Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-06

our Investigations, as they have pro-
crossed, show that these people who are
endeavoring to acquire large amount OF
this coal land went into the labor camps
of the Great Northern and secured labor
ers to sign applications; and our investi-
cations also show that at. places In Chi
cago and Terre Haute, Ind. and probably
at Detroit, Mich, and other places, stem
ogra piers and clerks who knew nothing
about the coal or the coal lands, but who
we're employees of men who are behind
railroads building up there and In pros
pect of building. signed these applications
in large number. and these lands have
been located and their applications are
pending, and our division chief In the
field force, who has had these matters
personally in his hands, and who is one
of our most conservative and careful
men, advises us, as his opinion, that
among the 1000 or 1900 entries at pres.
ent pending on coal lands in Alaska, In
his opinion 500 of them are fraudulent
and 1t Is also his opinion that probably
with the exception Of that one group that
has been referred to here, they are not
such entries as Congress contemplated
could be gotten together and segregated
In this last coal land act
The chief of division who was referred
to by Mr.. Schwartz was L. r. Claws,
chief of field division, who subsequently
made the report to the President. Mr..
Schwartz submitted to the committee q
written statement, which showed that on
the basis Of one cent ton royalty. coal
claims in Alaska were worth $16,OO0.OOO
to the government. In this written state
ment he outlined more definitely the plan
by which the claimants were attempting
to defraud the government.
Outline Of Methods.
He said. in part:
1.-THE modus operandi was to secure
powers of attorney to locate coal claims
and other powers to sign the applications.
. The parties in whose names these
large coal areas were covered by Ioca-
lions are without names. and investiga-
ton shows that they are almost entirely
ton of the lands and what Is being done
under their powers of attorney. In other
instances the combinations are composed
of men of means who had organized cor
porations and had entered into contracts
prior to the location OF the claims and
pooled their interests in the forming OF
the corporations. This last proposition
was Illegal under the existing coal laws
at the time the pools were formed; and
these persons will probably be able to
come within the provisions of the act OF
May %, 1903, entitled An act to en-
courage development of coal deposits in
the territory of Alaska 1t is not
thought. however. that Congress INTENDED
or that the terms OF the act OF the IC6u-
lations hereunder will permit the con-
summation Of claims which were entirely
fraudulent in their inception and were
progressing under system of dummy
entrymen who had and expected no uiti.
mate interest in the land after patent
was secured"
Schwartz Goes on Record.
Before giving this testimony MT
Schwartz had placed himself on record In
the general land Office as of the opinion
that the evidence showed, that the Cum
ningham group Of claims was initiated by
the use Of dummy entrymen, and that
the Guggenheim syndicate had paid a part
Of the expense of locating and examining
the lands. In this respect he differed
from Secretary Ballinger and Commits
sioner bennett. But after March 4, 1900.
he signed most OF the kilograms to CLAWS
which disregarded CLAWS advice for q
short delay. Gle signed the kilograms
sent 10 Agent Sheridan, from Denver to
verify the opinion of CLAWS. and he and
the others. Secretary Bailinger and Dem
nett, were forced to accept Sheridan's re-
port. which fully sustained CLAWS as to
the facts. quite as fully as the Attorney
General had sustained him previously as
to the law. =