43° THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



it possible to state the number of beds which are workable. Moreover, 

 when it is recalled that gas is present in the coals, that the region is 

 one of abundant rainfall, that the snowfall is heavy, that the coals are 

 in many places friable, that many difficulties and large expenditures 

 are connected with the problem of railroad construction and the pro- 

 viding of docking facilities, one begins to realize how necessary it is to 

 give full weight to these facts in reaching a conclusion as to the value 

 of the field. 



The opening up of this field would be a great boon to Alaska and to 

 the states of the Pacific coast. The government should do all in its 

 power to hasten development. In cases where the evidence shows that 

 the entrymen have conformed to the law, the patents should be issued 

 without delay. Moreover, the Alaskan coal land laws should be speedily 

 revised. The existing laws are unsatisfactory in that they do not tend 

 to encourage but rather to discourage development. Xot until large 

 sums of money have been invested in this field will it be possible to mine 

 and ship the coal on a commercial scale. 



