Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-26
BALLINGER-PINCHOT INVESTI'
CATION Is RESUMED
DIRECTOR OF SYNDICATE TELLS
OF OPERATIONS IN NORTH
Statement Made That $4,000, 900 Has
Been Expended in Development
and Not One Cent of
Profit Realized
Associated Press1

day, after an adjournment OF pracu-
Caly two weeks
As soon as the committee met this
morning. Attorney Brandeis, repre-
sentins Louis X. Claws, ana others
sprang a surprise by requesting Sec
rotary Ballinger be called as one of
his witnesses. Brandeis said at first
he wished to identify, by Mr.. Ballinger'
two letters he desired to introduce in
evidence at this time.
Questi aing further ly members OF
the committee as to his intent, he adj
mitted he desired to conduct gen
eral examination of the accused cab
met official.
Counsel for Ballinger objected to this
and called forth from Brandeis the re-
mark that from his letters he had al
ways supposed Ballinger to be ready
to appear whenever and as often as
any one connected with che inquiry de-
sired.
Some members of the committee
seemed TO think Ballinger, as the per-
son most interested in the inquiry,
should have opportunity to make his
statement first in his own way and
not subject himself to a cross-eXam-
ination before being examined in chief.
The matter was passed over, to be de-
cided later In executive session.
Try to Show Control
Inc Witness Slt1u Was otthl'i'u huI
ing the entire day by stephen Birch,
managing director Of the Morgan
Guggcnheim syndicate in Alaska.
Members of the committee became
deeply interested in the operations of
the Alaska syndicate and they piled
the witness with questions from every
possible angle. Much of the question
ing was intended to show that the
Guggenheims practically control
Alaska Birch stoutly denied this.
He was asked by Representative
Graham IF the Guggenheims got con-
troll of the coal lands in Alaska, what
would there he left?"
Birch said ne did not think this was
a fair question to ask him. He adj
mitted that the Guggenheim interests
were large. that they had invested $l5-
100000 already and had contracted for
the expenditure of other millions.
There had been no return from these
investments as yet. But the syndicate
had hopes"
AS to the Cunningham claims. Birch
produced the option that a committee
of the claimants had given to Daniel
Guggenheim July 20, 1907. He declared
this option had been accepted by the
Guggenhems December of that year.
The claimants. however, had never
lived up to its terms. Cunningham, he
said in January or February, 1908, had
contended that the Guggenheims them
selves had voded the option by chang
ing their railroad base from katalla
to Cordova. and, Furthermore, the OPP
ton was of no effect because ma
jority of the claimants had never rati-
fled It.
Brandeis sought to show the Nor
gans and Guggenheims. with their
great power and influence in TINS
country" must have brought pressure
TO bear during the last two years to
get patents granted the Cunningham
claimants.
Birch declared. however, that he
knew of no such efforts.
Icebergs Just as Valuable
As to his estimate that coal I'm
Alaska was worth so cents ton, and,
therefore, the Cunningham claims rep
resented an actual value of S2o,OOO'OOo'
Birch declared ii was just as sensible
to say the icebergs in Alaska were of
inestimable value. The icebergs, he
said would be valuable if they could
be brought to market in this country.
So it was with the coal, but first the
transportation facilities had to be pro-
Vided.
Representative Graham asked the
witness a number of questions designed
to show the Guggenheims practically
have a monopoly of transportation
facilities to Alaska from the United
States.
L.
owned twelve ships, while competing
lines operate twenty eight. He denied
the Yukon & White Pass railroad
was controlled by the syndicate or by
any of it's members.
Mr. Birch said that If anybody else
wished TO get to the copper country
they tried to do as the Guggenhelms
did-build a railroad.
Nov Mr.. Birch" concluded Repre-
sentative Graham, 'if the syndicate
owned the Alaska coal, 1t would own
Alaska, would it not?'
mo, sir
Representative Madison asked if 1t
we're not fact the Alaska syndicate
steamship company handled more busl-
ness from the United States to Alaska
than did all the other lines put to-
gether
Birch was not willing to admit this.
He said he would submit the figures
later
.Brandeis drew from the witness that
the development of Alaska depended
almost wholly upon the opening of the
coal fields. When he had done this he
turned fiercely upon the witness and
demanded to know if, in view of this
fact. the Guggenheims had sat quietly
for two years and made no eXertion to
have patents issued for the Cunning
ham group
"All we did was to tell Cunningham
To hurry up Win MS patents.
do you mean to say that, with all
the influence and power of the Morgans
and Guggenheims in this country, they
made no efforts in this direction except
YOUR feeble efforts? Is that what you
wish this committee to understand"
at is"
When the committee and Mr.. Bran
deis finally had concluded their direct
and DETERMINATIONS of the witness,
he was turned over to Mr. Vertrees.
Wasted Money at kataIIa
Mr.. Birch said the Alaska syndicate
had spent $1OO00OO in an Intellectual
attempt to construct a harbor at
Iatalla. This was in 1906 and 1907,
before there was an option on the
Cunningham claims. He said it was in
January or February, 1908, that Cum
ningham claimed the option agreement
had been made void by the changing
of the Guggenheim railroad base from
Katalla to Cordova.
Mr.. Birch said he went to see Mr..
Garfield when he was secretary of the
interior, asking il some practical legis-
lation could not be secured for Alaska.
But | did not get much satisfec-
ton" said the witness. subsequently.
however, law was passed in 1903. l