The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-02-21
Testimony of Witnesses as to
the Guggenheims' Alaskan
Deals Causes Stir Among
Investigators.
SENATORS WILL SEEK
TO UNCOVER MATTER
Wish to Know More of the In
side Facts of Cunningham
Option Grabs in Nine Million
Land Tract.

Washington, d. c., Feb. 21.-The
remarkable disclosures made to COM
mittees of the senate by the Guggen-
helm Morgan interests regarding the
coal and copper properties held by
the trust in Alaska will form the basis
for what may prove to be one OF the
most important investigations of the
year. Two men who. for reasons thus
far unexplained, voluntarily appeared
before Senator Beveridge's committee
to explain the interests of the big
financial and smelling group of finan-
ciers in the development of Alaska S
resources, have furnished material for
much speculation and uneaSiness in
Washington
They established the fact that the
Guggenheims had an actual contract
for the exploitation of the Cunning
ham coal claims; and they admitted
that copper claims had been located
in the vicinity of the Bonanza mines
by entrymen acting in behalf of the
Alaska Coal and Copper company,
which afterward was absorbed by the
Guggenheim-M Morgan interests.
Will Sift Guggenheim Deals.
1t is proposed to go infinitely into
the Guggenheim operations in Alaska
in the belief that the trust and orig
inal companies which it absorbed
have acquired Immensely valuable de-
posts of coal and minerals through
Illegal entry and by a concert Of ac-
ton which is forbidden in the public
land laws
The immediate bearing of the dis
closures made by Stephen Birch and
John n. Steele uDon the Glavis-Pin-
chot-Ballinger Investigation has not
been ascertained by Senator Bever-
idge and the members of his commit
tee on territories, nor by Senator Mel
son and the members of the Pinchot
special committee.
Aside from this feature of the case
there are believed to be evidence and
suggestions in the testimony of the
GugGenheim representatives which
will warrant a full inquiry into the
circumstances surrounding their ac-
QUESTION of others of the most valu-
able of their Alaska holdings.
Cooper Entries Declared Local,
Certain senators who had followed
the testimony expressed the belief to-
night that the two men who appeared
Tor the Guggenheim interests had ad-
mitted fraudulent entry of COPPER
claims in the vicinity of the rich Bon
ANA mines. Officials of the inter
1or department state, however. that
the entry of the copper claims is I'M
doubtedly legal, as the mineral laws
DO not require the man who locates
copper claim to swear that he is
locating it for himself alone.
Senator Beveridge has been carefully
going over the testimony submitted to
his committee. with view to openine
up an inquiry that will disclose the
full extent of the smelter trusts oper.
atoms. He would not say what course
that inquiry would take, but it is un-
derstood that it is proposed to ascer.
tain how all of the important holdings
OF the Guggenheims were acquired and
IN what manner the entries were made
Inc Darlng OF the statements of
blrch and Steele upon the pending
Glavis-PinchOt investigation also is the
subject of careful consideration bv
members of the special committee hav.
ing that investigation in hand.
Option Already Shown to Exist.
A member of that committee exnress
es the opinion that the facts brought
out before the committee on territories
Will not affect the Pinchot investiga,
ton. as the existence of the Gugsen.
helm option on the Cunningham coa1
lands already had been established full.
ly.
Other members of the senate declare
that the voluntary testimony of the
Guggenheim Morgan representatives
has established a fact which CLAWS re
7eatedly has limited at, but which has
not been proven before. This is the
actual contract which exists between
Cunningham and the Guggenheims TO,
the exploitation of the coal lands
The Guggenheim interests not onl,
obtained an option on the properties
which Cunningham was trying to ge,
patented and combined into one group
but that option was taken up by Dan
iel Guggenheim on Dec. I. 1907. Tn
der the agreement thus made the Gug
genheims now control the CUNNINGHAM
claims and will take possession of {
half interest in them as soon as the
government issues patents to the lands
May Affect BaIlinger's Case
Members of the special committee O
investigation are divided as to the in,
nortance of this fact upon the cas-,
which CLAWS is trying to make on
against Secretary Ballinger. The fact
are to be taken up in the Glavis-Pin
chot investigation. and the two meI
who testified before Senator Bever
idge's committee undoubtedly will b
called before the other committee t,
illuminate further the surprising rec
ord.
1t is extremely likely that legal step
of some kind will be asked for to ascer
tain what other operations have beer
carried on by the Guggenheim- Morgan
group in the vicinity of the Guggen