The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-10-13
AVARI(I)US OFFICIALS.
They GoDble Up Everything in Sight in
Alaska.

A disgraceful state of affairs is
reported from Alaska. The wealth
of the Cape Nome gold district is
attracting great attention. Credit
able reports affirm that it is richer
than the KiOndike. Prospectors
tiocknd there last summer, expect
ing to find an open field for their
efforts. But now it is asserted bv
persons in position to know that
there is no chance for a poor man to
go there and secure property for
himself.
An organization was perfected
last winter, ard before June
| everything thought to be de-
sirable in any way was located
by men from st. Michael's. These
men were employed by the repre-
sentatives of the big trading COM
panies, the army officers, and the
government officials, to make lOc I.
tiOns by power Of attorney for them.
This was done by Wholesale until
/ United States Commits ssioner Shep-
herd, Captain Walker, United Stat S
army, and such men held paper
| rOss' s-iOn Of scores of twenty acre
tracts Of mining land.
| Ni;b the opening Of navigation
| late in June, there was rush of out
siders from. Pacific cost points, until
| there were several thousand men
! roaming over the land held by a few
men in St. MichaeI's who had never
seen the place. When this situation
| became generally known, there was
a vigorous protect, and nearly all
! the locations were Jumped on the
! ground that the organization had
not been lega 'ly perfected, and that
! location had been made by men not
/ citizens Cf the United States at the
time.
A demand was made for an open
/ fl ii, and chance for the real
| Alaska prOspeCtors. Meetings were
/ Callt d, and there was a general de
/ termination to open the gold fields
for men who would work the prop
erty and not hold it for speculative
. purposes,
Then the army officers stepped in,
/ along with Commissioner Shepherd
. i'Ee miners meetings were dispers-
ed at the point Of the bayOnet, and
the men who were heading 5nG move
met were threatened with arrest and
imprisonment az the st. Michael,
military reservation. A. the repre-
sentatives of the law were person
ally interested, and the army wa.
supreme, there was nothing to dc
but TO submit. Since then the pool
man could work for wages, or use q
rocker along the beach between
| high and low tide, or get out.
Commissioner shepherd was ask
ed what he thought of the p0wer-oI
attorney locations He said:
have settled that question in fa.
vor of the power-of attorney, auC
will so decide in the future. Yes,
have some of those claims II any
one jumps them | shall hear tn,
case and decide in my own favor
Those men are lot of agitators an,
iucendiaries, aud if they don't lOob
cut they will fird themselves in Jail
Let them work for wages
These officials may be within tht
law. Whether they are or not make
, no difference to gold seekers Outsid,
OF their particular cabal. The iuu'
cial officers saud the army control thI
situation, and they are the chief par
ties at interest.
} The matter is an interesting on
a. an illustration of the lengths L
which officials will 20 when clothed
with arbitrary power and actuated b.
selfish motives.