigations by the Geological Survey go to show that this has been very great, reach- ing more than 14 per cent from 1906 to 1910. Were all miners men of high ethical ideas, this would not have been true, for each miner would then have continued to produce the maximum amount of lump coal, though he was receiving as much for the slack as the lump; but miners are ^ like other people. They are not all honest, and some of them are not only dishonest, but lazy. It is easier to THE MINE-RUN LAW IN ARKANSAS. 229 mine coal with a large per cent than with a small per cent of slack. So the dishonest, lazy fellow yields to the temptation to put in heavy charges of powder without first undermining the coal, rather than to undermine and then loosen the face with light charges. In other words, he conserves his energy at the expense of his powder. The extent to which this physical conservation may reach, is shown in the case of two mines in the same district in one of which the coal was undermined before shooting, and in the other it was shot with- out undermining. The proportion of powder used in the two cases was as I to 5.8. That is, 5.8 times as much powder was used in the latter case as would have been used had the coal been properly mined. It also means that the excess of powder energy went toward producing slack. It is often remarked by those not conversant with the details of the industry that the slack is not lost either to the operators or the public, for the reason that it is sold. This is true ; but slack in Arkansas brings from 95 cents to $1.50 less per ton than lump, so that all slack that had as well be put on the market as lump represents so much loss to the operator. But the loss is not to the operators alone. The principal suf- ferers are the public. In Arkansas there are frequent partings of dirt or slate in the coal that under proper methods would be largely or wholly mined out. These are shot down with the coal, the dirt becoming hopelessly mixed with the slack, and the slate largely so. This of course means a loss to the consumer in the freight paid on worthless material, to say nothing of the loss in heating value. While the per cent .of slate thus introduced in lump coal has not been ascertained, it is known to be great, regardless of the fact that the larger miners each employ extra slate pickers in their efforts to put good coal on the market. An idea of the per cent of increase of fine slate in slack may be obtained from a single slack washer, in which it was found that the per cent of slate in the slack in- creased from ii in 1907 to 23 in 1910. By comparison with the price of other coals and figured on the basis of the Government contracts, the loss in the quantity of the Arkansas coal due to the excess of slate is $ .35 a ton. As the normal annual output of Arkansas coal is two and a half million tons, this means that there is an annual loss to the consumers of $875,000 net. A conservative estimate shows that the -excess of slate in the coal used by the state institutions of Arkansas costs the state about $4,500 a year. This comes in loss of fuel value and the freight and drayage on the excess slate. 230 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Not only is the quantity of Arkansas coal reduced by the ex- cess of slate in both lump and slack, but the quality of the lump is materially reduced. The heavy charges used in shooting down the coal greatly reduce the amount of lump that goes over the screen, and also so shatters this that in the jarring and handling incident to its transportation from the mine to the consumer, no small per cent is broken down into slack. I think it is safe to say that of the so-called lump coal produced by our mines, at least 30 per cent is slack before it reaches the cellar of the consumer. In common par- lance, the consumer "has the bag to hold." As the operators sell coal at close profits, the balance of trade between competing districts is very sensitive and quickly responds to an increased cost of mining or a decreased quantity from any district. This is exemplified in eastern Arkansas, where Arkansas coal and Illinois coal come into competition. In 1904, it was shown by Government experts that Arkansas coal had at that time about 20 per cent more heating value, and less ash and sulphur than Illinois coal. It was, therefore, then possible to sell Arkansas coal at competitive points for a higher price than was paid for Illinois coal ; but at present, the quality of Arkansas coal is so reduced that the market of the eastern part of the state is supplied largely by the Illinois mines at prices ranging from 35 cents to 50 cents a ton higher than that of Arkansas coal. The excess of dirt and slate in coal not only results in loss of market, but entails much extra cost in mining. During the year 1909 one company in Arkansas washed 28,800 tons of dirt from its slack. It is estimated that at least half of this could haVe been left out by proper mining. That is, the company paid 62 cents a ton or $8928 for dirt that in all fairness should have been left in the mine. Probably a better idea of the increased cost of mining could be arrived at in another way. Since the mine-run law went into operation in our state, the increase in the amount of slate is con- servatively estimated at 5 per cent of the weight of the coal. With an annual output of 2,500,000 tons, this excess of slate costs the operators $137,500. If this slate is removed before the coal goes on the market, the operators suffer. If not, the consumer suffers. The cost of mining is further increased by the cost of ex- plosions produced, by excessive use of powder, by removing the excessive amount of draw slate, and by an increase in the general operating expenses. P>ut the effect of the mine-run law in Arkansas extends not only to the operator and consumer, but in many ways reacts upon THE M1XE-RUN LAW IN ARKANSAS. 231 the miner himself. Not the least of these is an increase in mine accidents. In 1905, there were 21.2 accidents to the 1,000,000 tons of coal mined, and 1909, 31.1 accidents an increase of 9.9. The increase is caused from an excessive use of powder, which loosens or blows out the props, shatters the roof so as to increase the falls of rock, and makes the shot-firer s task a hazardous one. The daily earnings of many miners are less than formerly, the decrease ranging from 25 cents to $1.00. The reduced earnings of our miners through loss of market and the general depression of the industry in the state doubtless is far greater than they realize. If the Arkansas operators could control the market in the eastern part of the state that legitimately belongs to them, but which is now supplied by Illinois and Alabama, with the present miners and present crew they could run a possible 20 days per month instead of 17 days. The average earnings of the miners would thereby be increased $7 per month, which with 4000 miners in the state would be a total monthly increase of $28,000. A very serious effect upon the miner and one that is growing is the loss of skill. It takes a miner to mine coal, but any able bodied man can shoot it. The latter shoots the coal down as slack and as the former must come in competition with him, the inevitable result is to lower the work of the craft to that of the common laborer. The foregoing remarks relate to conservation in the coal industry chiefly in the broad application of the term. Let us now take up briefly the effects of the mine-run law in the more re- stricted sense of relating to the permanent waste of coal. The heavy shooting causes an unknown but large per cent of the coal to fly to all parts of the room. Much of this falls in places that are not conveniently accessible, and much of it on the piles of draw slate. The miner cannot afford to spend his time to pick up this coal, so it remains in the mine as a permanent loss. There is another permanent loss of coal in unmined patches that cannot be worked with profit under present conditions for which the mine-run law is largely, if not wholly responsible. Such patches include those in which there is an unusual number of bands of dirt ; or an unusual amount of bone or sulphur ; or where the coal is seamy or otherwise faulty; or where the roof will not stand the heavy shooting; or those parts that are too thin to mine under present conditions. After these patches are left and the mine fills with water, it probably never will be practicable to mine them out. All this is attributable to the reduced profits brought about by mine-run conditions. A careful study of mining costs shows that, 232 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS at an additional expense of 10 cents a ton, enough coal can be mined from the patches that are now left in the ground, to increase, by 15 per cent, the proportion of coal recovered from the areas which are now mined. It is estimated that the total underground waste in Arkansas, -under present conditions, is 20 per cent of the output. As the normal output is about 2,500,000 tons, the loss to the state is about 500,000 tons annually, worth $840,000. This may be considered an absolute waste of our resources. A summary of the annual cost to the state of Arkansas which we think is fairly attributed to the mine-run law, is as follows : Loss to present producers and consumers. .$1,670,000 Net loss to mine workers now in the state. . 100,000 Loss due to the loss of market 1,600,000 Loss from unmined patches 840,000 Total $4,210,000 In a state which is relatively a very small producer of coal, this is appalling. It is the result of a law that was enacted with the best of intentions. On its face it appears to give the miners what they justly deserve; but in its operation it reaches out in many directions with disastrous results that not even the most thoughtful operators foresaw. It works a great injury to the consumer, the operator, and even to the miner himself. Many, it is believed a majority, of the miners in our state recognize the evils of the la^w, and would hail its repeal with delight. The "Mine Run System" of Mining Coal.* BY J. E. FINNEY, I I I'. \TINGDON, ARKANSAS, Representing the Southwestern Interstate Coal Operators' Association. This great commercial era is popularly regarded as a day of "greed and graft," a "survival of the fittest," in the industrial world. This is a mistaken idea, and not in accord with the conduct of modern well-regulated business enterprises. Society in general, and the rising generation in particular, appeal for protection against any system of business or law of commerce that encourages dis- honesty or permits fraud. It is true that there are some men in all the ordinary branches of business that consider it a mark of suc- cess to be well versed in the art of scheming and defrauding their fellowmen, but such men and methods should not be protected by the strong arm of the law. Recent legislatures in some of our coal producing states have been led to believe that a great fraud was being practiced upon the coal miners by paying them for the coal they produced on a "Screened Lump" basis, whereby they were paid a certain price per ton for lump coal and, apparently, nothing for the slack which necessarily accumulated in the process of mining and loading this lump coal. These legislatures sought to remedy this so-called evil by enacting laws that would prevent the coal being passed over a screen before it was weighed and paid for, and as a result we have the "Mine Run" basis for mining and paying for coal in these states. After a few years of actual experience, it is now evident that the operation of these laws, by a natural process, and without criminal intent on the part of those implicated, has developed the greatest system of fraud ever known to the mining business. It is admitted that some unscrupulous operators had allowed the screens to spread, thereby deducting unfair quantities of slack from the lumps, but this was confined to the careless or unscrupulous operators who were a discredit to the mining industry and whose acts were deplored by their fellow operators as well as the miners. Either of the above methods of operation are inclined to debauch *The discussion of this subject is especially applicable to the south- western coal fields, and particularly to the prevailing conditions in Ar- kansas and Oklahoma. 234 PROCEEDINGS.. AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS the morality of the men engaged in this great industry, and to cor- rect this unnecessary evil it would seem that the logical conclusion would be to repeal this mine run legislation, to prevent fraud on the part of the miners ; and enact legislation providing for a standard, uniform screen, with severe penalties for fraud in con- struction and maintenance, to prevent fraud on the part of the operators. This would, in our judgment, insure equitable pay- ment for the labor of mining the coal, and fair methods of pro- ducing coal that is paid for with the understanding that it shall be "good, marketable coal." This would insure fair dealings on the part of both employer and employe and prevent the destruction of vast quantities of coal by overshooting it into a mixture of slate and slack that cannot be separated; thus conserving this great waste of our most valuable natural resource, and at the same time, re- move an incentive to fraud that benefits nobody but is an expense to every consumer of coal, and is corrupting the morals of hun- dreds of otherwise upright young men. Aside from the claim that the screen deducts unfair quantities of coal, the prime reason urged for the enactment of this legisla- tion was said to be an effort to make the operator pay for the slack at the same rate that he paid for the lumps ; and, it has been stated by the miners' legislative agents that the inexperienced should receive the same wage as the skilled miner, which is evidently an effort to secure recognition of equality among all miners regardless of their ability or experience. It is an undisputed fact that the old- time miner, trained to use picks instead of powder, can earn better wages under the screen coal basis ; while under the mine run sys- tem the man with the longest auger is the best "coal-digger" all classes of miners being equal as long as they are supplied with plenty of powder. This theory of "all men being equal" seems to have entered into the question of mining coal. It has been proven by history as well as our own experience that equality cannot exist among all men, but only among individuals who stand upon a com- mon level physically, intellectually and morally. Nature herself proves that there is no standard in any form of life. The corn- stalk grows one ear more perfect than all the rest. The natural process of life and living separate the fit from the unfit. To urge the fitness of a blind artist in a contest with one who sees is just as logical as to claim the right of inefficiency to share equally with industrious capability. The best man wins, not by following others, but by virtue of his place to the fore. The door of opportunity opens THE "MINE-RUN SYSTEM." 235 wide to the man who has the strength, courage and tenacity to em- brace it. A system that would reward equally the indolent with the energetic ; the coward with the courageous, and the skilled with the unskilled would soon reduce society to an unaccomplishing in- feriority by removing the impetus which urges progress along all the lines of human advancement. There is no doubt but that the legislatures referred to enacted the mine run system into law in an effort to correct what they considered to be a great injustice to thousands of coal miners which they represent. Notwithstanding, we now discover that this mine run "system is a most serious detriment to millions of consumers and of no benefit to the miners themselves. In fact, it is a detri- ment to the miners because it places a premium on unskilled, reck- less and vicious shooting of coal with excessive quantities of powder to the detriment of the skilled, careful and conscientious miner who gets no more for the product of his painstaking labor than the un- skilled man does for shooting his coal out with no skill and very little labor. Under the screen coal system the average miner re- ceived the same wage for one ton of coal as it comes from the mine as he now gets, while the more skilled miner received more per ton by reason of the fact that he had above the average per- centage of lumps and was paid according to the lumps produced by him. For example: In Arkansas, before the enactment of the mine run law, the miner received 62 cents per ton for mine run coal and 90 cents per ton for screened lump coal. At that time the average miner produced 69% lumps and 31% slack. On a mine run basis, at 62 cents per ton, he would receive $62 for 100 tons of mine run coal. On a screened lump coal basis, at 90 cents per ton, he would receive $62.10 for 100 tons of mine run. By the exercise of care and skill in producing the coal, better miners would get 75% to 80% lumps, which would net them (8ox9oc) $72 for 100 tons mine run, or, 72 cents per ton for the mine run when paid on the screened lump basis. Thus it is proven that it is possible for the experienced miner to earn IDC per ton more for good honest work on the screened lump basis than he can get under the mine run system. So much data has been gathered on this subject that we refrain from introducing additional facts as we believe the following state- ments, from such well-known and authoritative sources, are more convincing than anything we could suggest : 236 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Edward W. Parker, U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin, Jan. 3, 1911, timely observes on Over-Shooting Coal: "Arkansas and Oklahoma have suffered from other troubles than the strike. There has been strong tendency on the part of the miners to use increased quantities of poivder, and it is also stated that dynamite is frequently used, a practice which is not only dan- gerous to life and property, but results in a largely increased per- centage of slack. Moreover, it is the practice in nearly all the mines to shoot off the solid. This also is extra hazardous and has increased "the quantity of slack so that it is now double what it was fifteen years ago. This results in complaints by the purchasers that coal which appears to be lump coal on arrival easily disintegrates as a result of the crushing strain to which it has been subjected by the mining methods employed." The General Assembly of Arkansas, in 1909, created a commission consisting of the Governor, Commissioner of Mines, and the President of the University of Arkansas, and authorized them to appoint Prof. A. H. Purdue, State Geol- ogist, and instruct him to investigate or have investigated the conditions relating to the safety of miners and mine oper- ations. These investigations were conducted by Prof. A. A. Steel, Professor of Mining, University of Arkansas, and the reports of his investigations are of vital interest to all oper- ators and miners affected by the "Mine Run System," as provided for in the statutes of Arkansas. (Practically the same law is in effect in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, and in a modified form in several other states.) We can offer no better argument against the operation of the mine run law than to quote some of the important findings of the above Commission, composed of such notable and worthy men, and personally certified to by Prof. A. A. Steel, who went into the mines and gathered information from the rank and file of the miners, as well as operators and consumers. We refer you to the report of the Arkansas Geological Survey, as follows : Screens Do Not Reduce Wages. That ,the screened-coal basis of payment recompensed the miner in full, is shown by the results at Mine No. 2, Denning. Here the coal is of such unusually high quality that it can be shot from the solid with THE "MINE-RUN SYSTEM." 237 . a less proportion of slack than in most mines; but in order to encourage the miner to use care in placing his 'shots, the company has gone to the expense of first weighing the coal as required by the mine-run law and crediting the miner with it. The coal is then screened and the lump coal reweighed and credited to the miner at the old price of 90c per ton. If at the end of two weeks the price of this lump coal at 90c per ton is greater than that of the mine-run coal at 62c per ton, the miner is paid the difference as a premium. Otherwise, he gets the full mine-run price. Under this arrangement, however, the men have much less incentive to do good work than if they did not have the mine-run basis of payment to fall back upon. The result is that, the lazy men shoot the coal to bits and the incompetent ones make no effort to improve so as properly to mine the coal. Still, out of 203 diggers on the pay-roll for January, 1910, 134 or 66 per cent, earned the premium; that is, they received more than 62c a ton for all the coal including the slack in it. Maintenance of Screens. The second argument in favor of the passage of the law was, "The screen is a robber." By this is meant that the bars of the screen would become bent and permit large slabs of coal to pass through. It is re- gretted that one or two of the companies were very careless about the condition of their screens many years ago, but this injustice was very promptly corrected by the Miners' Union upon its organization in 1903. For years the screens have never been seriously defective and when slightly out of order they have been promptly repaired. In fact the min- ers' committee inspected the screens each time the scales were tested, and whenever any bar became bent the committee required that it be straightened before any more coal was weighed. The operators now generally realize that it is actually to their own interest to maintain the screen in good condition since screened coal for domestic use has always been worth more than 90c a ton above the price of slack coal. Reduction of Wages. The mine run law requires that the miner be paid for his coal re- gardless of its quality. It takes less labor and less skill to shoot the coal out carelessly than to mine it in such a way as to get a large pro- portion of good lump. The mine run law therefore gives the miner the same pay for less work and this is the real reason why some miners favor it. If it is claimed that the production of good coal requires too much work, why not for the same reason prohibit the contracting masons from allowing those of their men that are paid by the thousand brick laid, to point or otherwise finish the joints? Or, why not prohibit the plasterers from troweling their work smooth, or compel the cabinet maker to leave his furniture unplaned? In each case, labor would be saved and people could get along. Such examples show the folly of attempting to change methods of work by law. Besides determining the manner of weighing the coal, the mine run law has changed the method of mining it. This change has caused the injury to the quality of the coal, which in turn causes a hardship to the public. Fifty Per Cent Increase of Slack. The law has made the companies powerless to regulate the amount of their coal which is shot into slack, with the result that the proportion of slack is constantly increasing. Affidavits of the companies, an exam- ination of their shipping books, and the results of test runs made by the superintendents, show that those few mines which made as little as 21 per cent of slack on the old screened coal basis now make 31 per cent; those which then made about 25 per cent now make from 35 to 40 per cent; those which then made about 30 per cent now make over 40 per cent; and those that made about 34 per cent in the old days now make 50 per cent. This shows an increase in the proportion of slack of about 238 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS 50 per cent of its original amount. It will be shown later that this excessive production of slack causes a waste of one of our natural resources. Table of Increase in Kansas in Ten Years*. Year. Per cent Lump Per cent Slack Coal. Coal. 1894 59.21 25.96 1895 57.79 27.60 1896 57.65 26.54 1897 55.43 27.96 1898 56.04 29.92 1899 57.20 . 27.91 1900 56.12 28.37 1901 53.37 32.10 1902 51.73 34.32 1903 50.38 35.67 1904 45.91 38.15 Increase of Slack in Arkansas. For year ending April 1 1906 1907 1909 1910 Average of per cent of slack at three mines.. 28.10 28.00 36.04 42.32 Per cent slack produced at one of these mines 26.42 26.10 39.32 41.87 Powder vs. Skill. Many of the miners are fine men and do not wish to be known as "slack makers," but they find it hard to withstand the gibes of their fel- lows and are therefore becoming more and more careless. From year to year the common length of the augers sold to the miners is increasing. This shows the tendency to put in fewer and heavier shots than for- merly. It means heavier blasting and more slack each year. As the younger men who are now entering the trade do not understand the old careful way of mining, the proportion of miners skilled in the best meth- ods is bound to decrease; and the proportion of slack produced in mining the coal will correspondingly increase, unless the men have some in- centive to do better work. Desperate Efforts to Get Lumps. At present some of the superintendents are arranging to get lower sideboards upon what new cars they need, .and to give the miner fewer cars per day. Then in order that the miner may make good wages, he must mine up enough lumps to chunk up his car so as to increase its capacity. Some superintendents are even thinking of removing the doors from the cars so that the miners will have to mine lumps to hold the coal in the car. Both of these .plans will work a hardship upon the good miners as well as upon the careless ones, and the second one is only a desperate last resort, for it may increase the accidents upon slopes. Unnecessary Waste Which Benefits Nobody. Since we have sufficiently shown that a constantly increasing pro- portion of good lump coal is shot into slack as a result of the passage of the mine run law in 1905, it may be interesting to see how this affects the operators. Since slack coal is worth so much less than lump coal, the natural result of an increase in its proportion is to decrease the average value of the coal. The average prices of the different sizes of coal have not been published, but from information given by companies, wholesale dealers, and others, it is known that the price of the slack coal is from 95c to $1.50 per ton less than that of the lump coal from which the full amount of fine coal has been removed. The average difference is at least $1.15 a ton. Now the mine run law has increased the slack on an average from the normal 30 per cent to at least 45 per cent. It has therefore reduced the value of 15 per cent of the output of the state by $1.15 a ton. T1LK "M INK-RUN SYSTEM." 239 Some Results of Over-Shooting. "Shattering the Lump Coal." The mine run law injures the com- panies by also reducing the quality of the output and hence its cash value. The heavy careless shooting not only reduces the proportion of lump coal but also greatly weakens those lumps which are not entirely broken up. As a result, they readily slack off on standing and are easily broken by handling. It will therefore not endure railroad shipment as well as it should. When domestic lump coal is loaded out by a careful retail dealer, the lumps are forked out and the coal remaining is sold at slack prices. In this way, it is possible to tell accurately how much slack is found in the coal. An affidavit of Mr. Geo. McLean of the Merchants' Transfer Company of Little Rock, states that several years ago, the Arkansas coal which he sold left from 3 to 5 per cent of slack, whereas, in 1908, it left from 10 to 16, generally about 15 per cent. This is coal which left the mines as clean, fancy lump and was screened in the same way as before the mine law went into effect. The experience of Mr. McLean is that of all dealers and consumers, and shows how much the coal is shattered by the excessive shooting. "Increase of Slate in the Coal." There is a further injury to the operators, because the mine run law compels the companies to pay th miners as much for slate as for coal. Some little protection is afforded by the agreement with the Union which allows a few of the worst offenders to be laid off for from one to three days, but they can only be penalized for loading out slate that is- in large enough pieces to be picked out by hand from the lump coal. The companies are not allowed to put another man in the place made vacant, so the laying off of the men is an expense to the company because it reduces the output of the mine. Since it is generally impracticable to inspect the slack coal for slate, the miner gets a premium for shooting all of the dirt band and slate into small pieces and of course the coal goes also. Nevertheless, much slate in large sizes gets into the lump coal, although the com- panies have from two to six extra pickers at each large mine in their efforts to produce salable coal.- "Cost of Explosions." A further slight increase in the cost is due to the increasing frequency of destructive "windy shots," or dust explosions, resulting from the excessive use of powder. Doors and stopings blown down by them must be replaced, and the cost of a single general ex- plosion is often great. At many mines, it is already necessary to pay the shot firers extra on account of the extra risk they run. "Effects of Heavy Blasting." A little reflection will show how much more a heavy wide shot will affect the roof, than the same -amount of powder in two light shots. At present many of the miners put in only about half as many shots as formerly, to get out the same amount of coal. All of them are using fewer shots. This change in the blasting does not show in the figures for the consumption of powder, and it is safe to say that at present the blasting of the coal is at least three times as severe as it was in 1905. The heavy shooting also sends the coal flying against the props. At a mine at Spadra, the writer saw some large pieces of coal which had been thrown by the blast of the afternoon before a distance of 40 feet. They had knocked out the props so as to leave an open lane down one side of the room. Besides knocking out props, such shooting cracks or otherwise weakens some of them in a way which the miner does not notice until the roof falls. The worst trouble is the increasing tendency of the miner to set his props as far from the face as possible, so as to save the labor of replacing them. He therefore works in an unprotected space. This wide space also gives the roof a chance to loosen and get drummy, which throws an added strain upon the places where the tough slabs have been weakened by the direct blows of the powder. The hea.vy and wide shots now used are dangerous to the shotfirers, and many miners have begun to ignore all ordinary precautions for safety in blasting. At a mine near Hartford, the writer saw a large mass of 240 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS coal which had been shot out of its position, but was still tightly wedged between the roof and a roll in the floor. The miner was very frank and when asked how he would go about picking this coal down, he laughingly set his auger in position for drilling a splitting shot through the center of this chunk of coal and said, "With two feet of powder." Then he added, "I always find an auger when I start to look for a pick." "Accidents." So far as they are available, the records of the acci- dents in the Arkansas mines show the increases in the number due to falls of roof and the firing of shots, which might be expected from the increased severity of the blasting. Imperfect as these figures are, they well illustrate the effect of the mine run law. The heavy shooting following the passage of the law has progressively increased the amount of rock falling in the rooms to triple that of 1905; this is shown in the table on p. 267. It is therefore directly responsible for at least half the deaths due to this cause in 1908. All the fatal accidents due to firing shots in 1907 and 1908 and probably at least half of those in 1906, happened to regular shotfirers. Nearly all of these deaths are due to the heavy and careless loading of the shots encouraged by the mine run law and at least four of the seven may be charged against it. Loss of Skill The miners are further 'injured by the mine run law because under its operation they are losing their old-time skill, which will make it im- possible for them to get employment in fields where it is necessary to do pick work. This lowering of the standard of skill also throws the occupation open to any man with a strong body. As soon, therefore, as the artificial conditions due to the Union, break down, the wages of the coal miners can not be maintained as much above the pay of common laborers as at present. The bringing in of such a lot of inferior work- men is sure also to be the end of the Union, since unskilled labor has never been successfully held in line during a long strike. There is now no incentive for the new men to learn how properly to shoot the coal and as a result the mine run law means stagnation in the progress of our miners toward increased efficiency. Loss* to Arkansas as a Result of the Mine Run Legislation. In conclusion, we repeat the list of direct money losses caused to the state each year by this absurd law. The loss to the present producers and consumers of coal $1,670,000 The net loss to the mine workers now in the state 100,000 Additional loss to the coal industry alone due to loss of market. 1,600,000 Absolute waste of our resources 850,000 Total $4,220,000 The astounding sum of money includes no duplication and does not consider the great loss to the railroads, merchants, and other interests incident to the decline of the coal-mining industry. In addition to the money loss, this law already costs the .lives of seven of our miners every year, sacrificed to the greater ease of shooting out the coal, instead of mining it. This is surely sufficient to make it clear that the repeal of the law prohibiting the screening of the miners' coal before weighing it, is the most important service to the state that the legislature, now has an opportunity to perform. The Economics of the Coal Industry. BY CARL SCHOLZ, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. The operations of the Rheinisch Westfalian Coal Syndicate have frequently been discussed as the most satisfactory organiza- tion of its kind and its methods have been at least partially described in our trade publications. Little, if anything, has been said as to the causes which led to the establishment of the syndicate even less is generally known of various stages which were gone through before its present form was adopted. Because this syndicate has been in successful operation for eighteen years, with only minor changes at the expiration of each of the five or ten year contract periods, it is customary to assume that German mines have always enjoyed their present prosperity. It is a popular notion that those mines had no part with struggles against adversity due to competi- tion. On the contrary, the same difficulties which now confront the coal operators of the United States were, in the early stages, ex- perienced by the mine owners in the Westfalian district. In fact, during 1870, a crisis was reached and disaster was only averted when the German-France war brought a. decided but very short- lived relief. The lesson to the coal operator of the United States is that Germany has faced and solved problems similar in character and degree to those with which we are struggling. The question for us to answer is whether we shall travel the same road, step by step, or shall profit by their experience and adopt at once their successful plan. The tonnage of the Westfalian district was 2,250,000 in 1850; 13,000,000 in 1870; 39,000,000 in 1890 and 91,000,000 tons in 1909. These figures are given to show that the increase is about on the same ratio as that of the United States, although with them, get- ting the coal is more difficult and the cost of extraction is greater. It is safe to say that with the same physical difficulties the oper- ators of the United States would not have been able to keep up the rate of increase as was done in Westfalia. Because of the many points of similarity, it is interesting to follow their develop- ment from early difficulties to the present. From the earliest beginning over a hundred years ago the Westfalia mine owners recognized the advantages of co-operation for mutual protection and funds were established to provide against 242 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS losses of life and damage to property of the individual operators. At that time, mine owners worked alongside the few laborers whom they employed. As the size of mines increased and as conditions of mining became more hazardous, the usefulness of the small or- ganization of operators was extended to cover broader fields. In- cluded in those larger investigations were : matters of safety ; econ- omies in production and usage of coal ; the study of competitive coal fields ; the testing of apparatus, machinery and explosives ; the map- ping and study of geological conditions of the coal fields ; the edu- cation of mining officials to cope with the new dangers, due to deep shaft mining, gases and enormous water flows ; the management of the -varipus accident, pension and annuity funds ; the conduct of hospitals and convalescent stations for aged or injured employes and their families; and, the enactment of suitable and just legislation. This work was costly but was conducted by the owners through various associations and organizations who compiled valuable data which was distributed to all interested parties. In all of these mat- ters, the Government has more or less a voice through its repre- sentative in the mining bureau, which is a part of the department of trade and industry. This department, incidentally headed by the minister, carefully considered every proposed action and his sanction had to be secured before any plan could be made effective. During all this time of co-operative work, the only matter left for individual decision was the sale of coal. By the year 1865 very fierce and destructive competition had developed, which led to financial ruin of many concerns. Consolidations were effected but without relief. Efforts were made to raise the income by restrict- ing the output but this proved ineffective. It was difficult to obtain the consent of a sufficient number of owners to agree to any restric- tion concerning output, but it was finally accomplished. Under the plan adopted a reduction of tonnage to ten-twelfths of the previous year was fixed as the safe maximum but a depression in the iron and steel industry reduced the estimated requirements and, notwith- standing the many fines assessed, some producers exceeded their allotment. About that time, coal, coke and briquet clubs were established, whose function it was to fix prices on the various grades and sizes of coal, these prices being regulated by the double standard of the intrinsic values of the coal and the ability of the consumer to pay the cost of production was not, of course, disregarded. It should be borne in mind that steam, coking, gas and domestic coal, in widely ranging qualities, were produced and from this source the complica- 'Hll-. F.COXOMTCS OF THE COAL INDUSTRY. 243 tions were multiplied. These coal clubs had entire control of the output of their members for a given territory and were what we would term, district sales organizations. Each member sold his coal direct to the consumer but upon the advice and instruction of the club committee. Invoices and contracts passed through the of- fices of the clubs for verification of prices. Due consideration was given by these clubs to such condition as variation in consumption during the year. For instance, sugar factories paid a higher price than other manufacturers who oper- ated throughout the year; sugar factories operate only during the fall and winter when coal is in demand. Each group of owners selected representatives to look after their interests confidence men, so called because they acted abso- lutely with the view of solving the problem of the district without consideration for any selfish interests they might care to serve. These plans were carried out with the concurrence of owners repre- senting from eighty-five to ninety-two per cent of the tonnage of the district. There was dissatisfaction with this plan from time to time. This was peculiarly so on the part of furnace operators who owned mines or had contracts with independent mines, these contracts call- ing for greater production than the allotment authorized these mine operators to produce. It was seen as a result of such complications that consolidations of property would eliminate many obpections incident to the numerous smaller operations. A commission was appointed and for nearly ten years continued its work, but its recom- mendations were in the end, not adopted, although the information thus obtained was responsible for more acquisition 'of property and combinations of smaller character. The individual coal and coke clubs became more and more solidi- fied and by 1890, when the above mentioned commission made its final report three principal sales organizations were in operation controlling about 40,000,000 tons of annual output. Notwithstand- ing the material advantages of the new methods, it , became appar- ent that the most satisfactory results could only be obtained if the sale of mine products would be handled more advantageously through an entirely separate organization managed by a firm of salesmen under the direction of the owners. This suggestion re- sulted in the birth of the Rheinisch Westfalian Coal Syndicate in 1892. ~ Its purpose and organization are as follows: The present contract expires December 31, 1915. Its purpose is to buy and sell coal and coke and to acquire mining fields and 244 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS shares in mining companies. The capital is $600,000 divided into 8,000 bonds of $75, this capitalization being based on 80,000,000 tons of production. Each member of the Syndicate must acquire one bond for each 10,000 tons of annual output. The management is entrusted to a board of two or more members selected from the directors and twelve members, three of whom change every year. The managers are elected at the annual meeting of the bondholders. The tonnage allotted to each company is fixed by a commission of eight members. The syndicate buys and pays for all the coal covered by allotment. No coal can be sold by any producer except to the syndicate. Syndicate members must put the output of all mines in the hands of the organization, whether owned wholly or in part, except, of course, such coal as is required for mines' own use as fuel or for coking and briquetting. There is also excluded the coal used in furnaces, briquet plants and other manufacturing plants owned by the mining company. The mining company must furnish the quantities agreed to and the syndicate must market it. Should the syndicate not be able to take the maximum quantities for any mine, it will pay the owner a sum of not more than forty cents per ton of such shortage. Mine owners may arrange with other producers to make up any shortage before they are liable to the syndicate. Mine owners receive monthly settlement for shipments, an average price being fixed upon each grade. Each company is sub- ject to deductions if the coal supplied is of inferior quality. The syndicate assumes losses of bad accounts or if coal is sold at prices below expected minimum. By this means all operators share equally in losses beyond control due to the lower prices than were contemplated at the time contracts were made. The operating expenses for the syndicate are obtained in the same manner. The coal selling contracts and the general allot- ment of tonnage are made annually. The mines owned by the Government have, since 1905, sold their product in competition with the syndicate. It is believed they will, later on, join the syndicate. The advantages claimed are that the syndicate has eliminated unnecessary and suicidal competition and has placed the coal indus- try on a basis which enables the operators to produce coal at a rea- sonable profit, in consequence of which they are able to pay the miners a fair wage and to furnish better protection against injury than was possible under the highly competititve conditions previ- ously existing. The increased profit has warranted the better THE ECONOMICS OF THE COAL INDUSTRY. 245 equipping of mines with modern machinery and appliances. The advantages to the coal consumer has been the elimination of fluctua- tions in price by depression to low figures in a time of surplus and by rises to higher prices during a time of shortage. Under the plan adopted the consumers receive a more uniform price and the large consumer does not get a low price at the expense of the small buyer who may be compelled to pay exorbitant figures. Through the syn- dicate all mines operate uniformly, thereby preventing the shifting of the working forces with its entailed expense upon employes and employers alike. The syndicate has, through the establishment of agencies and arrangement for shipping facilities, made possible an efficiency in the marketing of coal which cannot be reached by the individual producer. The standard of preparation has been raised and the product of the syndicate mines can successfully compete, even at a higher price, with the product of other countries, by reason of its large resources and ability to carry out its contracts. It would take columns to give the details of this organization which now controls an annual output of 80,000,000 out of the 85,- 000,000 tons produced. It is possible that others will profit by the great work accom- plished after many years of endless effort. Indicative and impressive is the inscription on the syndicate building entrance reading: "UNITY MAKES STRENGTH." The Condition of the Bituminous Coal Industry. BY A. J MOORSHEAD, ST. LOUIS, MO. You will, I am sure, regret as I do that Mr. B. F. Bush, Presi- dent of the Missouri Pacific Railway, could not, as the original program provided, be here and present to you his own ideas and opinions of the present condition of the bituminous coal mining industry of this country, because his experience as an executive and operating officer in connection with coal mining has been so ex- tensive (covering operations in the greater part of the coal fields from West Virginia and Pennsylvania in the east to the Pacific coast) that it would be as instructive as it would be interesting. So varied are the underground conditions and methods em- ployed in coal mining in the state of Illinois alone, both with ref- erence to the seams being worked (from thirty inches to ten feet in thickness) ; the wide range of prices per ton paid to the miners; difference in quality of product; the variable cost of putting the coal into the cars for the market ; that it makes a somewhat intri- cate and difficult subject to handle, particularly when coupled as it is with the attempt in our dealings with the Mine Workers' organ- ization to make each district fairly competitive with all others in the marketing of the product; therefore, the subject covering the entire country can only be reviewed in a general way. With the exception of two or three states and some particular districts in some states the industry was in a reasonably prosper- ous condition prior to the fall of 1907, when a general business depression occurred, and, with others, the coal industry suffered a material curtailment in production and a general lowering of values at that time. During the following year the production declined some 64,500,000 tons, but this loss in production has been subsequently overcome, and the figures for 1910 record the largest tonnage in the history of the industry. Prices, however, recovered slowly, but increases in cost of pro- duction have been general in every mining region, due to the public demand for more careful mining, better protection to the miners and to the higher wage schedules which went into effect during 1910. With the further decline in prices during the current year the situation has become a serious one, and in certain competitive dis-- CONDITION OF BITUMINOUS COAL INDUSTRY. 247 tricts where competition is unusually keen and where low prices have steadily prevailed for the past four years, many of the oper- ators are dangerously near complete bankruptcy, and some means must be devised to relieve this situation if it is possible of ac- complishment ; otherwise the failure will be seriously felt by manu- facturers and retail dealers everywhere. Source of Information. In order to obtain the most authentic information possible along these lines, the Secretary of this Congress sent out blanks to all the principal coal operators scattered throughout the country, making inquiry along the following lines : First. Capital invested in business. Second. Average total cost of production. Third. Average labor cost per ton (mine workmen only). Fourth. Average cost of administration. Fifth. Average selling price at mine. Sixth. Estimate of increased cost necessary to meet demand for conservation. Seventh. Average depreciation of values per 100 tons daily capacity. Eighth. At what price coal must sell. Ninth. What percentage of coal is sold at a loss. Briefly stated these statements revealed the following con- ditions : That for every ton produced annually there is an average investment of $1.41 in coal lands, machinery, and equipment neces- sary to that production. These statements show that increases in cost of production have been general in all States, varying from a fraction of a cent in States like Tennessee and Kentucky to 28 cents per ton in the Southwest. The average increase is near 7 cents per ton in all fields. Indiana was benefited by steady work fol- lowing the last strike, and the higher selling prices which prevailed at the time enabled those operators to earn a little profit. Increased selling prices are generally reported for 1910 aver- aging 4 cents per ton, but it is not sufficient to offset an increase of 7 cents per ton in production costs, during the same period, so the year as a whole shows a decline in profit. During 1910 the total cost of production is estimated at $1.07 per ton. The cost of mine labor and mine supplies total 95 cents per ton, and the cost of administration, such as office expense, sales expense, accounting, insurance and taxes, legal expense, etc., usually 248 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS classed as general expense was 12 cents per ton. This does not include interest, depreciation or profit. The average price obtained at the time, was approximately $1.11 per ton. The increased cost necessary to meet the demand for conservation was estimated in different fields from 2 cents to 15 cents per ton, with a possible average of 5 cents in the country as a whole. The depreciation of coal reserves and plant equipment would require a fund of approximately 4 cents per ton. The increased prices necessary to make the business show a fair return on the money invested ranged from 5 to 25 cents per ton in various regions. The average increase requested would ap- proximate 12 cents per ton. Reports Indicate Astounding Conditions. These reports indicate astounding conditions existing in the bituminous coal industry at the present time. It is undoubtedly true that there are many individual operators, or even entire dis- tricts, where unusual mining conditions, favorable quality of coal, proximity to large consuming centers, or scientific management, enable certain companies to show profits ev^n under present condi- tions, but it is also true that there are many more showing heavy losses, and an industry of so great magnitude must be considered as a unit in a matter of this kind. Let us, therefore, make a closer study of the more important questions, such as production and consumption, costs and realization and their effect upon the in- dustry as a whole. Statistics show that while our bituminous coal production in- creased rapidly from nothing in 1821 to 1,111,156 tons in 1842; to 10,625,381 in 1865; to 105,268,963 in 1891; to 306,138,096 in 1906; and to 415,500,000 tons in 1910; our consumption kept ahead of or apace with production until 1891. In 1821 consumption was 19,617 tons in excess of production ; in 1842 it was 123,879 tons in excess of production; but in 1891 the total consumption was only 105,016,407, or 252,556 less than production, and the difference has steadily increased until in 1906 consumption was 6,002,051 less than production. The excess of production over consumption has steadily increased each year, and has resulted with mines operating to a restricted capacity. A further example of our over-production and still greater over-capacity was demonstrated during the strike period of 1910 in Illinois, Indiana and the Southwest: CONDITION OF BITUMINOUS COAL INDUSTRY. 