Albuquerque morning journal., 1910-11-14

under which these patents are sought
| unfortunately places such limitations
Iupon the are0 which can bc embraced
| in amy one entry as TO hinder doVel-
opmcnt OF Alaskan coal lands. 1t IS
| nevertheless obvious that the remedy
does not lie in patentiug unhwfNl
claims
IT is Of the highest importance
Tint the governments coal ttelas in
Alaska should be Illegally acquired
| lN any individual or syndicate, but
should pe hctd ia the public domain
pntil LEGISLATION Is obtained which viii
lat once protect the peoples interest
and provide fair opportunity for
development
Because OF the attitude oi the in
terror department. ANA al the peculiar
circumstances Of this case. 1t ls clear
the protection OF the public interest
in these Alaskan coal lands must de-
pend directly upon the president him-
self.
In your letter to me of January e.
1910 YOU said. with reference to the
Cunningham claims,
Every patent as ar executive ace
| is completely within the jurisdiction
Of the president TO direct the with
holding OF II IN order that he may cx-
famine the evidence as to the validity
of the claim.
we are advised by counsel retain-
ed for the purpose OF reporting on the
Cunningham record that the tasti-
nony of the claimants themselves
shows abundantly and conemsiyelv
that the claims are fraudulent and
that they Were made in violation OF
the statute designed TO prevent mo-
nopoly.
Among the recent indictments
found against claimants for coal lands
in Alaska there are none returning to
claims in the Cunningham group
The record Is volumnous The
case against the claimants consists IN
a mass of documentary evidence cor
roborated by facts elected from tha
claimants themselves.
THE record indicates that the
force Of certain important lines Of
evidence was not grasped by tn. at
torneys for the government We be-
lieve a brief giving due consideration
to such evidence would be material
assistance in reaching judicial de-
termination on all the points involved
in the case.
RELYING upon the welcome assur-
ance connected in your letter OF JAM
uAry Z. and realizing how manifold
and arduous are the tasks which press
upon the time and attention OF the
president, we respectfully request that
in case the interior department rench-
es a decision in favor of patenting the
claims. you will allow us to submit
Tor your consideration brief before
making a decision as to whether yon
viii permit your signature to be af-
fixed to the patents
VERY respectfully yours,
(Signcd) "GIFFORD PINCHoY,
AMOS PINCHOT.
"32 Nassau Street
Secretary Balinger issued a state
mcnt last night in which he declared
that wholly unfounded charges have
been spread broadcast involving the
attitude of department officers to
ward those cases, ana that In view
OF these conditions he deemed Il Of
the highest Importance that all these
cases be transferred from the juris
diction of the general land office di-
rectly 60 the court Of appeals OF the
District of Columbia for consideration
and adjustment
He indicated that he would recoi1..
mend congressional authorization Of
this transfer IN his annual message.
MI Ballinger added that Tor several
months at his own instance the cases
had been placed under the special III
recti0n Of the president with the view
that no action be taken without his
special sanction.