The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-11-15
PINcHoT APPEALS TO TAFT
Open Letter by Former Forester in
Relation to Coal Lands.

Relation 10 Coal Lanus.
Washington, Nov. 15.-Expressing
the fear that the interior department
will recommend the patenting of the
Cunningham Alaskan coal land claims
which he believes to be fraudulent,
clifford Pinchot, former forester or
the United States, has appealed to
the President to allow him to submit
brief before any such action is given
executive approval. Mr.. Pinchot has
written a letter to the President I'M
der date of November in which he
saws 1t is unfortunately impossible to
look with confidence to the officials
of the interior department for an un-
biased judgment In this matter, and
declares that ut is clear that the pro-
lection of the public interest in these
Alaskan coal lands must depend d.
rectly upon the President himself"
Secretary Ballinger's connection
with these claims, which have been
before the interior department since
he was commissioner Of the land Of
fee, precipitated the so-called Bal
linger-Pinchot controversy, and the
congressional inquiry of the interior
department and the forest service
which resulted therefrom.
The letter also bears the signature
of the former forester's brother Amos
Pinchot. 1t was given out by Mr..
Pinchot for publication. It follows:
The taking of testimony to deter
mine the validity of the Cunningham
| -, ko. Oh IN n apd
and the recommendation of the inter
ior department to patent or not to
Ipatent the claims will doubtless be
made before long There is reason
to apprehend that this recommends
ton will be favorable to the Cunning
ham claimants and adverse to the in
terests of the people of the United
States. The attorney for Mr.. Balm
ger in the printed brief submitted in
behalf of the secretary of the interior
said:
Moreover an examination Of the
record of the Cunningham hearings,
and which is part OF the record in this
case, reveals not only that the state
ments of Cunningham are true, but
that the Cunningham claims are not
fraudulent but honest claims. This is
not stated for the purpose of having
this committee consider the question
/, of the honesty Of good faith of these
claims for the purpose of decision or
determination; IL Is stated solely that
! the committee may zee that no per.
jury could be committed by Cunning
ham. and that Mr.. Ballinger. by nc
: possibility could have understood
these claims to be fraudulent, for the
: reason that, as a matter of fact, they
= were not fraudulent, but good and va
> lid claims. The evidence of all the
J. claimants, except one who is dead
has been taken il the Cunningham
z hearings, and is now on file. II
J. shows conclusively that none of tn,
e claimants entered into an agreement
n prior to location or prior to the init
e alton of entry for consolidation O
y their claims
1T is difficult to avoid the conclu
u sion that these deliberate assertion
D made by the attorney for Mr.. BALM
n ger represent the opinion Of the lat
s. ter, reached after the evidence wa
4. all in, that the claims are valid an
- should be patented
1T is true that Mr.. Ballinger ha
refused to act himself In behalf O
the government, on the ground tina
he formerly represented the Cunninl
- ham claimants, and accordingly ha
- turned over all responsibility to hi
assistants. Nevertheless, this III
m qualified endorsement of the valldit
m of the claims through his attorne
NJ can scarcely fail to have great mora
:, weight with his subordinates. FC
" them to render a decision adverse I
oil the claims would not only lend SUI
ed port TO criticisms heretofore mad
n against the department, but woul
ne amount to taking direct Issue wit
as their chief on the argument made Il
n him by his personal counsel.
IS. In view OF these facts 1t is unto
In tunately impossible to look with Co
'n fldence to officials of the interior
no partment for an unbiased judgmen
If the decision of the interior depar
in ment should be to patent the Cunnir
be ham claims, no appeal to the cour
ce would be possible.
to According to the testimony Of re
eel resentatives OF the Morgan ugge
'te helm syndicate. who have long a
OF serted half interest In the Cunnin
he ham claims, their ultimate value is
ne the nelghborhood OF twenty-five m
In lion dollars; but the loss to the pc
ay pie Of the United States which wou
at follow the issue Of patent Is by
eat means limited to any such sum. 4
ID; though the government would recei
TO but little more than fifty thousal
re, dollars for claims worth many m
led lions, decision favorable to 4
The Cunningham claimants would n
md merely result In an unjustinable 10
OF to the public at large; II would al
establish precedent which mig
vas admit the patent other Illegal clair
md outside Of the Cunningham group,
be the additional value OF many N
lions OF dollars.
while we recognize that the II
under which these patents are soug
unfortunately places such llmtatlo
upon the area which can be embrac
In any one entry as TO hinder deyel
ment OF Alaskan coal lands, Il
nevertheless obvious that the rene
does not lie In patenting unlaw
claims II is of the highest impo
ance that the governments coal flel
In Alaska should not be Illegally
quired by any individual or syndlca
but should be held In the public
main until legislation Is obtain
which viii at once protect the D
pies interest and provide fair
portunity for development.
Because OF the attitude OF the
terror department and of the pecul