Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1910-11-14
APPEALS TO
PRESIDENT
Pinchot's Request In Gun
! ningham Cases
TO FILE BRIEF
Asks an Opportunity to Lay
Facts Before Taft Previ-
Gus to Executive Approx
al of Orders for Patent
Ballinger's Statement.
TO FILE BRIEF

I Washington, Nov. 13-Expressin,
his, fear that the interior department
| will recommend the patenting of tn,
Cunningham Alaskan coal land claim,
Pinchot has appealed to the president
to allow him to submit a brief before
any such executive approval Pinchot
in writing to the president under
date of November :, says in part:
Unfortunately it is impossible to
look with confidence TO the officials
of the interior department for un-
biased judgment in this matter and
ii is clear that the protection of public
interest in these Alaskan. coal lands
must depend directly upon the pres
ident himself. Ballisger's connection
| with these claims, which have been
before the interior department since
he was commissioner of the land Of
flee, precipitated. the so-called Bal
linger- -Pinchot controversy and the
congressional inquiry in the interior
department forest Service which re-
suited therefrom"
The letter also bears the signature
Of the former chief forester's brother.
Amos
The taking Of testimony as to the
validity of the Cunningham claims has
long since come to an end and a rec
ommendation to the interior depart
ment as to patent will be made be-
fore long. We have reason TO appre-
hend this recommendation will be ia
vorable to the Cunningham claimants
and adverse to the interests of the
people of the United States
"An attorney for Ballinger printed
a brief submitted in behalf of the
secretary of the interior. in which
he said: Moreover an examination
of the record of the Cunningham
hearings which are a part of the rec
ord of the case reveals not only that
the statements of Cunningham are
true, but that the Cunningham claims
are not fraudulent but honest. il is
difficult to avoid the conclusion that
these deliberate assertions made by an
attorney for Ballinger represent the
opinion of the latter, reached after
the evidence is all In, that the claims
are valid, and should be patented. 1t
is true that Ballinger refused TO act
himself in behalf OF the government,
on the ground that he formerly re-
presented the Cunningham claimants
and accordingly turned over all re-
sponsibility to his assistants. Never
theless, this unqualified endorsement
of the validity of the claims through
his attorney can scarcely to have
great moral weight on his subOr-
dinates. For them to render a decis-
ion adverse to the claims would not
only lend support to the criticisms
heretofore made against the depart
ment, but would amount to taking
direct issue with their chief and the
argument made for him by personal
counsel In view of these facts it IS
impossible to look with confidence to
the officials of the interior department
for unbiased judgment If the decis-
ion of the interior department should
be to patent the Cunningham claims,
no appeal to the courts would be
possible
According to the testimony of the
of the Morgan Gug-
genheim syndicate, who long asserted
a half interest in the Cunningham
claims, their ultimate value is in the
neighborhood of s25,OOO,OO0, but the
loss to the people of the United States
that would follow the issue of patents
is by no means limited to any such
sum. Although the government would
receive little more than $4,000, the
claims are worth many millions. and a
decision favorable to the Cunningham
claimants would not merely result in
unjustifiable loss to the public at
large, but would also establish a
precedent which would admit to pat
ent other illega! claims outside of the