Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-03-08
EVIDENCE THAT ALASKAN IN.
tTEREsTs WORKED TO SECURE
HIS APPOINTMENT.
DID NOT FEAR TO LAY CASE
BEFORE NEW SECRETARY
Arguments for Change in Legislation
Presented by Falcon JosIin, Who
Operates Coal Railroad in Alaska
CLAWS Charges Immediately Follow
Other News.

Washington, March S.-"Only one
man in the United States is. in a po
sition to frame an entirely accurate
verdict on the Ballinger -Pinchot in
vestigation," said one of the attorneys
who has followed closely that investi-
cation, "and that man is President
Taft. He is the only man who
knows all the influences brought to
bear upon himself for the appointment
of r. "A. Ballinger as secretary of the
| interior"
But that investigation has brought
out that, whatever may have been the
moving cause for BalHnger's APP
pointment, the coal interests of Alaska
very evidently had such confidence in
Ballinger that they did not fear to lay
| their case frankly before him the mo-
ment he was in office. During Febru-
airy, 1909, possibly before the country
at large was informed that Ballinge.
| was to be the new secretary of the in
terror, a meeting was held in Seattle
attended by about twenty persons iu-
terested in Alaska COAL 1t is not
stated who those twenty were, but
from the documents filed at the Bal
| linger-Pinchot investigation, it would
appear likely that most of them were
Of the Cunningham group.
Seemed Sure of Their Man.
| At this meeting committee was ap-
! pointed to lay the Alaska coal situation
before the interior department. The
Taft administration went into office
March 4, 1909, and five days later, or
on March 9, 1909, a hearing was grant
ed this Seattle committee by Assistant
Secretary Pierce of the interior depart
| ment, "at the request of the secre-
tary," as stated in writing by Pierce.
The principal member of the committee
to appear was Falcon Joslin of Fair
banks. who operates a railroad in Alas
ka. His argument was in the form OF
ask congress for legislation which
would permit one body Of capitalists to
secure and operate not less than 5000
acres of Alaskan coal.
But what effect this hearing had up
on Secretary Ballinger will never be
known. The hearing was full and COM
plete. A transcript Of the tes-
| timony was duly laid before the secre-
tary by Pierce, accompanied by a let
ter in which the points Of the legisla-
ton requested by Joslin were set forth
CLAWS Charges Follow.
If it was all "frame-up" to pave
the way for Ballinger to ask congress
to open. thes gates to, the Alaska coal
as the Pinchot side Of the controversy
evidently suspected, can not now be
stated. For following fast upon the
heels of the hearing, came the first
rumblings Of the Ballinger-Pinchot
controversy, then the CLAWS explosion
and the publication of the CLAWS
charges. When congress convened and
Ballinger's annual report came out ii
had very little to say about Alaska
coal. In fact, about all it did say was
that no coal patents had been issued
and that congress ought to appropri-
ate money for an adequate survey OF
the territory in order that citizens could
enter lands there. And even this re-
quest, while it referred to the coal
situation in general terms, was coupled
with the suggestion that the survey
was also needed to give farmers an
opportunity to get at the agricultural
resources of the territory.
| And so it is that if the suspicious
of certain people are correct, that Bal
linger left his place as commissioner
of the general land office in the spring
of 1908, when the Alaska coal land law
of that year was assured-in support
of which he appeared before a COM
mittee of congress-that he became at
torney for the Cunningham claimants
only to find that this law was useless,
and that he was then placed in the
Taft cabinet for the purpose of secur-
| ing legislation which would do the bus
mess and let the big companies get the
coal-if these suspicious are correct the
fact will now probably never be con-
firmed. But if they are correct they
only show how desperate a game men
will play when they have in sight a
prize Of millions.