249 Illinois was idle six months of the year, but produced 45,900,- 246 tons, as compared with 50,904,990 the previous year, working twelve months. Indiana was idle some thirty days and produced 18,389815, as compared with 14,834,259 in 1909. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri were also idle six months in 1910, due to the strike, and the production showed an average decrease of only 20% under the figures for 1909. The possible capacities of West Virginia mines is fully 75% over the present total production. The Pittsburgh. and No. 8 Ohio districts are reduced to 30% operation during three to four months of each year, while navigation is closed on the lakes. There are very few properties that have operated over 225 working days per annum during the past three years. This over-production and over-capacity to produce has resulted in a ruinous competition to obtain business. Many of our coal prop- erties have fixed charges in the nature of bonds and other obli- gations, such as minimum royalties, etc., which necessitate maxi- mum production, and in many cases the management figure their losses less by taking the low prices and operating full time than by obtaining their proportion of profitable domestic business. The development of so many new high-tonnage plants in recent years has also had a marked effect upon the industry. When it is realized that our production and consumption to date have practically doubled* every ten years, the large increase in the number of new mines can be appreciated. The "deadwork" haulage, drainage, and ventilation costs are always lower in new develop- ment, on account of the concentrated area under operation, and they are able to produce coal much cheaper than their older com- petitors. They fix the prices in the markets which must be met by the other mines, but in time they have the same situation to face. To meet this competition, underground development is too often carried on in such parts of the mines as can be made to produce cheaply and in order to escape the heavy yardage prices, excessively wide entries are driven, and this condition coupled with the narrowing of pillars in order to lessen the cost of opera- tion, ultimately causes heavy falls and squeezing to such an extent that the mines are robbed of half of what would otherwise be their natural existence, and in their early abandonment large acreages of coal are wasted without hope of recovery. 250 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Statistics show that the average prices received at the mines during the past seven years are as follows: 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1.10 1.06 1.11 1.14 1.12 1.07 1.11 est. The average price for the entire period has been $1.10 and the fluctuation between the maximum and minimum prices has been only 8 cents per ton. It is also interesting to note that the prices for 1910 and 1904 and the average price for the period are prac- tically identical. Production Cost Increases. Seven Cents in 1910. During 1910 the increased cost of production as compared with the previous year is estimated at 7 cents per ton in all fields. Some idea of the increased cost of producing coal can be obtained from the following table, which shows the mining rates in the four largest States operating with organized labor. All other districts show similar increase but the amount is difficult to ascertain : Base Ind. Thin Rock Rate Mine Bitum. Vein Ohio 111. Run. Lump. W. Va. Lump. April 1, 1898, to April 1, 1900 40c 40c 66c 66c 66c April 1, 1900, to April 1, 1903 49 49 80 80 80 April 1, 1903, to April 1, 1904 55 55 90 90 90 April 1, 1904, to April 1, 1906 52 52 85 85 85 April 1, 1906, to April 1, 1910 55 55 90 90 90 April 1, 1910, to April 1, 1912 58 58 95 95 95 Increase, 14 years .18c 18c 29c 29c 29c Equiv. on run of mine basis 18 18 18.74 18.74 18.74 The above increase applies only to the "mining rate" that is, the amount paid to the miner for loading one ton of coal at the face, and proportionately higher wages are paid to all other mine work- ers. The full increase in cost of labor per ton over this period is, therefore, approximately 27 cents per ton, and approximately 9 cents of this increase has been taken since 1904. With prices practically stationary during this same period the profit to the operator shows a net decrease of 9 cents per ton. We have already stated that for every ton produced annually there is an average investment of $1.41 in coal lands, machinery, and equipment necessary to that production. Based on an annual production of 415,000,000 tons of bitu- minous coal, there is an investment in the business of some $585,- 000,000. An investment in an industry of this nature, carrying the risks to life and property which the mining industry does, and the hazard of faulty conditions of seam, which no man can definitely foresee, should net at least 10% in return as interest on the capital CONDITION OF BITUMINOUS COAL INDUSTRY. 251 invested, after setting aside a sufficient amount estimated at 4 cents per ton to cover depreciation of equipment and exhausted coal lands. The mining industry should net to the owner annual earnings of $75,000,000. They earned $16,600,000 in 1910, and the current year will show still further reductions. In other words our coal operators are absorbing as losses in excess of $58,500,000 per annum, or slightly in excess of 14 cents per ton. Solutions Suggested. Over-production is the cause of this extremely deplorable situ- ation. It has created a destroying competition in which only the strongest can survive. It has caused a general unrest in the in- dustry and dissatisfaction to mine owners and mine workers alike and the question before us is how this over-production may be taken care of and the business placed on a remunerative basis. Two solutions are suggested. First. The creation of district sales agencies to handle the entire product. Those agencies would control the total output and name prices which would return a fair profit on the investment and at the same time permit the necessary expenditure for conservation of resources and careful and safe mining. Such agencies would result in a very large reduction of the present sales cost and by concentrating the mining operations the ultimate cost to the con- sumer would probably show little increase. These agencies could maintain a more uniform distribution and by concentrated effort could probably reach new markets which are not being supplied from the United States at present. This plan would require the alteration of the Sherman anti- trust law and the creation of an interstate coal commission. The commission would have to pass upon the justness of prices estab- lished by the various district agencies, to see that owners obtained fair prices only, and to hear the public voice in reference to such matters. The commission should also control the opening of new mines in such a way as to keep production and consumption apace with one another. Second. The Government could assist in the development of foreign export trade. A large percentage of the total production of this country is available for profitable export, and by directing the surplus production from Eastern Pennsylvania and Eastern Virginia, which is now encroaching upon the trade formerly en- joyed by Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, the solution would at least be partly reached. 252 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Other countries have had their coal problems similar in all respects to our own as now existing. Great Britain met it by the most careful of mining methods and preparation of the product; and combination with transporta- tion interests has gained for her the markets of the world for her surplus, at highly remunerative prices, and this result is only pos- sible by continuous operations and large export shipments. British exports have been: In 1907.. 63,600,947 tons In 1908 62,547,175 tons In 1909 63,076,799 tons In 1910 67,085,476 tons It took Germany many years to perfect a coal syndicate, which under a single sales agency with the co-operation of the govern- ment, has produced substantial returns to the mining companies, and at the same time increased the export tonnage; and there was shipped in this particular class of trade : In 1909 ". 10,321,536 tons In 1910 10,963,195 tons In 1911.. 12,614,952 tons Belgium, mining in places only 1 1 inches of coal, and at depths exceeding 3,500 feet, had problems to solve more serious than ours. She met them by consolidation and single sales agencies, and these agencies get prices which represent fair returns in capital in- vestment. They get them by co-operation with the French and German syndicates. The French laws, as we understand them, are much in line with our own trust laws, but there, too, syndicates exist and regu- late prices and work in harmony with the other continental syndicates. The second solution, therefore, of the problem lies in the ex- portation of our surplus production. The coal tributary to the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards is the equal in quality of that pro- duced abroad. Government assistance in the shape of a bonus or subsidy would, therefore, not only solve the coal problem, but also the question of the rehabilitation of the American mercantile marine. The above plans are simply suggestions briefly outlined for consideration by this convention and those interested in the industry. It is self-evident that the operators must join in a plan which will protect their investment and at the same time permit healthy and sane competition. CONDITION OF BITUMINOUS COAL INDUSTRY. 253 It should be the duty of this Congress to carefully consider ways and means of working out the problem ; additional legisla- tion is necessary, and capital, together with labor and the consumer, should appreciate the benefits to be derived from placing an in- dustry of so great magnitude upon a substantial basis. Germany and Great Britain have met the same conditions successfully by extending the necessary aid to their coal industries. Is not the coal industry of the United States entitled to the same consideration? Mining Congress Can Bring About Relief. Wonderful results have been accomplished for the benefit of agriculture by the National Government appropriating from $20,- 000,000 to $40,000.000 per year for the last twenty years for that particular industry, yet mining important and hazardous as it is has received but little consideration. This organization can, by thorough, concerted and determined action, not only arouse public interest in our cause, but the state and National legislators will, beyond doubt, when the conditions of the industry are properly made known to them, afford relief no less generously than Great Britain and other foreign governments have done. Now, Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, there is only one way that we can expect to get relief, and that is not wholly and solely by the preparation of papers like this nor by oratory on this stage. Both are necessary to arouse interest, but what we should do as coalmen is to try and make this Association, this Congress, strong as it is, more powerful, by adding to its numbers all other coalmen it is possible to convert and bring into its ranks. Then by the proper application of pressure that we could then bring to bear with the aid of our friends from the Western States engaged in other classes of mining, and we assisting them as they do us in things de- serving, we will accomplish what we go after; and I hope that the coalmen of Illinois, a competitive field, and in fact the country, that have been so seriously affected and depressed by the competitive conditions surrounding us, on matters that we seemingly are unable to control ourselves, that they will join this organization and make it strong. I hope the organization will be so changed that it will have State organizations. Then we can get together, formulate plans to do business in a way that I am sure the Government representatives will permit. (Applause.) The Condition of the Bituminous Coal Mining Industry. BY WALTER S. BOGLE, CHICAGO, ILL. Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: I was not aware until night before last that I would be expected to address this convention. I was not present at your session last evening, but from what I have heard it seems to me that conditions and relief have already been very ably presented, and as a result I can only touch crudely and briefly on the matter and perhaps repeat some- thing that has already been told you. The condition of the coal trade is such a painful subject that I don't care to dwell on it. The important question in my mind is relief. Who has got it, and who is going to lead us out of the wil- derness? Many bright minds have given this subject careful con- sideration, and many plans have been presented, but when analyzed they present one of two alternatives either a company large enough and with capital enough to absorb all operations in a dis- trict or state or else combinations among the operators themselves. The first alternative is apparently impossible, because the credit of the coal trade has declined to such an extent that the public re- fuses to buy coal securities and no financier can be found able and willing to underwrite them. Another difficulty has presented itself along that line, and that is there are men in the coal trade who are proud of their long and honorable career, who have built up a valuable clientage, and who refuse to lose their identity. Who can say {hem nay? It is a privilege that belongs to every American citizen, and I hope it always will, furthermore, I hope it will be encouraged, because it is along those lines that I believe we will get the best development in our commercial life. Of the other plans presented, many have merit, many would fit the situation, but they all violate the Sherman anti-trust law, and that is the end of them. Until the Sherman anti-trust law can be changed or modified I can see but little relief in sight. The Sherman anti- trust law, like many other laws on our statutes, was passed hastily and without due consideration of the results that it would bring about. The object of the law was good, and that was to restrict combinations and every self respecting business man or citizen of this country will stand for a law that will accomplish that. They want such a law on the statute books, but in order to accomplish CONDITION OF BITUMINOUS COAL INDUSTRY. 255 that, the Sherman anti-trust law compelled unbridled competition, and in its actual operation has been bringing about the very object for which it was passed to prevent. Unbridled competition means the survival of the fittest, the strong against the weak, the weak falling by the wayside and being absorbed by the strong, and while the process is slow it is none the less sure, and the ultimate result is a combination of interests similar but perhaps on different lines than the law was passed to prevent. In many industries in this country the law has brought the individuals up to where they have had to make a choice as between bankruptcy and violation of that law, and they have not hesitated to violate the law and take the consequences, if they were caught, rather than to go into bank- ruptcy, and I am not brave enough to blame them. But any law, the operation of which produces such results, is wrong. It is a damage to any community and should be changed. I believe I have been a consistent friend of labor since I was a boy, but I cannot resist calling attention to the difference in laws governing capital and business in this country, and the laws govern- ing labor, one compels unbridled competition, the other permits unrestricted combination. Now, few of us object to labor organ- izing; we look upon it as a necessity, at least many of us do, but the organization of labor without any restrictions whatever, has legalized the greatest trust that ever was known to man. It is governed by the same human minds, the same human passions, the same human greed, the same human selfishness that governs any un- restricted combination, and it is not to be wondered at that it is rapidly developing all of the obnoxious and all of the bad features of an unrestricted combination. The problem or the work that is laid out for us appears to me to be a campaign of education, which will bring about a change in this law. That may seem quite an undertaking to many of you, but it is not as great an undertaking as it would appear to be on first consideration, and the time is ripe for it. The business of this country is largely paralyzed by the uncertainty of how that law is going to be applied. The Supreme Court of the United States has said that a reasonable combination is all right, but the construction of the word "reasonable" would vary as frequently as there are "individuals," as the construction of it would be governed largely by personal interest. But there is a statement on the part of the highest court in the land that under certain conditions combina- tions are reasonable and should be enjoyed, and it is right and proper that Congress should define absolutely and clearly what is 256 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS reasonable. The American people will uphold you in that demand. The American people have never wilfully visited any unmerited hardship on any individuals or any corporations, or any body of men, and they never will when they understand a question thor- oughly. Where they have been educated to understand a ques- tion their decisions have been invariably right. A very good proof of that is this, that today there is a rank violation of this law, that is not only approved of, but is upheld by them, a violation of this law that has been declared such by the Supreme Court of the United States. It is not only approved of and upheld by the people of the United States, but it is approved of and upheld by one of the greatest executive and I might say governing bodies of the United States, and that is the railroads of this country are allowed by the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish uniform rates, or agreed rates, on freight and passengers, and when they do it in my opinion the Interstate Commerce Commission take the only practical and sensible course that is open to them. It is a necessity. Without it the railroads would be unable to furnish the necessary facilities to accommodate the commerce of the country and a continuance of unbridled competition between them would result in bankruptcy for many if not all. Either of which would be a public calamity. Every- body would feel it, and there was only one practical course open and that was a reasonable combination, and that is what they are acting under today. Now if that is necessary for the railroad world, certainly it is equally necessary for the commercial world. If the railroad world is entitled to that consideration, then the com- mercial world is entitled to that consideration. I don't wish to disturb that situation. On the contrary, I would lend what assist- ance I could to maintaining it. I simply refer to it as an example of how this matter works out, and of the necessity that exists and the many arguments that you have at your command to bring the pressure necessary to remove this burden which is rapidly becoming greater than the disease. (Applause.) Sherman Anti-Trust Law With Special Reference to the Coal Mining Industry. BY D. W. KUHN, PITTSBURGH, PA. Down in Tennessee, a good many years ago, the supreme court of that state, in its interpretation of the exemption laws, held in an elaborate opinion that a mule was a horse, and has ever since stuck to that decision. The Supreme Court of the United States, with a purpose unquestioned, in its interpretation of the Sherman act in the last twenty years, has sometimes as much as said that a mule was a horse and at other times that a mule was not a horse. The country at large at the present time entertains a similar hazy and uncertain opinion of that act and the baffling decisions on it. There seems to be, however, one striking exception, and that is, the distinguished Attorney General of the United States, who entertains a different opinion. He believes that every horse is a mule, and for that reason should be subjected to "con- dign punishment." One of the mysteries connected with this statute is that no one has been able to maintain the same opinion about it for any length of time. The authors of the act were not even of the same opinion as to what it meant. The political party that fathered it has sought to change it. The Supreme Court of the United States in 1895, m tne Knight case, held in effect that in- dustry production was not within the statute, and then reversed itself in other decisions. Some of our statesmen have see-sawed on the question have at one time favored a liberal construction 'of the act and at another time insisted that it should be given a strict and literal construction. The Department of Justice through suc- cessive changes of party politics, however, maintained for a long time the same opinion. The Attorney Generals of the United States . from the Cleveland administration down to the present ad- ministration have held that the application now sought to be made of the act was not a valid one. And ex- President Roosevelt, who started the so-called anti-trust proceedings, has condemned it in a pointed and emphatic declaration. "So incapable of enforcement," to quote ex-President Roosevelt, "as to make decent men violators of the law against their will and to put a premium on the behavior of willful wrongdoers." In view of all this, is it mere industrial resentment that inquires 258 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS "Where are we at?" And where such meandering and divergence of opinion are held by statesmen and the high courts of the country is it to be wondered that the common mind of the country, engaged in the battle and strife of competition, is bewildered? The passage of the Sherman act was a combination of militant morality and political expediency the worst kind of a combina- tion. The literal enforcement of that drastic statute would have blighted industry as nothing else ever did in a modern commercial country. There is nothing capricious in the development of in- dustry and commerce. They are always a growth ; any extrinsic attacks quickly disturb them, and efforts looking to their revival are always prolonged. "Military morals can direct the axe to cut down the tree but it knows nothing of the quiet force by which the forest grows." The concentration of industry, the adoption of corporate combination in business is not the secret method of some monster of finance whom we have pictured to us as the acme of everything gross it is the natural and necessary attendant on industry and commerce in the wonderful inventions that multiplied and intensi- fied production, and which has almost put the markets of the world at the entrance of every plant and mine. But laws that run counter to the spirit of the age are remembered in a short time as only so much legislative bric-a-brac. This country has had an experience of an unfortunate kind with fiat money. And the en- actment and maintenance of drastic laws against industrial cor- poration and corporate combination in line with the best practice of all commercial countries will be no more effective than the solemn government stamp of a dollar on a piece of stiff paper. Both are species of legislative paternalism that sooner or later die out ; both belong to earlier and cruder ages, and are found discarded by other countries which are guided by practical experience and by enlightened methods. The trend of commerce and trade in the same form or mold is worldwide. Local peculiarities and pro- vincial customs fall away. The use of similar inventions, similar money markets, similar competing trade conditions arise in all countries so that industry and commerce are becoming a uniform industry and commerce. No man, no body of men, who consider the question in its broad aspects can believe that the Sherman a-ct was passed to meet the conditions of the great and growing industries of this country. Certainly no one can read the act and say that the conservation of industry and commerce is contemplated in it ; and that defect alone is sufficient to warrant its prompt repeal or SHERMAN LAW AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY. 259 amendment. Voltaire, I believe, said that the repressive laws of a country were the true measure of its backwardness, and by that test our country has reached its majority in ignorance, for the act has been a law just twenty-one years. To empirically declare, as do the provisions of the Sherman law, that combinations in restraint of all forms of competition are not lawful, is so sweeping, so un-American in spirit that we do not wonder that the Supreme Court of the United States resorted to the broad principles of construction in seeking to give a meaning to it. Conduct which was heretofore regarded as exemplary is con- demned under the prohibitions of the Sherman act in the same way that actual fraud is condemned ; there is no line of demarkation be- tween virtuous and vicious acts. The law in its sweeping con- demnations does not recognize that there is such a thing as virtu- ous corporate conduct. At one time the members of the convention in the French Revolution held that an individual had no right to be either virtuous or celebrated in their eyes. The noisy proponents of the anti-trust laws, like the ancient Bardolph, with more vigor than understanding, declare that the business of the country has no right to be either virtuous or prosperous. Sherman Act Repressive, Not Remedial. The Sherman act is not in effect a remedial law, but one of repression. It was passed in the heyday of corporate orgies that followed the Civil War, and it was prompted by something of a revengeful spirit that the business of the country at that time must be impressed with a wholesome terror of the law. It was the law militant in all its harshness. Terror is the keynote to that statute, and it was its sweeping and terror inspiring provisions that made it a dead letter for so many years. Those who advocate its enforcement are fired by the same noble zeal that inspires the Western town marshal, in "shooting up" the town for one "bad man," to kill a dozen of the best citizens. It is a good illustration of how not to draft a Federal statute touching anything as delicate and important as the business of the country. Seth Low raised a true question when he asked, will the "people who have constituted the greatest republic in history by the com- bination of many states, even for a moment, deny to its own com- mercial agencies the opportunity of giving better service by pro- ceeding along the same line?" Many of the states have enacted so-called anti-trust laws, pat- terned after the Sherman law, the literal enforcement of which 260 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS would blight commerce and industry as would the plague. They are kept on the statute books as a token of political probity and as a legislative threat against industry, and not as a constructive policy to regulate commerce. The Sherman law has developed another phase which in time will only breed trouble. The Supreme Court of the United States has stated that the Sherman law covers combinations and con- spiracies of labor as well as of cases- of that kind in business and industry. Labor in its reaches of development has infringed the provisions of the Sherman act. We feel sure that there will be no prosecutions of the so-called labor trusts, and it would require a stretch of imagination to fancy the beginning of proceedings of that character in political years. We do not dispute the right of labor to organize, but we do insist that the same law and the same rule of conduct which have been prescribed for both should be en- forced against both in the same way ; and if it is not so enforced, we not only have a bad law on our statutes but we have adopted a policy of insincerity and hypocrisy in the enforcement of law. Any statute or law that inspires fear or apprehension in busi- ness or industry, which can stand the test that is universally re- garded as lawful, is a menace to the country, and the Sherman Act today is a wet blanket upon industry. We are told now that what- ever rough edges the statute had, the two recent important de- cisions have made its meaning clear, but the fact that the most casual reference to the status of the law by either the President or the Attorney General directs the attention of the whole country, shows that. there is honest doubt as to the rule of conduct now pre- scribed. In earlier times every man had his confessor to help him meet the exactions of his overlord ; today every man engaged in business or industry, or hoping that he may stay there, is seeking his lawyer for advice, but unfortunately, the lawyer is more in the dark than his client. No one can read the decisions of Chief Justice White in the Standard Oil and Tobacco cases without being impressed with a sincerity of purpose worthy of that high court, but the resort to well- known rules of statutory construction cannot in the nature of things formulate a constructive policy for the commerce of the country, and, say what we will, it leaves the rights of the industries in an insoluble dilemma. The trouble is not so much with the court as with ourselves; we expected the Supreme Court out of a single statement of facts in the cases before it to formulate a policy which would at once comprehend all possible cases, and because the court SHERMAN LAW AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY. 261 failed to promulgate a comprehensive policy from its interpreta- tion of that cumbersome statute it is criticized. The court was never intended or fitted to perform such functions. We pass crude and impossible economic laws economic laws which have their origin in some fit of public indignation or emotion and throw on the Supreme Court of the United States the burden of making them intelligible, flexible and responsive to the conditions of the country. We seek to have the court exercise powers never granted to it and make it assume a task impossible for it to fulfill. But the court, no doubt, in the two recent decisions made a rift in the cloud of confusion and uncertainty regarding the statute. Belongs to Period of Blood-Letting in Medicine. We are told now that we must go back to the period of old fashioned, unlimited competition to avoid what is supposed to be worse socialism, that business was done to a considerable extent in those earlier days and that it can be done again. Among some of the heirlooms of that period, not so long ago in this country, we find laws that sought to correct business abuses by imprisonment for debt. We revived the spirit of those corrective laws in the Sherman act, but we now seek to imprison people for seeking to keep out of debt. The Sherman act and the spirit which prompts the maintenance of such laws belong to that period the period of blood-letting in medicine. No modern country has ever been more unfortunate than ours in its' laws which affect the prosperity of the people and the eco- nomic conditions of the country. Our unscientific banking laws, prompted largely to revenge certain practices at the time of their adoption, have often brought the prosperity of the country to a halt. The depreciated money craze, with all its ignoble history, followed in the wake of that bad legislation, and if we are to make the at- tack on the business of the country a political status now, we cer- tainly will show that we possess a genius for doing the wrong thing in our over-production of legislation. The protective tariff, which has been the main issue of a great political party for half a century, was made a law to benefit and foster the industries of the country. This protective tariff was one of the earliest forms of conservation. Whatever evils it may have developed, it originated at least from a desire to foster the business of the country, and yet those who favor a protective tariff must admit that we checkmate the benefits of that protection with- out eliminating the evils of the system by the enforcement, or threatened enforcement of such laws as the Sherman act. We 262 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS hear much today about the conservation of our resources. It sounds well, and we like high sounding terms in this country, but it is a travesty to advocate the policy of conservation and at the same time maintain laws that keep the coal mining industry of the country in its present plight. The statement is made by a high authority that aside from the loss of life, the injury and loss sustained by the country from the enforcement of the Sherman act, and its threatened enforcement, the last few years has been equal to that sustained by the country during the Civil War. Are there not limits to be placed on re- pressive laws as well as on the limits of corporate greed ? We are, above everything else, an industrial country. Our in- dustries are the portend of the United States. American initiative, American inventive genius and our vaunted resources have made us so, but the victories of industry in the world today are won only on the sovereign field of reasonable freedom not by license to destroy competitors nor by unlimited competition. Is it not about time that this country should consider the great body of industry, conducted in the main properly, as well as to consider only the evils found in it? What is the natural and instinctive conception, unbiased by prejudice, politics or greed, for the necessity of a law to meet the industrial conditions? It certainly is not the Sherman act or its present status. Converting the Department of Justice into a Federal police department will not correct and at the same time build up the industries. In the first place we must remember that concen- tration, which is one form of conservation, is fundamental to indus- trial life and health. From some of our past failures this country should profit by the methods adopted in other commercial and competing countries, where they promote their industries for the public good, and at the same time prevent coercion, force and fraud. Germany in the last twenty-five years has made the greatest ad- vance in industrial development ever recorded by any country. It is recognized that her industrial supremacy is the result of definite and deliberate statesmanship begun shortly before the passage of our Sherman act. Combinations with wholesome restrictions are not only permitted but are encouraged in Germany. Our country, whether it will or not, is being forced into foreign markets with it - manufactured products. Its export of food products must in time decrease. In the United States the population in the last thirty years has increased 85% and its foreign trade 50%. In Germany during the same thirty years the population has increased 35% and her foreign commerce has increased 250%. Germany is an importer SHERMAN LAW AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY. 263 of foodstuffs and raw materials, whereas the United States grows the one and finds the other at hand. And unless we promptly adopt in this country a well settled and constructive policy looking to the maintenance of our industries we will seek a lower level in the race for foreign business. From an impregnable position of indus- trial supremacy we will be reduced to an aggregate of industrial fragments if we do not meet the situation with something con- structive, as well as corrective. Doctrine Inherited from England. We inherited from England the doctrine of restraint of trade. About the time our country was first beginning to interpret the Sherman act, England met and passed upon similar industrial and trade combinations. While following the same common law,, the same precedents under it and- the same rules of construction, Eng- land held that combinations unattended by coercion and fraud were a benefit to the public and entirely lawful. The English decisions are illuminative of the ''perpetual quest for justice" in England, and of the operation of its law as a servant of the general weal. Germany, England and France have fostered concentration and industrial co-operation. They have found no evils growing out of them that cannot be purged without resort to destructive methods. Human nature certainly is no worse here than in those countries, and yet we seek to repress and destroy such forms of industrial growth. In our crude legislative and administrative efforts we tear down where we should build up. We "make a solitude and call it peace." Canada, which refused our reciprocity agreement, and which believes that we have dissipated our resources, has recently adopted a constructive policy for meeting conditions of corporate business. Our country and Turkey are the two nations of the world that hold fast to the antiquated doctrines of repression and destruction for the elimination of evils. In this and all other commercial countries coercion and fraud are condemned, and these evils are prohibited without the necessity of the enactment and enforcement of so-called anti-trust legisla- tion. A homely and sensible requirement, to make every dollar of stock represent an actual dollar of money or property, would bene- fit the country in a much higher degree than any drastic piece of anti-corporate legislation. As long as the actions of corporate com- binations are not maintained in secrecy, but are susceptible to public examination, We need never fear a recurrence of former trust evils. 264 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Publicity in corporate conduct in any country is what sunlight is to sanitation. In the countries which should furnish some guidance in these great questions, it is publicity in some form that is the directing force in the maintenance of their high industrial success. If we ever do enter upon a full return to unlimited competi- tion, which will necessarily be fiercer than in former times, no one can doubt but that the battle will be to the strong and the cunning, that the weaker ones will go down, and that the victors will develop strength in proportion as the others grow weaker, and then we are back where we started, with nothing gained and much lost and wasted, and with more than an even chance of a recurrence to the vicious forms of monopoly. In order to prevent such conditions it is not necessary to have business men, purely as business men, run the government, but we do need a display of industrial states- manship statesmanship that has an eye for the upbuilding of in- dustry on proper and constructive lines. This country has, in a few years, not only developed a policy of conservation, but a militant policy of conservation. Conserva- tion means not only the preservation of the forests and the min- erals, but it means the protection and upbuilding of the industries. Among the Falstaff army of industries in this country, too poor to fight, too cowardly or too virtuous to steal, the coal mining in- dustry presents itself as one of the most bedraggled members of these ragged recruits. The coal mining industry, as it exists today, is a powerful protest against the fragmentary methods of doing business which are sought to be impressed on the country. One of the engaging consequences is that the consumers of fuel will in a short time pay in heavy excess prices for the present dilapidated condition of that industry. And it is strange, indeed, that those who apparently seek and consider the welfare of the people are so blind to obvious conditions conditions which of necessity must work a hardship on the great body of the people. If it w r ere not so serious it would be one of the ironies of our combination of politics and statesmanship that a great industry is put to it not only to plead for a living existence but that it must plead for the pro- tection of those whom it serves and those whom it employs. In that begging attitude it stands now, and has stood for some years, and to all intents and purposes its appeals have been to deaf ears. The Truth About the "Coal Baron:' A simple and striking exaggeration fixes a notion among people much more easily than a full and accurate truth. The moment a newspaper begins to talk about a "Coal Baron" there immediately SHERMAN LAW AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY. 265 arises in the minds of many people a griffin clawed monster of un- told power crushing the life out of toiling labor in the bowels of the earth, and dragging down to poverty and ruin the consumers of coal. Coal barons are like ghosts no one ever saw one, but for that reason alone ignorant people believe in them. The coal opera- tors are about the last class to whom such a term should apply, for, if there is any one that is between the upper and nether millstone it is the coal operator. If the passage or construction of some ugly looking piece of legislation under which somebody or everybody could be prose- cuted, or more especially threatened with prosecution, would change the coal mining industry for the better, it would no doubt be done with promptness and dispatch. No one values more highly the uses of the Mining Bureau, or more admires its Director, Dr. Holmes, in his awful task of uplift work, than I do, but the Min- ing Bureau, so far as it concerns the needs of the coal mining industry today, is like a raisin in a loaf of bread. We are told that the national government is necessarily limited on constitutional grounds in what it may do for the coal mining industry that the several states and the industry itself must work out its improve- ment. All this sounds very well, bears the stamp almost of judicial declaration, and there is only one objection to it, and that is, that it is not true. Let us look at these governmental obstacles. The Mining Bureau and the Geological Survey have investigated the coal mining industry, they know the real and true conditions, they know what causes the tragedy of the mines, they know what causes the waste and dissipation of resources, life and energy in mining operations, they know what will prompt exorbitant prices for fuel in the near future and they know what is reducing the available coal resources with frightful rapidity. To what purpose is all this put? They are given the high honor of submitting these reports with their recommendations to the industry and to the public, after which they are duly filed in Washington, not even in a fireproof building, and are soon lost to sight beneath their enveloped dust. The operators would willingly follow these recommendations, but they must conduct their industry in a way which must conform to certain laws, and these laws, such as the Sherman act, negative in effect the ability to carry out the recommendations of the govern- mental bureaus. The Mining Bureau, after a careful examina- tion of the mining industry in this and other countries, may recom- mend that the industry should be conducted along certain lines in order, properly, to effect the conservation of resources, the health 266 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS and life of those engaged in this underground toil and to foster and safeguard the industry itself. The Department of Justice will say that that is all very well, but even though that is the only proper way to conduct the industry for the benefit of the industry and country, you will, nevertheless, be prosecuted, or threatened with prosecution, if you attempt to adopt these methods. Here, indeed, is a Chinese tyranny which is hard to reconcile with our funda- mental declarations. Not only that, but our state governments are helpless, ren- dered so by the blight of the statutes of the Federal government. The recent report of the Bureau of Mines of Pennsylvania shows that there can be no progress in conservation of coal resources and of human life in coal mining, until there is a readjustment in that industry in some form of concentration, until laws are made which permit such action. At the last special session of Congress there were over twenty- five different commissions appointed to investigate something or somebody. There were none appointed to investigate the coal mining industry. This industry for some years has been seeking to have itself investigated, and invites and courts investigation now by any governmental or congressional body. No commission could recommend anything other than what is being advocated by this Mining Congress. Over 80 per cent of the cost of mining coal is in the labor, the cost of that labor plus the cost of only the most essential matters in connection with the production of coal is, now greater than the price received for it. A concern that manufactures .a toy the company that makes kodaks shows by its report that it made over $8,000,000 last year. The entire coal mining industry from the Mississippi to the Pocahontas hills in Virginia did not make eight thousand cents during that time. It did worse than that, it lost and wasted human life and coal resources, to say nothing of the spent energies of the industry. In this country it has become almost a crime to say that any industry must raise the price of its product, but a higher average price must be obtained for coal. This does not mean that the general consumer will necessarily pay more, it means a general adjustment of prices by which the operator will obtain a reasonable profit. Selling Coal to Canada at Loss. Canada, when repudiating reciprocity with this country, crit- icized us for wasting our resources. And we are selling and shipping to Canada millions of tons of coal a year at an actual loss deplet- ing our own coal resources and paying Canada to help us injure SHERMAN LAW AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY. 267 ourselves, all of which operates to increase the price to American consumers of fuel. Evidently in some things Canada needed no reciprocity. In a proper readjustment of the industry such losses will be stopped, and in a concentration of coal mining operations in the different fields a movement toward a higher level will be found. This country need have no fear of a monopoly of fuel by such a movement of concentration. It is much more likely to buy its fuel at a reasonable price in the future by having the industry in this form. There is no more possibility of creating a monopoly in that industry today than there is of creating a monopoly of the elements. The necessities of the country and the industry demand the lessening of the great number of coal mining operations scat- tered throughout the country. In the present condition everything operates to increase the price to the public now, and to largely increase it in the future. It has been demonstrated that a multi- plicity of mines is not wholesome from any standpoint; it causes bad mining, great loss of resources and increases the cost of mining. If coal were inexhaustible it might be a matter of indifference to the country how the industry was conducted, but as that is not the case, and as the readjustment of it is important to the consumers of coal as to the coal operators, it becomes a matter for considera- tion and action on the part of both. One of the troubles of the industry has been that it has been insensible to hope so long that it has made no efforts to reorganize. Its sole virtue has been that of endurance. The coal operators are usually long on talk and short on work when it comes to taking action for some plan for reorganizing the industry and withdraw- ing it from the fragmentary methods that have so long blighted it. As Bismarck said, it is not more resolutions, more discussions, but what we need is some iron and blood in our veins. Now, everything in connection with this industry demands some form of reorganiza- tion on lines of concentration. The operators should not only ad- vocate it, but do it, and the government should co-operate in such a movement if that were possible. There must be now some rela- tion between the cost of mining coal and the price for which that coal is sold. It is not necessary to have the government fix prices, nor is it necessary to throw the entire coal industry of the country into one great company. It would seem now that a reasonable restriction of trade and production is lawful. And in meeting that status of the law a con- 268 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS centration of operation in every district should be undertaken by the operators. If the coal mining industry would actually begin such a move- ment, work out constructively and put in force an actual merger of this kind, not only a great step forward would have been made, but it would be the dawn of a new era in that industry. Some action of this kind, sooner or later, must be taken, the industry has waited now too long for some one to point the way and undertake to start a movement for improved conditions and a higher plane. And if the operators of any given field would put their energy, their money, as well as their prayers, into such an effort, I believe they would receive their due reward and the approval of the consumers of the country. To take any other course now is a further retreat into the gloom of industrial despair. Government and Public Warned. And now I want to sound a solemn warning to the government and to the public. When a miner has to tighten his belt in lieu of something to eat when he is hungry, and a coal operator has to pledge his mules to raise his payroll, this talk about the enforce- ment of anti-trust laws and of jail sentences is just about as effective with them as "tweedledeeing on melodious catgut." Such declarations may cause those who control and dispense great liquid capital to retire to cover, but the time has passed for that to impress the desperate coal operator and miner out on the firing line. Excepting some special coals, the coal mining industry has produced its coal at a loss for the last several years in a wild com- petitive struggle or competitive debauch ; it has for the last few years fulfilled every injunction of the proponents of unlimited com- petition, and the results speak for themselves. The present wage scale is high if a miner should work eight hours a day 300 days in the year double the reward for similar work outside. But the miner cannot work more than half time, and his year's reward is meager. To the fierce competition this is due. The operator keeps 50 per cent more miners than are necessary. The operator has to produce a maximum tonnage to prevent heavy losses ; and to meet this condition he keeps open large areas of un- derground workings, filled to the limit with miners; and only that coal is hauled out which can be cheaply recovered. In the last four years the coal operator has met every condition the country sought to put on him, and he has failed. He has done everything except reduce wages. The losses from operations cannot be con- SHERMAN LAW AND THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY. 269 tinued longer and a crisis is at hand. In my opinion it will reach a culmination next spring. And unless something between now and then is done to reorganize the industry, there is only one thing tha't the operator can do to reduce the cost line below the present sell- ing price, and that is, to cut wages. This is the last possible resort of the industry, but the operator to maintain his solvency must and will do it. In my opinion, next spring, at the period of wage settlement with the miners all over the country, there will begin one of the worst industrial warfares this country has ever witnessed. Com- pared with it the prostration of railroad traffic in England a few months ago will be a holiday affair. The coal mining industry will come to a full stop. We will have a feast of competition. The consumers of fuel will compete with each other for coal when there is no coal to be had. The miner will compete with the operator, pitting his stomach against the endurance of the operator an en- durance of despair. Into the welter of this turmoil the entire coun- try will be brought. All this can be prevented, not by talk, by dis- cussions, by resolutions, but by prompt, vigorous and constructive action. And if it does come, the blame, the vengeful blame of the people, will be placed where it belongs on the government and on the weakling coal operator, for the blind and indifferent course of the one and the irresolution and weakness of the other. Anti-Trust Laws in Their Relation to the Coal Industry. BY GLENN W. TRAER, CHICAGO, ILL. The sale and distribution of coal in the various coal producing states is in part subject to the provisions of the Federal anti-trust statute, commonly known as the Sherman act, and in part to the provisions of the anti-trust statutes of the respective states. The Sherman act applies to sales of coal for shipment into other states. The state laws apply to sales for local delivery or for shipment to points within the respective states. The mere production of coal, as distinguished from its sale and shipment, is governed by state law alone. Discussion of the federal statute alone does not give one a clear understanding of the insurmountable difficulties which confront bituminous coal operators under present laws. Because of limited time and my greater familiarity with the law and facts in the state of Illinois, I shall confine myself to Illinois references in discussing the local phases of the subject. Let us set out briefly but clearly those provisions of the Federal act and the Illinois act which are pertinent to this discussion. These quotations follow the exact language of the two statutes respective- ly, except as to the omission of words and expression which are superfluous to this discussion. Both the Federal and State statute impose harsh penalties for violation of their provisions. The Sherman act provides : "S. I. Every contract, combination * * * * or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal" (and such con- tract, combination or conspiracy is declared to be a misdemeanor). "S. 2. Every person who shall monopolize or attempt to monopolize or combine or conspire with any person to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among 'the several states, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor * * * *." As now construed by the Supreme Court of the United States, this statutory condemnation of monopoly and of restraint of trade is about the same as the common law condemnation, with statutory penalties added. Statutory law comprises all laws enacted by legis- latures or by congress. The common law comprises the rules and principles, not incorporated into statutes, adopted and established by courts in their decisions upon questions not covered by statutes. AXTI-TRUST LAWS AND COAL INDUSTRY 271 The system of law of the several states comprise the common law, but the federal system of law does not. The common law merely made void as between the parties thereto, contracts unreasonably restraining trade or tending to create monopoly. No punishment was provided or penalty imposed. The substance of the common law relating to monopolies and restraint of trade with penalties added therefore was enacted into the Federal law by the statute we call the Sherman act. Stated more briefly the Sherman act prohibits (a) restraint of trade with other states or foreign nations, by means of contract or combination, and (b) the monopoly of or attempt to monopolize any part of trade or commerce with another state or with a foreign nation, by any person or combination of persons. These prohibitions regarding monopoly or the attempt to mon- opolize are about as definite as is practicable. In fact, monopoly will be rarely if ever literally absolute and it would be impractical to fix by statute, percentages or degrees which should be necessary to con- stitute unlawful monopoly. The conduct of the person or persons charged with the alleged offense and the results they accomplish must determine their guilt or innocence, in the usual course of the administration of justice. Cases which arise will be settled in the due course of affairs and uncertainty as to the future settlement of specific cases not yet arisen need not paralyze or discourage effective organization in different lines of business. "Restraint of Trade" Indefinite. But "restraint of trade" is a far less definite expression. It may be held to condemn many things not at all of the character or effect believed to be inevitable under practical monopoly, and because of which monopoly always has been feared and con- demned. