Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1910-02-25

1
Value of the tonnage, 100000 900.
Cost of getting it out of the ground
$500, 900.
Net profit to the exploiters, 5000, 900,
900.
Washington, Feb. 21.-Two hundred
million dollars of profit in clean, colo
cash is only one feature Of the colossal
game of exploitation of Alaska placed
by the Guggenheim-M Morgan syndicates
according to testimony in the CLAWS
Ballinger administration investigation
! The audience before the committee
on territories of the senate Saturday
was fairly stunned when General Man
ager Birch of this syndicate revealed
the figures of values at stake in this
famous controversy.
At an earlier stage of the Cunning
ham Ballinger affair it was vigorously
denied by Ballinger's friends that the
coal lands were of any extraordinary
value.
In order, ostensibly, to clear their
skirts of innuendo and allegations OF
improper connection with the exploita.
tion of the richest domain in the
United States, Morgan and Guggen.
helm came out into the open and SO
far, instead of helping Ballinger, they
have helped only themselves and CLAWS
For the mere sum of $25o,OoO Nor.
gan and Guggenheim were, apparently
putting themselves in line with the as
sistance of Cunningham for the ulti.
mate clean up of $200,OO0,ooO
One of the strangest of all the con
siderations is that experts like Cum
ningham did not know that they were
endeavoring to get lands which would
make Morgan and Guggenheim i'm
mensely richer and that they were to
sell for bagteller Is rights what would
make them as rich as Monte Cristo.
A statement as startling as Birch IS
mountainous pile of figures was that
/, the syndicate used no influence with
congress or anyone else to get posses
sion of the richest domain in the world.
The plan pursued by the Morgan
Guggenhim altruistic combine was ac-
cording to the testimony, simply to get
A, B, G, d and all the other little mem
bers of the alphabet to buy up and
patent parcels of the immense whole
and when they had done so to turn it
all over to x. Y. q.
Politicians Amazed.
The CLAWS Ballinger inquiry is in
full blast now, both before the special
investigating committee and the com
mittee on territories of the senate.
Meanwhile, politicians are wonder
ing, not to say amazed, at the volun-
tary act of Morgan, Guggenheim and
company in coming to Washington and,
to all appearances, helping out L. R.
CLAWS, who has accused seriously
member of President Taft's cabinet.
Out of maze of testimony submit
ted to the senate committee on terri
tories by Birch these facts stood out
prominently.
That the syndicate had purchased a
competing railroad built by Post
Brothers of London, and that through
its own line from Cordova bay to the
coal and copper fields, it absolutely
dominated the situation and could CON
troll those two great products as it
willed.
That in, addition to holding an OPP
ton on the Cunningham group of coal
lands, the syndicate had accumulated
a half interest for $250,00O which con-
tanned coal that would yield a profit
of $25,O00,00O; that the entire Behring
river coal field contained 10000, 900
tons of coal. worth in gross 5000, OOo,-
900, which would net it's exploiters,
after paying all expenses of mining and
carrying to the market, $2OO,OOO,OOO.
Immense Profit.
That the syndicate had paid $3,0O0,-
600 on the copper properties it now
had, while only a very slight develop
ment of the account brought to view
copper ore estimated to be worth |
So 900, 900.
That naming its vital interest in this
coal product estimated to be contained |
in the Cunningham group, the syndi-
cate, according to Birch, had taken no
steps toward securing a patent from
the government, and Indignant de-
NAL" was made of the charge that the
syndicate maintained a lobby in Wash
lngton to further its interests.
These facts were brought out as
result of careful questioning, in which
Senator Beveridge, chairman of the
had an active part.
The expose that the syndicate IS
copper mining company had obtained
copper lands through private indi-
Tiduals locating the claims, making
heir entries and then turning their
interests over to the company as soon
IS the natents were issnad gave the