Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1909-09-16
ALASKAN COAL Land
MATTER OF GOVERNMENT iNYES.
TIGATION.
Guggenheim and Other FinanCierS
Interested in Deal. Dummy Entry.
men Assist in Effort to Obtain
Large Coal Beds, and Entries Are
Made by Affidavit.

SEATTLE, Sept. 14.-The Cum
ningham coal land claims, now in
controversy between Secretary of the
Interior Ballinger and Special Agent
CLAWS of the land department, lie
in the Controller bay coal district,
at the very gateway of the Guggen
helm zone of Alaska. They lie from
% to 81 miles from tidewater at
Catalla, and about 35 miles miles
almost directly east of the mouth of
Copper river, which is the terminus
of the Guggenheim railroad now be-
ing built into the interior to tap
the vast copper deposits of that
region.
When this railroad is completed
and these copper deposits begin to be
worked on a large scale Alaska will
produce more copper than does Mon
tana and this ore will be hauled to
tidewater at the mouth of the Copper
river for smelling. Smelling this
copper will require vast quantities
of coal, and, very naturally, this coal
will be drawn from the rich fields
of the Controller bay region immedi-
ately to the eastward.
From the time of their entrance
OF the Guggenheims into Alaska, some
| five years ago, it has been their
| policy to take what they want of
the great natural resources of the
, territo.,, using such methods as are
necessary in order to obtain it, So
lelentlessly have they pursued this
policy that they are already recog-
nized as the masters of the whole
Copper river district, ruling its des-
TIMES with an iron hand and milking
ii of it's resources for the profit of
themselves and their associates.
Cunningham Group One of Many.
Cunningham and his associates are
but one of many groups of persons
operating in the coal claims in this
district. but the Cunningham group
has come in for the most public eX-
ploitation, largely on account of the
prominence of the individual entry
men and the persistent and powerful
political influences which have been
exercised both here and at Washing
ton to get their claims patented
These claims were first located pri-
or to 1900 under the stone and tim
ber act and the only land law at that
time applicable to Alaska. After the
coal land law was extended to that
district in 1900 they were relocated
under that act, as were hundreds of
other coal claims in this and other
portions Of Alaska. These locations
were all, or practically all, made by
powers of attorney, and such de-
velopment work as has been done on
these claims has been done by proxy,
chiefly under the direction of Mr..
Cunningham
Combination Always the Intent.
1t has never been the intention of
these entrymen, as several OF them
frankly admit, to develop these
claims as individuals. TO undertake
to do so would be the height of folly.
Before they can be worked and the
product put on the market it will be
necessary to build railroad to them
from some tidewater point, to erect
extensive wharves, docks and bunk
ers and to establish line of colilers
from these terminals to coal-consum-
ing markets of the coast, especially
Seattle and San Francisco, which
will be the chief markets until the
Guggenheim smelling industry is es-
tablshed
Spend Millions for Development.
| Cunningham and his associates
estimate that this will necessitate
the expenditure of upwards of $2,
| 100000 before any considerable
quantity of coal can be placed on the
market. 1t is charged by CLAWS, who
has investigated the project, that
these entrymen have already, infer
entially at least, entered into a com
bination or syndicate under which
to do this development work: The
entrymen deny this, but while deny
ing it they insistently refuse to ac-
cept patents to their claims under
the law of 1908 which forbids the
consultation of more than $3.50 acres,
under pain of forfeiture of their pat