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that this prohibition must be construed "in the light of reason." If this is intended to mean that only those acts in restraint of trade are to be condemned which are of the same character as the acts feared from monopoly and therefore injurious to the public as a whole, it is unfortunate that it has not yet been so stated by the courts of last resort. Indeed if that is what is intended it is diffi- cult to understand why the Federal statute might not be safely amended to that effect. The Illinois anti-trust act provides : "If any * * * * individual * * * * shall * * * * become 272 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS * * * * a party to any * * * * understanding with any other * * * * individual, to regulate or fix the price * * * * of any commodity ; or shall * * * * become * * * * a party to any pool, agreement, contract, combination or federation, to fix or limit the * * * * quantity of any * * * * commodity to be * * * * pro- duced or mined * * * * in this state, such * * * * individual * * * * shall be * * * * guilty of conspiracy to defraud * * * *." Before the enactment of the anti-trust statute in Illinois, the general prohibition of monopoly and restraint of trade rested alone upon the common law of the state. But the common law left some things to reason in its application to alleged facts and it did not pro- vide accompanying penalties as for criminal misconduct. There- fore the Illinois statute quoted was enacted in which the use of general terms like monopoly and restraint in trade is avoided and the practical things most feared in and most likely to result from a monopoly, namely, fixing prices and limiting output, are desig^ nated with admirable clearness and prohibited under harsh penal- ties. Stated more briefly the Illinois anti-trust act prohibits : (a) any form of understanding, between any two or more persons, to fix the price of any commodity. (b) any form of agreement, between any two or more per- sons, to fix or limit the quantity of any commodity to be produced. With this review of the law in mind turn now to a statement of facts relating to the coal mining industry in the state of Illinois. Almost three years ago I had the honor of addressing the American Mining Congress in the City of Pittsburgh, and in the course of my remarks described the conditions of the coal mining industry in Illinois. The demoralized and economically unhealthful condi- tions then described still exist and much of the language then used still fits the case. There are about three hundred independent coal producing companies in the state, operating more than four hundred rail-ship- ping mines. A tremendously rapid expansion of mining capacity has been made possible by the extraordinary cheapness at which a body of coal lands could be purchased from owners usually re- taining the surface and the ease with which transportation facilities are extended in a prairie state, and access given to large, but de- ceptively alluring because already overfilled markets. Public neces- sity seems to require that there shall be in existence at all times suf- ficient mining capacity to supply the requirements of the winter months. This inevitably means a large surplus capacity in the ANTI-TRUST LAWS AND COAL INDUSTRY 273 spring and summer months. But all reason has been exceeded in that respect. The aggregate annual capacity of Illinois coal mines is so much in excess of the aggregate annual demand for Illinois coal that the average running time of all mines does not -now exceed 1 80 days per year. The natural fluctuation in the demand for Illinois coal between summer and winter is such that the industry never can expect to work full time. While Illinois coal can be stocked a considerable length of time it cannot be mined many months in advance, and held for use in the winter like anthracite and more expensive eastern bituminous coals, because it contains a higher percentage of moisture and will crumble and slack sooner than the higher priced coals. Consumers of Illinois coal aggra- vate, rather than help to overcome, this condition by refusing to order coal as far as might be in advance of the actual need for it. It must be produced substantially as ordered from time to time, and this makes production or demand (and demand and production mean the same thing in this connection) much less during the months April to September inclusive than during the other months of the year. This condition is so uniform that the relative per- centages of production during the busy season and the duller season have not varied materially in ten years except when temporarily affected by anticipation of a strike or other abnormal business con- ditions. For several years the margin of capacity over and above sum- mer requirements has been greater than is necessary to properly supply a normal busy season. For the reasons given it never could be hoped reasonably that the mines should average full running time excluding only Sundays and holidays. But after making all due allowances it is fair to say that the excessive producing capacity results in an average loss of sixty days per annum for all mines, compared with what might be properly expected with a reasonable adjustment of the number of mines attempting to run, to the num- ber actually required to fully and promptly supply all demands. Si.rty Days. Lost Annually by 70,000 Miners. There are more than 70,000 miners and mine laborers at the mines in Illinois, working on the average sixty days per year less than they could work if there were a reasonable adjustment of pro- ducing capacity. This is equivalent to the absolute idleness for the entire year of 12,000 to 15,000 men. This is an enormous economic waste. Many miners are held in the industry working short time, with resultant low annual earnings, when their labor might be use- 274 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS fully applied in other industries where it is needed. Many less miners could produce all the coal required and enjoy much larger annual earnings. The excessive number of mines kept open for operation causes a scarcity of miners, makes miners much harder to get, more diffi- cult to deal with, and makes it necessary to accept the services of inferior miners, when, if fewer miners were required, operators could choose the better class, which the miners themselves desire shall be done. The very low average number of days' operation causes coal to cost much more than it would if fewer mines were operated a greater number of days; and the natural endeavor of each indi- vidual company to secure a greater number of days' operation than the average depresses the selling price of coal to cost or less, in an effort to avoid an almost certain greater loss by voluntarily accept- ing a lesser one. The intense economy forced upon the mine owners by these conditions is seriously affecting the proper conservation of the coal deposits. The general population of the communities in which coal mines are located as a rule are suffering greatly in their business affairs. These conditions are suffered by every one dependent upon the in- dustry, while the consumers of Illinois coal as a general rule are buying the coal at the cheapest prices in the world. The average price at the mines for bituminous coal used in Chicago and St. Louis is cheaper than in any other of the great cities of this coun- try. The prices paid for Illinois coal by transportation companies and industries is less than half the price paid for coal for similar uses in Great Britain and on the continent of Europe. I am in- formed by coal operators in other states that similar conditions pre- vail with them. Such conditions in a great industry are a public evil, not a public benefit even though they result in lower prices to consumers than would prevail under an intelligent organization of the industry. It would be perfectly justifiable morally, to shut down the sur- plus mines during the spring and summer, provided enough mines were kept open to adequately supply the public requirements during that period. But in such a disorganized industry, selfishness pre- vails apparently without thought of or regard for the future. Human nature would act the same in any other industry, under like con- ditions. Immediate self preservation is the natural instinct; not present self sacrifice for the chance of possible future benefit. ANTI-TRUST LAWS AND COAL INDUSTRY 275 It is not necessary to ask that competition shall be eliminated or even vitally impaired. But the attitude toward competition need not be that of fetish worship. It is a subject about which the public can safely exercise some sense of justice as between buyer and seller, and should do so in its own best interest. A seller in decid- ing whether to deal with any given buyer should have at least some reasonable equality of alternative advantage or disadvantage. But the producer of coal under the conditions I have described has no equality of choice. Practically he is under duress as compared with the buyer. If a coal mine stands idle, physical deterioration proceeds with great rapidity. In many cases large quantities of water must be pumped out constantly or the mine will be flooded and destroyed, while in others underground fires from spontaneous combustion must be guarded against constantly. A very heavy ad- ditional penalty is thus imposed upon the mine owner -who might otherwise choose to let his mine remain idle instead of producing and selling coal at a direct loss. A merchant or a manufacturer is not put to the choice of selling at a loss or being put to ruinous expense to avoid having his store or factory flooded or burned, nor is the deterioration of an idle building or machinery comparable in any degree with that of an idle mine. Buyer and Seller in Different Positions. The buyer is in an entirely different position than the seller. Presumably any two buyers, or any number in fact, may legally combine to place their purchases with this or that seller at their pleasure. No doubt it is true that such a combination of buyers, by misrepresentation of facts or other acts of a fraudulent nature, might be held punishable for conspiracy to defraud. But in such case the legal offense would consist solely of the misrepresentation or the fraudulent acts. The mere combination to purchase jointly is not condemned either by common law or statute. The theory upon which the condemnation of monopoly is based is that it creates a false relation of inequality between buyer and seller, gives the seller an unfair advantage and enables him to secure from the buyer an unfair price; a price greater than is necessary to yield a fair and reasonable profit, and greater than could be secured if the relations were fair and equal. The theory upon which the condemnation of restraint of trade is based is that such restraint is injurious to the public. But, does the public consist solely of buyers and consumers? Perhaps it is the idea of consumers and their champions, that producers are merely their workmen and servants. Even -so, are 276 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS not the workmen and servants entitled to protect themselves against unfair advantages claimed by their employers or masters? Public opinion apprcves proper organization with proper methods on the part of laboring men solely for the reason that that right is neces- sary to enable them as sellers of labor, to protect themselves against unfair advantages on the part of organized capital, the buyers of labor. Public Will Recognise Obligation. It is my,, belief that when the public becomes correctly informed as to the destructive effects of the present idol worship of compe- tition without regard to its fairness or unfairness ; and the waste which might be lessened without injury to the interests of the public in other directions, public opinion will recognize not only the obliga- tion to do. justice, but the self injury in neglecting or refusing to treat this great problem with reference to the interests of all par- ties concerned. Doubtless there are those who will answer that if producers know no better than to waste their capital, efforts and time in mutually destructive competition, nevertheless the public generally profits rather than suffers by their conduct ; and that it is no part of the public duty or interest to conserve the property and interests of people who lack sufficient judgment and self con- trol to do so for themselves. I do not believe that such a position is economically sound, or creditable to the individual who assumes it, with reference to any kind of industry or public service. But in connection with the production of coal it is particularly unsound. Industries engaged in production or manufacturing based upon raw materials which are reproduced periodically stands on a different footing than those engaged in the production of coal. It is true that in the ordinary manufacturing industry, a large excess of pro- ducing capacity causes serious waste and loss, because of capital tied up and made unproductive, and the time lost by laboring men held in the industry and working only part time, and the waste of such labor and other expense as is required to maintain or preserve idle plants. These conditions of waste and loss exist in even a greater degree and are less reparable in coal mining than in ordinary industries ; and there is also the irreparable waste of an exhaustible and irreplaceable natural resource, which is indispen- sable to the continued existence of modern industry and civiliza- tion. It has been the habit of cheerful and offhand optimists to assume that by the time coal is exhausted we shall have discovered means of developing power from the ocean tides, the sun rays and the winds, or by some miraculous manifestation of Providence yet AXTI-TRUST LAWS AND COAL INDUSTRY 277 to be revealed. This fallacy has been disposed of by the recent report of a British Parliamentary Commission upon available sources of power to take the place of coal. The report of this Commission shows the vital necessity of the most thorough con- servation, both in the use of coal and in mining it. But, it may be asked, how can you prevent the excessive in- vestment of capital in a given industry during or following a period of unusual prosperity in that industry and thereby prevent, the waste consequent upon such overcapacity ; and it must be answered that it cannot be entirely prevented. But it may be greatly modi- fied by a reasonable regulation of production. To illustrate: A period of extreme depression like the present causes the permanent abandonment of old mines and a greater loss of aggregate capacity than is replaced by new mines, of which there are few if any opened. The history of the industry discloses that when prosperity returns demand for coal increases with far greater rapidity than producing capacity can be increased, because it requires from one to two or three years according to location and natural conditions, to open and develop a new mine. The rapidly growing demand soon overtakes the weakened capacity. Consumers bid prices up on themselves and the industry is quickly in a state of abnormal and excited prosperity. Inexperienced and deluded owners or bor- rowers of capital rush into the industry. The judgment and fore- sight of experinced men frequently is overborne by the lure and excitement. In a few years the increasing demand slows down and later even shrinks again. In the meantime the abnormal increase of capacity overtakes and passes demand and the periodical col- lapse and depression again sets in. It is a superficial comment and merely begs the question to say that this occurs in all industries and cannot be avoided without changing human nature. Moreover in the production of coal it occurs with much greater than the average intensity and as I have endeavored to point out, results in greater harm to the public welfare. The real question involved is whether an attempted cure may not aggravate the disorder or work harm to the public in other directions. It will be urged that arti- ficial maintenance of prices against natural reaction from unnatur- ally high levels, will only delay the reaction temporarily and inten- sify it when it occurs. Again this is merely begging the question. The solution which should be sought for should be one which, by checking the unnatural severity of the depression, will to the same extent check the abnormal reaction following recovery. An intelli- gent regulation of attempted production during periods of depres- 278 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS sion and excess of capacity would tend to lessen the actual loss of producing power and by a greater readiness to meet and supply a rapidly increasing demand following recovery from depression, would in turn prevent an excessive increase of capacity. But such a policy cannot be carried out by co-operation among mine owners under present laws as now interpreted by the courts with any reasonable certainty of escaping prosecution, even though reason- ably disinterested persons could see in the results effected no prac- tical harm to the public interests in general, but on the contrary material incidental benefits. President Taft doubtless has taken a sound position in defying radicals and demagogues to give an illus- tration of a case where an actually guilty person or corporation could escape punishment under the federal law as now construed. But so far as I am aware he has omitted to assert with equal con- fidence and positiveness or at all that a person or corporation, per- haps guilty of technical violation of the law, but practically inno- cent of any public harm, could be equally certain of escaping pun- ishment. I do not think it can be reasonably expected that either state or Federal law shall be so framed as to state specifically what man- ner of contract, combination or conduct in every case shall con- stitute unlawful restraint of trade. Perhaps no more accurate statutory test can be devised than that the purpose or the necessary results shall be harmful to the public interest or shall give either buyer or seller an undue and unfair advantage. It will be found in applying such test or any other test it is practical to devise that it involves the determination of mixed questions of fact and law. Unless otherwise provided in the statute, such determination would be made in the courts in the usual manner. If the laws were amended to the effect just suggested but no further, there would still be many cases involving perfect good faith on the part of busi- ness men, but in which the parties could have the legality of their plan determined only by submitting to criminal prosecution, or by being put to the necessity of suing some purchaser who might refuse to pay under the forfeiture provisions of the laws, at the risk of confiscation of the entire amount involved. Such methods and conditions in the enforcement of law are not essential to the proper punishment of persons guilty of intentional and harmful restraint of trade and they will not continue to be acceptable to the majority of citizens very long. Indeed it is a fair question whether the majority of the people will not demand a different system at once when the real nature and effect of these things become a little clearer to them. AXTI-TRUST LAWS AND COAL INDUSTRY 279 No unanswerable reason has been advanced why a modified form of the commission method as applied to the control of rail- road rates and practices might not be applied to the control of con- tracts and combinations in restraint of or tending to restrain trade. I will not attempt to go into details further than to say that this suggestion does not involve the idea that a commission should have power to fix or control prices of commodities. There are certain constitutional questions involved which would require care- ful consideration in framing a trade commission law, but they are not such as to prevent a vast improvement in the justice of the present rules and methods for determining the legality or criminali- ty of plans conceived in good faith. Could Submit Contracts to Courts. It is true that the laws might be so drafted that the contracts or combinations could be submitted to the courts, before putting them into force. But this would result in differing rulings in the various districts or circuits of- the same state or of the United States, on contracts of exactly the same form and purpose; and would vastly increase the number of appeals to the supreme courts. It is to avoid this confusion and multiplicity of litigation that the Interstate Commerce Commission and the state railroad com- missions are given the sole initiative or original jurisdiction in all cases regarding railroad rates and practices. The same reason exists and probably in a greater degree for submitting trade contracts or combinations to a trade commission for each state or for the United States, rather than to the various district or circuit courts. Contracts or combinations affecting competition of trade should be punishable criminally only in case of their being put into practice before being submited to the trade commission, or being persisted in after condemnation by the commission or the higher courts. Approval by the commission should give prima facie legality, and should protect the parties operating under them, unless and until the ruling of the commission should be reversed by the higher courts. Even if public opinion is not yet ready to place all branches of trade and industry upon this basis, its greater self interest in the avoidance of avoidable waste of the coal reserves of the nation should justify the change with reference to the production of coal. Under such form of law it should be possible to place the pro- duction of coal upon a higher plane of conservation of the coal itself, of the capital invested and the labor applied in mining, with- but injury in other forms to the interests of the public. Anti-Trust Laws in Their Relation to the Mining Industry. BY WALTER WILLIAMS, BENTON, ILLINOIS. In the preparation of the program, I received a communication from the secretary that I would be expected to discuss this general question of the Sherman anti-trust law as it applies to the coal mining industry in Illinois and the country. I understood I was to discuss this question tomorrow night, and it was by mere chance that I came in to the meeting this evening. I am not here with the ex- pectation that I can add more than commendation to the excellent papers" that have just been read. These papers have been written by men who know the ills that beset the industry. That is evident from the exhaustive manner in which they have treated the sub- ject, from the clearness with which they have arrived at conclusions, from the far-sighted suggestions given as to the results that would follow a continuation of the present policy, and from some reme- dies suggested to alleviate our distress. The conditions that have brought about our present state in the mining industry are merely the result of the old struggle be- tween the vested rights of property and the rights of men. We are only reaping the whirlwind that has been sown. The tremendous opportunities for industrial development in this country following, as one of the speakers said, the Civil war ; following the discovery of the wonderful natural resources of this country and the desire to develop it, placed in the hands of a few men, a few combinations of men, power such as has never been seen in the civilized world before. It has caused the creation of great corporations, such as the Standard Oil Company and the great railroad systems of this country, and they have abused the privileges that were theirs, as men and corporations without wise restraint are prone to do. They are not to be blamed too harshly. The law permitted it, and the people themselves are to blame because they made the law, or per- mitted it to be made, allowing the condition that confronts us today and which we cry out against. This assault upon capital, this assault upon the railroads, this assault upon corporations, is the natural result of the excesses com- mitted by the great combinations in this country. The Sherman anti-trust law was a blind effort on the part of the great masses who felt the repression, who felt the effort of these gigantic cor- AXTI-TRUST LAWS AXD COAL INDUSTRY 281 porations to get control of the transportation of the country, the necessaries of life and the sources of supply ; and, realizing that danger threatened and panic stricken by its imminence and unknown possibilities for working harm, the Sherman Anti-Trust law came as the result; it was a blow struck into the dark, a blind effort on their part to break down this approaching evil, and, naturally, such blind effort was not constructive in its nature as one of the speak- ers said, it was repressive. The Supreme Court of the United States, in my judgment, could construe the law in no other way. The function of the supreme court is not constructive, but interpretative. This law is on the statute books, and it is theirs to interpret, and for the executives of this country to enforce ; and neither the supreme court nor the President are to blame. They could do nothing under the circum- stances other than just what they have done. Mr. Taft and Mr. Wickersharri are merely following out their plain duty, under the law as it is, when they say that these gigantic corporations must be dissolved. Now, what must be done ? They are doing their duty, but it is not going to relieve the repressive situation in this country. It is not going to relieve the fearful condition that the coal business of this country presents. The constructive part must be done by the legislatures of this country, and now that the Sherman anti-trust law has been interpreted, and now that effort is being made to en- force it, the people are becoming aroused to the futility of the enforcement of that law and the tremendous loss that is going to come if it is enforced. Combinations in this country are inevitable. All we need, or rather the thing we need, is not to do away with combinations, but to do away with the unreasonable oppression which combinations give an opportunity to put into effect. Com- binations must be permitted, because only by combination of capital can business be economically handled. No one man, for instance, has the money to build up an institution like the Standard Oil Com- pany, which has reduced a common household necessity from an exorbitant price to a price that brings it within reach of the humblest citizen. We must permit combination. It is the inevitable method of this age. The thing we ought to do is to permit the combinations and place such restrictions upon them that the former opportunity for exploitation, for plundering the public, can not exist. The ordinary legislature in any state in this Union, and even the Congress of the United States, as it is organized today, and as its members are elected, can not handle this question as it should 282 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS be handled. It is futile to expect a Congress that is made up of a changing body of men, changing every two years, to investigate the industrial conditions of this country and construct laws that are going to meet the needs of this country. There are twenty-five congressional districts in the state of Illinois, and there is a differ- ent congressman sent from many of those districts every time there is an election, which is every two years. What does the ordinary congressman know about legislation his first term? What does he know about constructive statesmanship? What, if he does know it, can he accomplish in that time? I am inclined to believe that the suggestion of the first speaker will be the logical one. We must resort to some form of commission, a scientific commission, a com- mission that will be appointed or constituted to exist over a term of years, whose members shall go into these questions and study them thoroughly, study them from a scientific standpoint that shall be based upon knowledge as to what is right between all the parties interested. Now, you men who are in the coal business are clamoring for an amendment to the anti-trust law that will permit you to com- bine, and there you stop. You must expect to not only be permitted to combine, but to be restrained from plundering the great body of the people by the use of a too strong combination or a too merce- nary one. I am a coal operator myself and I see the necessity for combination; but, gentlemen, we must take with it the inevitable consequence that will follow the having restrictions thrown around us so that we can not at certain seasons of the year, or at any time, exact an exorbitant tribute. Why have we not acted? A large measure of blame was put on us as well as the government, by the last speaker, and one reason why we have not acted after we realized the condition, is because we are born gamblers. There is not a man in the coal business to- day, bad as the condition is, but hopes that the recurrence of that high tide of prosperity that occasionally comes to the industry will arrive before he is forced into bankruptcy and out of business. We are satisfied in the summer time to trade a dollar for ninety cents, in the hope that when September and the winter months come we may trade the dollar for $1.75 or $2.00. Our business will have to be put on a basis of reasonableness, which shall give a return on the investment that shall be both just and permanent. With the desire for combination must. come also the recognition that there must be restriction of an unlimited profit. That has come to the railroads. The Interstate Commerce Commission has fixed certain maximum ANTI-TRUST LAWS AND COAL INDUSTRY 283 prices that the railroads may charge for the service they render. It would not be a bad thing for the coal industry, and I offer it as a suggestion. Suppose we had a commission that would fix the max- imum price that we might charge for our product, that price being fixed after an intelligent study of the business as it affects all the parties in interest the operator, the workman, and the public, and fix it so that there would be a reasonable and even large profit, be- cause the hazards of the coal business demand that the profits shall be more than come to the ordinary business. Then permit combina- tions whereby the maximum price that the commission fixes shall be the minimum price that the operators will charge to the public. The commission idea is the one that is going to make itself felt in every line of endeavor. I am a democrat in politics, but I^am heartily in favor of Mr. Taft's idea (though favoring Taft's ideas about anything may run counter to the political theory of many of those belonging to my party), and I can see a certain Tightness in the attitude that he has assumed with regard to the revision of the tariff. We must get away from the idea that all of these things are to be fixed by politicians who have selfish interests to subserve. These laws must be constructive in their nature, and they can only be constructive in their nature after thorough investigation of the particular subject by a body of men who are both honest and ef- ficient. The legislature of Illinois is as wholly incompetent to deal with this question, as it is at present constituted, as is a new born babe. Its shame is written broadcast all over the country, and how can you expect a body of men, such as they, to deal with a ques- tion that is fundamental in its nature, and that affects a great in- dustry and the interests of enormous capital and a great body of workmen ; over fifty thousand men working in the mines in the state of Illinois and millions of capital invested, and a great popu- lation dependent upon the industry for their fuel, and other great industries dependent upon it for the power to turn their wheels. To submit this question to a body of men so elected this year in, next year out and so likely to be both ignorant of the questions and unmindful of their duty, would be disastrous. It must be sub- mitted to a body of men who can and will investigate it fully, and who will bring in a report that shall provide the basis for construct- ive legislation; a body of men who will have in mind the right of capital to a reasonable profit upon their investment and also the right of labor to a reasonable return for their industry, securing to them not only their daily bread, but an opportunity to lift their eyes from the ground occasionally and get a glimpse of a broader oppor- 284 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS tunity an opportunity for education and some of the cultural things of life. We must face the changing condition of sentiment in this country, and that means fair play, not alone to any body of men who happen to have a large amount of capital, but it means fair play to the great body of the people ; and that means that any legislation enacted must be fair to the operator, to the workman and to the public. We can not continue as we are. We must be allowed to combine. If we are not allowed to combine, the ruinous competi- tion in which we are engaged will wipe those now engaged in the industry out of existence. The industry will not be wiped out, but new capital will come in and reorganize it upon a new basis. Let me say to you, that those who today oppose the enactment of any law permitting greater profit to the business, who oppose any change in the Sherman anti-trust law, are short sighted. Let me tell you they will pay high interest for every dollar's worth of coal that they are buying for ninety cents. For every dollar's worth that they buy for ninety cents, they will pay $2, and why? Simply because the profits that have been lost must be made up. The banks must be repaid the money that has been borrowed. The red ink must be written off the ledger. And not only that the tremendous waste in the industry, as it is today being run, must be paid for in the future. And we have no right, and those who are buying our coal today have no right, to plunder the resources of this country, to waste the heritage of those who shall follow, in a crazy desire to buy a thing for less than it is worth, a thing which is one of the greatest necessities of human life. To the work then of constructive legislation that will permit a profit to those in the industry ; that will permit combination ; that will permit the conservation of the product in which we are dealing, and on the other hand that will conserve the rights of those who buy and those who labor. (Applause.) What the West Needs in Cocl Land Legislation. BY DR. GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR OF THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. In any discussion of the needed revision of our public land laws, a due share of attention must be given to the statutes relating to the coal lands. While certain classes of lands in the Western States have largely passed into private ownership, the public's hold- ; ng of coal lands is still large enough to deserve most serious con- sideration. West of the One Hundredth Meridian lies the Nation's greatest coal reserve, estimated at more than a million million tons of anthracite, bituminous and sub-bituminous coal, and title to from sixty to eighty-five per cent of this tonnage is in the United States. It is self-evident that this fuel reserve is the key to the present and future industrial development of the Rocky Mountain region. Utilization of the water power resources will be an important factor locally, and for several decades fuel oil may be expected to affect the industrial situation, but so far as we can now forsee coal must be regarded as the principal source of power. Its present impor- tance is shown by the fact that the coal production of the Rocky Mountain States was 14.7 per cent greater in 1910 than in 1909, although for the whole United States the increase in coal output for the same period was less than 9 per cent. Utilization of these Western coal deposits that will meet both present and future de- mands is the end that must be served in whatever public policy is. adopted. The West needs and has a right to demand full oppor- tunity for legitimate, energetic business development, but that does not include the right to inflict an unearned speculative tax on the future consumer. Full opportunity on the public coal lands can be denned both from the standpoint of the coal operator and from the point of view of the consuming public. In my opinion, the operator can justly ask two things: .First, the right to occupy an acreage sufficiently large for economic operation during an average mine-life period, and second, freedom from too great investment risks. Economic operation we will understand to mean the installation of such equip- ment as will secure maximum recovery at low cost with proper safe-guarding of 'both life and property, while excessive investment risks refer to capital outlays out of proportion to expected profits of operation. Roth of the factors are in reality of hardly less in- 286 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS terest to the public than to the operator for upon them depend in the last analysis much that determine prices and concerns general welfare. The public should also demand that no right to the public coal land shall be granted except for present use. Actual develop- ment must be made the first condition of occupancy of any part of what now remains in the public domain. The present status of coal mining in the West is the resultant of two factors, land ownership and consumptive demand for coal. The large holdings of coal land legitimately acquired through rail- road grants and those secured by coal companies through dummy entrymen, and by purchase of agricultural entries as well as those patented to the states as non-mineral lands, together constitute a coal land supply that has practically met the demand. The strict administration of the public domain during the past few years, however, has shut off all opportunity for wholesale accumulation of coal lands under cover of the homestead and other laws. Up to the present time the acquisition of the coal land in the public domain has been largely accomplished without resource to the coal land law, so that the question becomes opportune is the present coal land law adequate to meet present and future needs ? This law relating to coal lands is less unsatisfactory than many of the mineral land laws now on the statute books. By its pro- vision for the valuation of coal lands at an adequate price the law makes possible a selling price that may promote development and at the same time prevent monopolization. As is pointed out in a public statement by Secretary Fisher, the present governmental policy of basing the valuation of public coal lands upon the tonnage and quality of coal which underlies the tract results in prices that are neither unreasonable noT exorbitant ; the purchaser instead of paying a flat rate per acre in reality pays for the coal by the ton at values graded according to the quality and the character of the coal. Consideration is also given to every known physical and commercial factor affecting the value of the coal of the particular locality. The purpose has been to protect the present interests of the West by making the selling price of coal land approach but in no case exceed the present purchase value of a royalty under a leasehold, such as the states of Colorado and Wyoming or land companies in the West grant to the lessee, and at the same time to protect the future interests of the people by having these prices such as to discourage long-time speculative holdings. We must always keep in mind the fact that large speculative holdings are sure to affect the future price of coal in two ways through the possi- NEEDS OF WEST IN COAL LAND LEGISLATION 287 bility of monopoly and through the certainty of accumulated in- terest charges on the cost of the idle land. The test of any policy is in the results it produces. That the prices put upon the public coal lands are not prohibitive can be shown by the record of sales. In the four years following the adoption of the policy of classifying and valuing the coal lands, the sales have increased 12^2 per cent in acreage and 36 per cent in value as compared with the four years preceding, and this in spite of the fact that the four years since July ist, 1907, have included a period o " industrial depression and slow recovery as con- trasted with the preceding period of boom conditions. So far, therefore, as its provision for pricing is concerned, the present law appears to be as satisfactory as a sale law can be. One serious defect exists in the present law which all must admit demands an immediate remedy. The restriction of legal pur- chases to a maximum of one hundred and sixty acres for an in- dividual or six hundred and forty acres for an association is absurdly out of accord with good mining practice. The fixed charges of a modern coal mine equipped so as to safeguard life and property and to secure maximum recovery are too high to be assessed against the tonnage of so limited a tract, especially where the coal seam is of moderate thickness. Furthermore, unless pro- vision is made for commercial operation on the remaining lands too great an advantage is secured to the land grant railroads and the large coal companies already in possession of considerable areas of high-grade coal. There is no public need of having either in- dividuals or large corporations acquire large acreages of these lands for long time holding without development. Nor is there any sound economic reason for the disposition of the coal lands in small tracts. The homestead law expresses the spirit of American in- stitutions in that it has encouraged every citizen to own a home but there is neither sentiment nor sense in a proposition to sell at a low price one hundred and sixty acres of coal land to an individual every citizen does not need to own a coal mine. In the endeavor to discourage long time speculative investment in the coal lands and at the same time permit present development, the fixing of selling prices has involved difficulties. It has been recognized that an ideal adjustment of values is well nigh unat- tainable for many if not for most coal lands. These difficulties suggest the wisdom of considering the other method of disposition, namely a leasing system. As Secretary Fisher has stated, "It may well be that a liberal but wisely protected leasing law would be 288 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS found to promote (development more vigorously than any system of outright purchase." Thus, under a leasehold law any uncertain- ties as to quantity of coal or as to costs of operation would not need to be so critically estimated in advance. There would be no necessity of discounting every possible future condition, but periodic adjustment of rate of royalty could insure all equities of both operator and public, and I should expect that such adjustments might as often be downward as upward. Under a leasing system, too, it would be comparatively easy so to adjust the relationship between ground r ital and royalty, as to prevent the acquisition of coal deposits until actual operation became profitable. The greatest advantage of the lease system to the operator directly, and to the public indirectly, is relief from the large capital outlay now required in the acquisition of the large acreage absolutely necessary for a modern mine. This argument advanced against the present policy of valuing the public coal lands at even conservative prices thus becomes an argument for a lease- hold law. The objections to a leasing system are of two classes ; those based upon political theory and those based upon economic con- siderations. Under political objections, I will place the arguments so often put forward against Federal landlordism, namely that the Eastern coal lands were disposed of in fee and that the West de- serves the same treatment; and, further, that the natural resources of the West should not be made a source of profit to relieve the Eastern taxpayer. Such arguments can be easily answered. Past mistakes are poor precedents for future blunders. The citizen who argues for the continuance of the liberal, wide-open public land policy of the past is apt to be one who wishes a middleman's profit on a small investment, and we know that East or West, the owner of coal lands acquired as agricultural lands, or in any ether way, at a low price, makes his large and unearned profit out of the coal operator, and through him, out of the public. Too large a percentage of the coal output of this country is now mined under lease, to justify this objection to allowing the people themselves to lease direct. As regards the argument of reserving Western resources for the W 7 est, too few people in the public land states realize that under the present system of sale, the proceeds from the coal lands go directly into W'estern development through the Reclamation Fund, and cannot be used to relieve the Eastern taxpayers except as the whole country benefits by the agricultural developmert of these public land states. It is reasonable to expect that any leasing NEEDS OF WEST IN COAL LAND LEGISLATION 289 law would make similar provision for the local use of revenues resulting from leases and indeed several of the bills already intro- duced in Congress have specifically recognized the wisdom of such disposition. Much more worthy of consideration are the objections to the lease system based upon the fear that the cost of coal to the con- sumer would be increased. I regard this result as altogether im- probable. The royalty paid into the United States treasury can be no greater a tax upon the consumer than the royalty paid to the State of Colorado, or to the railroad land company, or to the farmer. The average price of bituminous coal at the mine, in the United States, last year was $1.12, which usually includes either a royalty or an equivalent interest charge, either of which would probably be greater than any Government royalty. This amount forms so small a part of the price to the consumer that the royalty under a Fed- eral lease could be of but little concern to the public, if, indeed, it resulted in any increase in the first cost of the coal. However, if we consider the lease as contrasted with sale out- right to the coal operator, the reduction in capital necessary for original investment and the elimination of many of the risks in such investment must result in reducing cost of operation to the mine owner, and thus make possible a correspondingly lower price of coal to the consumer. The other objection to the lease system is that based upon fears of expensive Federal management, and of inefficient administration or even mal-administration. These are possibilities which we must squarely face ; but my faith in the efficiency of public administration is increasing to such a degree that this argument against the leas- ing is rapidly losing its force with me. If we look beyond our own Rockies, and out across the Pacific, we discover that a Govern- mental leasing system for coal lands is not a theory but an actual working fact. The Anglo-Saxon peoples of the Australasian States have found the leasing system not only practicable, but indeed preferable to the sale of coal lands. In New Zealand, where for thirty years the laws have permitted to the operator a choice of either sale or lease of public mineral lands, a conclusive argument for the leasing system is given in the latest statistics of mineral production, which show that approximately 90 per cent of the total mineral product of that country was mined under leasehold. If our trans-Pacific neighbors can administer a lease law so satisfactorily and if the mine operators in New Zealand prefer operation under 290 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS leasehold, will a similar system be fraught with either danger or failure in the United States? We must face the fact that Uncle Sam is a landlord on a large sca l e a coa l baron, if you please; and that the question before us is how these millions of acres of coal land are to be disposed of so as to serve the just needs of the operator who offers his capital, technical skill, and business experience, asking in return a fair profit, and at the same time to protect the public interests. All that the West needs is first, opportunity for the coal in- dustry to develop as fast as the market justifies expansion, and with the least possible risks ; and second, opportunity for the public to secure its coal at prices based on a minimum cost of production and without any addition of unearned and undue tribute^ to private landlords who desire to speculate on the future needs of the con- sumer. These ends, I believe, can be best attained by legislation inaugurating a Federal leasing system for coal lands of the public domain. The Future of Alaska Coal. 1 BY ALFRED H. BROOKS, . 'HI10F OF THE ALASKAN DIVISION OF THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. I fully appreciate the honor of being invited to address the American Mining Congress on a matter of such importance as the future of Alaska coal. An adequate treatment of this subject would require not only a far more exhaustive study of the coal resources of the territory than has yet been made, but also of the industrial conditions of the Pacific margin of the North American, continent, where a market for this coal must be found. Furthermore, it necessitates a look into the future a consideration of probable in- crease of population, of commerce, and of industry. This problem also involves a careful consideration of other possible sources of fuel or power which now or in the future may come into compe- tition with Alaska coal. The brief time devoted to the preparation of this address, if there were no other reason, has prevented the exhaustive study of the elements entering into the problem. On the present occasion I can do little more than to summarize the data which have been published elsewhere. 