Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-26
OFFERS ROYALTY
TO GOVERNMENT
FOR COAL LAND
SENATE COMMITTEE GETS
NOVEL PROPOSITION
ALASKA MAeNATE HAS PLAN TO
UPSET CALCULATIONS
Political Bomb Hurled on Eve of Bali
Iinger-Pinohot Investigation.
Scheme Endorsed by
Officials
ASSOCIATED Press

| ASSOCIATED EEesSJ
WASHINGTON, Jan. Pa new fac
tor appeared today to add intensity 10
| the already sufficiently excited situa-
| zion over the Alaska coal lands on the
eve of the beginning of the BalllnSef-
| Pinchot investigation
John e. Ballaine of Seattle, said to
| be the largest individual properly
owner in Alaska, made proposition IN
! writing to the senate committee on
| territories, of which Senator Beverage
of Indiana is chairman, Offering TO the
| government a royalty of 90 cents Ton
| on coal mined for the lease of 5000 acres
| of some of the choicest coal lands in
| Alaska, in the Katalla and Matanuska
| districts. Such a tonnage royalty would
net to the government, Mr.. Ballalne
| claims, as high as 100000 per 100
acres.
This proposal contemplates radical
departure from past practices IN the
| governments disposal of the Alaska
coal lands, and it comes avoWedly TO
do battle with another proposition en-
bodied in a bill that has been pre-
pared, but not introduced, designed TO
permit the sale or lease of such lands
at rate Of $40 per acre.
Plan Endorsed
It is said that general features of
the plan have the approval of offlclals
high in the administration and of in
f1uentiaI members of both houses of
congress, including some of the prom
inent insurgents and Delegate Wicker
sham of Alaska.
MIR. Ballaine, in his letter to Senator
Reveridge, offers to enter into a bond
of 81 600 900 with the government Tor
the performance of his part of the
agreement he proposes, and he makes
1fr-ft r. n
now at work in Washington lobby
'sheaded by a former United States
senator in support of the bill referred
to above under whose provisions he
declares the government would eXtend
unconditional guarantee to a railroad
or railroads which these interests pur-
pose to build in Alaska and would vir-
tually donate to them at $40 per acre
one or more tracts of 5000 acres each
to be selected by them.
Mr.. Ballaine asks congress to author
ize the head of department. to be des-
ignated in the legislation to enter into
a lease with a coal company to be or
ganized by him for 5000 acres of Ma
tanuska coal land under all provisions
for regulation and against monopolis-
tic control of prices as stipulated in
the bill recently introduced by Sen
ator Nelson in conformity with rec
CONCENTRATIONS VI otGltbdiJ EcllAllSOL
annual report
BaIlineer's Opinion
This coal company would pay the
United States and Alaska a royalty of
so cents a ton for the coal as mined
| Mr.. Ballaine says that veins averag-
ing a total thickness of twenty feet
would yield, according to standard
measurements, more than 100,UO0,00O
tons from the 5000 acres, making
royalty of $50,OOO,000 for this compare
lively small area.
He asks the government to provide
as a condition on its part that no other
coal land in Alaska shall be leased
on payment of a smaller royalty, and
also to agree that at least half the gov
eminent supply of coal shall be OBJ
tanned from this company, or from a
naval coallng reserve which the gov
eminent may establish and operate in
the Matanuska district, shipping the
product to Seward at rates to be fixed
by the interstate commerce commits
sion, over a railroad, plans for the
construction of which he outlined
This railroad, approximately 1000
miles in all, is proposed to run from
the Pacific coast at Seward, through
the interior valleys to the more STRAIT
egic points on navigable rivers.
SO much as may be needed from
the payment of the royalty on the 5000
acres, the Ballaine proposal stipulates,
is to constitute a fund for the guar
antee for the payment of interest on
bonds of the railroad company, which
Mr.. Ballaine agrees shall be organ
lied upon lines approved by the head
of a department to be designated by
congress.
To Reimburse Fund
1f 10
from the royalty on coal be required in
it's early stages to pay the interest on
the bonds of the railroad the fund is
to be reimbursed out of subsequent
earnings of the road.
Mr.. Ballaine alleges that Canadian
interests which owned a majority Of a
partially completed railroad from
Seward recently put it through a fore
closure reorganization on a plan that
wiped out all American investments in
the road, while protecting all Canadian
investments.
He further charges that the lobby,
which he describes as asking for an
outright guarantee of interest on bonds
and the donation of 5000 acres of coal
land as a virtual gift, is working in
the interest of these Canadians, but in
conjunction with a group of American
capitalists who are, he declares, at
tempting by the same bill to get con-
troll of the Katalla coal in another part
of Alaska.
Mr.. Ballaine then quoted the United
States geological survey, as stating in
one of it's recent reports that there are
10000, 100000 tons of coal in sight in the
known coal areas of Alaska, and prob
ably at least as much again in regions
yet UNEMPLOYED, and he pointed Nout
that the leasing of these areas on
royalty basis such as he was Offering
for an area of only 5000 acres would
ultimately bring to the government a
net revenue from that source exceed
ing $4,000 10000