Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1910-02-26
ENORMOUS PROFITS
in ALASKA COAL LANDS AC-
CORDING TO TESTIMONY.
Syndicate Only Expected to Realize
$500, 900, oO0-Its Manager Give Testi-
mony-Appears to Help CLAWS and
Belittle Secretary Ballinger-Coal
Lands Proved Very Valuable.


Belittle Secretary Ballinger-coal
Lands Proved Very Valuable.
These are cash values involved in
Alaska coal lands:
Cunningham coal fields, 5000 acres.
Mineable coal in their neighborhood,
10000 900 tons.
Value of the tonnage, $900,O00,000.
Cost of getting it out of the ground,
500, 900, 900.
Net profit to the exploiters, $2Oo,Ooo,-
600.
Washington, Feb. 21.-Two hundred
million dollars of profit in clean, cold
cash is only one feature of the colossal
game of exploitation of Alaska placed
by the uggenheim 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 allinger 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-
ton 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,000 Nor
gan and Guggenheim were, apparently,
putting themselves in line with the as
sistance of Cunningham for the ulti-
mate clean up of $2OO,O0O,OOo.
One of the strangest of all the con-
siderations is that experts like Gun
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 s rights what would
make them as rich as Monte Cristo
A statement as startling as Birch s
? 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
Y cording to the testimony, simply to get
D A, b, c, D and all the other little mem
/ bers of the alphabet to buy up and
patent parcels of the immense whole
o and when they had done so to turn il
+, all over to X. Y. Z.
Politicians Amazed.
The CLAWS Ballinger inquiry is il
: full blast now, both before the specia
investigating committee and the com
5 mittee on territories of the senate.
y Meanwhile, politicians are wonder
u ing, not to say amazed, at the volun
c tary act of Morgan, Guggenheim an'
company in coming to Washington and
5, to all appearances, helping out i. R
It CLAWS, who has accused seriously
It member of President Taft's cabinet.
IS Out of a maze of testimony submit
e ted to the senate committee on terri
tories by Birch these facts stood ou
n prominently.
" That the syndicate had purchased
e competing railroad built by Pos
4 Brothers of London, and that throug
al its own line from Cordova bay to tn
n coal and copper fields, it absolutel
dominated the situation and could col
" troll those two great products as
/ willed.
ar That in addition to holding an OF
" ton on the Cunningham group of co;
m lands, the syndicate had accumulate
"a half interest for $250,OOO which col
70 tanned coal that would yield a prof
ID of $25,0OO,O 900; that the entire Behrin
river coal field contained 500,000,0C
tons of coal worth in gross 100000
= 900, which would net its exploiter
= after paying all expenses of mining al
, carrying to the market, $200,000,000.
N. Immense Profit.
I'M That the syndicate had paid $4,000
he 600 on the copper properties it no
er had, while only very slight develo
m ment of the account brought to vie
ar copper ore estimated to be wor
RS Sc, 100000.
mat naming lJs vital interest," IN III
la coal product estimated to be contain
ir- in the Cunningham group, the syn'
oh cate, according TO Birch, had taken
nd steps toward securing a patent frc
on the government, and "indignant
ter NAL was made of the charge that t
he syndicate maintained a lobby in Was
he ington to further its interests.
ng These facts were brought out as
M result of careful questioning, in viii
on- Senator Beveridge, chairman of t
st committee, had an active part
pc The expose that the syndicat,
red copper mining company had obtain
rel copper lands through private in
ge. viduals locating the claims, maxi