2 What is the future of Alaska coal ? The answer is simple enough it will be burned. Like all simple replies, it does not 'strike at the root of the problem. The fundamental question is: Where and when will it be burned? To answer this larger ques- tion demands a consideration of the distribution, quality and avail- ability of the coal and its present and future market. The Coal Fields. \ measure of the relative importance of the Alaska coal fields may be obtained by comparing the quantity of fuel they contain with that of better known areas. Unfortunately, the data on Alaska coal tonnage is very incomplete, as only one-tenth of the areas mapped as underlain by coal-bearing formations has been surveyed in sufficient detail to admit of tonnage estimates. The estimates, made in 1909, show a total coal tonnage, including 'Published by permission of the Director of the U. S.. Geological Survey. 2 Much of this address is abstracted from or based upon two papers already published; namely: "Alaska coal and its utilization:" Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 442, 1910. "Geography in the development of the Alaska coal deposits:" Prpc. Assn, American Geographers for year 1911, Vol. I, 1911. 292 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS lignites as well as high-grade fuels, of 15,000,000 tons. 1 As only one-tenth of the known coal fields has been surveyed and as at least one-fifth of the territory is geologically unknown, it is prob- ably safe to conclude that the total tonnage is ten times this esti- mate. 2 This estimate of 150,000,000 tons is intended to show simply what the ultimate coal tonnage may be and has no bearing on the present coal situation, for much the larger part of this coal is not available now and will not be for many generations to come. This total estimated amount of Alaska coal is about 4}/2 per cent of the total estimated tonnage of the -United States and its pos- sessions and a little less than 15 per cent of the coal in the lands still in government ownership. It is about a third more. than -the original coal supply of the state of Pennsylvania. The coals of Pennsylvania are, however, of a high grade, while much the larger part of Alaska coal is lignitic. In view of the fact that Alaska is almost continental in its dimensions, and that the coal fields are very widely distributed within the territory, these comparisons are in some respects mis- leading. It becomes necessary to qualify any statement in regard to total quantity by considering what fields are so situated as to be available for present use as well as what part of them include coals of sufficiently high grade to warrant export. For this pur- pose the Alaskan coal fields can be conveniently divided into three economic provinces, based on geography. The first is the Pacific slope, which comprises the mountainous area drained to the Pacific ocean. Here there are large quantities of lignitic, with some sub- bituminous coals, which are on or close to tidewater. Also fields of high-grade coals which can be reached from open ports on the Pacific by railways from 25 to 200 miles in length. From the coastal terminals of these railways to Puget Sound ports the dis- tance is about 1,260 to 1,400 statute miles, and about 2,000 miles to San Francisco. This province is readily accessible and its re- sources can therefore be considered an asset of the present genera- tion. It contains about 40 per cent of the known coal resources of Alaska, besides valuable deposits of metals and considerable areas of arable land, all of which can be opened up by railways. Some of -these coals, as has been shown, are of a high grade and located favorably for export. The central region includes the area lying north of the coastal a Brooks, Alfred H., Alaska coal and its utilization: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 442, pp. 53-55, 1910. 2 Since this estimate was made the survey of one field showed an additional amount of lignitic coal amounting to 9,000,000 tons. THE FUTURE OF ALASKA COAL 293 mountain barrier and is drained to Bering sea by the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. It includes about 35 per cent of the known coal besides important gold deposits and considerable arable land. To reach this region by railway from open ports on the Pacific will require 400 to 600 miles of railway. The coals are of a lignitic character and under no conditions which can now be foreseen could- they be mined for export. The coals of these fields, therefore, have value only for local use a value which is enhanced by the presence of other mineral resources, by arable lands, and by the relative scarcity of other fuel. The third province comprises northern Alaska, draining into the Arctic ocean. This includes about 25 per cent of the known coal, with considerable of a high grade. This part of Alaska is almost entirely isolated, as it is too far from open ports on the Pacific to permit of railway connection, and its rivers are locked in ice for all but two months in the year. Most of this field is un- explored, and the stated estimate of tonnage is probably far below the actual tonnage. There is good reason to believe that its coal supply may exceed all that of the rest of Alaska, but whatever it may be, the coal has no value unless as an asset to future genera- tions. It appears, therefore, (i) that the Pacific slope coal is the most valuable of the Alaska coal supply to the present generation, for it can be exported; (2) that the coal of the central province has value only as local population and industries develop, and (3) that the coal of the Arctic slope will not be drawn upon until that future time when the more accessible coals of -the world ap- proach exhaustion. A discussion of the development of Alaska coal fields will, therefore, be concerned chiefly with those of the Pacific slope. These coals are the only ones in the territory available for the growing population of the western side of the North American continent and are, therefore, of national as well as local importance. The estimates indicate that the Pacific coast province includes about 6,000,000 tons, of which nearly one-half is lignite. It is probably safe to multiply the estimates of lignite by ten. Less definite evidence is available regarding possible additional tonnage of bituminous and better-grade coals. It is known, however, that coal occurs in regions adjacent to both the Bering River and Matanuska fields, and it is reasonably certain that these fields will be found to be much larger than at present supposed. Much of the coal of the Pacific slope fields can be made avail- 294 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS able by the construction of comparatively short railways. They include considerable high-grade steaming and coking coal, as well as a much larger quantity of lignite*. Of the geologic occurrence, it need only be said that the lignites occur in rocks which are little disturbed, while the high-grade coals are highly folded and faulted, but not so much so but what some of the beds at least admit of profitable exploitation. Quality of Coal. As is now generally known, the chemical quality of the coal of the Bering river and Matanuska fields leaves little to be de- sired. These fields include high-grade steaming and -coking coals comparable to the best coals of the east, and also some anthracite. The physical character of many of the coal beds is much less favor- able, for they have been crushed to such an extent that they will furnish a large percentage of slack, which does not detract from the value of the coking coal. In both the Bering river and Matanuska fields, as shown by the studies of Dr. Martin, 1 the coal beds have been much deformed, thus greatly enhancing the cost of mining and in case of some of the beds prohibiting altogether the economic recovery of the coal. This, as Dr. Martin's survey has shown, is notably true of the western margin of the Bering river field, where there is much faulting, and of the northeastern and anthracitic part of the field, where close folding and faulting have in many instances so crushed the beds as to probably make them worthless for mining. The character of the Matanuska coals is less well known, as but few openings have been made on the beds. Locally these appear to be somewhat less disturbed than the coals of Bering river field, but this may be offset in cost of mining by the fact that a large number of intrusives are present. While there are differ- ences of opinion as to the percentage of coal from these two fields that can be commercially mined under present conditions, the fact remains that they include much workable coal of a higher grade than any in that part of the North American continent tributary to the Pacific ocean. Transportation. Transportation is not so serious an element in the develop- ment of the lignitic coals as in the high-grade coals, for the former 1 Martin, George C., Geology and mineral resources of the Controller Bay region: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 335, 1906. Martin, George C., Preliminary report on a detailed survey of part of the Matanuska coal fields: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No 480, 1911. The complete report on this field is in print. THE FUTURE OF ALASKA COAL 295 will probably only be mined for local use. In some instances this is not true. For example, a railway some 50 to 60 miles in length will have to be constructed to the Nenana field of the Tanana valley if the coals there are to be carried to market. 1 None of the high- grade coals can, however, be made available without the investment of many millions of dollars in railways and terminal facilities. The Bering river field lies about 25 miles from the nearest tidewater at Controller bay and 54 or 90 miles, depending on the route chosen, from tidewater at Cordova on Orca bay. The 54- mile route involves the crossing of a pass about 350 feet in height, while the 9O-mile route is practically on a water grade. Thirty miles of the Copper River railway, already constructed, is avail- able for either of these routes. A railway from the coal field to Controller bay would have a water grade. Controller bay now but an indifferent harbor can be made available as a shipping port by a sufficient expenditure of money. Orca bay, on the other hand. is a good harbor, but involves a much longer haul. The Matan- uska field is 60 miles from a summer port on Knik Arm, and 180 miles from Seward on Resurrection bay an excellent harbor open to navigation throughout the year. Seventy-one miles of this railway (the Alaska Northern) is completed and crosses two passes, 700 and 1,000 feet in height. It will be shown that the- heavy investment for railways necessary to open these fields hardly seems justified with the present visible market for Alaska coal. A part of the mileage from Cor- dova to the Bering river field will be utilized for the traffic from the Copper river region to the coast. The railway from Seward to the Matanuska field will pass through or close to promising auriferous districts, and if extended, as planned, to the Tanana valley, would serve as a trunk line connecting tidewater with the Yukon basin. Competing Fuels. The market for Alaska coal will evidently depend in large measure on the mineral fuels or other sources of power with which it comes in competition. Here again the low-grade bituminous coals and lignites need not be considered, for they will only be utilized under non-competitive conditions. On the other hand, the high- grade coals must meet competition in open market. There are many undeveloped water powers in the Pacific states 'It has been suggested that the energy of these coals be utilized for the Fairbanks and other gold-bearing districts by transmitting it in the form of electricity. 296 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS and Alaska, and these could be made to furnish energy which might compete with any obtained from Alaska coal. Eventually, how- ever, recourse will be had to the mineral fuels, as the water powers are not sufficient to meet the demands of future industries. There- fore the competing mineral fuels are probably the most important element in the problem of markets for the Alaska coal.' The western slope of the North American continent is, on the whole, but poorly supplied with coal, and most of it is not of a high grade. Some fairly good bituminous coals occur in Washing- ton, but not in large quantities. The other Pacific states are even less well provided with coal. In British Columbia the situation is far better, and for many years the west coast industries have drawn heavily on the coal fields of Vancouver Island. The recent dis- covery of high-grade coal, said to be in large quantity in the head- water region of the Skeena river, may afford another source of fuel for the Pacific province. This field is said to lie about 130 miles from the coast. Turning now to the coal supply of other lands bordering the Pacific. The South American countries have insufficient coal for their own use and are -drawing heavily on England. Australia is well supplied with coal, though most of it is not of high grade. Her mines are furnishing coal to South America and even to Cali- fornia. China's coal fields, though of enormous extent, are for the most part unavailable because of the lack of railways. When her teeming population turns to industries requiring fuel, the coal is likely to be needed at home. It is a significant fact, however, that a shipment of Chinese coal has recently been received at San Francisco. Japan, though an exporter of coal, which is not, how- ever, of high grade, has none to spare, as her reserves are small. It is evident, therefore, that the lands which, from the stand- point of commerce, are tied together by the Pacific, do not promise to become serious competitors with the Alaska coal. The opening of the Panama canal will change the situation. Then the eastern coals by water transportation only about 6,000 statute miles to California, with an assured return cargo can probably compete with the Alaska coal. This great engineering feat will change the boundaries of economic and geographic provinces. In con- sidering the broad problem, however, it would appear unwise to ship coals from near the centers of population to the west coast, especially at the expense of fuel used in transportation, and any such movement can hardly persist under the operation of economic laws. THE FUTURE OF ALASKA COAL 297 Had the Alaska coals been developed ten years ago, when they first attracted notice, they would have found a ready market, for at that time there was a shortage of fuel along the Pacific seaboard. Since that time, however, the industrial situation has been entirely changed by the enormous increase in the output of the California oil fields. In 1901 the California oil production was 8,786,330 barrels, while in 1910 it was 73,010,560 barrels. Mr. Parker 1 estimates that, of this quantity, some 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 barrels was used as fuel oil, representing an equivalent in heating value of about 11,000,000 to 12,000,000 tons of coal. The total coal consumption in the Pacific coast states and terri- tories is estimated to have been 4,312,641 tons in 1901 and 4,812,398 in 1911. Therefore, in spite of the enormous growth of popula- tion and industries during this decade, because of the increased use of fuel oil the increase in coal consumption has been only 13 per cent. Practically all the west coast railways are today either using oil or preparing to do so. In Alaska oil is rapidly being substituted for coal on the railways, steamers, and in the mining plants. With the putting on the market of a constantly increasing quantity of fuel oil, the outlook for the coal-mining industry is not very hopeful. It is therefore fuel oil and not coal in which Alaska coal will find its strongest competitor. Present Market. On the basis of the mineral fuel consumption of 1908-' I esti- mated that the Alaska high-grade coal should find a market for 500,000 to 1,000,000 tons of coal. Since then the oil production has increased at such bounds that it seems probable that 500,000 would now be a safer estimate. The present annual consumption in Alaska is only about 100,000 tons, of which about one-fifth is in regions where the local coal might not be able to compete with that from outside sources. Unfortunately, as already shown, with the increased use of oil, even this market is rapidly dwindling. The visible market includes the coal needed by the navy, now about 150,000 tons annually, which will probably increase when the Panama canal is completed, the coal used for coke and for blacksmithing, and a small consumption of anthracite. The con- sumption of coke along the Pacific seaboard is 100,000 to 200,000 tons annually. It is therefore probably safe to count on a market for 500,000 tons of Alaska's ^high-grade coal, with the probability iparker, E. \V., The Production of coal in 1910: Adv. chapter from Min. Res. of United States, calendar year, 1910, p. 88. ^Alaska coal ami its utilization: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 418, 1910. 298 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS that when this is produced local industries will be developed so as to increase the demand. The question naturally arises why, if the actual demand for Alaska coal is so small, there should be such a clamor among the residents of the territory for the opening of the fields. In reply to this it should be noted that up to the present time only the larger consumers of fuel in Alaska .have or are preparing to use Cali- fornia oils. These include the two longest railroads, the largest mines, and many of the steamers. The small consumer is still using a far inferior grade of coal to that found at his own door at a cost of $8 to $20 a ton. This high cost of fuel has seriously retarded many small mining enterprises. A more important reason, in the opinion of the average Alaskan, for the opening of the coal field is that he believes such action will result in the completion of railroads begun or pro j acted. He believes that the coal fields will furnish a part of the tonnage which will justify railway construction. However this may be, Alaska's greatest need today is railways. Without these, only the richest gold deposits can be mined, and there is little to attract a permanent population. Future. I have spoken only of the immediate future of the Alaska coal. It is certain that, unless we look a long distance ahead, the proba- bility of an extensive mining industry is not very great. However, with the rapidly increasing population along the Pacific seaboard, the demand for high-grade coals is certain to increase. We can look forward with confidence to the establishment of an iron smelt- ing industry on the west coast of the continent which will supply the local needs. This will make a demand for coking coal, and Alaska is the only source of supply. We also know that eventually California's oil production must decrease, and when that time comes Alaska coal will be needed to supply the demand for mineral fuel along the Pacific seaboard. Centers of commerce and industry have been moving west- ward almost since the beginning of the Christian era. As the At- lantic superseded the Pacific as the great highway of nations, so now the Pacific, in turn, bids fair before long to rival the Atlantic. Concomitant with this will be the establishment of industries along the coast line. Therefore, while we may not expect a rapid develop- ment of a coal-mining industry in Alaska, yet of its future im- portance there can be no question. The Alaskan Question. BY GEORGE E. BALDWIN, VALDEZ, ALASKA. I wish at the beginning of my remarks to extend to the Ameri- can Mining Congress, in behalf of the people of Alaska, our pro- found and sincere thanks. It seems that of late years scarcely any sort of a national meeting could be held, no matter for what purpose convened, or by whom constituted, without passing some sort of resolutions for our benefit, and considering the Niagara of misinformation and the deluge of lies about Alaska with which the country has been flooded by the muckraking writers for a certain class of publications, it is not surprising that certain ignorant, but well-meaning people, should make mistakes. As the residents of Alaska depend almost entirely for a live- lihood upon mining and its subsidiary industries, it is a reasonable presumption that the members of the American Mining Congress should best appreciate the difficulties .under which we labor, and be most competent to suggest remedies. The resolutions concern- ing our territory passed at your last meeting reminded us that one great organization at least was our friend. What are the needs of Alaska? Considering the fact that a country of great natural and undeveloped resources has remained stationary in population for ten years, if not actually decreasing, its trade and commerce the same, the question is certainly one to demand thoughtful study. The Secretary of the Interior recently visited Alaska and was presented with a memorial by the citizens of Valdez in part as follows : Primarily Alaska demands and needs the same right of untram- meled development that has been accorded to every other territory of the United States pioneered by Americans. Alaskans ask that American citizens and all other industrious men be permitted to. create property for themselves out of the limitless resources of this vast territory unhampered by bureaucratic dictation and interference. The. people of Alaska are a unit in opposition to federal landlordism over its mines, forests and water power. The doctrine that the Federal government five thousand miles away knows better what is good for Alaska than the pioneers who have spent years within its boundaries is a political heresy that cannot long stand before the enlightened sense of justice which characterizes the American people. If left to herself Alaska would enact laws for her government and development with the same intelligence and regard for 300 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS natural right that was shown by the early immigrants into the Pacific and mountain states, of whom Justice Field said in a judicial opinion: "Wherever they went they carried with them that love of order and system and of fair dealing which are the prominent characteristics of our people." And the senator who introduced the first mining law into Con- gress in 1866, which was merely a federal recognition of miner's law, said that the miner had given the honest toil of his life to discover wealth, which when found was protected by no higher law than that enacted by himself, under the implied sanction of a just and generous government. This just and generous government has been succeeded by one that seeks to create a distant landlordism over Alaska. This policy, if continued, will forever stunt the development of the territory. Men born under republican institutions will not long remain where they have to get permission of a government agent to transact business. The garroting of Alaska by the last two national administrations has stopped its growth, decreased its population and financially ruined many men who had not anticipated that the great national government would make Alaska the dumping ground of eastern political fads. And upon that subject I wish to add that in my opinion a form of local self-government at least as liberal as has ever been accorded the pioneers of any territory is absolutely necessary to our proper and orderly development. We will be satisfied with no make-shift, no half way measure ; it is our right as Americans, and it is rights we demand, and not permits and privileges that we sue for. So much for the political side of Alaska's needs. Alaska Has Paid Debt to Nation. It has been urged by certain people utterly unacquainted with the risks and hardships of pioneering, and who have never wan- dered far from their own firesides, that Alaska was bought and paid for out of the taxes paid by the American people and they are entitled to get something out of it. Our answer is that they have gotten something out of it and are getting something out of it. The nearly two hundred million of Alaska gold which has been poured into the channels of trade of this nation, stimulating industry in all its branches, has more than paid any debt Alaska owes the Nation. During the panic of 1907 our bankers were begging the money power of Europe for a loan of twenty million in gold. Alaska that year produced nearly that amount of the yellow metal, "all of which went to the United States, not loaned, but to purchase commodities from almost every state in the Union, for up there we must import almost everything, except the air we breathe and the water we drink and I suppose if the ultra-conservation- ists had their way \ye would pay a direct royalty on these. Any attempt to impose upon the people and resources of Alaska any burden not borne by the people and resources of the THE ALASKAN QUESTION 301 balance of the country will fail; first, because it is unjust; second, because it is economically wrong. It seems to me in my boyhood days I read a story of fools who killed a goose that was laying golden eggs. The mining laws of the United States, as they stand today, have stood the test of nearly forty years. These laws have been inter- preted by the courts at an expense to the miners of millions of dollars. All important points have been settled and to enact a new set of laws at this late date, with all this to be gone over at the expense of the mining industry of Alaska, which is practically all on the public lands, would impose on that industry a burden it could not well bear. Again, we demand with reason, we think, the same laws as apply to the remainder of our country. One might think to hear some people talk that the present residents of Alaska had established a close corporation and were trying to keep out the remainder of the people from participating in the possible profits of its development, while as a matter of fact we are crying for miners, investors, prospectors and industrious thrifty men generally, to come ancT take up their residence with us. The town I live in is located in a forest reserve. Last summer I was doing a little building and purchased lumber from Puget Sound, fourteen hundred miles away, which, quality considered, was cheaper than could be produced by the local mills after they had paid the royalties and complied with the regulations of the forest service. If our gold mines are to be put on a leasing basis and managed the same as our forests I have no doubt we shall be able to extract gold from sea water cheaper than from the rocks and gravels of Alaska. The problem of conservation has become so confused with the problems of Alaska that a few words upon this subject may not be amiss. A short magazine article published recently upon political subjects contained the word "conservation" no less than twenty-six times. Now what is conservation? How Some Alaskans Regard Conservation. From our standpoint conservation to date is an attempt to gather all the public lands of our territory as an estate, its forests, its mines, its water power, its wharf sites, to be managed by a vast horde, a devastating host of government underlings and worked by our citizens as- tenants, licensees and lessees ; these underlings to be ru^ed by a retinue of officials stationed at Washington, thousands 302 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS of mile.- away. All of ^hese locusts of officialdom to consider them- selves the people's masters and not their servantsi Why this reti- nue stationed at Washington ? So they can be in closer touch with questions to be decided? No, so they can be promptly on the ground to lobby for more appropriations to hire more officials ro lobby for more appropriations, ad infinitum. And they will need these appropriations, for such a system has never in past history paid its wp.y and never will. For generations we have been decrying the heartless greed of Irish landlords, yet here is a system of landlordism that out-Irishes the most Irish landlord that ever disgraced the human race by his rapacity. A landlord who refuses to develop his property, refuses to let anyone else develop it except under the most onerous condi- tions and refuses to pay one cent of taxes to be expended by local officials for local needs. The manifest injustice of all this needs no comment. The idea that an owner will not more efficiently conserve re- sources than a government official is too silly to merit discussion. I, in common with all other Alaskans, have nothing but words of commendation for that great body of scientific men who have represented the various branches of the Government service in Alaska. There is another way to look ^t conservation: It is a foolish attempt on the part of this generation to do the thinking for generations yet to be. What can be more ridiculous? You have probably heard the story told by Congressman Humphrey of Washington of the old woman who went into hysterics after she had concluded that some epidemic was going to kill all the geese in the world, that the people would forget how to write because there would be no quills to make pens with. It is to be presumed that had conservation been a fad in those days, all the remaining public land would have been promptly declared a goose reserve. Less than a century ago, well-meaning men were making dole- ful prophecies about the impending extinction of the sperm whale, and on that account the world would soon be in darkness from sun- down until sun-up. What a pity some power strong enough did not then declare the seven seas a whale reserve. The idea of thinking for future generations has been tried. About one hundred years ago, naval reserves of live-oak timber in the southern states were created to provide the material to build the battleships of the future. After these acres had been held for generations in unproductive idleness they were recently restored to THE ALASKAN QUESTION 303 the use of man and if an individual went to the Navy Department tomorrow to sell live-oak for building battleships, he would be considered a candidate for the lunatic asylum. The doctrine of radical conservation, as applied to coal, is an absolutely hopeless one, for no matter how little or how much is used each year, it will finally all be gone. Right Minded Citizen Abhors. Waste. Every right minded civilized man abhors waste, particularly of something that can never be replaced; but the doctrine that this is the last generation of inventors and scientists that will live and that the many forces of nature now going to waste compared to which all the coal in the world is as tallow dip to a thousand arc lights, that these sources of power will never be harnessed by man, and that the present generation must be starved as we Alaskans are being starved, well words fail me when I attempt to express my opinion of such criminal foolishness. These lamenting Jeremiahs who moan over the exhaustion of our natural resources pay all their attention to that section of the country where the population is sparse, while the resources in the section of the country where the population is dense are being used as circumstances demand without any of their valuable advice and assistance. One of the problems of our nation is to restrict the people of our country from congregating in the centers of population; yet these radical conservationists demand the continuance of and ex- tension of, a system that is depopulating, our territory, in which at present there is only one human being, man, woman, child, Siwash squaw and pappoose for every seven thousand, seven hundred acres. Alaska is being literally reserved to death. We have forest reserves, military reserves one of them one hundred miles in di- ameter, coal reserves, fish reserves, naval reserves, missionary re- serves, church reserves, school reserves, seal reserves, bird reserves and I suppose by this time, bug reserves and cranks crying for more reserves. Soon there will be nothing for us sour-dough Alaskans to do but act as cooks and packers for me lud, the Eastern faddist, who comes out to see what has been reserved at his behest, and then we will be disappointed, for not one out of a hundred of these fanatics will ever leave the deck of the steamer. In this connection I wish to state that the self-styled leader of the conservation movement has recently visited Alaska. . This great rrmsher, this great trail 304 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS blazer who has penetrated the impenetrable fastnesses of the mountains, who has communed with Nature, knows the trees be- cause when all the world but he and they were asleep, he purloined their bark lark secrets. This marvel of fortitude after, traveling 4,000 miles on Pullman cars and palatial steamships got within 15 miles of the Matanuska coal fields, about which he and his paid assassins of character have been ranting, on a trail that has been traveled for years by men, women, children and cripples still it was too tough for him. He turned around and came back and spent a large part of his time in Alaska around hotel lobbies trying to justify his actions before a hostile and outraged people. If the pioneers of Alaska had been made of no sterner stuff than he, the Matanuska coal fields would never have been discovered. Less than two hundredths of one per cent of the land of Alaska is in private ownership, more than ninety-nine and ninety-eight one hun- dredths are still in the public domain, and I ask you, in all candor, do you blame us for using rather strong language when our develop- ment is retarded by executive orders issued at the behest of fad- dists who cry that Alaska is being gobbled up. Alaskan Coal Question. In regard to the so-called Alaskan coal question, the prac- tically unanimous expressions of the people of our section are voiced in the following extract from the memorial to the Secretary of the Interior previously referred to: "Alaskans recognize that the Alaska coal problem is hopelessly perplexing, chiefly because of the vast discharge of wholesale mis-in- formation. Alaskans know that there is no danger of an Alaska coal monopoly. The coal fields are widely scattered and of far less value than advertised in hysterical print. Alaskans generally believe that the coal lands should be disposed of under existing laws for development by private enterprises, relying upon the government to deal with mo- nopoly should it be threatened. Recognizing, however, that in the present exaltation of the Eastern mind through the epidemic of con- servation, this is Impossible, many Alaskans are inclined to urge that the government itself undertake the operation of the coal mines. If this could be done successfully by a competent official board, it would vindicate the theories of those who believe that the government should have absolute control of its remaining fuel supply. If a capable Gov- ernment commission, with full power to manage business under regulated statutes should be unable to accomplish satisfactory results, the project could be abandoned after a few years. "It is needless to repeat arguments often iterated to emphasize the folly of continued bottling up of Alaska coal. Alaska residents are paying exorbitant prices for fuel and the government is paying un- necessarily high prices for coal transported from the East for naval and other Federal uses on the Pacific coast, while political agitators wrangle over the unknown possibilities of Alaska coal fields. "The leasing system is unanimously opposed in Alaska, because it is un-American, and further, because it would intensify -rather than di- minish, the chances, of monopoly. None but wealthy corporations THE ALASKAN QUESTION 305 could do anything with a lease and they would demand concessions unlikely to be granted, and which, if granted, would license monopoly. The leasing dream would mean indefinite postponement of coal mining in Alaska." Large numbers of people in the states advocate the leasing of the Alaska coalfields without a second thought upon the matter. It is not generally known that the leasing of mineral lands in the United States has been tried, proved a disastrous failure and was condemned by two Presidents of the Nation in messages to Con- gress. A high government official has recently returned from Alaska advocating the leasing of the coal lands there and citing the case of British Columbia as an example of where the leasing system works well. This is not denied, but the cases are vastly different. Does an applicant for a lease in British Columbia have to enter into negotiations with officials in London acting under laws passed by the British Parliament? No! Does he even have to go to Ottawa? No. At Victoria the laws are passed by local people, the negotiations entered into and consummated all right at home. Alaskan Committee Report. I wish at this point to % quote from the report of your committee on Alaska affairs made to this session of The American Mining Congress. I very much regret that time does not allow the reading of this report in full. This report represents the work of many months of painstaking labor on the part of that committee, but it will be published with the records of this session. It being prob- able that some of you at least will not read this report, I take the liberty of quoting from it is follows: "We are also opposed to making of Alaska the experiment station for new ideas. We are unable to find where the leasing system has ever been successful in the operation of coal fields under any govern- ment. Leasing is perhaps successful to some extent in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, where a market is near at hand and transportation is well provided, frequently by competing lines, and the leases are from individuals. It is not a government leasing system. "It has been said that the leasing system works well in British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and in Australia and New Zealand. We can only repeat the statement that a half-truth is frequently the most dangerous and misleading falsehood. The system in British Columbia is in no sense a leasing system as is proposed in the United States. The lessee in British Columbia may obtain a lease of sixty-four hundred acres for five years, with a renewal for. three years, but is. privileged at any time during the lease, or within three months thereafter, to pur- chase the lands at $20 per acre. It is a significant fajct, too, that no mines are operated in British Columbia under the leasing system. All are operating upon granted lands. There is a law for leasing the coal lands in the Yukon Territory. The only attempts ever made to operate under that law resulted in failures. There is not a single coal mine operated in the Yukon Territory upon a lease from the government. In a similar manner the laws of Australia and New Zealand provide for 306 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS private ownership at the option of the lessee. It is reported that much coal is mined there under a leasing system, but that is because the operators do not find it necessary to exercise the option given them to purchase the land. They are given that option, however, and are thus afforded the security of private ownership whenever they see fit to exercise the privilege. No such system has been proposed for Alaska. None of the leasing bills introduced in Congress permit the lessee ever to acquire title to the land. The Robinson bill now pending before Congress even provides for only a portion of the royalty upon coal mines in Alaska to be expended in the territory, and the balance is to be turned into the treasury of the United States. It is a rank injustice to compel the residents of Alaska to pay a royalty into the Treasury of the United States upon the coal they consume. Why not a similar royalty from the consumers of coal elsewhere? The consumers of Pennsyl- vania coal would object to paying such a royalty to the Federal Gov- ernment, and the consumers in Alaska are entitled to urge the same objections. "Poor old Alaska has surely had quite enough of the leasing sys- tem. It was leased by Russia from 1799 until 1867 to the Russian- American Company. That company was the absolute lord and master, and its leasehold sovereignty absolutely prevented development. For- tunately nobody was lured there under false premises. Only those went there who did so for the Russian-American Company. A leasing system was not inflicted upon honest, hardy pioneers as is now proposed by the American government. Fortunately, for the United States, Alaska was not colonized or settled by the Russians. Their leasing sys- tem prevented it. Otherwise the Russian people would have so well developed Alaska by 1867 that the United States could not have bought it for two cents an acre, with its wonderful fisheries and a fur seal herd of 6,000,000 thrown into the bargain. The first thing we did, however, was to lease that seal herd to a company which in forty years made a net profit of $5,738,000 and depleted the seal to about 75,000. In the mean- time, the United States Government spent more money in patroling the seal islands than it obtained from royalties on the lease, and Alaska got absolutely nothing, not a cent in taxation, not a light-house, not a school house, not as much as a flag pole. Now, the United States Government has gone into the sealing business itself, and has already begun to make a profit. But this kind of talk may lead us to advocate the building of railroads in Alaska and the operation of coal mines there by the Government." Our opposition to the leasing system is based upon another, and, we believe, a higher principle. It places the control of our resources in the hands of a power five thousand miles away, out of touch, out of sympathy, and indifferent to local needs and re- quirements. It is a return to the system of land tenures that ob- tained in feudal days, where the landlord was both landlord, law- giver and law-interpreter. It has been argued that a large number of coal mines of the United States are operated on a leasing basis but these leases are between man and man, both of them standing equal before the law and having to submit any differences that may arise between them to a court before whom they stand as equals. This system of governmental leasing leaves the question of any differences to be decided absolutely in the hands of the leasor. There is still another objection in the fact that this system will in all probability not stop with the governmental leasing of coal mines. THE ALASKAN QUESTION 307 We have seen the forest service organized ostensibly for the pur- pose of conserving the forests gradually, stealthily, insidiously, and in many cases without a shadow of law to back their actions ex- tend their fields of operations. We have seen them assume control of our water power. We have seen them grab our wharf sites. We have seen them meddle with the mines included in the forest re- serves to the great detriment of that industry. We deny that a people can be considered a free people who live under a system in which the owner of the land is both the landlord and the law. Any number of schemes that are probably practical and work- able ones in such small compact countries as Switzerland or New Zealand are absolutely unworkable in a country as vast as ours. The securing of title to a few acres of land in Alaska involves almost endless correspondence with Washington, the unwinding of miles of red tape and generally years of delay; and the matter of issuing patents to government lands is something in which our of- ficials have the experience of over a century to guide them. To in- troduce some new system now would, as the Valdez memorial states, "mean the indefinite postponement of coal mining in Alaska." Abolition of Forest Reserves Urged. One of Alaska's needs is the immediate abolition of forest re- serves. The recent and present governors of the territory have in their reports condemned them. I wish to speak for a moment, upon the Chugach reserve in which I live. This reserve covers thou- sands of square miles along the southern coast, more than ninety per cent of which is utterly destitute of timber, being barren slopes, glaciers and mountains above timber line. Less than ten per cent is covered with a scattering growth of spruce, hemlock and cotton- wood of inferior quality, practically all mature and largely super- mature. Not a foot of this timber will ever be exported. In fact, a large part of the lumber used within the limits of this reserve is shipped from Puget Sound. It is only useful for local needs, and should be used by our people without undue restriction. Forest reserves are supposed to be created to provide timber for future generations, to attract rainfalls, to regulate stream flow, to prevent forest fires and provide government revenue. Let us take up these propositions in turn. First. What is the use of preserving timber that is falling down and rotting of old age for future generations ? Second. As to rain fall, the area embraced within the limits of this forest reserve receives a rain fall of from seventy to one hundred and twenty inches per annum. As over ninety per cent of 308 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS this reserve is destitute of timber and the treeless Aleutian islands to the west of us receive more rains than we do, the idea that the cutting of the timber needed by our people will have any effect upon rain fall is utterly absurd. Third. As to stream flow, our streams largely have their sources in the everlasting glaciers, and would flow bank full for centuries without a drop of precipitation. Fourth. As to forest fires, there never has been a forest fire in this reserve, and never will be, soaked with rain in summer, and covered with snow in winter. Fifth. As to government revenue, it has cost the Government two dollars for every one it* has collected so far, besides imposing a *ost of thousands of dollars upon our citizens in obtaining permits. We defy the forest service to show one single benefit it has conferred upon the people living in this reserve, upon the people who will live in it in the future, or upon the people of the United States generally. In conclusion, I wish to state that in my opinion there is no Alaskan question any more than there was a Montana question or a Colorado question fifty years ago. All we wish and all we ask is the same rights as have been accorded the pioneers of other terri- tories in their primitive struggle for development. Wanted, an Informed Public Sentiment to Support a New Federal Policy Toward Alaska. BY HENRY R. HARRIMAN, SEATTLE, WASH. The American Alining Congress is the best friend Alaska has ever had and God knows she needs friends. But that we may meet on the level of absolute frankness I confess to a strong hesitation, in attempting to discuss this subject even with you, who as a body are undoubtedly best informed as to her merits and most kindly disposed to her welfare and success. As Governor Clark of Alaska rightly points out in perhaps his most recent interview, the fuel question is the vital one in Alaska. Vital in the basic needs of that extreme climate. Vital to the future development of Alaska as a territory and as an or- ganized community. Vital in a large sense to the commercial needs of the whole Pacific coast. Vital to the pre-eminence to the safety even of the American Navy on the Pacific; and a living issue perhaps not the least that in its righteous solution will, in no small way, determine whether the land policy trend of this Gov- ernment will falter or will continue to higher levels. In the kaleidoscope of conflicting and bewildering ideas from what angle shall we study this subject? The Guggenheims in Alaska. Shall we attack the Guggenheims? This is a very populai method of approach and sometimes retreat and requires little courage. No white plumed knight is apt to pick up the gage of verbal battle in support of that somewhat sordid institution. But suppose we should entertain you with a narrative of the sins of the Guggenheims, and some of their peccadillos have not as yet appeared in print, of what profit, gentlemen, would it be in this discussion ? The Guggenheims exemplify in an unusual degree that which is unlovely and uninspiring in corporate greed, blunder and grab. Incidents such as the "Controller Bay Case" are not the figments of reportorial imagination. It has been intimated to me that the Guggenheims do not require an introduction to this audience. But, gentlemen, there is something more important and vital than the sins of the Guggenheims; and that is the investment .of 310 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS real money and big money in the commercial development of Alaska. Not chiefly in that fascinating and speculative development that means ultimate and early exhaustion of placer gold fields. Not in those other forms of so-called development that spell large immediate profits and speedy destruction. Not chiefly in these. But in the less alluring, entirely permanent and deeply essential business of railroad building, quartz development, and industrial investment. Of course not unselfishly. But their railroad in a successful effort to reach their one mine affords transportation to scores of other prospects and properties in which they have not one cent's worth of interest; traverses valleys highly suitable for agricul- ture, free for the taking; and from the beginning provides a mar- ket for the farmer who will settle there. Competent railroad men who have studied that line say that unless the mine is robbed this railroad, as a commercial investment, will not be attractive for several years to come. But its commer- cial importance to Alaska cannot be over-estimated. Bear in mind that not one pound of freight can be hauled over this, or any other road in Alaska, except upon a tariff first approved by the Honor- able Secretary of the Interior; and that for the past several years every foot of right-of-way granted in Alaska by stipulations, prece- dent to such grant, is subject to a very intimate control by the Secretary of the Interior both before and after construction. It takes courage and foresight to make this sort of investment in Alaska, and this is the only sort of investment that will build the Territory into self-sustaining statehood. I have always been classed as an Independent in Alaska. I have no reason to love the Guggenheims; but I challenge your broad experience and your fairness when I say : That the man or men with a million dollars to invest in Alaska or anywhere on the globe may rightly expect to pur- chase at jobbers' rates. The man with one hundred thousand dol- lars will surely get wholesale rates; while the man with one thousand dollars buys at retail. Some day we will learn that wholesale attack upon profit in business is not an assault upon special privilege, even though, from the concentration of investment, the profit bulks large. Rather should the "Spirit of '76" be ever vigilant that no monopoly of route, or harbor, be permitted ; and the spirit of fair play divorce herself from envv. NEW FEDERAL POLICY TOWARD ALASKA WANTED 311 For any man or group of men who have the courage to most largely put their money into the permnaent mining and commer- cial development of the Northland, are entitled to permanent and substantial rewards. They should be given every reasonable en- "couragement and honest inducement, and their property should be made secure and be respected. Federal Responsibility. The chief duty in this respect lies at the door of the Federal Government. Titles must be made stable and there must be an honest and prompt fulfillment by this Government of its part of the bargain ; so that it may again become a proper bulwark of strength, instead of a synonym of delay and oppression. Let it be unequivocally announced at Washington that every encouragement and safeguard will be given to lawful enterprise; but that the monopolization of harbors, routes or resources will not for one moment be tolerated. Let Washington be no longer like the mature maiden who hesi- tated, vacillated and delayed the acceptance of the long overdue proposal because she feared she might become the mother of a son who in manhood's years might commit some crime and suffer the penalty of the law. And to those of us whose humbler efforts to develop the North- land are circumscribed by limited personal means ; and those who have no opportunity of Alaskan investment, let me say: "Be- ware of that antagonism which is not unmixed with envy; and is founded not a little on fear." For the greatest calamity that could befall Alaska is that any large group, or source of capital