Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-11-17

lne united States land office, re-
Gently summarily dismissed by Seere-
tary Ballinger, in an article In the
current issue of Golfers Weekly max
es charges of the most sensational
character against his former chief.
The article deals exhaustively with
the now famous Cunningham land
claims in Alaska The writer asserts
in the most direct and positive fash
ion that the land office when Secre-
tary Ballinger was commissioner, or.
dered the Cunningham claims to pat
ent without due Investigation, and
when Commissioner Ballinger knew
they were under suspicion. He also
declares that Ballinger urged Con-
gress to pass law which would vail
date the fraudulent Alaskan claims.
The article in part follows:
From 1902 to 1909 was in the
field service of the general land Of
flee, for the last two and half years
as chief OF field division. In Septem-
ber, 1909, l was summarily removed
from my position without a formal
hearing by Richard A. Ballinger, sec.
retary of the interior, by .authoriza.
ton of the president of the United
States. That removal was accompa.
MED by the publication of letter of
the president to Mr.. Ballinger. 1 be-
lieve that my removal wasunfair. l
believe the presidents letter was
grievously unfair, because in it the
president gives weight to a charge
against me which never had the
the opportunity to see or answer. The
president states in his letter that l
withheld from him information fav-
-orable to my superiors. do not
know of any such information with
held by me, nor am conscious of
doing my superiors injustice. Never
theless, should not now make any
public statement of the matter were
it not still possible to save for the
government many thousands of acres
of coal lands which / believe the land
office may in the near future grant
to fraudulent claimants. The hope
that my statement will help to arouse
public sentiment, and that this dan
ger to the national resources may be
averted, is what actuates me. This
statement will simply give facts and
leave to the Judgment of those who
read whether or not the land office
has been Jealous in the public ser
vice.
The Facts Are These.
The coal lands of Alaska owned by
the government amofnt to over 1O0,'
900 acres. They are the future coal
supply of the nation, OF almost In
estimable value. Possession of them
/ by private individuals means grea1
I;wealth--a monopoly of them would
mean q national menace.
On Nov. 10, 1906, President Roose
welt withdrew all coal lands in Alaska
from public entry, but previous te
that time there was about 900 claims
filed, covering about 100000 acres
(nearly the whole of the coal fields)
The law attempts to prevent monop
oily of such claims by limiting the
amount of each claim and providing
/ that each claimant must take up thu
Hand in his own interest and for hi!
own use. This law has been inter
preted by the supreme court of thu
United States to forbid speculatinl
/ in coal lands before entry-either b.
dummy entrymen or by previous
agreements to consolidate claims al
4 ter entry. OF these 900 claims t.
Alaska coal lands-among them tn
so-called Cunningham group-the ma
jority are fraudulent.
AS to the action of the land offic
on these claims, l assert that tn
land office ordered the Cunningham
claims to patent without due invest
CATION when Commissioner Ballinge
knew they were under suspicion; tina
while in office Commissioner Ballint
er urged Congress to pass lay
which wouldv alidate fraudulent Ala!
kan claims; that shortly after rt
signing from office he became attol
ney for the Cunningham group an
other Alaska claims; that soon afte
he became secretary of the interio
his office rendered decision whic
would have validated all frauduler
Alaska claims. A reversal of that d.
cision on every point was obtaine
from Attorney General Wickershan
Had it not been for Mr.. Wickersham
decision, every fraudulent Alask
claim would have gone to patent.
assert that in the spring of 19t
the land office urged me to an earl
trial of these cases before the Il
vestigation was finished, and whe
Secretary Ballinger, as the presidel
has stated, knew that the Cunnin
ham claims were invalid. When
appealed to Secretary Ballinser- +
postponement, he referred me to h
subordinates. The department of a
riculture intervened. was supe
sedea in the charge of the case
and the man who superseded n
indorsed my recommendations, a
the postponement was granted. Il
mediately thereafter made my i
port on the Cunningham cases
President Taft, and was dismiss
from tha seryice for INSTRUMENTATION