Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-12-14

The Grand Forks, Herald publishes
the following letter from Senator
Hansbrough in reply to an editorial
in that paper regarding the "Looting
Of Alaska, = serial story soon to be
published in one of the magazines:
To the Editor: s55s5
The magazine manager who seeks
to Increase the circulation Of his pub.
lication by filing 1t with sensational
material concerning public men: and
this appeaEs to be the popular and
profitable thing to do nowadaysca
always depend upon finding some per
son In every commsmity who will as
sdst him In furtherfng the sales Of his,
libelols wares. The eastern maga-
zine that hopes to popularize itself by
exploiting the aLooting Of Alaska"
has evidently found willing agent in
North Dakota. The Herald, In glee-
fully regretfui editorial, recently re-
ferred to the magazines promise to
tell How Senator HanSbToagh pro
posed am amendment to the mining
laws. which was one OF the boldest at.
tacks upon the constitutional rights OF
citizens ever attempted. and how this
was barely thwarted at the last mo-
ment.'
The amendment which offered to
the Alaska code bill some five years
ago, and which 1t would seem is again
to be used, as the basis Of sensation
al story Involving "a bold attack upon
the constitutional rights OF citizens,' =
was as q matter Of exact truhh in
tended to protect the rights Of citizens
against lot Of aliens who were being
used by an Organization Of Land loot
ers. herewith submit the facts in
the case for the consideration OF a
fair-minde0 public.
The proposed amendment, which
was defeated by the filibustering tao
tics OF certain Pacific coast senators,
provided that I'M all mining contest
cases in Alaska the question OF the
citizenship OF the claimants should be
heard in the courts OF that district.
It simply put the competency Of the
locator in issue. In express terms, If
the locator were a citizen or had de-
clared his intention to become such,
there could be no further question as
to his right to acquire mining proper
ty. In other words, he must have the
quail fcations of a homesteader. That
was the SUM and substance OF the
amendment. The matter was gone
over very thoroughly at the time in
the senate and discussed pretty gem
orally in the newspapers, especially
in the Journals Of the Pacific coast,
where most of the parties interested
in securing Alaska plaIcer mining
property through alien locations re-
sided "a
As chairman of the senate commit.
tee on public lands, 1t appeared, to me
to be my duty to make every possible
effort to preserve the lands Of the
United States for bona fide citizens.
This has been the policy OF the gov.
ernment from the beginning, as will
pc found by an examination Of the
United States statutes. At no time IN
our history has it been lawful for an
aaden to possess himself OF any part Of
the agricultural or grazing lands OF
the country, and it seemed to me to
be good public policy, in legislative
FOR Alaska, to extend this rule to the
mining lands OF that district. / have
no doubt that q good majority Of the
senate would have agreed with me
had the question: been permitted to
come to a vote. It was SIMPLY talked
10 death by two or three senators. and
the result is that numerous aliens.
many OF whom had not been In, the
United States but a few weeks. and
quite a number Of whom had not yet
aeparted from Their native land across
ths seas. their names being used in
advance by Interested parties through
the process of powers Of attorney, got
temporary possession Of vast areas Of
placer ground and then transferred
their so-caaled rights to combina,
ton Of Pacific coast land grabbers.
There IS an old statute which pro-
Hdes that the title to contested min,
ing property must be tried out Is the
ONCE Of the secretary Of the interior
aI washington. This law has served