should be so harassed by the Administration, and so exhausted by the petty -hostility of the people at large, that it should abandon the effort, and its unfinished, wasted and unproductive investment stand as a monument of warning to the business world. Rest assured that government-built and owned railroads are too good to come true, nor will Alaska be developed and her wealth shared by the American people by any system of Government de- velopment, or by Government ownership and a leasing system. It is much to be doubted if the maximum return from royalty leases would provide with lucrative inspectorships the highly eligible patriots who now occupy that band-wagon. I am unquestionably an Independent ; I am classed as anti- Guggenheim ; but I say, as I have always said : "Fight for a square deal and the open door. Keep alive the 'Spirit of '76,' but be hon- 312 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS est and broad-minded, and hope and strive that Mr. Guggenheim and every citizen may have one hundred cents and a fair profit for every dollar he or they put into Alaska!" The refusal of this Government or any constituted authority worthy of the name of Government, to administer existing law with the force and effect intended by the Congress simply because men might be tempted, or because it was charged by non-resident officials that men had been tempted to attempt its evasion and take advantage of its generosity, is a travesty on the name of Govern- ment and unthinkable at least in this Republic. Against such a policy, measured in terms of courage, the old maid just described, hesitating over her first proposal, is a veritable Joan of Arc. Alaskan Coal a Political Issue. They tell you that the Alaska fuel question has been for some time a political issue. There is some little truth and some little reason in that statement. In a notable article published this month Mr. Gifford Pindhot frankly admits that conservation also is in politics to stay. He says: "In the work of stopping the waste of our natural re- sources, the master quality is foresight. Political foresight is as necessary to prevent the failure or destruction of the conservation program as practical foresight is to prevent the destruction or monopoly of the forests or the coal fields of Alaska. It is there- fore not only natural but necessary and right that an advocate of conservation should look ahead in politics." I was asked by a little group of congressmen just before ad- journment, "Mr. Harriman, what is hurting Alaska today? What is the trouble?" "I can answer you in four words," I replied, "if you will promise not to take offense." This being agreed to, I gave th,em the answer. "One-nine-one-two," and there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour. The Alaskan fuel question is rightly perhaps in politics today. I for one would gladly submit this or any other question to the suffrage of the American people, granted first and always that the people have a chance to weigh the' facts before voting, and that the great parties do not take sides before the real facts and merits are known. It is unfortunate that a man of great abilities and a pre- eminent opportunity for usefulness should have wholly committed himself upon this question in the academic privacy of his study on the unsupported data of a zealous young man who had himself in- NEW FEDERAL POLICY TOWARD ALASKA WANTED 313 vestigated the Alaskan question in the streets and byways of Seattle and in the poorly lighted -document room of the modest land office at Juneau. It is doubtless unfortunate that that young man and his equally zealous and ingenious co-partner had never been within five hundred miles of the Alaskan coal fields; and that their frank ad- missions show them also to "be cruelly handicapped by a virgin ignorance of all practical things pertaining to mining. It is unfortunate that before Mr. Pinchot enunciated his policies as to the preservation of the forests in the coal fields of Alaska that he did not have the benefit of a conference with some one who had actually seen these primeval forests, as he would have found that a hundred square miles of these coal lands are shielded from the cruel blast by less standing timber than makes market- able many a section of timber in the states of Washington and Oregon. It is a public misfortune that in his recent trip to Alaska he spent more time in the hotels of Cordova and in the defense of his pre-determined policies before an exasperated and perhaps un- sympathetic audience at Cordova, than in the forest and coal fieJds of Katalla eighty miles away. It is to be regretted that he did not borrow an axe and visit these forests which he has conserved from the ruthless hands of the man who otherwise might have built a log cabin or warmed his children before a wood fire. It is regrettable that a brief momentary experience of the exigencies of a pioneer life did not send him in search of an armful of firewood. For a few blows of the axe and an hour in this forest reserve would have shown him that the trees there are passing their prime and are already so dry rotted that sometimes only one tree in three or four is fit for firewood. It is unfortunate also that he -did not learn that such standing timber there as might still serve a useful purpose possesses but little over half the tensile strength of States timber, and is of rela- tively small commercial importance in the future of the coal mining industry in Alaska. Burden of Complaint "The Forestry." The members of your Alaskan committee have not been parti- san in this matter. In a series of informal conferences had with the mining men in various quartz mining communities I pledge you that we gave no intimation of the personal views of our committee. We simply asked them to state freely their ideas, and make any 3i4 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS suggestions or statements which might be of interest to the Mining Congress. And the burden of their complaint was "The Forestry." Their inability to use timber to open their prospects and mines, to use any waterpower, and the successful opposition by the forestry to the patenting of quartz claims on which any standing timber was reported. We found one man, and one man only, a very intelligent and likable gentleman, who mildly took up the cudgels for the Pinchot policies. He avowed that "there might be something said on the other side." Later we inquired what his business was, and were enlightened to find that he was operating a little power water plant. "Where does he get his power?" we asked. "Oh," they said, "he has some sort of a lease of the falls back of town." "From whom?" we asked, mildly curious. "Why, from the forestry department," was the answer. Can you see the picture of the phonograph and the devoted listener? It is unfortunate that men of standing, native ability and sincerity, such as Mr. Pinchot, must approach these questions wholly in the dark as to the facts and merits, and are . forced to lend ear to those disinterested patriots who go about the country at their own expense, and furnish interesting reading matter at rates attractive to both reader and author. And it is to be regretted that frail mortals that we are, having once publicly committed ourselves to an attitude or policy as to a given state of facts, we are prone to review these facts or visit the section under discussion in a sincere and wholly unconscious effort to strengthen our position, for granted that the earth is flat, there is much even in Holy Writ to support the contention. A few days after the Controller bay story "broke," as the newspaper men say, a very eminent congressman, whose utterances on that subject had shed light upon several pages of the Con- gressional Record, sent for me and said : "Harriman, where in the deuce is Controller bay?" I do not quote him with exactness. That is the trouble. There is no better nor more useful public servant in the halls of Congress than that gentleman, but like the small boy with the stomach ache, he only knew there was trouble somewhere. He couldn't tell just how serious it was, and his only recourse was to lift up his voice. The point is obvious. If the men in Congress and in public life have not gotten the facts, what of the American public who oppose monopoly and want to deal squarely. NEW FEDERAL POLICY TOWARD ALASKA WANTED 315 It is idle to abuse the special agent, it is unfair ofttimes to attack the executive officers of the land office. They have no alternative but to carry out the policy of the existing administra- tion, and are very much in the same position of a firing squad executing upon a comrade the decree of a drum head court martial. The report of your Alaskan committee last year might be properly entitled "Wanted a New Administrative Policy for Alaska." That report, which you so generously endorsed, stands with full force today. Since that time a new and vigorous governor has made an extensive tour throughout his territory, and is looking its prob- lems squarely in the face. Since that time, in season and out of season, Alaska's delegate to Congress has been fearlessly demanding "a new deal and a square deal for Alaska," and has won an ever increasing sup- port. Since that time three cabinet officers, including the new Secretary of the Interior, have visited Alaska, and reported to the President. And the Secretary has shown his wisdom in asking the co-operation and advice of our own Dr. Holmes and the only Dr. Brooks and their splendidly informed staffs. And since that time the eminent judge, who presides at the White House, has been studying the various plans, .which unfortunately do not always agree, weighing the facts, and promises speedy and equitable judgment. So we again say "Wanted. A New Policy," and what is equally important, "Wanted. An Informed Public Opinion to Sup- port and Encourage Such a Policy." A tradesman in the vicinity of Boston, in a small way of busi- ness, asked me last week if Alaska was a part of the state of Washington. He is in no sense characteristic of the East, but his knowledge of geography is as poor as is the average good citi- zen's acquaintance with the essential conditions in that remote territory. Eastern Man's Advice. A few months ago at an earnest gathering of Alaskans, an Eastern man, invited for his recognized impartiality and wide ex- perience, said in effect: "I have just returned from Alaska. My preconceived ideas, gathered from all I could find in the Eastern press, have been radically modified. My advice is: Raise a few thousand dollars' expense and invite one or two eminent Eastern magazine writers to Alaska, and through them the true facts will 316 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS begin to come before the people particularly the Eastern readers and you will get immediate sympathetic support." Gentlemen of the American Mining Congress, it is pertinent to the subject, and I believe it is fair and right that I tell you, that members of your Alaskan committee have by invitation attended at least a half-dozen subsequent meetings, at which, in the aggregate, fully seventy per cent of Alaska coal claimants were represented. It was proposed to take some action upon the advice I have just described, and I say to you, with no desire to belittle these men, that by no further self-sacrifice could they raise the needed money until this question is settled. Further than that, some months ago certain congressmen let it become known that if a representative Alaskan mining man would come to Washington he would be given a fair and impartial hearing. A committee of Alaskans worked for several days, and had several meetings, and finally the bare cost of a return fare was raised. And if that Alaskan unrolled his blankets elsewhere than in the public parks at Washington he did so at his own expense. And why should this be ? These men are of the same bone and flesh, courage, experience and ability, as those who in other fields of Alaskan exploration have already won a pioneer's reward. But consider their condition. Their explorations, privations and dis- coveries have been held as naught, and their money spent in de- velopment has been claimed as a forfeit. When you decree the title to a man's home is void, you rob him of that home; and rather you destroy a man's credit and standing, you had better turn his family into the street. So I say to you that there are men of Alaska who have spent the savings of their lifetime, and the money of their f-riends in the development of small areas of coal land, who have years ago paid the American Government its price in full for that land ; and against whose entries no charges or intimation of charges have been made by any special agent or other official who cannot get their patents or raise or borrow a dollar on their property. And what is the reason? It is because please do not mis- understand the spirit of this utterance when I say to you an in- creasingly large number of people, in the West at least, have come to believe that, irrespective of the merits or desserts of the indi- vidual, but in response to what is thought to be a public demand, the American Government is going to repudiate its statutory obliga- tion and wipe out all existing claims.. NEW FEDERAL POLICY TOWARD ALASKA WANTED 317 "And for what end and for whose benefit?" they ask. "In order to lease these claims which the toil and labor and savings of others have discovered, prospected and partially developed^ to the obvious few whose condition of special privilege unll alone enable them to operate Alaskan coal measures under a leasing system," A Leasing Bill No Remedy. I am not at this time attacking the leasing system of Alaska coal per se. It is a straw man, as yet unsupported by merit, sound morals or reasoning; and we will not turn aside to take serious issue. Yet lest we be understood to impugn the ability or sin- cerity of the able men who have been learnedly discussing or out- lining proposed leasing bills for Alaska coal, let me say, with all possible emphasis and care, I have examined with much appre- ciation at least one such proposed measure. It shows admirable care and marked ability. Its author I am pleased and proud to know ; and with him I have no controversy on the merits of the ex- isting coal cases. He will, I think, frankly tell you that he knows little or nothing about them. He has had neither opportunity nor reason to know about them. Get this, please, in fairness to many members of Congress of whom he is representative. He has merely been asked, as an eminent authority on public land legislation, to draft a bill for the leasing of coal lands contained in the public domain in Alaska with special safeguards against monopoly and abuse. I only wish that the same man might be constituted the im- partial tribunal for the determination of all the pending cases; and that he had the opportunity, in a judicial capacity, to thoroughly sift the facts and merits. The Alaskan coal question is still unsettled even by the passage of such a measure. Let us first bury the corpse before we part its garments amongst us*. Is it proposed instead of a patent to offer the claimant a lease? If he is entitled to a patent the offer is unfair to him, and if he has obtained his claim by fraud, the offer is equally unfair to the Government. A Profound^Unrest in Alaska. Alaskans are either entitled to patents, or to nothing at all. To refuse a patent and suggest a lease, or to wear out by inter- minable* delay one deserving of a patent until he offers to exchange his birthright for a lease, is a course that we still refuse to believe possible. But it has been freely charged. And it has been as freely said by otherwise conservative men from many parts of Alaska, that if submitted to the suffrage of the residents of Alaska 318 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS tJvey zvould roll up a majority in favor of annexation to a neigh- boring Dominion. And there are in Alaska fully as large a per- centage of men who have fought under the flag as may be found in any part of the United States. And this statement does not imply a lack of love of country or of inherent patriotism. It arises from stern economic-bread-and- butter conditions. It is a matter of general knowledge that our neighbors across the line have been singularly happy and successful in the handling of their public domain irrespective of distance from the seat of government. Results to which our existing system in Alaska does not as readily lend itself. So that while these same men might favor annexation, there are hundreds of them that if need arose would come home to fight for the flag against any extra-continental foe. Fair Play for the Grubstaker. That earnest band of patriots whose outcries, like those of Gideon's Band, have been mistaken by the administration as the voice of the people, and the voice of God, have summarized the Alaskan question into a Proposition, a Corollary and a Q. E. D. which may be stated thus: The Proposition Is: Granted that while, possibly, the man who in Alaska actually discovered the coal vein an-d chopped and drove the stakes may have some right ; and that after a few more years' deliberation he may be sought out in some Old Soldiers' Home or poor house and be handed a moss-grown patent ; yet the man in the states who gave him the money to buy his ticket to Alaska, bought the flour and bacon he ate, the shoes he prospected in, and the axe that drove the stake, this man, who made the whole thing possible, is a non- resident robber, a conspirator, and should be promptly indicted. This is the proposition, and I may add that such a man is usually depicted behind a mahogany desk in the East. Why the telling detail of a plug hat has been overlooked I cannot say. Now comes the corollary : "Corollary." The resources of Alaska belong to.a// the people! Therefore, and Q. E. D., we will take away from the wicked few, whose sav- ings have made even its existence known, and give it unto all the people, who have toiled not, neither have they spinned, and yet the NEW FEDERAL POLICY TOWARD ALASKA WANTED 319 bulk of whom, unlike the heavily endowed Prophet, readily need the money. No man with a day's business experience, no man with moder- ate powers of observation, but can recognjze the enormous injustice of such a proposal. Transportation in Alaska. BY DUNCAN M. STEWART, SEWARD, ALASKA. Mr. Chairman and Fellow Members of the American Mining Congress : My first duty is to express my keen appreciation of the honor conferred upon me by the invitation to address you, and if only that honor did not carry with it a serious responsibility and a heart-rending feeling of inability to rise to the importance of the occasion and deal adequately with the subject, I could with all hon- csty, express to you my happiness also. I believe any man who has the temerity to address a public meeting invests himself with a responsibility to say something; to deliver a real message ; and when it comes to addressing one of the most powerful organizations of men in America on a topic of vital interest to a country twelve times the size of New York state, and whose land area is more than the combined area of the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Nevada, the burden of responsibility is certainly not diminished. I feel that a man in such circumstances should divest himself and his remarks of clap- trap and buncombe, adhere strictly to facts, and avoid sensational- ism. We have enough of that sort of thing in the utterances of some public men who know little or nothing of the real conditions in Alaska, and for that matter wherever great issues are discussed and great political questions involved, where even the flag is not sacred, but has to be unfurled to the wind of verbose orators and then held at angle to hide in its glorious folds the ignorance or casuistry of the speaker. Realizing then my responsibility as one privileged to address this great meeting, as a resident of Alaska ; as one deeply interested in the development of its natural resources yet holding no brief from any corporation or coterie of individuals I beg to assure you, and all those to whom these words may come, that what I have to say to you today is absolute, unadulterated fact. For this rea- son I shall refrain from expressing mere opinions ; I shall not dis- cuss the merits or demerits of a leasing system ; I shall not question the desirability or otherwise of government ownership of railways ; I shall not expatiate on any contentious subject, but will confine myself 'entirely to a statement of incontrovertible facts regarding transportation and kindred matters in Alaska, and leave it to you TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 321 to draw your own conclusions and decide what we are going to do about it. With this understanding, I bespeak for the subject your kind attention and earnest consideration and for myself your generous indulgence. In the first place, Alaska is a beautiful and delightful country ; and its climate is the most salubrious in the United States ac- cording- to army vitality reports and the experience of the civil population residing there. Every Alaskan harbor south and east of Cook Inlet is ice free and open to navigation all the year around. While the ports of Quebec, Montreal, St. John, Albany, and Buffalo are absolutely closed to navigation during the winter, all of the most important ports of Alaska, excepting Nome, Fairbanks and St. Michaels, are open to winter transportation. Ketchikan, Juneau, Skaguay, Cor- dova, Valdez and Seward enjoy at least" a weekly mail service from the United States, and the three last named towns are situated on harbors that are unexcelled, if not unequaled, by any others on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts. These three place, Cordova, Valdez and Seward, are the winter ports for Alaska proper. Skaguay is an important port but is mainly used in winter to go to Dawson, which is in Canada and not in Alaska, as many Americans seem to think. Even the post office department is not always sure on thin point, and it is on record that one of Uncle Sam's alert inspectors wrote sharply to the post master at Dawson for the usual returns which were not arriving in Washington as promptly as the regula- tions required. That official of his Britannic Majesty, however, replied that he had been faithfully forwarding the returns to his own government at Ottawa, where they belonged! Three Seaports Natural Termini for Railroads. These three sea-ports are the logical and natural termini for railroads to the interior for what we may call trunk lines but only at Cordova has the steel been laid for any material distance. There the Copper River & Northwestern R. R. has trains in opera- tion for something over two hundred miles and has been hauling ore that distance from the Bonanza mine since last April. This is a standard gauge road of heavy construction* steel bridges and well- ballasted track, that has the comparison entirely in its favor when compared with the best pioneer railroads of the Northwestern states and Canada, lines that now constitute the great transconti- nental systems of America. This magnificent road has opened up to prospectors a country which otherwise would have been closed to them forever, and hundreds of people are living along its route 322 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS and towns springing up that were not, and never would be, on the map before this enterprise became effective. This is what is known as the Morgan-Guggenheim road, so popularly believed in the east to be "bottling" rather than opening up the country. Yet this road has made it possible for men to penetrate far into the mountain ranges and placer valleys in search of precious metals that would have been irretrievably locked up without it. Before the advent of this railroad it would take a man a whole year to get a camp equipment and outfit of supplies as far into that section of the country as he can now go in twenty-four hours. At Valdez there is not enough track laid to dwell on the fea- ture of railroad transportation there, but that is the starting point of the Government trail to Fairbanks. All roads and trails built by the Government in Alaska are in charge of a road commission, under the war department, and are properly described as "mili- tary roads." This road, from Valdez to Fairbanks, is one of our best, and has been of tremendous importance to Valdez and the country generally in opening up the mining territory tributary to Fairbanks and the Tanana River and developing a great gold pro- ducing camp. At Seward a standard gauge railway has been completed for seventy-two miles and surveyed for seven hundred miles, includ- ing branch lines, through the very center of Alaska. This road, which is known as the Alaska Northern Railroad, gives a very efficient car service daily except Sunday for passengers and express freight, with an occasional steam locomotive freight train, as traffic demands. This company does not operate in winter as it is under- going a financial re-organization, which, by the way, was brought about by the action of a federal judge who granted a receivership on the petition of one man, without according a hearing, or even giving notice, to any official of the railway. He appointed his own brother-in-law receiver at a salary of $1,500 per month and ex- penses, and then immediately adjourned his court for six months, thereby effectively preventing the owners from removing the re- ceiver and re-obtaining the management of their own property. This corrupt judge was* removed from office later in punishment for this crime, and that is about the extent of the aid the present administration at Washington has given to this particular enter- prise. The passenger traffic of this road is very heavy in summer and its right-of-way affords excellent traveling for dog-teams in winter, being used as part of the "Seward-Iditarod Trail" for about eighty miles. TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA . 323 Although originally intended to primarily tap the resources of the Kenai Peninsula, Kuskokwim, Susitna and Tanana River valleys, the raison d'etre of this line now is the coal of the Ma- tanuska valley, which Government authorities claim to be the most valuable of all known coal fields in Alaska. In this section recently Mr. Gtfford Pinchot traversed part of the survey route of this railway, and had to do so on foot by the way which I trust em- phasized in his case the desirability of improved transportation facilities and I heard him say that the soil was as rich as that of the richest of our western states. At all events, he saw several varieties of edible berries, such as currants, raspberries, blueber- ries, cranberries, etc., growing wild in the utmost profusion, while there was such a continuously luxuriant growth of "redtop" grass which happened to be wet at the time that he could only describe his progress by saying that he "swam over that trail." He did not, however, observe any great evidences of human industry, any serious attempts at farming or clearing off this rich land, much less a succession of towns and villages. No, the route to these coal fields is at present traversed only by a horse trail ; you cannot drive a wagon over it ; the Government did nothing towards it, and it cannot even be dignified by the title of "Military Road." It is an expensive business getting in supplies over it; there are no attrac- tions about it for the prospector or pioneer; in short there are no transportation facilities. But build a railway into that country ; open up the coal mines and operate them, and people would flock there ; a local market for the food products of that rich soil would be at once created, and the land would blossom as the rose. Transportation Great Problem of Alaska. Transportation is the most transcendently important problem confronting Alaska today. The speakers preceding me have given you accurate, #s well as graphic, information about its coal, its gold, its copper, its timber^ and other great natural resources. You have heard from sound, practical men how they would deal with the homestead laws and the coal land laws, and the people of Alaska have received from others a variegated multitude of panaceas for all the ills that country is heir to, but let me assure you that there can be no real cure for her troubles that does not include in its composition the subject of transportation. All questions affecting the physical development of Alaska are indissolubly connected with the one great question of transportation. The opening of the coal lands is absolutely essential to the building of railways through central Alaska by private capital. Of- 324 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS ficials of the Alaska Northern R. R. inform me that they arc unable to operate trains hauled by steam locomotives so long as they have to pay fourteen or fifteen dollars per ton for imported coal, as they do at present, and I understand that competent of- ficials of the Pennsylvania R. R. say they could not operate that great system profitably at a coal fuel cost of twelve dollars per ton. At Seward, the terminus of this railroad, private individuals pay seventeen dollars per ton for coal, whereas- if the Matanuska coal was available the article could be bought for from $5 to $7 per ton, and have a much better grade of coal at that. You have heard from other speakers that while the coal fields of Alaska are withdrawn from entry it becomes a crime (larceny) to use local coal. The anomaly thus created is best illustrated by the plight in which the Tanana Valley Railway finds itself. There is an abundance of good steam coal along the right of way of this road, and a scarcity of timber, but it is forced to leave the coal and burn wood at a cost of about $12 per cord! Should not this be set right? There are eight lines of railroad in Alaska with about 500 miles of track. Five of these are purely local, catering to the traffic of the mines in their respective territory. The other three, namely, the Copper River Northwestern; White Pass & Yukon and the Alaska Northern are the most important to the country generally, and of these, the White Pass & Yukon Railroad is the only one affording transportation facilities into the very interior of Alaska, by way of the Yukon River, and that is partly through Canadian Territory, with only 112 miles of track all told. This route to the interior can only be used advantageously in summer, as the Yukon River is frozen in winter. This road, which was a financial suc- cess from its inception, was built with English capital and has been of great value in developing American territory on the Alaska side of the border. What these two railway enterprises have accomplished in the way of developing the latent wealth of certain sections, and much more besides, can be achieved by the building of a trunk line along the projected route of the Alaska Northern Railroad, and the people of Alaska do not care who build it ; they will extend a hearty wel- come to the owners of such a project whoever they may be. There is not a coast town in Alaska today that is not envious of Cordova, because it has a real, live road, steadily and irresistibly forging its iron way into the heart of the territory contiguous to that terminus. The people of Alaska differ among themselves on political and TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 325 economic questions, and they are far from unanimous as to the best method of exploiting its great natural resources; but they are a solid unit on the subject of transportation, and they are quite indifferent as to whether private capital or the United States Government build trunk lines of railway and good wagon roads, so long os they are built, and that soon. Wagon Roads Needed. But the building of trunk lines, or any other lines, of railroad is not the only essential ; there is even a more crying need for good wagon roads. The appropriation for roads and trails in Alaska is wofully inadequate, and the methods of expending it are distinctly bad. I could point to instances where new trails stopped short in the middle of the woods, having reached nowhere, because the ap- propriation for that particular piece of work became suddenly ex- hausted. I have seen the necessary repairs Jto an existing Gov- ernment road discontinued at a critical spot for the same reason, although a surplus existed after the completion of some other specific work, but it could not be availed of, under the regulations governing these funds. The adoption of such methods in the building of roads by private capital would end inevitably in bank- ruptcy and failure. And let me say here that the Alaska road commission and the excellent officers and gentlemen who are charged with its administration are not to blame for the unfortunate conditions to which I have alluded. The people of Alaska owe a great deal to the Road Commission for the zeal and efficiency it has displayed and the work it has accomplished in the face of "red tape" and ridiculously inadequate money appropriations. These gentlemen do the best they can, but the results, nevertheless, are horrible. Some of the Government roads in Alaska are a disgrace to the Nation; even the Government employes themselves are ashamed of them, and with a view to bringing home to Congress and the people of the United States the wretched results of their efforts, as compared with those achieved under a policy of enlight- enment and common sense, they have inserted in some of the official publications issued at Washington illustrations taken from actual photographs of American and Canadian roads in Alaska, and the adjoining Yukon Territory. On one page you will see the picture of a beautifully smooth, well drained, level Canadian road, fit for a pedestrian, an automobile, or a landau, while on the opposite page you will find an illustration an American road of a streak of mud, roots and rocks, unfit for the use of man, beast, or machinery, and positively ruinous, alike to a man's soul and body, 326 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS In the administration of justice and the building of public roads and trails in the far Northwest, the Canadians have us beaten to a standstill. We have just the same kind of country as they have, only more of it, yet they have more people and infinitely better transportation facilities on their side of the imaginary border line. Why should this be ? I have given you the facts and leave the answer to yourselves. I venture one reply to this question, and it is, that the average member of the Canadian Parliament is in much closer touch with the actual conditions^ prevailing in his country as a whole even to its remotest corners than is the average member of the United States Congress regarding his great country. Indeed it seems as if ignorance is at the bottom of most of Alaska's troubles; ignorance of its immense area; ignorance of its climate; ignorance of its resources, and what is worst of all, ignorance of its people. The most widespread misconceptions are probably those regarding its climate and people. The generally accepted notion is that Alaska is a land of perpetual ice and snow, inhabited mainly by Eskimos, while the facts are that not more than one-third of it is within the Arctic Circle, and that the great majority of its popu- lation is white a mixture of the best elements of the Caucasian race the identical class of red-corpuscled people who placed Ore- gon, California and Washington among the great producing States of this Nation. Every trunk line of railroad in Alaska can be operated daily ,in winter. The White Pass & Yukon Railroad runs trains every day in the year except Sundays; the Copper River & North Western Railroad runs trains often enough to accommodate the traffic and maintains its line open the entire winter. The Alaska, Northern can operate on as regular a schedule in winter as in sum- mer; while the Tanama River Railroad, which is in north latitude 65, conducts a train service all the year round. I have already intimated that the only Alaska seaports closed to navigation in winter are those on Behring Sea and Cook Inlet. We have grand glaciers and magnificent mountains, some of them capped with perpetual snows, and in these as well as other respects Alaska pos- sesses a wealth of scenic features that would turn the passenger agents of some of our great American, Canadian and European railways green with envy. We have also flowers and sunshine, beautiful gardens and flowing hayfields, Christian churches and secular schools, and such a generally salubrious climate that the death-rate among the white population is the lowest in the world. TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 327 If we can dispel the'ignorance and disseminate the truth; if we can enlighten the congressional representative from our indi- vidual district, and all the other legislators with whom we come in touch; if we can get these well-meaning people to understand the real, actual conditions in some measure as we who live in Alaska know them, I believe we can look forward hopefully to the adoption of relief measures which will lead to the development of Alaska on a scale commensurate with its size and the importance of its potential resources. Support of Congress Necessary. The solution of the transportation problem will cause most of our troubles to vanish, but we are not going to solve it by vituper- ation and abuse, especially of the powers that be. I believe that the President and the Secretary of the Interior are alive to the real situation and needs of Alaska, and that they are sincere in their desire to bring order and good out of the existing chaos, but they and their successors in office, must be powerless without the sup- port of Congress, and I think that is the real body to which we must address ourselves. If we can obtain the sympathetic ear of a majority in Congress, the Government may be authorized to ren- der some assistance to private capital, either by way of guarantee of bond interest or a land grant, or a coal grant, and thereby insure the building of a great trunk line of railway from the sea to the Yukon river with which to unlock this wonderful treasure box, to the enrichment of the whole nation. Or, Congress may decide to have the Government build and operate such a line and thereby retain the key in its own hands. That it will be a richly paying proposition for the owners, whoever they may be, is not doubted for a moment by anyone familiar with pioneer railroading in the Northwest, and particularly so in Alaska under an enlightened policy of trail and wagon road building, which would create feeders and great arteries of traffic for the main line. In a new country capital, for obvious reasons, expects greater rewards than in older and more settled communities, and with the inducements which are being constantly offered in such countries as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, China and Africa, it behooves us to see that no unnecessary handicaps are placed upon capital seeking investment in Alaska, and above all when such capital is seeking investment in the all-important line of transportation. I believe the enormously enhanced value of properties caused by the building of such a line, in conjunction with a proper system of 328 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS wagon roads and trails, would amply repay the Government for any assistance it might render to private capital in the promotion of such a laudable enterprise. On the other hand, while I am not an advocate of government ownership on general principles, I have no hesitation in saying that if the people of the United States were to build such a trunk line system for themselves, and operate it on business lines, the return on the investment would be comparable only to that made in Egypt for the people of Great Britain by that far-sighted statesman, Benjamin Disraeli, when he purchased for the nation the shares of the Suez Canal. The High Grade Coals of Alaska. BY WILLIAM GRIFFITH, SCRANTON, PA. As engineer and geologist we have had opportunity on two separate occasions to study and report upon the economic conditions affecting the coal resources of one of the principal coal fields of Alaska. We now find that the people of the United States are being taught erroneous, extravagant notions regarding the economic value an-d extent of these fields, by the wildly exaggerated state- ments and fanciful "misinformation drawn by some of the writers whose articles and schemes appear from time to time in the maga- zines and newspapers of the day. Therefore, we deem it a patriotic duty to make the following brief, plain statements of the geological conditions which control the economic value of these much talked- of coal areas; this more particularly at the present time, when our legislators are about to enact laws for the control and proper con- servation of these important national resources and should do it with accurate knowledge before them of the conditions which pre- vail, in order that the laws they enact may the better fit the circum- stances. In common with all the coals of the Pacific coast, those of Alaska are found among the rocks of the more recent geological age, and speaking generally the coal beds which occur in sedi- ments which are in the low lands near to the coast belong to the grade commonly known as lignites, sub-bituminous or bituminous coals. The great bulk of Alaska coal belongs to one or the other of these classes of ordinary fuels. So undesirable are these low grade coals for high-grade uses that the United States is com- pelled to transport Pennsylvania and West Virginia coal from our Eastern ports, around Cape Horn to the coaling stations on the Pacific, to be used as steam coal for the United States Navy, there being no high-grade fuel now available for this purpose on our western coast. As we proceed Eastward from the coast toward the moun- tains (which in Alaska are nearly all of volcanic origin) the exist- ing coal beds become much improved in quality, and we therefore find the highest grade coals of Alaska imbedded in the sedimentary strata of the mountains, close to the igneous or volcanic rocks, and 330 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS the gradation of the coal from the low-grade lignite to high-grade bituminous and anthracite is the direct result of the remoteness or proximity of the once hot volcanic rocks, the heat from which has caused more or less distillation of the volatile gases contained in the once low-grade coal, thus leaving the high fixed carbon required to constitute a high-grade fuel. On the Pacific coast of the United States there are only two coal fields of comparatively small extent, in which fuels of the latter sort are found in quantity. Both of these are in Alaska and are known as the "Matanuska field" and the "Behring River" or "Katalla" field. The former contains bituminous and semi-bitu- minous coking coals, with some anthracite, and is located 200 miles northwest of the Katalla field, which latter is situated near the coast of Controller Bay, about 100 miles southeast of Valdez, Alaska, and carries in the Western part semi-bituminous and in the easterly portion excellent anthracite coal. The combined areas of the two fields is one or two hundred square miles. Notwithstanding the superficial extent, their actual content of commercial and minable coal as of present day practice is apparently limited, and the wildly exaggerated statements which have been made of the quantities of this high-grade fuel are probably due to lack of correct information, and the resulting presumption that the mode of occurrence and con- dition of the beds is similar in all points to the Eastern coal fields of the United States. Large Areas Without Minable Coal. In Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio the coal beds usually occur horizontally. Each superficial acre may be expected, with a reasonable degree of certainty, to carry its underlying acre of all the coal beds of the measures ; and therefore a similar extent of coal field in the Eastern part of the United States would carry a tre- mendous quantity of minable coal. This is not true of these im- portant Alaska coal fields, for as will probably be discovered later, from fifty to seventy-five per cent or more of the superficial area of the region probably contains no minable coal whatever, because the structural geology has been so affected by the adjacent igneous rocks, which are much twisted, contorted, folded and faulted on account of the quakings and serious disturbances which as every- one knows, are common to volcanic rocks everywhere, that the coal beds contained in these adjacent sediments are likewise much dis- turbed, and instead of being disposed in regular basins or in hori- zontal undisturbed position in the earth, the coal beds are usually found existing in monoclinal form, with steep dips, nearly vertical THE HIGH GRADE COALS OF ALASKA 331 oft-times. The coal is much crushed, due to the tremendous rock pressures, and the beds are liable to much distortion and folding and are very uncertain as to extent or continuity, being frequently interrupted by dikes or intrusions of lava. They also carry much dangerous mine gas. All of these irregularities will render the extraction of the coal very expensive, and the available quantity in a given extent of the bed exceedingly uncertain and much less per unit of volume than in the undisturbed eastern coal fields. Again, the geologist finds his study of Alaskan coals rendered very difficult and uncertain on account of the thick mat of Alaska moss which covers the entire surface (except at those points where rock exposures are caused by the erosion of the stream banks) and by the lack of key rocks, or absence of similitude in the strike, dip, intercollated slates of the coal beds, and the dissimilarity of the overlying and underlying rocks, and the sequence of the stratifica- tion, thus rendering the ^identification of the seams at different localities practically impossible. The prospecting and exploitation of the coal is therefore very difficult and at the present time has not progressed sufficiently to warrant reliable estimates. Indeed, the exposures and data from which to draw conclusions as to quantities are very meager, and therefore in our opinion, at the present time no well qualified, careful estimator would place the quantity of com- mercially minable coal in these two fields beyond possibly 300,000,- ooo tons; and even this may be far too much. Thus the combined total of the present high-grade coal of Alaska, instead of being, as has been often stated, far beyond the content of the Pennsylvania coal fields, is only about one two-thousandth part of the commercial tonnage now estimated to be contained in the anthracite fields alone, to say nothing of the great additional quantities of bituminous coal in that State. Pennsylvania alone actually produces nearly, if not quite, as much coal every year as the combined content of these two Alaska fields. As an offset in a measure, of the above related conditions un- favorable to economical mining, these coal fields are still only par- tially explored, and future exploitations may lead to the discovery of additional coal beds now unknown. Good Profit Requires Large Production. In the western part of this country most of the prospecting is done by people who are more familiar with metal than with coal mining, and who are accustomed to expect greater values from comparatively small volumes of ore. With coal, on the contrary, 332 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS great value means large quantities, and the latter requires extensive and expensive mining development both inside the mines and outside, and railroad transportation must be provided. Goodly profits at coal mining require large production, and, therefore, until the under- ground exploitation of the beds has proceeded far enough from the coal miner's point of view to develope the habits of the beds at lower depths with respect to their continuity, regularity, and folded or crushed condition, in order to determine the probable economic yield of a given coal bed, the great outlay of money required for land purchases and the outside mining improvements and transpor- tation should be considered a hazardous expenditure by the careful investor. In view of the foregoing, we should say that 2,000,000 tons per year is a liberal average tonnage to expect from these two coal areas, and at the high royalty that has been mentioned by the press would have an annual value of about $1,000,000, which might per- haps continue for 100 years. At four per cent the present worth of such an annuity is approximately $25,000,000, without consid- ering the deductions usually made to cover the ordinary uncer- tainties of mining. And, therefore, in our view, the fabulous value recently assigned to these Alaska fields is simply the utterance of words without knowledge. Our present laws and restrictions have evidently been formed through a misconception of the conditions as well as the absolute necessities of that rich district. Therefore, for the present they are working an actual hold-up or estoppel to the commercial progress of Alaska. What the district now requires for its development more than anything else, is transportation facilities. The building of railroads in Alaska means the introduction of labor-saving ma- chinery, cheaper food and materials, more and cheaper labor, and a general amelioration of the stern conditions which now prevail ; and their introduction will immediately be followed by an outflow of wealth far beyond our expectations, which will be wrought out from the abundance of low-grade ores or placers, and from the tailings or refuse from the rich diggings of the past years, which cannot, now be profitably worked and are necessarily wasted. Capital Abundant. Capital is abundant, ready and anxious, but the building and operation of railroads requires coal as well as dollars. The prime necessity of Alaska, therefore, with respect to railroad construc- tion, is the opportunity to utilise some of its dormant coal reserve, not necessarily the best of it, but even the lower grades. "Any old THE HIGH GRADE COALS OF ALASKA 333 coal'' will answer where none is at present available. All Alaska coal lands have been withdrawn ffom entry. Coal of all kinds is fairly abundant and well distributed throughout the territory, but under the present legal restrictions no man may mine it. An operator of a small coal mine on Cook's Inlet was arrested for selling to other than the U. S. Revenue vessels; and in some parts of the District the timber is being rapidly exhausted for fuel purposes, on account of the scarcity of coal. Conservation without utilization is a wrong idea and a sprag to progress. Most of the Alaska claimants are after the best coal ; and therefore, in accord with the proverbial wastefulness of the American people; the present aspect of the coal situation in Alaska, points toward the speedy consumption of the small, high-grade part of the Alaska coal and the discarding of the more plentiful supply of medium and low-grade fuels. Let our Congress, therefore, enact its new laws for the control of this question with full knowledge of the situation. And if for- sooth, it is proposed to control the coal industry of Alaska through some sort of leasehold arrangement, let us provide a high per-ton royalty for the relatively small quantity of high-grade coal we pos- sess, and a lower rate for the medium and low-grade coals; thus arranging the royalties, if you please, on a sliding scale in some manner proportionate to the percentage of fixed carbon contained in the coal ; or some similar plan which will force the conservation of the very important high-grade navy fuels for the higher uses of the district and the Nation, to which they are adapted, thus in a measure compelling the mining of the lower-grade coals for the more ordinary local purposes necessary to the development of Alaska. Conservation vs. Encouragement. MARTIN FISHBACK, EL PASO, TEXAS. Just before the assassination of that great and good man, Abraham Lincoln, Schuyler Colfax left Washington to cross the continent. As Mr. Lincoln bade him farewell, he said: "I want you to make a speech for me to the miners you may find on your journey. I have very large ideas of the mineral wealth of our Nation. I believe it practically inexhaustible. It abounds all over the Western country, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and its development has scarcely commenced. "Now the rebellion is over and we know pretty nearly the amount of our national debt, the more gold and silver we mine makes the payment of that debt much easier. I am going to en- courage that in every way. "We shall have hundreds of thousands of disbanded soldiers, and many have feared that their return home in such great num- bers might paralyze industry by suddenly furnishing a greater sup- ply of laborers tfyan there will be demand for. "I am going to try to attract them to the hidden wealth of our mountain ranges, where there is room for all. Immigration, which even the war has not stopped, will land upon our shores hundreds of thousands more every year from overcrowded Europe. I intend to point them to the gold and silver that waits for them in the West. "Tell the miners for me that I shall promote their interest to the utmost of my ability, because their prosperity is the prosperity of the Nation. We shall prove in a very few years that we are indeed the Treasury of the World." This was the last message, almost the last public utterance that came from the inspired lips of Mr. Lincoln. Those prophetic words, uttered nearly half a century ago, still make the heart of a miner glow. How different from the "encouragement" the miner and prospector receives from a paternal an-d beneficent government at the present time. The purchase of Alaska is generally accredited to the far- seeing enterprise of W. H. Seward, Secretary of State under Lin- coln, and afterward under Andrew Johnson, but is it not possible that this purchase was inspired by the wisdom of Lincoln? CONSERVATION VS. ENCOURAGEMENT 335 Anyway, on March 30, 1867, the transfer of 581,107 square miles was made to the United States for the sum of $7,200,000, known as Russian- America- Alaska ; on June 20, 1867-, ratifications were exchanged, and the formal transfer made to Gen. Rosseau, at Sitka, October 9, 1867. At that time there was much dissatisfaction expressed all over the country at this high expenditure of public money "for this miserable barren waste of ice and snow," and General Sherman said, in speaking of it : "Give 'em seven million dollars more to take it back, and be. thankful to get off so cheap." Forty-four years have come and gone since that time, and we find that the far-seeing enterprise of Mr. Seward made no mistake ; that before even one-fourth of this vast region has been even partially explored, and only a few thousand acres surveyed, Alaska has returned her purchase price many times over ; we find that "this miserable barren waste of ice and snow" has since 1880 yielded a mineral production of $186,000,000, out of which $179,- 000,000 is represented by the value of the gold output. Since the year 1800 about 3,000,000 square miles have been added to American territory at a cost of approximately ninety million dollars, all of which the output of American gold for most any one year since 1900 more than paid for ; Mr. Lincoln's prophecy has been well sustained. Not so very long ago some wise wag's even attempted to create an over-production-of-gold scare. We do not hear any more about it now. Why? Simply because the rapid increase in the produc- tion of gold and silver of a few years ago has ceased. It is a safe prediction that in a very few years more the pendulum will swing in the opposite direction, at least so far as the United States is con- cerned under the present system of "conservation, reservation and withdrawals," or whatever name one chooses to call it by. The present standard of the gold and silver production in America is kept up and maintained by improved metallurgical meth- ods applied to low-grade ores and dumps at old mines which were previously considered unprofitable, and not by virtue of any new discoveries. By a little mental figuring it is not hard to see the "beginning of the end" of the large gold and silver output in this country, if the Government persists in "conserving" the unex- plored mineral districts for some distant future generation. Of course, we are told that it is far from being the intention of prohibiting "legitimate settling and prospecting" ; contrariwise, the Government's desire is to encourage it, and all that sort of stuff ; 336 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS but the fact remains that all prospecting and exploring has prac- tically ceased throughout the entire mountain regions of the West; the oldtime,- hardy, intrepid and intelligent prospector has been driven out of the field. If you ask him why, he will likely tell you that he does not propose to be bulldozed by some impertinent forest ranger, who knows less about minerals than the horse he rides, nor take dictations from him as to where he may or may not prospect. Forest reserves over mineral areas the prospector does not object to; the average prospector has more regard for the timber on his claim than the Government itself; he is a conservationist by instinct; what he does object to are the intolerable restrictions to which he is subjected, and he has quit the field in disgust. There is something radically wrong with the system as now in practice, especially with reference to the unexplored mineral areas in the Western States. In a very few years this unwise policy will be ''brought back" with a vengeance if it continues along the same groove. Would it not be far better to leave each State to work out its own "conservation" to suit its own peculiar needs? Anyway, en- courage and protect the pioneer settler and prospector. Coal and Transportation in Alaska. BY MAURICE D. LEEHEY, SKATTLE, WASHINGTON. We are pleased to note during the past year a deeper interest in the affairs of Alaska throughout the United States. Much that has been published is misinformation. Some half-truths have been told, and these usually constitute the most dangerous falsehoods. On the other hand much truth has been elucidated, and the aroused interest and the resultant agitation must lead to a better understand- ing. The Alaskans are Americans. Practically all of them came directly from the states, and every state in our union is represented in Alaska by some of her most enterprising sons and bravest daugh- ters. Consequently, the Alaska people are patrotic, and they have exercised for years a patient, philosophical patriotism, because they have confidence in the honesty of the American people, and know that when the American people are fully and correctly informed justice will be done. The Honorable Walter L. Fisher, Secretary of the Interior, ac- companied by Dr. Alfred H. Brooks, of the U. S. Geological Sur- vey, and Dr. Joseph A. Holmes, Director of the Bureau of Mines, visited the principal ports of Southern Alaska last August, and made such an investigation of conditions as the limited time would permit. Secretary Fisher impressed all with his ability and sin- cerity. His pleasing democratic manner made friends of all Alaskans whom he met. However, Alaska has had several visits of cabinet officers and congressional committees during- the past few years without visible results. The Administration has for several years recommended legislation with reference to Alaska without visible results. In the meantime laws applicable to Alaska have been suspended by the withdrawal of public lands from entry: Naturally, Alaskans are' disposed to criticize the Administration quite as much for its failure to proceed under existing laws as to blame Congress for the failure to enact new legislation. It is popularly understood that the coal question is the most important problem in Alaska. This is not entirely true. The great problem is that of transportation, and the coal question is chiefly important for its bearing upon transportation. ^Alaska requires railroads to the interior, and it is manifest that these railroads will not be built until the Alaska coal is placed upon the market. 