322 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 
approved in all respects the leasing system. Its success is abundantly 
shown. It is possible that at first considerable latitude will have to be 
given to the executive in drafting these forms of lease, but as soon as 
experiment shall show which is the most workable and practicable, its 
use should be provided for specifically by statute. 
The question as to how great an area ought to be included in a 
lease to one individual or corporation is not free from difficulty; but 
in view of the fact that the government retains control as owner, I think 
there might be some liberality in the amount leased, and that 2,500 
acres would not be too great a maximum. 
By the opportunity to readjust the terms upon which the coal shall 
be held by the tenant, either at the end of each lease or at periods dur- 
ing the term, the government may secure the benefit of sharing in the 
increased price of coal and the additional profit made by the tenant. 
By imposing conditions in respect to the character of the work to be 
done in the mines, the government may control the character of the 
development of the mines and the treatment of employees with reference 
to safety. By denying the right to transfer the lease except by the 
written permission of the governmental authorities, it may withhold 
the needed consent when it is proposed to transfer the leasehold to per- 
sons interested in establishing a monopoly of coal production in any 
state or neighborhood. As one third of all the coal supply is held by . 
the government, it seems wise that it should retain such control over the 
mining and the sale as the relation of lessor to lessee furnishes. The 
change from the absolute grant to the leasing system will involve a good 
deal of trouble in the outset, and the training of experts in the matter 
of making proper leases; but the change will be a good one, and can 
be made. The change is in the interest of conservation, and I am glad 
to approve it. 
ALASKA Coat LANDS 
The investigations of the geological survey show that the coal prop- 
erties in Alaska cover about 1,200 square miles, and that there are 
known to be available about fifteen billion tons. This is, however, an 
underestimate of the coal in Alaska, because further developments will 
probably increase this amount many times; but we can say with con- 
siderable certainty that there are two fields on the Pacific slope which 
can be reached by railways at a reasonable cost from deep water—in one 
case of about fifty miles and in the other case of about 150 miles—which 
will afford certainly six billion tons of coal, more than half of which is 
of a very high grade of bituminous and of anthracite. It is estimated 
to be worth, in the ground, one half a cent a ton, which makes its value 
per acre from $50 to $500. The coking-coal lands of Pennsylvania are 
worth from $800 to $2,000 an acre, while other Appalachian fields are 
worth from $10 to $386 an acre, and the field in the central states from 
