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Show WYOMING'S COAL. 5,000,000 TONS PER ANNUM BROUGHT TO THE SURFACE. Beport of Ir.ipector Epperson The Indui-trjr Indui-trjr Crippled bj the Nearolty of Cam The Supply He Sayi 1 Almost Unlimited. Inspector Epperson has filed his re port on Wyoming coal mines, which, though somewhat incompVe on account ac-count of conflicting laws, makes a very satisfactory showing. At the time of the creation of hip ofllce, in 1885, there were but nine coal mines in the territory, terri-tory, while at the present time there are twenty-four mines in operation subject to his jurisdiction, and widely scattered ovar the state, says the Laramie Republican. Re-publican. . With one or two exceptions, the condition con-dition of the mines has been improved aud the capacity for output has been largely increased.- It is now not less than 15,000 tons per day, or at the rate of about 5,000,000 tons per annum. The demand for Wyoming coal has. kept pace with increased ability for output, I but the possibility of supplying that demand de-mand has been greatly crippled by scarcity of cars and lack of sullicient motive power on the railroads to handle the output promptly. "The outlook for the future of Wyoming Wyom-ing coal," says the inspector, "is most promising. Prospecting going on all over the state, la developing a good character of coal iand in vast quantities. quanti-ties. In fact, it seems to be almost unlimited, un-limited, and when transportation companies com-panies traverse the state sufficiently to warrant further development and handling we may claim for our field that Wyoming coal will supply the north half of Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Nevada and California. No state in the union today to-day has the known area and quantity of coal that Wyoming has." Among the recommendations of the inspector is one that the state shall be divided into two coal mining districts, one to include alt the mines on the line of the Union Pacific, and the other all the mines on the' Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley and north of it, as at present it is impossible for one inspector inspec-tor to visit and inspect all these mines. |