338 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Coal was mined in Alaska by the Russians long years ago, prob- ably soon after the settlement of Sitka and Kodiak, the oldest towns on the Pacific coast of America, whence supplies were shipped to California and along the Pacific coast before San Fran- cisco, San Diego or Seattle were founded. These Russian coal mines, though, never became of commercial importance, and our American people paid no attention to Alaska coal until after the gold rush to Cook Inlet in 1896 and to the Klondyke still later. The general coal land laws of the United States were ex- tended to Alaska on June 6, 1900. Prior to that time attempts were made to locate coal lands in Alaska, but there was no law per- mitting the same, and even the general coal land act of 1873 has been inoperative because it applies only to surveyed land, and the public surveys have not been extended to Alaska. After another delay of four years, Congress passed the act of 1904, which pro- vides for coal land locations by private surveys. Such legislation was urged on Congress by the President's message. Congress acted, and on April 26, 1904, the President approved the law now in force permitting individual entries of 160 acres of coal land to be designated by private surveys at the expense of the applicant. About i ,000 coal claims were located under this act. Some 300 of these have been surveyed at the sole expense of the claimants who have also paid into the United States Treasury nearly $400,000, but so far not a single patent has been issued. It has been charged that most of those claims are invalid. We presume that only the officials of the general land office have sufficient knowledge to speak of all entries, but we do know of certain claims which are entirely valid, made in strict compliance with the law, and which should have been patented years ago. We know of men who went into both the Katalla and Matanuska regions and spent their time and money in the utmost good faith, strictly complying with the law in its every detail. Indeed, some of these men have actually lived upon their claims -during all these weary years of waiting. Such applications there are which have been pending for four years and more, and yet no action has been taken, no charges filed, and in some cases not even the slightest suggestion of an irregu- larity has been made, although during all of these years a score of field agents have been at work, interviewing claimants and other persons who might have some knowledge, and employing every means of a skilled detective force to ascertain possible fraud or irregularities. COAL AND TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 339 Has this long delay been caused by a gigantic conspiracy to unlawfully acquire and monopolize the Alaska coal fields? Or, was it caused by another conspiracy, which has for its object the nulli- fication of the laws solemnly passed by Congress, and the substitu- tion of a leasing system in the Alaska coal fields, without any regard to the rights of those people who proceeded in good faith according to law? Why the Delay f Thirty-one months after President Roosevelt signed the act of April 28, 1904, that same President issued an executive order with- drawing all these coal lands from entry. The executive order nullified the act of Congress. The order was so sweeping as to even suspend action upon claims already filed, and the register and receiver were thus compelled to refuse to file notices of locations made even prior to the withdrawal. Some months later the order was modified so as to permit action upon existing entries. It was admitted that patents should issue to valid claims located between April 28, 1904, and November 12, 1906, but so far all that has been done is to file charges against certain claimants, which charges have resulted in an order for the cancellation of one group. But, we repeat, there are many applications which remain pending after all these years without any action, not even charges filed or sug- gested. Why this long delay ? Surely the illegal acts of one should not entirely prevent action upon the claims of another against whom no charges have even been made. Rather was not this delay caused and is it not continued, in furtherance of another conspiracy to force a leasing system upon the Alaska fields. This situation is the more aggravating because most of these particular claimants have agreed to accept patents under the limita- tions of the act of May 28, 1906. This act applies only to claims located prior to November 12, 1906, the date of the President's withdrawal. This later act permits the consolidation of such claims in groups of not to exceed 2,560 acres, and was intended to cure defects which might have resulted from the location of a group of claims in common, or with intention to combine after obtaining patents. It is manifest that a coal mine cannot be operated upon 160 acres. Consequently, many of these claims have located in groups by men represented perhaps by the same agent, and to some extent acting jointly, each individual however locating one claim and holding it independently, but having in mind possibly that some plan of joint action might be adopted after the issuance of patents. Congress intended to validate any irregularities in such 340 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS locations, but imposed severe conditions, as will be noted by Sec- tion 3 of the act of 1908, which reads as follows : "That if any of the lands or deposits purchased under the pro- visions of this Act shall be owned, leased, trusteed, possessed, or controlled by any device, permanently, temporarily, directly, indirectly, tacitly, or in any manner whatsoever so that they form part of, or in any way effect any combination, or are in anywise controlled by any combination in the form of an unlawful trust, or form the sub- ject of any contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade in the mining or selling of coal, or of any holding of such lands by any individual, partnership, association, corporation, mortgage, stock ownership, or control, in excess of two thousand five hundred and sixty acres in the district of Alaska, the title thereto shall be forfeited to the United States by proceedings instituted by the Attorney General of the United States in the courts for that purpose." This is certainly the most stringent anti-monopoly clause pos- sible to frame in the English language. But three and one-half years more have passed since this drastic legislation, and still no action has been taken. Is such departmental inaction but the re- flection of public sentiment? Perhaps it is. Perhaps it but ex- presses a conviction of the American people that the public land system which gave the great West the most splendid development in the history of the world, cannot now be extended to Alaska ; that the enactment by Congress to do so was a mistake for which the honest coal claimants in Alaska must suffer, and those who took their little all of health and goods into Alaska, in full confidence that the laws of the United States would be enforced, must suffer loss because they had too much faith in the integrity of our Govern- ment. Be that as it may, it is unquestionably a fact that had the same policy been pursued in the early settlement of the middle West that is now being pursued toward Alaska, the buffalo would still be king of the plains. Chicago would still be a frontier town, Kansas City would be a mere trading post at the edge of the great American desert, and the now splendid cities of Denver and Minne- apolis would not even be names upon the map. Danger of Monopoly Exaggerated. Alaskans are in full sympathy with the desire of the people of the United States that the great coal fields of Alaska shall not pass into into the hands of a private monopoly; to be exploited solely for private gain. We believe, though, the danger of such a monopoly in Alaska has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, we who know conditions in Alaska, are convinced that such a monopoly cannot arise under existing laws, if properly enforced. We are also interested in the men who discovered these coal fields and revealed their wealth to the Nation, and in those men who spent their time and money to develop and prove the wealth of these fields. We COAL AND TRANSPORTATION IN - ALASKA 341 understand that the act of 1904 was an offer by the Government, and its acceptance by the bona fide locator constitutes a contract between him and the Government, and we are confident that the American people, who are fair and honest when correctly informed, will insist that the contract be kept. We deplore the delay which has operated so much to our dis- advantage, caused financial loss to many honest men and women who invested perhaps all they had in money, labor, health and enter- prise, and gave several of the best years of their liyes, relying on this contract with the United States. We r*efer not only to the honest coal claimants, but still more especially to the far more numerous band of hardy, enterprising people who went into Alaska, and iiave no direct interest in the coal fields, but engaged in various other lines of business, relying on the opening of these coal fields, and upon the building of railroads and smelters, to which the use of this coal is an absolute essential. It is in this way that the great loss to Alaska and Alaskans has really been suffered. Our appeal is for justice, not merely to the honest coal claimants, however few they may be, but also, and more especially, to that vast body of Alaskan pioneers who invested all of their time and money, labor and sacrifice, enterprise and energy, in trusting confidence that the law of 1904 would be fairly executed. Those pioneers are indeed the same honest, rugged, sturdy men and women who conquered the West, who opened the coal fields and iron mines of Pennsyl- vania and Ohio, who converted the prairies of the Mississippi val- ley into a blooming garden, who have conquered the plains and tunneled the mountains and made the great Northwest yield up its treasure of mine and field. These same men have gone into Alaska and endured the hardships and privations of the northland in an effort to open up that country in whose resources they have such abundant confidence. Some of them found their last resting place beneath the northern lights ; many of them have left Alaska dis- appointed and disheartened, broken in health and spirit, while others still remain in the desperate struggle, many of them simply because they are unable to get away. It is difficult to picture the condition of these disappointed people along the Alaska coast, and we shall not attempt it, because we cannot do the subject justice in the first place, and our picture would be deemed overdrawn if we correctly portrayed it. These men have seen public officials, sena- tors, congressmen and cabinet officers, visit Alaska and depart much impressed, but no results followed their visit. Consequently, it is not strange that many of those who welcomed Secretary Fisher to 342 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Alaska on his recent trip, expressed doubt as to whether results would follow it. We have full confidence in the earnestness and sincerity of the able Secretary of the Interior. His work is of the constructive type, and we feel that results will follow his visit. He made it quite clear to the people, however, that the Alaska coal fields will not be opened under the existing laws, because, four-fifths of the American people have evidently become satisfied that the existing laws are inadequate, and that some other scheme must be adopted for Alaska. Naturally, we feel that Alaska should not be made an experiment station for new ideas. At least, not upon this coal question, which is so important to the people of Alaska, and yet so trifling in its relation to the great public question as to the future disposition of coal lands upon our public domain. Mines at Tidewater. We say coal is important to Alaska because it is necessary to transportation, which, after all, is the great need of Alaska. Stop to think of it, there has never been a producing mine at tidewater on the face of the earth, except in Alaska, while nearly all of the producing mines of Alaska are located at tidewater, where a ship may load ore from the bunkers. Alaska has yielded some $200,- 000,000 in precious metals, practically every bit of which has been taken from places within sight of the smoke of a steamboat, in- cluding, of course, the placers along the Yukon River and its tributaries. We know of mineral deposits of fabulous wealth in the interior, immense areas of low-grade placers, rich gold quartz, and mines of native copper, but today they are as useless to us as if hidden in the chasms of the moon. Transportation is required, rail- roads must be built, but this cannot be done without Alaska coal. On the other hand, it is doubtful if there is a market for much Alaska coal outside of Alaska. Eastern people and those of the middle West do not appreciate that there is plenty of coal on the Pacific coast, much more accessibly located than that of Alaska, besides fuel oil in abundance, and the most marvelous hydro-electric power in the world. Even in Alaska the Treadwell mines and the Copper River Railroad are being operated by California fuel oil, and it is evident that Alaska steaming coal has little demand upon the Pacific coast of the United States in the face of such compe- tition. A market will ultimately be made for some Alaska anthra- cite, and the Alaska coking coal will be of great importance, espe- cially in the treatment of the low-grade copper ore along the Alaska Coast. The United States Navy, which is now importing coal from COAL AND TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 343 West Virginia, might save the price of a battleship in a few years by using Alaska coal, but the Alaska fields really have little bearing upon the great question as to the future policy for the disposition of coal lands upon the public domain of the United States. We accept the notice, however, that some new system must be adopted in Alaska, and consequently, your committee has given this subject mature consideration. Two methods have been suggested: one a leasing system, and the other, Government operation of the coal mines. Any system for placing Alaska coal on the market must take the element of transportation into careful consideration, and the physical condition and situation of these properties should be understood in that connection. The two principal fields are the Bering river and the Matanuska. The Bering river is also com- monly known as the Katalla field, as it is near that town. A few years ago the Alaska syndicate began the construction of a break- water at Katalla with the idea of developing a harbor there, but later abandoned the project, and moved its terminals to Cordova, a point on Prince Williams Sound, from which the Copper River & Northwestern Railroad has been built easterly across the Copper river delta and thence up that valley to the Bonanza copper mine. A branch line could be built from this road so as to make ,a total haul of about 85 miles from the center of these fields across the Copper river delta to Cordova. Much has been said recently con- cerning the merits of Controller bay as a harbor for the Katalla fields. Controller bay is situated about 15 miles from the coal, or about 25 miles from the center of the field, and has the advantage of distance and easy grade. The Government charts show a suffi- cient depth of water in Controller bay, but the navigable channel is small and can be reached only by building several miles of trestle, over the mud flats. These trestles with bunkers, wharves and terminal facilities at deep water, will be expensive to construct and still more expensive to maintain, because of the diffi- culty with ice coming out of the rivers each spring. Then, too, the harbor is only partially protected and is exposed to some of the most dangerous windstorms that visit the Alaska coast. The Alaska syndicate, financed by J. P. Morgan & Co. and Guggenheim & Sons, carefully investigated both Controller bay and Katalla, and spent perhaps more than a million dollars at the latter place, but finally abandoned both places for Cordova. There is no doubt that Controller bay is available as a harbor for some portions of the year, but there is no danger of a monopoly there for any one of its 344 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS several miles of mud flats is just as valuable as another, and we regard the judgment of the Alaska syndicate as expressing the general opinion of all people familiar with the Alaska coast. The Matanuska coal field can be reached from Seward, on Resurrection bay, an ideal land-locked harbor, equal to any on the Pacific coast. The coal measures in the Katalla field are much broken, and require extensive development work to determine the most economical manner of mining the coal. The Matanuska coal fields are reported to be less broken but have the disadvantage of a longer haul. Transportation must be provided to each field, and this includes wharves, bunkers and terminal facilities, which must be built under the conditions prevailing along the Alaska coast. These items must be considered in our study of any system for the opening of the coal fields. Application of Leasing System to Alaska. A leasing system has been suggested and vigorously advo- cated. Your committee does not believe that any of the proposed leasing systems are favorable. We will not discuss the argument made against the leasing system by those who opposed its adoption in the United States. We will disregard the failure of the leasing system during the 40 years it was tried in the lead mines of Indiana and Illinois and the copper mines of Michigan, and will consider it only in its application to Alaska. The question arises, who will provide the transportation, wharves, bunkers and terminal facilities for the lessee ? Capital must be procured, and hence capital must be assured security and a reasonable profit on the investment. Can anyone enter these fields upon the leasing system except aggrega- tions of great wealth? We believe not. The system of private ownership enables the owner of the ground to secure capital upon the security of his title, but can this capital be obtained upon the securities of a mere lessee ? This is manifestly impossible unless the lease be very liberal in area and terms. The lease must be so liberal in this respect as to justify a large investment of money, not only in the development of the mine, but for the building of rail- roads, bunkers, wharves and the construction of colliers or ocean- going steamers. We believe that any lease so liberal as this will create a monopoly in the Alaska coal fields far more dangerous than is possible under any system of "private exploitation." Per- haps the Alaska syndicate, with its railroad already built from Cordova to the east side of Copper river, can afford to build a branch of forty miles from there into the Katalla field, but if so, will there be any competition in transportation? Will any com- COAL AND TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 345 pany be justified in building a breakwater at Katalla or another rail- road from Controller bay into these fields, and provide bunker and terminal facilities with several miles of trestle over the mud flats to be maintained under such adverse conditions for operation during a portion of the year, and undertake all of this simply upon a lease? We do not believe capital can be found to engage in so hazardous an enterprise, unless, as we repeat, that the lease be exceedingly liberal in both area and terms, so liberal in fact, as to be more dangerous than any system of private ownership. On the other hand, we believe that if patents were issued to the bona fide claimants, to those men who accepted the invitation of the Government and fully complied with its laws, we believe that if this were done, sufficient lands would be patented to encourage the build- ing of railroads from points on Controller bay or near Katalla where a breakwater is possible, but it is the opinion of your com- mittee that, if the leasing system be applied, the transportation will be in the control of one company. We regard as somewhat signifi- cant the advocacy of the leasing system by George W. Perkins, who says he bases his information upon investigations made during his visit to Alaska in 1909, while he was a partner in the house of J. P. Morgan & Co. and went to Alaska to inspect the properties of the Alaska syndicate. Your committee has only words of commenda- tion for the enterprise of the Alaska syndicate, and believes it should be afforded every opportunity to realize handsomely on the investment of its millions for the devejopment of the Territory of Alaska, but these remarks are addressed to the popularly expressed fear that this syndicate will control Alaska. We do not charge it with such designs, but we do believe that it will be much easier for the creation of a monopoly in the Alaska coal fields under a leasing system than upon a system of private ownership with the op- portunities of the latter for competition and individual initiation. The same conditions apply to the Matanuska field. A railroad has already been built 71 miles in that direction from Seward, but con- struction work has been suspended ever since the withdrawal of the Alaska coal lands. The Matanuska coal field is the objective point of that railroad. If we assume that it is built to the Matanuska field, there to serve the lessees of coal lands, it will not require much effort of imagination to picture the possibility of favoritism and the creation of a monopoly in those fields. It is true that the Govern- ment may regulate railroad rates, but will competing lessees be sat- isfied that necessary branches or spurs will be built to connect their mines, and that cars will be provided when necessary? 346 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS We are also opposed to making of Alaska the experiment sta- tion for new ideas. We are unable to find where the leasing system has ever been successful in the operation of coal fields under any Government. Leasing is perhaps successful to some extent in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, where a market is near at hand and transportation is well provided, frequently by competing lines, and the leases are from individuals. It is not a Government leasing system. Leasing Systems in Other Countries. It has been said that the leasing system works well in British Columbia, Yukon territory, and in Australia and New Zealand. We can only repeat the statement that a half-truth is frequently the most dangerous and misleading falsehood. The system in British Columbia is in no sense a leasing system as is proposed in the United States. The lessee in British Columbia may obtain a lease of sixty-four hundred acres for five years, with a renewal for three years, but is privileged at any time during the lease, or within three months thereafter, to purchase the lands at $20 per acre. It is a significant fact, too, that no mines are operated in British Columbia under the leasing system. All are operating upon granted lands. There is a law for leasing the coal lands in the Yukon territory. The only attempts ever made to operate under that law resulted in failures. There is not a single coal mine operated in the Yukon territory upon a lease from the Government. In a similar man- ner the laws of Australia and New Zealand provide for private own- ership at the option of the lessee. It is reported that much coal is mined there under a leasing system, but that is because the operators do not find it necessary to exercise the option given them to pur- chase the land. They are given that option, however, and are thus afforded the security of private ownership whenever they see fit to exercise the privilege. No such system has been proposed for Alaska. None of the leasing bills introduced in Congress permit the lessee ever to acquire title to the land. The Robinson bill now pending before Congress even provides for only a portion of the royalty upon coal mines in Alaska to be expended in the territory, and the balance is to be turned into the treasury of the United States. It is a rank injustic to compel the residents of Alaska to pay a royalty into the treasury of the Unite'd States upon the coal they consume. Why not a similar royalty from the consumers of coal elsewhere? The consumers of Pennsylvania coal would object to paying such a royalty to the Federal Government, and the con- sumers in Alaska are entitled to urge the same objections. COAL AND TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 347 Poor old Alaska has surely had quite enough of the leasing system. It was leased by Russia from 1799 unt ^ l $&7 to the Russian-American Company. That company was the absolute lord and master, and its leasehold sovereignty absolutely prevented devel- opment. Fortunately nobody was lured there under false promises. Only those went there who did so for the Russian-American Com- pany. A leasing system was not inflicted upon honest, hardy pioneers as is now proposed by the American Government. For- tunately for the United States, Alaska was not colonized or settled by the Russians. Their leasing system prevented it. Otherwise the Russian people would have so well developed Alaska by 1867 that the United States could not have bought it for two cents an acre, with its wonderful fisheries and a fur seal herd of 6,000,000 thrown into the bargain. The first thing we did, however, was to lease that seal herd to a company which in forty years made a net profit of $5>738,ooo and depleted the herd to about 75,000. In the meantime, the United States Government spent more money in patroling the seal islands than it obtained from royalties on the lease, and Alaska got absolutely nothing, not a cent in taxation, not a lighthouse-, not a schoolhouse, not as much as a flagpole. Now, the United States Government has gone into the sealing business itself, and has already begun to make a profit. But this kind of talk may lead us to advo- cate the building of railroads in Alaska and the operation of coal mines there by the Government. The continued withdrawal of the Alaska coal lands from the operation of existing laws is doubtless an expression of public senti- ment throughout the states. We desire something done and we believe the American people desire something done to make the Alaska coal immediately available, but above all, and first of all, transportation is absolutely necessary. The withdrawal of the coal lands, whether wise or otherwise, is solely responsible for the interruption of railway building in Alaska. If the Government will not enforce existing laws, if the present, inaction is to continue in the Alaska coal field, or if some new system is to be tried there, then the Government of the United States should either build rail- roads in Alaska or guarantee the railroad bonds for a private enterprise. Government Should Proznde Railroads. The Government should provide railroads in Alaska. There is ample reason for doing so entirely independent of the coal ques- tion. After all, the coal is important principally in its bearing upon transportation. If the Government controls the transportation of 348 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS the Alaska coal from mines to market, or at least from mines to sea- board where steamship competition will be possible, then the Gov- ernment can most effectually prevent any monopoly in the Alaska coal fields. Indeed, a reasonable leasing system might be then feasible, but not otherwise. If the Government will provide the rail- ways, bunkers and terminal facilities, and thus assure transporta-* tion at fair rates from mines to market, capital might be justified in mining some Alaska coal upon a leasing system. We repeat, that sound reasons exist for Government construction of, or aid to, rail- roads in Alaska, entirely independent of the coal question, and this brings us to the consideration of the greater problem of the develop- ment of Alaska. The future of Alaska depends upon the development of the gold and copper mines and the low-grade placers of the great in- terior, and the agricultural development of the valleys which is sure to follow. These portions of Alaska are in the same latitude as Norway, Sweden and Finland. The cities of Seward and Cor- dova in Alaska, Christiana in Norway, Stockholm in Sweden an the United States and Alaska, it will be necessary to see the smoke of COAL AND TRANSPORTATION IN ALASKA 349 the engine along the route before capital will be justified in making any heavy expenditures in the development of the interior. Rail- roads built in Alaska, and gradually extended from year to year, will shorten each year the whiter routes to the interior and on to Nome, and will justify the construction of road houses an-d even villages along the line of such route, affording inns for the trav- eler, and providing a development in advance of railway construc- tion which will make the transportation routes the more quickly profitable. Coke Supply Important. Another item of immense importance is the assurance of an adequate supply of coke at a reasonable cost. Smelters and matting plants would then be built along the Alaska coast for the treatment of low-grade copper ores, which really have more metal contents than the low-grade copper ores of Montana and other states. These ores exist in infinite variety all along the Alaska coast. De- sirable blends of ore can be brought together at different places and a copper matte produced that will stand shipment around the world, if only an assured supply of coke be provided at a reasonable price. The smelter at Hadley, Alaska, paid from $22 to $30 a ton for coke, and even then operated successfully while copper was commanding upwards of 15 cents. With Alaska coke at $8 per ton, the operation of such a smelter would be possible, even at the pres- ent low price of copper. Only the Government can give a satisfac- tory assurance of such a supply of coke at a fixed reasonable price. We view with favor the agitation for Government aid in some form for railroads in Alaska. We note with satisfaction the in- terest which has been aroused in the Alaska question. It leads us to take a more optimistic view as to the possibilities of the. imme- diate future. We believe that the system of private ownership which encouraged individual initiation, and gave the great West such a magnificent growth and development as was never equaled else- where in the history of the world, should not be lightly cast aside for new experiments in Alaska, in that land of distance and diffi- culties, and under conditions where large rewards must be offered both to capital and labor. But we realize the sentiment of the American people, and in deference to that sentiment we earnestly recommend that Government aid be extended to transportation in Alaska, either by the direct construction of railroads by the Gov- ernment, or by guaranty of the securities of private railroads to be operated under reasonable Government control. With such a sys- tem provided, we believe it matters little whether the coal be mined 350 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS by the Government or by private interest upon a leasing system or otherwise. There still remains the element of justice to those men who are entitled to patents under existing laws. Their rights should be speedily determined. This is but simple justice to them and the other people who have invested their money in good faith relying upon the promise of this great Government contained in its land laws, and believing that such laws would be equitably enforced. Indeed it will be necessary to determine the right of existing claimants before the coal lands, in the Katalla field at least, will be available for the operation of any other system, for manifestly, nothing can be done upon the lands heretofore located until the rights of the present locators have been determined. Alaskans have a common interest with the mining men of the states in all that pertains to the industry, and are in full sympathy with the splendid work of the American Mining Congress, but we have seen fit to discuss only the coal and transportation questions which are so vital to Alaska and the entire Pacific coast, both in principle and economics. The Alaskan Coal Situation. BY FALCON JOSLIN, FAIRBANKS, ALASKA. The Alaska coal situation and things in relation to the govern- ment of Alaska, seem at this time to be one of the most vital sub- jects that the American people are considering. All over the United States this subject is holding the attention of the American people, and I firmly believe most properly. When the people understand the situation I believe that it will be properly and justly solved. Our great difficulty is to get a fair understanding. The Alaska coal question is now considered to be a most tangled and difficult sub- ject, and yet, gentlemen, I think the problems are comparatively simple. Everything that is not understood is obscure, and complex, and difficult, but when understood it becomes plain and definite. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. It is nearly 5,000 miles from Wash- ington city. I have recently traveled from there here, and it took me 25 days to reach Seattle, the nearest American port from Fair- banks. I could have gone from Washington city to St. Petersburg and back in less time and with a great deal more comfort. That is significant only because it shows how extremely bad our trans- portation is; how remote the country is, and therefore the great difficulty of getting a correct knowledge of what it needs. I have been in Alaska and in the Yukon territory adjoining it for some fourteen years. In the Yukon territory I was foolish enough to undertake to develop a coal mine. I bought from the Canadian Government 400 acres of coal land at the price of $10 an acre, the same price that the Government fixed upon the Alaskan coal lands. I tried to buy something like 1,000 acres more because when you undertake to open a coal mine you have got to have a big tract ; your investment is heavy. I was not able to buy the additional thousand acres, because about that time the government in Canada hit upon the theory of leasing the coal lands, as we are now considering here. Though my application to purchase had been filed, it was treated as not a vested right, and it was required that I should take a lease of the land. Having already started the enterprise and having in- vested too large an amount to draw out,' I was obliged to take the lease and did take it. I believe that is the only lease that has ever been granted in the Yukon territory of Canada to this dav. T would 352 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS not have taken it, nor any man associated with me would have con- sidered it for a moment, except under practical compulsion. Yet the coal leasing law of the Yukon is cited as an example to be fol- lowed in Alaska. The leasing law of the Yukon is liberal, compared with the leasing bills for Alaska that have been introduced in Congress, but it certainly cannot be cited to prove the value of a leasing system. In order to illustrate the working of the coal land law in Alaska, I will relate my own experience with it. Beginning in 1905, I have built in the interior of Alaska at Fair- banks, a narrow-gauge railroad about 45 miles long, extending from the Tanana river to the gold mines adjacent. I may say there is practically no development anywhere in that territory except within 30 to 50 miles of the rivers or the sea coast. Because there is no transportation, ninety per cent of the territory is absolutely inac- cessible. Until better transportation than that can be provided by the rivers and by the sea coast, the country will still remain unde- veloped. ' Vast Coal Field in Tanana Valley. There is a great coal field in the Tanana valley, some 50 miles south of Fairbanks. It is an enormous coal field both in area and the thickness of seams. There are coal veins that are exposed 50 to loo feet thick, six or seven successive veins, one above the other. They don't require any exploring whatever. You can look at them and see coal enough to supply many times more than the community could use in years. This coal was discovered fifteen years or more ago, but of course cannot be used until a railroad is built to it. That coal field lies across the river from Fairbanks to the south about 50 miles, the nearest point to us. To reach it we should have to cross the river and build about 50 miles of railroad. Four or five years ago a prospector came into my office and said that he had discovered some coal on the north bank of the river and within thirty miles of Fairbanks ; that it could be easily mined and carried down to the town in barges ; and that it lay so close to the bank of the* river that it would be immediately available. We were using $20,000 to $30,000 worth of wood annually on the railroad and the community was using probably eighty thousand cords of wood an- nually at a cost of from $9 to $15 per cord. I had had some experi- ence in the matter of mining of coal in Canadian Yukon territory. I knew with approximate accuracy how much coal could be sold in that community and what price could be obtained for it. I knew that about 20,000 tons of coal a year could be sold at that place at THE ALASKAN COAL SITUATION 353 about $15 per ton. Coal at this price would be about half the cost of wood at the prevailing prices. Of course the community was then growing fast, so the market would increase with the growth of population. Also it was plain that when there was a. larger ton- nage produced, it could be sold cheaper. When the prospector told me of the coal vein, I said at once that the coal would be important, and with him began to plan that we should acquire some of the coal land with the view of opening a mine. I began to look up the law, and found that there was a well- expressed, clearly-defined coal land law providing that an individual could purchase 160 acres of coal lands from the Government at the rate of $10 an acre. The law was printed and published in pam- phlet form by the interior department at Washington and there were a lot of regulations and instructions printed in the pamphlet to guide and assist one who might desire to purchase coal lands. The first step as provided toward acquiring coal land was to mark out the land you wanted on the ground ; that is, set up stakes, at the corners of your claim and chop out the lines around it. This is called locating. If the land had been surveyed, this would not have been necessary for you could then locate your claim on a map and describe it as such and such a quarter section. But there was no surveyed land in Alaska and so it must be located by the appli- cant. When it was located, the applicant was required to file an application to purchase in the land office describing the ground as he had located it. When this was done that particular piece of land was yours, provided you should do the further things required by the law. The further things required to be done were that you must open a coal vein and develop a coal mine, thus proving the land to be coal land. You must also have the tract surveyed by a govern- ment surveyor, but at your own expense and you must file a map in the land office of the survey. Price of Coal Lands. The law allowed you three years after you located your claim in which to open and develop a coal mine on it, survey it and file your map. Then you were to pay the land office $10 an acre for it and thereupon the law said that you should have a patent or a deed from the United States Government for the land. This was and is a perfectly plain, sensible and reasonable law. We thought the price of $10 per acre a pretty stiff price. It seemed to us that the Government might well give enough of that coal land to anyone who would open a mine and work it for it was en- tirely worthless as it lay undeveloped. 354 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS Coal lands can be bought at this day from private owners in Tennessee and Kentucky and, in fact, in every coald field in the United States at $10 an acre and the Alaska coal lands should be cheaper. They are so far from the market and there are no rail- roads to haul the coal. Besides, this particular coal was a soft coal of poor quality. Yet it would be far superior to the wood we were using and it seemed that a mine could be opened there with some chance of mining and selling the coal at a profit, and without any great amount of capital. We concluded that each of us would take up and locate 160 acres. This would not be a large enough tract to open a coal mine. For you see a tunnel and haulage way in a coal mine may easily be a mile or two in length and if somebody should locate the ground around you, you could not extend your tunnel without coming into adjoining claims. We, therefore planned to have various other ' friends and ac- quaintances locate adjoining claims so that together we should have a tract of land big enough to open a good mine and which could be worked for a number of years without being worked out. We went to a lawyer's office to have the proper location notices and application papers drawn and there we were told that the coal land law had been suspended and that we could not buy coal lands in Alaska any more. When we wanted to know why and for what reason we could find none except that on November 12, 1906, the President of the United States had issued an order to all the officers of the various land offices directing them to accept no more appli- cations to purchase coal land. There was nothing in the law anywhere that gave the Presi- dent any authority to do this, nor was there anything in the general law, or in the constitution, authorizing the President to suspend a law, but he did it. The Constitution gives the President the power to veto a bill before it. becomes a law, but after it becomes a law, there is no authority in him to suspend it. On the contrary, the Constitution declares that the President shall see that the laws be faithfully executed. Congress, of course, can repeal a law or amend it, or modify it, but the President's sole business is to execute it. Result of Executive Order. The law of the land with reference to the sale of coal lands in Alaska was abrogated by that order and the register and the receiver at the land office would not accept our applications to THE ALASKAN COAL SITUATION 355 purchase the land. They obeyed the order of the President rather than obey the law of the land. We had no power to compel them to accept our applications. That is one of the great iniquities of the land laws. You have no recourse to the courts. The action of the land depart- ment is final. We had to give up the effort to open a coal mine, there. The law of the land was nullified by the order of the President. That coal land is conserved and that community has continued to burn wood to this day sixty to eighty thousand cords a year. I will show you clearly how the President's order nullified the law: It has been a custom for many years when a certain tract of public land was needed by the Government for, say, a military post or a lighthouse or a telegraph station, or an Indian school, or some other use, the President has issued an order withdrawing the speci- fied tract for the specific purpose required. For you see all of the public lands are for sale and always have been, under one law or another until this absurd idea of conservation arose. Now, if the President had done this in reference to Alaska, there could have been no reason to object. For instance, if he had withdrawn from sale, say, 5,000 acres of coal land in each known coal field for the use of the navy and described the tract withdrawn, the other land would have remained open for sale and the law would have been preserved. But this was not what was done in reference to the Alaska coal land. That order just swept away and "withdrew" from sale ALL the coal lands in Alaska. It was a complete abrogataion of the law of the land on that subject. Mr. Roosevelt has recently written that it was the criminal neglect of Congress that has stopped the development of Alaska, and Mr. Pinchot said the other day that Congress was responsible for the throttling of Alaska. I say that it was the criminal usurpa- tion of authority by the President of the United States that caused the trouble nothing else. (Applause.) That coal land law was a good law. It was never repealed by Congress, but Mr. Roosevelt repealed it by an order. And it stands so to this day, confirmed now by another order by his successor in office to whom he bequeathed his policies. Why, gentlemen, think of it! That coal land law has been on the statute books over seven years. More than a thousand men made their locations of coal land and filed their applications to 356 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS purchase before that order suspending the law was made and not a single one of all that thousand applicants has got a deed. More than two hundred of them went so far as to survey their claims and pay for them and the Government has their money. More than $320,000 has the Government taken for the purchase of coal land and not a man has got his deed. The Government has the money and the land also and keeps it. There is no telling how many applications would have been filed if the law had not been nullified. I would certainly have ap- plied and no doubt many others, but we were deprived of our rights under the law by the arbitrary and unlawful order of the President of the United States. We had the right, as American citizens, that the laws should be faithfully executed, but the law has been faithfully throttled instead. Question Concerns Nation. When that coal law of 1904 was passed by Congress, it was laid before Mr. Roosevelt as President for his approval. He could then have vetoed it. But he did not. He approved it. He must have thought it a good land law then. But two years later he changed his mind and abrogated it. I tell you, gentlemen, this con- cerns the whole people of the United States as well as the people of Alaska, for if one law can be trifled with by the executive in that way, any other law that pertains to this country may be abro- gated in the same way. It is difficult, gentlemen, extremely difficult for one who has felt the pinch and the injury of these orders, as I have, to speak with patience and without feeling about it. We all know these orders to be illegal. They knew it at Wash- ington, and they made heroic efforts to coerce Congress into ratify- ing them, but Congress never did. We have tried to force a test of the legality of these orders through the courts, but it cannot be done except by criminal procedure. I don't know the exact number, but there are probably more than a hundred men, perfectly good men, under indictment at this moment for trying to buy coal land in Alaska exactly as I should have done if the officials of the land office would have taken my application. You see the Government, acting by virtue of these illegal orders, not only stopped any further applications from being filed, but would not permit any that had already been filed to complete their purchases. But they took their money and gave them receipts for it and then indicted most of them. I never clearly understood why they did not indict everv THE ALASKAN COAL SITUATION 357 man who tried to buy a coal claim. Why, if I had got my applica- tion to purchase some of that coal land filed, I would no doubt be under indictment at this very moment. Because you see we would certainly have got a number to join us in the applications in order to get a tract large enough. And that they call a conspiracy to defraud the Government. Some of these criminal cases have, after some tedious years, at last got to the Supreme Court of the United States. They were argued only a few days ago and it is possible we shall shortly know whether it is a criminal conspiracy for ten men to each apply to buy a coal claim if they had any mental idea among themselves that they would work their claims in one body after they got their pat- ents. It would be the only way they could work them and it re- mains to be seen whether that way was a crime. That coal land law. of Alaska was declared by Congress to be for the purpose of aiding the development of coal mines. As con- strued by the executive department, it is a law to trap citizens into criminal conspiracies and get their money. We. sliall shortly learn how the judicial department construes it. The administration of the coal law since 1906 shows a plain intention on the part of the Government NOT to carry out and ad- minister the law according to its spirit and intent, but to defeat the law and nullify it according to some different spirit and intent. Except in criminal proceedings, we cannot test the legality of the action of the department. Sixteen Applications Pend in Fairbanks. There are sixteen applications now pending in the land office at Fairbanks. They applied to purchase each 160 acres of coal land, as the law provides. The agent at the land office refused to accept the applications because the Roosevelt order of 1906 had "withdrawn" the land from the operation of fc the law. They ap- pealed to the commissioner of the land office at Washington, claiming that the order was illegal and that they were entitled to buy the land as the law provided, but the commissioner sustained the orders instead of the law. Then they appealed to the Secretary of the Interior. Now it is the rule in reference to land laws that you cannot appeal to the courts until all remedies fail in the interior department. The Secretary of the Interior is the final authority in the land department. When he has finally passed on a question, you can then for the first time appeal to the court. The court you can appeal to, however, is not a court where the land is situated, but 358 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS your appeal is to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia which sits at Washington, five thousand miles away. Now, when these sixteen applicants at Fairbanks offered their applications they knew they would be rejected, but they planned to appeal to the commissioner of the land office and then to the Secretary of the Interior and get their decisions as soon as possible. When the Secretary's decision was rendered, they proposed to ap- peal at once to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia and there get a judicial, not an executive consideration of those presi- dential orders. But though their appeal to the Secretary was filed more than a year ago, no decision has been rendered upon it, and therefore they cannot appeal to the court. They can neither get a decision one way or the other, and are thereby denied access to the courts. We held a conference at Fairbanks this summer to see if some way could not be found to bring the cases into the courts in Alaska in order that we may have the orders of the President setting aside the coal law tested, but no way could be found. We discussed the plan of having one man claim the land for a gold mine and another for a coal mine, for there is both gold and coal in the same land, and then begin suit between them in the Alaska courts, but this it was decided would not test the orders, but only test whether the land was more valuable for gold than coal. We discussed the plan of going onto the land and beginning to mine coal, let ourselves be arrested for trespassing on Government land, but this also was given up because we could not induce the officers to arrest us. So we are helpless until the appeals in the interior department are taken out of the pigeon hole and decided, if they ever are. No matter how unlawful the presidential orders may be, we have no way to test them when the executive department will only hold up the applications and not finally decide them. Now the executive department that has abrogated the existing law proposes to coerce the Congress of the United States to pass a new law. They evidently assume that the existing law is wiped out by these presidential orders. And indeed it is in effect. Complete Change Proposed. They propose to make a complete change in our system of land titles. They would change from the freehold to the lease- hold system. They want to retain more power over the people, in the bureaus at Washington. A thousand years and more ago, all the lands in England and France and most of Europe was held under leasehold. They called it the feudal system, and the people THE ALASKAN COAL SITUATION 359 who occupied the land as tenants were called vassals and were obliged to do humble service of allegiance in one form or another in order to hold the land. Gradually there came to be some who held their land free free from any rent service, or military service or any other form of submission and allegiance, as a condition of the title: These were freeholders, free men. When the American colonies established their independence, the last vestige of feudal tenures was abolished and all the lands in the nation were held as freeholds and this country became a free country, not a country of vassals and tenants, but a land of freeholders and free men. Now they propose to return to that old feudal system and make the people of Alaska tenants and tribute payers to make them come as suppliants and vassals to Washington for leave and direction how to work the lands and permission, when they desire to transfer them. Does the Government need revenues so much that it will put a royalty of ten cents a ton on coal that people may mine in Alaska? If the Government needs revenue let them impose a tax of ten cents a ton on all the coal used in the United States and Alaska will bear her part equally with the rest, but if you impose a royalty tax on coal produced in Alaska and not on coal produced elsewhere, we become merely tribute payers to the treasury. It is unequal and unjust. I am not certain that a leasing bill may not be drawn that would be a workable and just law, but the Robinson Bill, now pend- ing before Congress and advocated by Mr. Pinchot, is certainly not such a bill. Why, that bill in effect proposes to repeal the great law of supply and demand and have the price of coal mined in Alaska fixed by a bureau or commission at Washington. If the law of supply and demand could be ignored and the prices of com- modities fixed by law, why, all this complaint about the high cost of living should be settled at once. Simply establish a lovely new bureau at Washington and let them fix the prices of everything and be done with it. This Robinson Bill goes even further in interference with nat- ural laws. It provides that no railroad shall own any coal mine or have any interest in any or any shareholder have any interest in coal. Now the coal cannot be mined or hauled without railroads and the only inference that can be drawn is that the law of gravitation was also to be suspended or repealed in relation to Alaska coal so that it would be transported in great quantities and to great dis- tances without any railroads. 360 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS The stoppage of coal mining in Alaska has strangled the growth of the territory. The territory gained less than two per cent in the last ten years, while it gained nearly a hundred per cent in the pre- ceding ten years. This hurts every individual in Alaska, either directly or indirectly. To Mr. Pinchot and men like him, the Alaska coal question is one of only academic interest, but we in Alaska are intimately af- fected in our living, our prosperity, and in our hopes of comfort. He and others go to Alaska, spend a few days or weeks of a summer's vacation and come back as a philanthropist and propose new ways to govern our affairs. Gentlemen, I want to say this, I believe no man is qualified to legislate upon a subject in relation to the welfare of a people except he is one of the people. (Applause.) If Mr. Pinchot lived in Alaska, or hunted for his living there, as the rest of us do ; if he tried to carry on an enterprise there, or de- velop and establish a business in that territory, then his judgment would be valuable, his opinions could be weighed by others in a similar position and by argument, the accuracy and truth of his ideas ascertained. But when he attempts to regulate our affairs as an academic matter, to strengthen his power over us for his own glory and sat- isfaction, it is inverting the true principles of government and we become a governed and subject people instead of a free and self- governing people. British Columbia Law Admirable. They talk of adopting the New Zealand coal land law for Alaska, or the British Columbia* law. Gentlemen, they forget the main principles of these laws: That is the New Zealand coal land laws were made in New Zealand and made by the people affected. So were the British Columbia laws. They were not made in Lon- don, not even in Ottawa, but by the people of British Columbia themselves. And I want to say this : The British Columbia coal land law is an admirable law and if we had a similar law in Alaska we should now be selling coal to British Columbia instead of buying from them. We can never have satisfactory laws in Alaska until they can be made by those who are directly affected by them. (Applause.) If we must have a leasing law in Alaska, and I am prepared to agree to a leasing law or any other law that will open up the country, then the law should contain a provision that it should not be suspended or nullified by the President. It should further pro- vide that if the agents in the land office refuse to accept applications THE ALASKAN COAL SITUATION 361 and the officers of the interior department neglect or refuse to administer the law, the citizen aggrieved may apply to the Courts in Alaska, not in Washington, to compel the land office to administer and carry out the law. Why, this Pinchot and his propaganda have made the people of the United States think that the people of Alaska are all thieves and engaged in trying to steal the vast public lands there. A man on the train the other day on hearing I was from Alaska, said to me in great sincerity, "The Cunninghams and the Guggenheims have stolen about all there is in Alaska, haven't they?" The Cunningham Case. The Government has fifty odd thousand dollars of Cunning- ham's and his friends' money safely in the treasury at Washing- ton now, and has given them no land at all for it. Cunningham and his friends have spent at least fifty thousand dollars more in developing, surveying and improving the lands they applied to purchase and the Government, according to the decision of the commissioner of the land office, keeps not only their money and the land, but their improvements as well. Fortunately for Cun- ningham and his friends, however, they have not been indicted. That is the result of their efforts to buy coal land from the Govern- ment. For injustice carried to the extent of cruelty, I know of no case in the history of the country to match the action of the Government in the Cunningham cases. The Guggenheims with the Morgan house have built 200 miles of railroad from the coast up into the mountains of Alaska one of the most difficult and expensive bits of railroad ever undertaken anywhere in the world. They got no subsidy and no aid, but the Government compels them to pay a license of $20,000 per year for the privilege of operating the road. This is the equivalent of 5% on $400,000, and is exactly the same in effect as if they had been compelled to pay that huge sum into the Treasury of the United States as a penalty for trying to develop the country with a rail- road. And we need railroads in Alaska more than anything else. We need five thousand miles of railroad in Alaska to properly de- velop it, and then we would not have enough. We have actually less than five hundred miles and those burdened with a tax which is taken back to the treasury at Washington equal to the interest on $2,000 per mile, and on top of it all they are charged with try- ing to gobble and steal the whole of Alaska. How can the country develop against these conditions? 362 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS The land laws of British Columbia and of Canada have been referred to as an example to be followed in Alaska. It may be worth while to 'point out the fact that Canada spends a million dollars a year to advertise and encourage immigrants to settle and develop her vacant lands. The United States spends not a cent for Alaska. The Canadian Government has now under construction a great trans-continental railroad more than 3,600 miles in length and costing over two hundred and fifty million dollars. In addition to this great trans-continental line, many other branch lines are sub- sidized and aided in various ways and the result is that not less than 250,000 settlers per year are being attracted to the Canadian provinces. The United States Government spends not a cent to aid or encourage railroads in Alaska, but burdens them with $2,000 a mile as a penalty. Though our lands will produce all that the Canadian lands produce and in addition contain incalculable stores of precious metals, we have made practically no gains in popula- tion in ten years. Alaskan Problems. BY HON. WALTER L. FISHER, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. The public interest in the Alaskan situation is such that, with the consent of the President, I have concluded at your request to make at this time a candid, if somewhat informal, expression of the views I have formed as Secretary of the Interior, under whose official supervision much of the administration of the territory is now placed. Pressure of other matters imperatively requiring at- tention has prevented their presentation in as precise and compre- hensive a form as I had hoped. This and the absence of the Presi- dent from Washington has also prevented the submission to him of what I have prepared. I wish to say, however, that no one is more earnest than he in the desire to see a policy of prompt and wise development inaugurated in Alaska and that the general policy contained in this address has been discussed with him, meets his approval, and will have his support. I have but recently returned from an altogether too brief but nevertheless a most interesting and profitable visit to those portions of Alaska which are more immediately involved in the questions now under public consideration. Favored by extraordinary weather and the co-operation of steamship and railroad lines and the assist- ance of all of the governmental agencies, including the revenue cutter service, I visited every port in Alaska which seems likely in the near future to become an important entrance to the country. I examined all of the harbor and town sites which for this purpose have attracted any considerable public attention. I traversed the entire length of each of the three railroads which have been con- structed in the territory and made a short trip from White Horse down the upper Yukon. Both before and during the journey I ex- amined a mass of books, records, and papers relating to the country and its resources. I had conferences with official committees rep- resenting the principal communities I visited and with numerous in- dividuals, residents both of the coast and of the interior, and con- ferred with engineers, miners, prospectors, railroad officials, busi- ness and professional men. I had the good fortune to have with me throughout the entire Alaska trip Alfred H. Brooks, geologist in charge of the Alaskan 364 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS division of the United States Geological Survey. For fourteen years Mr. Brooks has been studying Alaskan conditions on the ground; for nine years he has been in charge of the mineral division of the geological survey work there. I had arranged for Dr. J. A. Holmes, Director of the Bureau of Mines, to precede me to the Bering river coal field, which he examined thoroughly before joining me at Cordova. In the examination of the Bering River field Dr. Holmes was accompanied by L. T. Wolle, of Ohio, an engi- neer of large experience both in coal mining and railway construc- tion; F. W. C. Whyte, of Montana, whose coal mining and rail- way experience has been extensive in the management for years of the coal developments and operations of the Anaconda Copper Co. ; T. H. O'Brien, who for a number of years has been organizing and managing the coal operations of the Copper Queen, Stag Canon, and other companies in the Southwest ; and George Watkins Evans, a coal-mining engineer of experience in the Northwest states, who had already made several professional examinations of the Bering River coal field. To these gentlemen, one and all, I am greatly indebted for the valuable service they have rendered in this con- nection: In his subsequent examination of the Matanuska coal field Dr. Holmes was accompanied by Mr. Whyte and Sumner S. Smith, who is a mining engineer and the inspector of mines for Alaska. Alaskans Broad Minded. At the very outset I wish to express the high opinion I formed of the remarkably large and fine body of people who have be- come permanent residents of Alaska. While there is unquestion- ably a considerable floating population of a character which does not add to the real strength or stability of the territory, there is a substantial percentage of vigorous, law-abiding, law-respecting men and women of the highest type of American citizenship, and I found that they possessed what is perhaps the highest form of moral courage the ability and the willingness to look at both sides of the questions which affect their interests and to admit that they are wrong when once convinced that they have been led into a mistake of fact or of opinion. The total population is about 65,000, of which a little less than half are whites. They are entitled to a territorial government better adapted to their peculiar local conditions and needs. The existing coal-land laws applicable to Alaska neither promote development nor protect the public, and all its coal fields are withdrawn from entry. Nu- merous claims under entries made or attempted to be made prior to ALASKAN PROBLEMS 365 the withdrawal are pending in he department of the interior. Their investigation is now being pushed as rapidly as possible, and wherever indictments are not pending they will be decided as promptly as this can be done properly. I found Alaska a country of wonderful scenic beauty, which in itself will in future years be one of its greatest financial assets. From all the information I could gather, I believe it to be a country of great mineral and agricultural possibilities ; indeed, I should go further and say a country of great mineral and agricultural proba- bilities, needing development, ready for development, and inviting development, but held back chiefly by inadequate transportation facilities and inadequate laws. Its present steamship lines are probably as good as could be expected, in view of the restricted commerce and the inadequate manner in which its coasts are marked and lighted. Its present roads are almost entirely those which have been built out of the meager appropriations made by Congress for this purpose. Travel by road or trail in Alaska is still generally of the roughest pioneer description. Its present railroads are incidents to the exploitation of its mineral resources. One Real Railroad. Aside from the White Pass & Yukon road there is only one real railroad in Alaska, and that is the Copper River & Northwestern Railroad, which leads from Cordova, on Prince William Sound, 200 miles up he Copper river, and its eastern tributary, the Chitina, to the Bonanza copper field, and is reported to have cost approxi- mately $20,000,000. The White Pass & Yukon Railroad is an ex- cellent narrow-gauge road along the line of the historic trail which leads over the mountains and down the Yukon to the gold fields ot the Klondike, but only a small part of this railroad is in the terri- tory of the United States. The Alaska Central Railroad starts from Seward for -the Matanuska coal fields and the Yukon, but stops, dis- couraged, 70 miles north of Seward. The present cry in Alaska and among those who are financially interested in Alaska is that development has been stopped by the withdrawal of the coal fields from entry. I am convinced that the coal withdrawals have exerted only an incidental influence upon the development of railroads in Alaska. If the coal fields had remained open to unrestricted private exploitation, railroad development might have been stimulated, but in that event the profits of the coal and not of the railroads would have been the incentive to construction. 366 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS We have already seen in this country the injurious effects of the joint or common ownership of coal fields and railroads, and we are now engaged in the attempt by drastic legislation to remedy the evils which the withdrawal of the coal fields of Alaska should prevent from recurring there. We should not repeat in Alaska or elsewhere the mistakes which have been made in the older portions of the United States. This does not mean that Alaskan coal should not be developed and developed at once. It means merely that it should be developed properly as well as promptly. Alaskan coal is of great value, but its extent and character have been much exaggerated. There are great quantities of lignite and low-grade bituminous coal in several parts of the territory, but there are only two known fields of high-grade coal in Alaska. The better known of these two fields is the Bering river field, which is near Controller bay, and in which the Cunningham claims were located. It is the field about which the Alaskan controversy has been fiercest and most bitter. The Matanuska field is larger and may prove to be the more important. Both of these fields contain anthracite and high-grade bituminous coals. The question is how they shall be opened so as to promote development and protect the public interests. Before answering that question it is necessary to consider the general conditions which now exist and the real end which we wish to attain. Alaskan coal can be .opened so as to enable a larger, or smaller number of individuals or groups of in- dividuals to make money out of their development, bringing with this development considerable incidental benefit tt* the community as a whole through the expenditure of money and the employment of men, or it can be opened on terms which will offer to the operator a sufficient profit to furnish an adequate incentive for his investment and his efforts, but which will result in placing the coal upon the market at the cheapest price consistent with this in- centive, conferring upon the community the manifold advantages of cheap fuel and of the deevlopment of the many forms of industrial enterprise which cheap fuel renders possible. I think there can be no room for doubt that the second of these objects is the one to be attained. If. however, Alaskan coal is to be mined and sold under any plan, it is important to know what is likely to be the present and future market. There is at present on the Pacific coast no available anthracite except that in Alaska. It would be natural, therefore, to expect an immediate demand for this particular kind of coal. There is little high-grade bituminous coal on either the eastern or western border of the Pacific, and ALASKAN PROBLEMS 367 it would be natural to expect a considerable demand for coal of this character. There is little, if any, high-grade coking coal on the Pacific unless in Alaska, and there is an immediate demand for -a certain amount of coking coal for smelting copper and other ores. There is, of course, a certain present limited demand in Alaska for coal for steaming purposes. The amount used for all purposes during the last fiscal year was 116,000 tons. Except for coking use, it is clear, however, that Alaska coal must now contend with serious competition. There are considerable quantities of lignite and low- grade bituminous coal throughout the lower Pacific northwest and in British Columbia. Much of the .bituminous coals are of fair quality. When freight and handling charges are taken into con- sideration it is clear that for steaming purposes the coal of British Columbia and of the northwestern states will hold everything but the Alaskan market itself against competition from any of the Alaskan coals except that of the very highest grade, and coal of this quality can expect to win only where special considerations control. Oil Supplanting Coal. For ordinary heating and steaming purposes it is always pos- sible for low-grade coal at lower prices to control the market. But for these purposes the most serious competitor of Alaska coal is California oil,' which is already supplanting coal in many fields and possesses advantages in economy and convenience of handling. The most reliable estimate as to the life of the California oil fields of which I have any knowledge is that they will be an active com- petitor for the entire heat-producing market for the next 50 years. Oil has already supplanted coal on many of the western railroads, and is now being installed in the railroads and steamships of Alaska and the Pacific coast. Whether it will be possible for Alaska coal to compete with it, once the necessary changes in the boiler equip- ment have been made, is exceedingly -doubtful. Oil, however, is a less dangerous competitor in smelting and in making steel. It is not now used for either of these purposes, except experimentally. Vast deposits of copper are already known to exist in Alaska, and smelters will undoubtedly be established in that country as well as farther south upon the Pacific coast. Some iron exists in the Pacific states, and there are numerous indications of its pres- ence in Alaska, although commercial development there is as yet practically negligible. My own judgment is that the present mar- ket for Alaskan coal is limited and uncertain, but that the demand will rapidly increase as the country is developed. There are now the local needs of a comparatively small population and compara- 368 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS lively few industrial enterprises. There is also some demand for high-grade coal on the lower Pacific coast which Alaska alone can furnish and supply. If mines are opened there should be, and in my opinion there will be, immediately established on Prince William Sound one or more smelters capable of smelting the copper ores which are now being mined and of taking care of the development of this ore which seems sure to come in the early future. There will be at some time a demand for coke for making steel; and if adequate trans- portation facilities are furnished so as to permit of the development of the iron and other minerals which probably exist in the country there will be an increasing demand for coke for these and for the ores of the lower Pacific. After all, however, important as these needs and opportunities are, it seems reasonably clear that Alaskan coal will not dominate the coal market of the Pacific coast as it was confidently thought it would when the fields were first discov- ered. That this is true will be apparent upon a further considera- tion of the physical condition of the coal fields and of the coal itself. I personally visited the Bering field and examined some of its coal veins and coal mines. It is located along the foot of the Chugach mountains, in the region a little south of Prince William Sound and some 1,200 miles from Seattle. The fields cover an area of 50 square miles or 32,000 acres, lying approximately 25 miles from the coast at Controller bay with an immense glacier, known as the Bering glacier, on the east from which the Bering River runs and empties into Controller bay. This field was discovered in 1896 and practically all of it appears to have been covered by claims entered under the law of 1904. The country is exceedingly rough and broken and the rocks are faulted and folded to an extraordinary degree. Difficult to Determine Condition of Coal Beds. In addition to the titantic upheavals which must have oc- curred at this point, the stratification has slid or moved within itself in such a way as to crush the large portion of the coal beds in this field, leaving what otherwise would have been the highest grade of bituminous coal so that much of it cannot be mined as lump coal, but only in a finely crushed condition. There is, however, some coal in the field which doubtless can be mined as lump, but how much there is of this coal remains a question of considerable doubt. This doubt is further intensified by the fact that 'in the crushing process the coal beds have become pinched so that beds of consid- erable thickness at one point become thin or even pinched out ALASKAN PROBLEMS 369 within a short distance, making it difficult to determine what will be the condition of the beds at any given point beyond the ex- plored area. All of these conditions will add materially to the cost of mining, which will be further increased by the fact that the coal itself can not be relied upon to support the roof of the mine and that timbering will have to be resorted to to an unusual extent. Although the local timber is of poor quality, it will prob- ably answer for ordinary mining purposes, but the cost of labor will be high. Aside from its crushed condition, much of the coal itself is of excellent quality, possessing high thermal value. The crushed condition does not interfere with its coking quality if otherwise good. Although it can be briquetted, or with the use of specially constructed furnaces it can be burned successfully in its present form, its physical condition will undoubtedly interfere with its immediate commercial value. The erection of smelters on Prince William Sound will cause an immediate demand for this coal, as the first smelters will probably be erected at or near Cordova, which is the tidewater terminal of the Copper River and North- western Railroad, which now taps the principal copper field of the territory. One of the pressing needs of the territory is the construction of such smelters at which the copper ore especially can be smelted without the labor and expense of transporting the ore the enormous distance now necessary for this purpose. The main purpose and practically the only present use of the extensive railroad from Cordova up the Copper river is the transportation of the ore from the so-called Bonanza copper field in which the Morgan-Guggen- heim syndicate, which owns this railroad, already has extensive interests. No smelter, however, has as yet been constructed, and none would be profitable until the coal and the copper can be brought together. Once the Bering coal fields are open the trans- portation problem becomes in this, as in other respects, the most important problem upon the solution of which future develop- ment will depend. The enormous expense of railroad construc- tion through the mountainous and glacier-covered territory makes it practically certain that the Copper River Railroad will remain the natural distributor for any of this coal for which there may be a demand in the interior of the particular district in which it is located. I think it may be assumed, not only from the state- ments made to me by its officials but also from the very nature of the case, that the people interested in this road will construct smelting works at Cordova as soon as Alaskan coal is available 370 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS for its use. Smelters at Cordova would be able to take care of the copper ores, of which there are many indications throughout the entire district tributary to Prince William Sound. The exploitation and commercial development of these ores would promptly follow the construction and operation of such smelt- ers. Representatives of the Copper River Railroad state that they will immediately construct a branch line to the Bering coal fields as soon as they are opened to development. Under these circumstances it is natural to inquire what, if any, advantages there would be in the construction of another railroad from tidewater to these fields. The answer to the question depends largely upon the extent to which the Government will be able to regulate the service and the rates of the Copper river road. Such regulation, however, should be comparatively simple and effective, especially if we insist upon keeping the railroad or its owners from acquiring a controlling interest in the coal fields. That this can be done by a proper sys- tem of leasehold I see no reason to doubt. Representatives of the railroad have assured me that its owners recognize and intend to accept in good faith, so far as the coal fields are concerned, the principle upon which public opinion and the law now insist in the States and will undoubtedly insist in Alaska the principle that transportation lines should not be interested, directly or indirectly, in the commodities which they transport. Whatever may be thought of such assurances, the law itself should divorce the railroads from the coal business, so that all the lessees of coal lands may receive impartial service from the roads and the incentive to favoritism may be removed. If this can successfully be accomplished, it is apparent that a competitive railroad will simply divide the profits of transportation, which are now not adequate to pay the cost of operation, and whose future can not be foretold with any certainty because of the doubts as to the future market for the coal to which reference has already been made. Controller Bay Poor Harbor. There is, however, abundant opportunity for competitive roads if they should ever become desirable. Not only is there room at or near Cordova for competitive terminals, but there is ample frontage reserve for a Government railroad if one should ever be desired. The harbor at Cordova is so clearly superior in all respects to any other harbor available for the Bering coal fields that the slightly longer transportation necessary by this route appears entirely un- important, especially as the grade is practically a water grade to the coal fields. Nevertheless, there is a possible harbor, although a ALASKAN PROBLEMS 371 poor and expensive one, available at Controller bay. This much discussed bay, tempest tossed by controversy as well as by nature, is inclosed partly by rocky remnants of the hills and partly by low reefs built up of mud brought down by glacial streams and raised above the water surface by action of the waves. The bay itself is gradually being silted up by similar material from the same exten- sive glaciers which border the coal fields on the north and east and probably cover many beds of coal. These long, low reefs and fiats, together with the rocky islands of Kayak and Wingham on the southwest, protect its waters from the open sea. The area from the base of the coal-bearing mountains on the north, along the east side of Bering river, to the bay, a distance of 15 to 20 miles, is a low-lying plain but a few feet above water level, much of it flat and swampy, built up of glacial debris. The entire bay is shallow except a narrow, irregular channel from a few hundred yards to a mile in width and a few fanthoms in depth leading southward and westward to the sea. The tidal currents passing into and out of this bay diminish the settling of glacial silt in this channel, but these do not appear to prevent the silting up of the larger part of the bay itself; and doubtless the channel is slowly but continuously becoming smaller and more shallow. This channel lies from 2 to 3 miles out from the present shore, with these shallow mud flats intervening. Of course, whether and how rapidly the large quantities of silt brought down from the glaciers will continue to fill up the waters of Controller Bay can only be determined by careful and protracted observation, but there is every reason for believing that this process will con- tinue in the future as it has done in the past unless the conditions are improved by artificial construction and dredging. I should add, however, that some persons insist that the future deposits brought down by the Bering river will in no appreciable way affect the navigability of the bay ; and that the conditions can be easily improved by dredging. As the Controller bay region is only 20 to 30 miles distant from the coal fields, there have naturally been numerous investigations to determine the possibility of con- structing harbor facilities there. I am tol-d that it was carefully investigated on behalf of the Copper River Railroad by engineers of high standing and was discarded as impracticable. The attempt, however, was made under the advice of engineers of this road to construct a harbor at Katalla, which is outside of the range of islands to the westward of Controller bay, where there is deep water immediately off shore and where a pier or breakwater was 372 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS constructed at considerable expense in the vain attempt to protect shipping from the force of the winds and waves of an open road- stead. A storm promptly demolished these works and led to the removal of the railroad to Cordova. Its representatives say they would not now construct a harbor at Controller bay even if they should become interested in a railroad to the coal fields, and give as an added reason the necessary duplication of dock facilities which they are now constructing at Cordova. Obviously, if modern dockage is provided at Cordova for cop- per ore and other heavy freight, it can be made to provide for coal with less additional expense than if separate facilities should be constructed on Controller bay. Nevertheless, several other rail- road enterprises have been projected at Controller bay, but ap- parently all have become inactive except that in which R. S. Ryan and his associates are interested. It was the persistence of Mr. Ryan which led to the elimination of the shore of Controller bay from the Chugach National Forest, and he has made three scrip entries on the shore, which are still pending before the de- partment of the interior. Following the law, these entries each have a frontage of 160 rods, leaving Sorod intervals between them, which the law provides shall be kept free from entry. On one of these So-rod strips a railroad terminal has been located, but this entry appears to be without any warrant of law and is based wholly upon the theory that a railroad-terminal location does not constitute an entry within the meaning of the act. It seems to have been made merely to exclude others and upon the chance that the statute may be open to the construction mentioned. I do not believe that it is even intended to be seriously pushed. At all events, all the rest of the shore, except as stated, remains free from entry, thus disposing effectively of the claim that a. railroad monopoly has acquired the frontage of Controller bay. Whatever may be the merits* or demerits of this harbor, it has not passed out of the control of the Government. To develop it at all it will be necessary to construct piers or roadways from the shore out over the shallow flats to the chan- nel I have described; and after the elimination from the national forest Ryan se.cured from Congress, without apparent objection from any source, a special act containing many provisions for the protection of the public interests, permitting him to construct a pier with dockage facilities where it reaches the deeper water. Here, 3 miles from the shore, he proposes to create a harbor. Similar facilities can be created at other points along the shore if this ALASKAN PROBLEMS 373 should be desired, and by dredging, a certain amount of which Mr. Ryan admits he will have to do, facilities equally advantageous with his can apparently be created, if desired. Ice from the Bering river and other small streams forms in winter and collects in the shallow waters of Controller Bay. Some of those familiar with Alaskan conditions, whose opinions are entitled to weight, regard this ice as a menace to the harbor, but the greatest dis- advantage, aside from the shallow waters, appears to be conceded to be the fierce winds which sweep down over the bay from the glaciated regions on shore. Under somewhat similar conditions elsewhere, shipping is said to be actually blown from the docks in extreme cases; and if winds of this character should blow while vessels were attempting to enter Controller bay the danger would be great. Mr. Ryan has recognized the difficulties and thinks they can be met, at least so far as the docks are concerned, by constructing them so that ships will dock with their bows directly facing the prevail- ing winds. The plans which he has recently prepared are so drawn. That such precautions are necessary even in his judgment is a suf- ficient indication of the importance of this particular problem. If he should really construct a road and extend it from the coal fields to a connection with the Copper River Railroad, copper ore might be diverted either by enforced or voluntary switching arrangements to smelters established in the coal fields themselves or at Controller Bay, but these smelters would not possibly be as available for the copper ores of Prince William Sound as would smelters at Cor- dova. For the reasons which I have thus indicated, I am unable to see how a railroad at Controller bay would be of any particular advantage to the Alaska syndicate and if a real competitive rail- road should be built, it would serve as a check upon the Copper River road. If, on the other hand, a Government railroad is de- sirable now or in the future, there is ample opportunty for it. If the Ryan railroad should be built and the Government desired its acquisition, the opportunity for the Government to build a com- petitive road should be effective in preventing an exorbitant price. Proper Coal Laws Essential. However, under the conditions which exist, including the char- acter of the Bering coal fields, the present state, and the immedi- ate future of the coal market, and the fact that the Copper River Railroad is already in the field, I see no reason why the Government should at this time take upon itself the unnecessary financial risks of supplying transportation. If railroad rates and service can ever 374 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS be effectively regulated, this can be done in the case of a railroad carrying but a single commodity between fixed points, as would be the case with the Ryan railroad, or carrying but few commodities and those chiefly in bulk, as is now the case with the Copper River Railroad, and is likely to be the case with it for many years to come. While I am an optimist as to the future of Alaska, I see no reason why the Alaska syndicate should not be permitted to con- tinue the enormously expensive experiment to which its present investment has already committed it and which that investment pre- vents it from abandoning. The essential thing is that we shall adopt proper coal laws under which monopoly will be impossible and that we shall preserve ample opportunities for whatever action by the Government the future may require. The immediately im- portant thing is that the Bering coal field should be open to wise development so that it may supply local needs and afford ample opportunity for supplying any market for this particular coal which may now exist or which it may be possible to create on the Pacific coast. My visit to Alaska has led me to take a far greater interest in the future of the Matanuska coal field, which is larger in extent, having an area of 74 square miles or 47,360 acres, better in coal, better in physical condition, and freer from the complications of private claims than is true at Bering river. Against these advan- tages must be set off its greater -distance from the sea, but this very distance connects it more intimately with the real problem of Alaskan development that of adequate transportation from tide water to the Yukon. What Alaska needs more than all else is a trunk line railroad from the ocean to the great interior valleys of the Yukon and the Tanana, opening up the country so that its future development may really be possible. Today, as I have said, Alaska is a country of large probabilities, minerally and agricul- turally. Mineral resources of great variety and extent are indi- cated by such surface exploration as is possible. The real value of these mineral indications, however, can not be effectively deter- mined while the cost of transporting even the simplest of mining machinery into the interior is practically prohibitive and can be justified only as a gigantic gamble by men of sufficient means to pocket their losses. The vast interior valleys are covered with lux- uriant grasses and can be made to raise cattle and sheep and even grain if proper seed and proper methods are experimentally devel- oped by scientific agriculture. But agricultural development can ALASKAN PROBLEMS 375 not go forward where the local markets are small and scattered and exportation is impossible. The Matanuska Field. The Matanuska coal field lies north of Prince William Sound and from 150 to 200 miles from Seward, on Resurrection bay. It is known to contain extensive beds of coal of the same or slightly superior quality to that of Bering river, and in better physical condition both as to the coal itself and as to the obstacles to profitable mining. The country is not so broken, faults and pinching are less in evidence, and the crushing process appears to have gone on to a much less extent. A far less percentage of the field has been en- tered by private claimants, and most of these appear to be clearly illegal on account of dummy entries and other violations of the law, for which indictments are now pending. A railroad to de- velop this field and to open up the great interior valleys has been started from Seward, which has by far the best harbor and the best town site in Alaska which I saw or of which I have been able to obtain any knowledge. The town of Seward lies at the head of Resurrection bay, which is a magnificent and extensive harbor, landlocked and free from ice, and already selected by the Gov- ernment as a naval coaling station, and where smelter operations may be one of the future industries. The only criticism of the harbor of which I have heard is that the water is so deep that docks and fixed moorings will be neces- sary for perfect safety, but as this is also true of the harbor of Seattle, which has been regarded as one of the most magnificent in the world, it seems to be a fault which closely approaches a virtue. The railroad from Seward the so-called Alaskan Central or Alas- kan Northern at present extends only seventy-odd miles to a point on Turnagain Arm, where it stopped for lack of funds and for various other reasons, among which the withdrawal of the coal fields from entry is particularly emphasized. I think, however, that its financial plans afford a more convincing reason for its failure. At all events, it has passed through the courts into the custody of its bondholders, who are not particularly eager, if they are able, to finance its further extension. While a part of its con- struction does not seem wisely adapted to the transportation of coal or other heavy freight, I believe this road should be continued on to the coal fields and beyond them to the interior, and that if private interests do not care to undertake the task the Govern- ment itself should do so. The situation here is not like that in the Copper River country. No large financial interests are back of the 376 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS railroad ; no large investments have been made which ,it will be necessary for private interests to protect. Such a railroad as I have suggested will pass through a coun- try which appears to have large agricultural possibilities as well as great mineral resources. These possibilities and resources, how- ever, will require time for their development. The adoption of a leasing policy will take away from the promoters of such a road the lure of great gain from the exploitation 'of the coal fields. This exploitation clearly should be prevented in the public interest. But at the same time, the Government must recognize that if it withdraws from private capital this incentive for railroad con- struction the Government itself must assume the obligation of making possible that kind of development upon which it insists for the general good. It has been urged that the Government should meet this objection by guaranteeing the payment of bonds or the interest on bonds equal to the cost of the construction of the road. I can see no advantage whatever in this policy. If the Govern- ment is to guarantee the cost of construction, I see no reason why the Government should not own the road outright, whether it op- erates it or leases to an operating company. Trunk Line, to Yukon Imperative Need. If a plan for construction at the joint risk and joint profit of the private investor and of the public along the lines of the Chi- cago traction ordinances could be put into successful operation, this might reconcile the conflicting views of public policy as to the Government ownership of railroads, especially if the Government's share of any future profits should be commuted into an equivalent reduction of the rates or should be directly expended in furnishing to Alaska the other means of transportation of which it is and will continue to be so much in need. After such careful considera- tion, however, as I have been able to give to the matter, I believe that the uncertainty of immediate financial return will prevent the adoption of this plan and that the imperative need of immediate transportation development calls for the construction of 'at least one main trunk line from tidewater to the Yukon, which can better be constructed from Resurrection bay through the Matanuska coal fields than in any other way. There seems to be no likelihood that the Copper River Railroad will be extended into the interior for years to come, and even then its route would probably be far removed from the line I have suggested. The Matanuska coal should be brought to Seward for the use of our naval coaling station, and a mine for that purpose can well ALASKAN PROBLEMS 377 be opened by the Government on the Matanuska, where it can be made to serve as an example for private mining, where it can fur- nish information and serve as a check upon the profits of the lessees under Government leases. The Secretary of the Navy authorizes rne to state that he believes there should be reserved a sufficient portion of high-grade Alaska coal, suitable for the use of the navy, to be mined hereafter for this express purpose under the Bureau of Mines. The navy department is now conducting a test of the available coals in the Pacific coast states with the result that none of these coals have been found suitable for naval uses. It is the intention to test additional coals from New Mexico and Wyoming. I have made some inquiries to ascertain whether the present owners of the Alaska Central are willing to give any assurances that they will extend that railroad through the coal fields to the interior in the near future, with the result that some at least of those inter- ested in it have indicated a preference to sell the railroad to the Government for the face of the outstanding bonds, which amount to some $4,600,000. I assume that it can be purchased for the real value of the road, whatever that may be, and that it will not be extended by its present owners. In undertaking railroad construction there is ample precedent at Panama, and it must always be borne in mind that as a matter of principle the Government is not thus invading the legitimate domain of private enterprise, but is in effect simply resuming one of its proper functions. The Supreme Court of the United States said in United States vs. Joint Traffic Association (171 U. S., 505- 570) : "The business of a railroad carrier is of a public nature, and in performing it the carrier is also performing,^ to a certain extent, a function of government." In Talcott vs. Pine Grove (23 Federal Cases, 652), the United States Circuit Court for the West Division of Michigan, said that railway corporations "exer- cise delegated sovereign rights" and are "but a portion of the public Government. * * * And it is not true, we submit, that it is in degree only that these franchises differ in their relations to the public from mills and inns, as is said in People vs. Salem. The one is private property; the other is a political function, which, when resting in the hands of government where originally it re- sided, or delegated still for the same public use, to either persons or corporations, ever has been, and of right may be, aided by taxa- tion. * * * - It is for the performance and regulation of this old and familiar governmental duty, in a mode deemed by the leg- islature most efficient and economical, that in modern times railway 378 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS and other corporations have been created. And in the most plenary and critical sense, under the general railroad law of Michigan, they are parts of the political organism. The road, once construct- ed, is, instanter and by mere force of the grant and law, embodied in the governmental agencies of the state and dedicated to public use. All and singular its cars, engines, rights of ways, and prop- erty of every description, real, personal, and mixed, are but a trust fund for the political power, like the functions of a public office." Indeed, the most important features of our railroad law are squarely, based and depend upon this theory of the relation of railroads to the functions of government. What has happened, then, with respect to railroads is simply that the Government has delegated one of its own functions to private agencies for what, at the time, are believed to be considerations of wise expediency. If, for reasons of equal expediency, the Government decides at any given time or place to resume its true function, it cannot be said to be in any sense invading the field of private enterprise. If we may assume that some of the coal claims which have been entered in Alaska in either the Matanuska or the Bering fields have complied with the law and should be allowed, the sugges- tions I have made will enable us to compare in practical operation the development of coal under private ownership, under Govern- ment leasehold, and under the direct operation of the Government itself. We shall have an important railroad under private owner- ship, with governmental regulation, to compare with one under public ownership, and these two railroads will operate in separate fields where they will not directly conflict, but where each may serve as a check up'on the other, and the advocates of both methods will doubtless come to appreciate more fully and more fairly both the difficulties and the advantages of the railroad as a governmental agent. Methods of Opening Coal Fields. It remains only to consider more in detail the methods by which the coal fields should be opened. Those suggested have been the sale of the lands in fee, their development under lease from the Government, and their operation by the Government itself. I believe that the time has passed when the Government should con- vey an unrestricted title to its coal fields. The day is done in which the Government should deliberately encourage the unrestricted private exploitation of the sources of power. To impose effective regulations upon these sources after they have passed to private ALASKAN PROBLEMS 379 individuals in fee is exceedingly difficult, even if not impossible. The ownership of the fee carries with it under the law the right of unrestricted sale, and many regulations which are desirable in the public interest can be imposed, if at all, only after radical changes in the laws and prolonged litigation in the courts, perhaps only after constitutional amendments. It is therefore unwise, and in my opinion unnecessary, to sell our coal lands in order to secure their effective development. On the other hand, direct Government operation, including the mining and the selling of coal, involves such deep and far-reaching changes, both of policy and of administration, that there is no likeli- hood at the present time of its adoption to the exclusion of private operation. Unlike the Government ownership of railroads, public coal mining has never been held by the courts to be a function of government. It would be regarded by many sincere and disinter- ested citizens as an invasion of the field of private enterprise, and would involve such general and uncompromising opposition that even those who believe in its adoption as a matter of principle should not insist upon tying up the coal fields of Alaska until the great economic and political questions which are involved in its exclusive application to these fields have been fought out to a practical con- clusion. The true function of government is not merely the preser- vation of public order or the regulation of the conduct of indi- viduals, but the carrying on of any enterprise which will promote the welfare of the community as a whole more effectively if carried on by the organized community than if left to the voluntary action of individual members of the community. But to determine whether a particular activity answers this test depends in every instance on a final and complete analysis involving a consideration not only of immediate results, but of the far-reaching consequences upon hu- manity and upon the social order. While, therefore, much can be said in favor of permitting the Government to enter experimentally into those fields upon which industrial development and the welfare of society depends, which perhaps may in the future include the development and distribution of power and the means by which power may be created, I do not believe that the Government alone should preempt these fields or exclusively control their development until it becomes far clearer than it is today that their development by private enterprise cannot be effectively controlled. For this reason I am opposed to the policy of having the Government alone own and mine Alaskan coal. 380 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS I believe that the leasing system avoids the controversies and the difficulties of both extremes of public and of private ownership. It has been adopted with conspicuous success in the great mining communities of Australia and New Zealand. It is now the estab- lished law of the Yukon territory lying in Canada just across the border line from Alaska. It is the system under which much of the privately owned coal land of the United States is in fact today being developed. Under it we can insert as matters of contract and as conditions to which the lessee voluntarily consents those regula- tions and requirements which promote the public interest, the en- forcement of some of which by mandatory law might be unconstitu- tional. By making the terms of our leases liberal we can make them even more attractive to capital than if we adopt the policy of an outright sale of the fee. Outright Sale of Coal Lands,. Let us consider for a moment what ordinarily happens with coal land which is sold outright. Comparatively little of it is mined by the original purchaser. He usually disposes of his title to a suc- cession of others, each of whom in turn adds to the cost of his pur- chase the profit in consideration of which he sells, and with increas- ing frequency the final result is the operation of the coal mines by a lessee, who must pay a return on these accumulated profits and who adds his own, transferring the burden of it all to the consumer. One hundred and fifty-six million tons of coal, or 34% of the total production of the United States for the year 1909, were mined from lands operated under private leases, and these leases are com- mon in every coal-mining state, naturally much more so in some states than in others. Considering the areas involved, we find that in West Virginia, in the great Pocahontas and New River coal fields, which yield the finest steaming coals of the continent, about 90% of the area in the Pocahontas district and about 60% of that in the New River district are mined on a private-lease basis, which pays the lessor a royalty fee averaging 10 cents per ton. In the Southern Appalachian coal fields, just south of the Poca- hontas region, it is estimated that 75% of the area is mined on a lease basis; in the Hocking Valley region of Ohio, 75%; in Iowa, more than 70% ; in Arkansas, 60% ; and in Oklahoma, nearly all of the coal land is operated on a lease basis. Thirty Per Cent of Coal Land Leased. Taking all of our principal coal-mining states, the census figures for 1909 show that out of a total of 6,900,000 acres of coal lands under operation, more than 2,000,000 acres, or 30% of the whole, ALASKAN PROBLEMS 381 was in 1909 operated under a system of private leases. It is there- fore substantially correct to say that, whether we like it or not, the choice is not as to whether we shall mine our coal on the lease- hold system, but whether we shall mine it under leases from private owners or from the Government direct. That the consumer has everything to gain under the governmental leasehold must be ap- parent, for the Government can make its royalties as little as it chooses and it has no invested capital and no unearned increment on which to pay returns. Opposition is to be expected only from those who wish to secure our coal lands for stock jobbing or speculative purposes or so that they may make a greater profit than is essential to secure immediate development. Indeed, immediate development can be assured only under the leasehold system. With- out it there is no reason why private individuals should not secure the property and hold it out of development until they can take advantage of the increasing demands of the future. Expedients could be adopted in the effort to enforce development by requiring the purchaser to mine a certain amount of coal or to expend a certain amount of money in developing the land under pain of forfeiting his title to the Government, but this, after all, is only a crude and awkward device for securing what can be far more effectively se- cured by means of lease. Indeed, these devices are economically unsound, for they compel development whether the immediate mar- ket justifies it or not. The leasing system, upon the other hand, can be given much of the flexibility necessary for meeting automatically the fluctuating demands of the market. The opponents of the leasing system delight to dwell upon the fact "that in the first half of the last century the Federal Govern- ment undertook to lease the lead mines on the public domain and that the effort was not a success and was abandoned in 1847, but when we consider the conditions under which the attempt was made, and especially that the leases were limited to five years, with a royalty of one-sixth of the lead for Government use ; that the valid- ity of the leases was constantly attacked upon the ground that the statute did not contain the necessary provisions for carrying it into effect; and that the system was permeated with the same kind of fraud and evasion which until recently characterized the operation of certain of our later land and mineral laws, we can understand the failure and that the experiment is of no value whatever in de- termining the merits or demerits of a properly drawn and properly enforced law for the leasing of the public coal lands of today. The whole experiment was carried' on under such crude and inefficient 382 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS methods that the total rental received by the Government for the four years ending with 1844 was on ty $6,35474, while the expenses for the same period amounted to $26,111.11. A few persons who have expressed themselves as being "un- alterably opposed" to a leasing system for the coal lands of Alaska have stated that they were unalterably opposed to it because, in the first place, it would be impossible to get any leasing legislation through Congress; and in the second place, if a leasing bill did pass Congress, it would be impossible to get anybody to work coal lands on a lease basis. I need not discuss at this time what Con- gress may or may not do, except to say that, in my judgment, Con- gress is far more likely to pass a rational leasing measure than it is to throw the coal fields of Alaska open for unrestricted private exploitation. Practicability of Leasing System. As to the second of these objections, whether or not the leasing of the coal lands in Alaska is a practicable proposition, let us see what the experience has been with reference to such a proposition in our own and other countries. A similar objection was raised whtn it was propose-d to lease the coal lands in New Zealand and in the Australian States, such as New South Wales, West Australia, Queensland, Victoria, and Tasmania. In each of these far-away countries the local conditions in some respects resembled those in Alaska. They were remote from commercial centers, with meager or no transportation facilities, and industrial development was car- ried on under great difficulties. It was argued in each of these countries that the great need was capital and development, and that the coal fields should be thrown wide open to all who were willing to risk their capital in helping to open up and build up the country. In some cases the sale of the fee was tried; but the wise Anglo- Saxons of that region thought it better as a matter of national policy to keep the ultimate control of these essential resources in the hands of the State, and they adopted a leasing system as the only safe means of doing this. And what was the result? The coal lands in each of these countries have been taken up and are being devel- oped and mined under the leasing system; and under that system coal is not only being mined for home consumption, but it is being exported to our own Pacific coast, and to other countries bordering on the Pacific. The difficulties that stood in the way of leasing the coal lands in those countries were imaginary difficulties, and they disappeared when the matter was put to a practical test. ALASKAN PROBLEMS 383 Again, in Nova Scotia and in the far-away Yukon country, where the conditions for investment are even more unfavorable than they are in many parts of Alaska, those who were opposed to the adoption of a leasing system said that it would be impossible to lease public coal lands on any basis ; but when the experiment was tried, parties came forward to take out the leases and are operating the coal lands. In our own country, in the states of Wyoming and Colorado, when it was proposed that these states should lease their coal lands instead of selling them outright, it was argued that nobody would take out the leases. But experience has shown otherwise. In Colo- rado in 1900, in addition to the large acreage of coal lands held in private ownership, nearly 6,000 acres of state coal lands were operated under lease, and in 1910 nearly 20,000 acres of the state coal lands were being operated under such leases, with a royalty charge of 10 cents per ton. In Wyoming today more than 3,000,000 acres of state lands of all kinds are being operated under 5,700 leases. While only a small portion of this acreage relates to coal, the state statistics do not indicate what this proportion is. With records at hand giving the results of a large volume and great variety of experience covering the operations of both private and public coal-land leases in our own and many other countries, it should not be difficult to decide upon the ordinary conditions and requirements that should be incorporated in a leasing system for the Alaskan coal fields working conditions that will meet the legitimate demands of the prospector, the investor, and the oper- ator, safeguard the health and life of the mine worker and the property of the Government, to the end that the public may secure an adequate supply of fuel at the lowest cost consistent with these conditions. Price Regulation by Government Umvise. Some of the bills which have been recently introduced in Con- gress provide that the Interstate Commerce Commission shall regulate the prices at which the coal mined under these leases is sold not only by the miner but by the middleman and the retailer to the consumer. Important as is the question of protecting the con- sumer, it seems unwise that price regulation by the Government should be insisted upon as a necessary feature of a coal-leasing law for Alaska. Obviously such regulation must extend to the re- tailer if it is to do anything but enable the middleman to make the profit denied to the miner. Regulation of this sort would be a new departure in either state or federal administration. It raises 384 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS fundamental questions of public policy about which differences exist that are as yet uncompromising. It would doubtless prevent any early action by Congress. Certainly if enacted in the form pre- sented in these bills, which merely declare the general principle and leave all of the real difficulties to be worked out by the commis- sion and the courts, it would prove a serious, if not prohibitive, barrier to the development of a new country and a new and uncer- tain market. Under these conditions it would seem a sufficient undertaking to inaugurate a new system of tenure, without im- posing upon Alaska the additional difficulties of the administration of a hitherto untried attempt to settle by public regulation what would constitute a reasonable profit for the miner, the whole- saler, and the retailer of coal. It is especially hard to understand how those who doubt the success of railroad regulation in Alaska can now advocate entering the more difficult field of the regulation of commodities. Price regulation has been suggested by some representatives of large corporate interests as a safeguard under which the modern economic tendency toward consolidation might be safely permitted to continue, but the bills referred to do not propose to treat Alaska coal on the principle of a regulated private monopoly. This question should be left for more mature consid- eration as a question of broad general policy, applicable, if at all, to the states as well as to Alaska. It may be practicable to provide in connection with the renewal of leases at their termination that such renewals shall be subject to the then existing laws applicable thereto. This principle has been successfully adopted in the Australian leases. Our first leases can well be made more favorable than those which follow, and if they are for resonable but fixed periods, and if we lease only as much of our coal lands as may be required for the existing mar- ket and its effective extension, we can thus proceed experimentally, correcting early mistakes and meeting future conditions as they arise. The prime requisites of a leasing system are that only suffi- cient coal lands should be leased to meet the existing market and encourage its development ; that the quantity leased to any one lessee should be limited to the amount that can be profitably mined as a unit and yet be large enough to attract investors ; that the lessee shall pay his royalty as he mines his coal; that this shall annually amount to at least a fixed minimum which will make it unprofitable for him to hold the land without production ; that he shall mine his coal without unnecessary waste and with due regard to the health ALASKAX PROBLEMS 385 and safety of his employes ; that he shall not engage directly or indirectly in any combinations, agreements, or understandings to control the price of coal, and that the revenues derived by the Government shall not be used as a source of federal revenue or as a substitute for taxation, but shall be devoted to the development of the state or territory in which the coal is mined. These at least are the principal features which should be embodied in a leasing law. .lustralia ami \cw Zealand j : a\'or Leases. From the information which I have at hand, I infer that in Australia and New Zealand the quantity embraced within a single lease does not seem to be limited, but reliance is placed upon the requirements which make it unprofitable for a tenant to lease more land than he really develops. That both the Government and the coal operators are believers in the leasing system is apparent from its universal application and from the investigation made in 1907 and 1908 at the instance of President Roosevelt by Arthur C. Yeatch, of the Geological Survey. With regard to the conditions in Western Australia, he says: At Kalgoorlie I found the mining men unanimous and emphatic in the indorsement of the statement that the leasing system is a better method of promoting mining development than freehold. The views of Mr. Richard Hamilton, President of the Chamber of Mines and Manager of the Great Boulder Proprietary Co. mine, one of the richest gold mines of the world, carry great weight, as they represent the views of a man who is not only a mining engineer, but a lawyer, a man with' wide experience, and one who speaks only after careful consideration, and then with mature judgment. Man after man in the field said: "See Hamilton; he knows what s we think; he knows the conditions; and what he tells you may be taken as the opinion of the mining men of this country." Mr. Hamilton has spent considerable time in America in studying our mining conditions, and is emphatic in the belief that mining development is promoted more by the western Australian lease- hold system than by the American freehold. In view of these facts one may confidently assert that the mining law of Western Australia is, with minor exceptions, regarded as quite satisfactory by the mining interests of the country, and that in the opinion of the mining men development is promoted more by a lease- hold than a freehold tenure. * * * 1. In Western Australia the population is largely made up of those interested in mining. 2. Western Australia is a country of great mineral wealth, having produced in each of the last eight years between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 ounces of fine gold, or several times that produced by Alaska, and has for the same period had a greater total annual mineral production than any of the other Australian States or New Zealand, except New South Wales, which surpassed it in 1906 and 1907. 3. It contains enormous areas yet undeveloped, the state having an area of almost a million square miles, or more than the combined areas of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Colo- rado, Wyoming, and Montana, and a total population of less than one- twentieth of that of all these states, or less than that of the single state of Utah. 386 PROCEEDiXGS AMERICAN MIXING CONGRESS 4. It is a country in which mineral lands were sold outright, and its mineral laws have therefore been evolved from a basis similar to that which now is, and for many years past has been, commonly accepted as the rule and practice in the United States. 5. The desire of the Government to promote and encourage the development of its mineral wealth in every way is emphatically shown by the policy of Government aid. This policy in the past has involved enormous expenditure in connection with water supplies for the mining districts, the Coolgardie water system alone (built to pump 5,000,000 gallons a day 351 miles to an elevation 1,200 feet above the supply point) involving an expenditure on the part of the Government of over $18,000,000. * * * The mining act of 1904 must therefore be regarded not as a theo- retical attempt' of political economists, but as the matured law of a state which has had large practical experience in mining matters, in which, in fact, mining is the principal industry and in which vast areas await settlement and development; a state which has, moreover, in many ways conclusively demonstrated its desire to permit and encourage the development and settlement of its territory. And with regard to New Zealand he reports that The net result of the administration of the minerals contained in the public domain of the United States and New Zealand for the past 60 years is that, while both have provided for the sale of mineral lands and neither has reserved minerals in patents or grants, in the United States all the mineral production is either derived from freehold land or land that is in process of becoming freehold, while in New Zealand 90 per cent of the whole mineral production comes from areas held under lease from the Government. Truly, this result but corroborates the statement called forth by the investigation in Tasmania that the patriotic and efficient administration of the land affairs of a country is not a human impossibility. The country in which these results have been attained is one of no mean mineral wealth, and is one in which the mining industry is in a very healthy and progressive condition. It contains, in the Waihi gold mine, the most productive gold mine in Australasia and the third or fourth in the world. It has the third most productive colliery com- pany in Australasia, and is second only to New South Wales in its total coal production. It has been the center of several gold rushes, which, following those in California and Victoria, to some degree de- populated the Victorian fields and attracted many from California. Tt has produced in a little over- 50 years more than $350,000,000 worth of gold, and, with but little over one-sixth the area of Alaska, produced in 1905 three-fourths as much gold, five times as much silver, and many times as much coal. It has one-third more area and about three times the population of Utah, and in 1905 produced one-quarter more coal, about twice the amount of gold, and one-eleventh the quantity of silver. The comparison with the coal production of Alaska is, of course, of no consequence as the coal lands in Alaska were not really open to development in 1905. This, however, does not detract from the value to us of the experience of New Zealand. In the Yukon territory of Canada coal lands are now leased by the government for a term of 21 years at an* annual rental of $i an acre, and hot more than 2,560 acres can be leased by one applicant. The royalty is 5 cents per ton on the merchantable output of the mine. Here, as in Alaska, facilities for transportation are necessary before any extensive development can be expected. ALASKAN PROBLKMS 387 Shortly before I went to Alaska I improved an opportunity to discuss the question of its coal development with a group of prominent coal operators in the state of Pennsylvania, and I was surprised to find that they were unanimously of the opinion that the leasing system should be adopted and that only sufficient land should be leased to meet the demands of the market and provide the incentive for developing that market in a vigorous and rational manner. Prompt Congressional Action Desire of Alaska. When I reached Cordova I was presented with a series of reso- lutions adopted by the Cordova Chamber of Commerce expressing its disapproval of a leasing system for Alaska coal lands. Since my return to the states I have received from the Chamber of Com- merce a most courteous statement to the effect that after further careful consideration the chamber did not now desire to be con- sidered as opposed to a leasing system, and suggesting certain re- quirements or conditions which it believed should be incorporated in leases if such a system is adopted. What is desired in Alaska is prompt action by Congress in some direction that will promote development. I have been equally interested in receiving a resolution adopted by the executive committee of an important organization in the oil industry of the state of California stating the conviction that a leasing system was the only way likely to be found out of the ex- isting situation and urging its members to devote their attention to a consideration of the proper terms to be embodied in a leasing law. I have also received from the Philadelphia section of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, which embraces in its membership some of the most experienced and distinguished coal mining engineers in the country, a set of resolutions adopted at its meeting on the I7th of this month, after preliminary submission by mail to its members and an extended discussion at the meeting. These resolutions read as follows: Your committee find the following conditions existing in the ter- ritory of Alaska relative to its coal resources: First. It is essential for the proper development of Alaska that its coal fields be opened for commercial use without further delay. Second. There are now known to exist in Alaska but two rela- tively small fields containing high-grade Navy fuel, and inasmuch as the Government now possesses no original source of such supply on the Pacific coast, it is desirable in the interests of national defense that a selected area of these fields be held and operated under the direct con- trol of the Government. Third. It is in the interest of conservation, economic operation, and due regard to the public welfare, as well as to the operator, that coal 388 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN" -MINING CONGRESS lands in Alaska be leased and that these leases be made for all the coal in the ground. Fourth. The royalties should be low and based on percentage of selling price of the coal at the mines. Fifth. The minimum annual royalty should be nominal for the first two or three years after the execution of the lease, in order to per- mit and encourage the installation of efficient and durable equipment. After that; period the minimum per acre should increase more rapidly than the area increases. For example, the minimum royalty for 5,000 acres should be several times more per acre than for 1,000 acres. Such a plan would tend to prevent the tying up of large areas of undeveloped coal territory. Sixth. A due diligence and forfeiture clause to effect continuous work should be included in the lease. Seventh. Leasehold in coal land shall include all necessary mining rights and agricultural rights to the surface. Eighth. Leases should not be given for less than 160 acres, and in shape should be square, their boundaries being east and west and north and south. In surveyed territory the boundary lines must conform to governmental subdivisions and consist of four contiguous 40-acre piats. Ninth. It should be clearly recognized as a basic principle that the value of coal lands in Alaska to the Nation lies more in their use for in- dustrial, commercial, and naval purposes than in the royalties to be derived therefrom. Tenth. It is desirable that the revenue obtained from coal royal- ties revert to the benefit of the territory. Eleventh. The quality of Alaska coal varies from poor lignite to high-grade semi-bituminous and anthracite. The physical character of the seams also varies, the best coals being seriously and unfavorably affected by the geologic structure. The high-grade coals of Alaska, which are now available for development under the present state of the art of mining and utilizing coal, are limited in quantity, notwith- standing the exaggerated, reports to the contrary which have appeared in the public press. Resolved, That your committee is of the opinion that the present coal-mining conditions in Alaska are unsatisfactory and detrimental to public welfare and that laws should be enacted, based upon the above principles; be it further Resolved, That the committee recommends that this resolution be adopted as an expression of the views of the Philadelphia section of the Mining and Metallurgical Society. I have already stated that Director Holmes, of the Bureau of Mines, and his associates have personally visited both the Bering and the Matanuska coal fields, and I am glad to be able to say that Dr. Holmes has read this address and concurs in its statements of fact and in its recommendations. That they are infallible I do not claim. It may include inaccuracies of statement and more serious mistakes; but these I reserve the right to correct whenever I dis- cover them or whenever new facts or more mature consideration lead me to a different conclusion. For the present they are offered as definite suggestions for a policy under which the territory of Alaska may be immediately opened for wise and vigorous de- velopment. I have been greatly pleased with the fair-mindedness and pub- lic spirit of the Alaskan people on this subject. I believe back of ALASKAN PROBLEMS 389 their naturally great and justifiable desire for immediate action they want done in this matter whatever will in the end prove best for Alaska as a wrjole, without regard to special individual or corporate interests ; and I believe that Congress and the American people as a whole will be in accord with that purpose. The members of the American Mining Congress can do much i" aid in carrying that purpose into effect. The Relation of Congress to the Mining Industry. BY HON. MARTIN D. FOSTER, ril. MILAIAX OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON MINES AND MINING. I am somewhat at a loss in appearing before you on this occasion, especially when I see before me so many men who are practical in the matter of mining. My visit to this Congress at this particular time has been of great interest to me. I have heard sub- jects relating to mining discussed in a most vigorous manner. I have heard subjects which concerned Congress discussed in a way that led me to believe that the speaker believed what he said. I have been interested because I hope that this meeting will be instructive to the people because the people of this country have an interest in mining affairs wherever they may be. We have heard much today of the Bureau of Mines, and I am glad to know and to say to you that I believe that that bureau has just begun its work. Under the leader- ship of Dr. Holmes, who is enthusiastic in his work, aided by the capable assistants he has about him, and with the proper means that ought to be given him, I am sure that he will accomplish much in the line of work that he has undertaken. Originally the chief object of the Bureau of Mines was to con- serve the lives of those who worked in the mines. During its brief existence of one year much has been accomplished, and in a few years I hope that it can be said of the United States that there is less loss of life and fewer accidents than any other country in all the world. We believe that with the proper education of miners, of the operators and of the people generally that mine accidents may be reduced to a minimum, that the proper apparatus may be at hand whenever an accident does occur in a mine that will still further reduce the loss of life. But there is further work along these lines. It has been a question in Congress for at least five years, according to my experience, and there has been agitated the question of mining schools in all the states and territories of this Union. I am glad that we have made some progress at least, and I hope that in the future we may see the establishment by federal aid, where they are not already established, and where they are that they may be given aid so that this great work of educating young men in mining may go for- ward to better and higher results than those today. You are all RIf.LATI.OX OF COXGRESS TO MIX1XG INDUSTRY 391 familiar with the agricultural colleges and how they were given aid a long time ago. You have seen these colleges grow and grow until they have been made powerful institutions of learning in the country. It was told to me by Mr. George W. Hill, who was in Washing- ton City and in charge of the division of publications, that he used to come to Illinois and try to talk to the president of the agricultural college, in an endeavor to learn what he was doing at Champaign, and he said that he could hardly get him to speak to him at all about the students that he had or of the college he was conducting. He eventually found the reason why, and that was that he 'had three students and they met in the basement of the University. I am glad to say that under state and federal aid that this institution has grown until we have a thousand men being educated year after year in the science of agriculture. This condition ought to exist in mining, be- cause next to agriculture comes the industry of mining in this coun- try. I know you are enthusiastic in your work and I hope that you may put the same enthusiasm into your work with the national con- gress to put through a bill to give aid to mining schools in all the states. .llaskan Questions to Come Before Congress. We have now in the committee of which I have the honor to be chairman, sub-committees appointed who are expected to take up these different questions and report early at the next session of Congress. I heard much today of the mining interests of Alaska, and T would not speak of this in view of the fact that my good friend, the Secretary of the Interior, is here now, except that these questions will come before the next session of Congress, and I hope that some settlement may be made of this great question. I am glad to say that there is a sub-committee working upon this question of mining and certain mining laws in Alaska, which I hope when put in operation, will prove to all the states what a model mine may be when established under the federal control of this government. r.ut I want to remind the American Mining Congress of this, that while I am in sympathy with all that has been said here as to the speedy opening of the coal mines of Alaska, because I believe that those people in that faroff country are entitled to the fuel that is stored up there, I want to emphasize this fact upon you and the American people, that I believe that any law which is proposed cannot pass Congress unless it provides for the conservation of the great wealth in that faroff country. Proper conservation, my friends, for the people of this country believe in proper conserva- tion. 392 PROCEEDINGS . \.MKRICAN MINING CONGRESS It may be said that Alaska should be treated as the other terri- tories of this country were treated, but I want to remind you that after passing through numbers of years during which our resources have been squandered, that we have come now to a time when we are getting down to the bottom. We have Alaska left and this must be preserved, that the people may have the benefit of its resources. I remember this, my friends, that it cost the government more than $100,000 to determine what water might be taken from a stream, and then, when that water was taken, a franchise was given to a water* company, two of them, I might say, who then com- bined and had the absolute control for a period of 99 years without one cent accruing to the national government or any one else, and they charged the people of the community in which that water power was delivered what they saw fit, and those people were help- less to do anything for themselves. I believe, my friends, it is our duty, I believe it is the duty of Congress in all fairness and right and justice to the people of Alaska and of right and justice to the people of this country, that proper conservation o'n a proper plan should be evolved whereby this great treasure may be retained and preserved for the people and not fall into the hands or monopoly of one, two, three or half a dozen men who use it for a selfish purpose. Leasing System May be Solution. Any one who read the proceedings of the last session of Congress could get some idea of what conservation means. I would say tonight, good friends from Alaska, that you are clamoring that these mines should be opened, and I see you have a reason for so doing. I agree with you in that, but I want to say to you that there are other places in the United States, places in our own country and within our own borders, where Congress has refused and where a question has been debated on the floor for three or four days be- cause they did not propose to give a monopoly of a water power to any company. So you are not the only ones who may feel that you have been imposed upon in this manner. A proper leasing of the coal lands of Alaska may be the solution of that proposition, but I want to be frank with you and say this tonight, that there appeared in one session of Congress a bill which proposed to fix a maximum rate for coal to be mined in that country. Did you ever, hear of a man going out and saying to his boy or to his agent, "Take my horse to the market"?. You can not ask that he shall not sell the horse for more than $100. RKLATfOX OF COXGRKSS TO MIX1XG IXIH'STKY 393 1 want to say that when the coal mines of Alaska are opened, if thev are, opened, by a leasing system, that the government has a right to receive what any one is willing to give. These are questions that are coming before the next session of Congress, when I hope they will be settled , in a satisfactory manner. There will be extreme views on conservation and there may be extreme views on the other side, that believe all the benefit should be turned to those who may get there first, but through it all will come ,a compromise, I hope, that will result in these coal mines being opened, and then this treasury will be preserved in some way for the people for all time to come. It does not matter whether the lease is long if the property is safeguarded, and, my friends, I care but little and 1 don't believe that Congress will be so much concerned in what revenue might come to the national government, but I believe that they ought to be concerned about what that coal shall be given to the people for, and what price shall be charged to them. It ought to be a reasonable price. I don't believe that we ought to go out into the business of fixing prices upon all commodities, but I do believe that the people have a right to'expect their lawmakers to see that no monopoly gains control of the staple commodities. Now, my friends, I don't want to take too much of your time. I am glad to meet with you. I am glad to hear the expressions that I have heard today, and I want to say that publicity should be given to the views that you have expressed here in this meeting. The public should know your views as practical men upon mining subjects. Congress should know, because you are practical miners, you know what it is to open a mine, you know what it is to operate a mine, and that knowledge should be given to men who have these matters in charge and who pass laws for the proper regulation of this industry. I thank you for the honor of appearing before you at this time, and desire to assure you that my work in connection with the com- mittee on mines and mining shall be in the interest of the develop- ment of^the mining interests of the country, and the conserving of these resources and above all the conserving of the human life of those who have to work in the mines. The Government and the Mining Industry. IJY HON. \V1L,L.1AM HOWARD TAFT, HIKSIDKNT OF THE UNITED STATES. Mr. Chairman, and Ladies and Gentlemen : I am not here this morning to make an address. I am here merely to extend greetings to the American Mining Congress. Circumstances change and men change with them. In the early days of this Republic it was thought, it was advocated, that those who were the least governed were the best governed. The laissez-faire school which even ob- jected to a government postoffice for a long time had control, and it was thought that- it was not the business of the general government to interest itself in anything except the maintenance of the army and the navy, our foreign relations, the judiciary and the policing of the territories. But, as I say, times have changed, and we have reached a conclusion, and I believe it is a wise one, that there are a great many things in which the united effort of the people through its government can be of assistance to the people at large, which cannot be trusted to individual enterprise and individual investment. The postoffice department is one thing, and growing out of the postoffice department are the postal savings banks and doubtless within a reasonable time we shall extend that to the parcels post. (Applause.) There is in the constitution a clause that used to act like a nightmare on our democratic ancestors. The Whig ancestors were not so startled, but our democratic ancestors always thought that the general welfare clause of the constitution was an invention of the devil who got into the constitutional convention. (Laughter.) But as time has gone on the usefulness of -that omnium-gatherum clause which gives to the federal government the right to spend its money in almost any direction that Congress thinks is useful to the people at large, has come to be a most admirable place from which to initiate useful movements. In 1862. when the homestead law was passed there was estab- lished a department of agriculture. It was called a department, but the man at the head of it was not a cabinet minister, and he did not become so until many years afterwards. At that time per- haps the Government had enough interest of a proprietary char- acter in land to assume the attitude of the farmer and to spend GOVERXMKXT AXI) THK MIXIXO INDUSTRY 395 money to find "out how farms ought to be run. But now that all the public land is practically disposed of, it is difficult to support the expenditures of the agricultural department on the theory that the Government is a proprietor, and therefore authority for the expenditures can only be found in the general wel'fare clausi- ; yet we are going on spending $15,000,000 a year in agriculture. We spent more than $50,000,000 trying to wrest from nature the secrets that will enable us to increase the product per acre of the land of which we now have none too much. You know that from the last census it appears that there was only 4 per cent increase of the total acreage of farms; there was only 15 per cent increase in the improved acreage of farms. There was 21 per cent increase in the population, and there was 100 per cent increase in the money value of farms. There was the same increase in the farm prod- ucts. The farm values increased from 20,000,000,000 to 40,000,- 000,000; the farm products per year increased from 4,000,000,000 to 8,000,000,000. Now these indicate that we are reaching the limit of tillable soil in this country, but if we go on increasing our population as we have heretofore, by 1950 we shall have a popula- tion of 200,000,000. With that number of mouths to feed and with substantially the same acreage on which to feed them, I say substantially the same, we may increase by reclamation and irriga- tion and drainage so as to have 950,000,000 acres instead of 883,- 000,000, but we have got to go on and increase the production per acre, and the chief instrumentality for doing that is the agricul- tural department, acting in connection with the agricultural bu- reaus of the various states, which does a work not executory but a work of research, of investigation, of experimentation and of ex- ploitation and publicity of the results of the work. Importance of Mininy Industry. Now no one, I think, would contend that we ought to give up the agricultural department. I don't care how much he might wor- ship at Jefferson's tomb, or how much he might have in times past considered the welfare clause the invention of the devil, he now would admit that at least so far as the agricultural department is concerned, we must continue in the error which we originally estab- lished, because it has been so beneficial to the people. So it is with respect to the mining industry. Next to the agricultural industry it is perhaps the most important we have and one which spreads over all the states. It divides itself into so many different varieties and is so widespread, that no one state can give to the research in- vestigation and general pulication of the results, the money and 396 PROCEEDINGS AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS the time and the attention and the number of people required in order that we should make progress. This is especially true with reference to the saving of the lives of miners engaged in the mining industry, and I am glad to note that Congress has passed a law creating a mining bureau. (Applause.) It does not argue neces- sarily that we ought to have a bureau for any particular thing because those who are interested in that particular thing ask for it. They want a bureau for everything in Washington. I could give a dozen different subjects ; one is for children, and another well, that perhaps is nearer reason than most of them, but one day when I was preparing my annual message for Congress, I had a solemn delegation that came in and asked me to recommend to Congress that we have a bureau on earthquakes. Well, of course, if Congress were to yield to that on the theory that we ought to have a bureau of investigation for every subject of any interest at all to the public, Congress would be engaged in creating new- bureaus every year, and the difficulty about creating a new bureau is that it is like swarming into a new house. There are certain expenses that are added to the governmental roll of expenses that never are reduced thereafter, and that is the reason why the ap- propriation committees are so reluctant and hesitating in respect to the making of any new bureau at all. But you have a new mining bureau now established, and that it will grow by the application of some very diligent and earnest efforts on the part of the present head of the mining bureau, I haven't the slightest doubt. Metallurgical Problems Will Receive Attention. Your president suggested something with reference to the precious metals, and that it will have attention I haven't any anxiety on that subject at all. Congress will be advised fully as to its necessity, and if by nothing else but mere force of attrition it will be brought in the course of a few years to make all the provision that is needed there. You heard last night a very interesting address from the Sec- retary of the Interior as to mining and the general subject of Alaska. I read the address last night, and I only want to say that I enjoyed the reading and approved it. He said in advance that he had pub- lished the address with my consent, after a general discussion with me, and now I want to make the confirmation comlpete. (Ap- plause.) If the Secretary of the Interior would straighten out Alaskan matters and eliminate rodomontade and muckraking, and everything else that has interfered with the progress of Alaska, and put her on smooth seas and lead her on to only reasonable develop- GOVERXM KXT A X 1 ) T 1 1 I-: M I X I XG I X DL'STK Y 397 ment, he will earn my undying personal gratitude (applause), as well as my patriotic rejoicing as a humble citizen of the United States. (Applause.) I believe Alaska has a great future before it, but it has been hindered by a sharpness and acuteness of discussion with refer- ence to what shall be done, and an unnecessary ascribing of evil motives to those who were engaged in trying to promote its interests. Now we have got perhaps to a lull in the surface water I am not speaking with confidence yet (laughter) perhaps there is a lull that we may go ahead to something really of sub- stantial benefit for that great empire there of people who are struggling to develop it and who are entitled to our sympathy in their efforts. (Applause.) Now, as I say, I am here to extend very cordial greeting, and I sincerely hope that this meeting will bring about a conference of resolutions and conclusions that will be useful in the general cause. I presume that these conventions have a great deal of use in that regard, and while I am not a technical miner and know very little about it, I shall always hold myself in Washington ready to hear suggestions and to help where I can put in my oar. T thank you very much. (Applause.) YC 01631 232495 -