The Washington times., 1911-05-26
BOSSING ALASKA
MUDDLED AFFAIR
Guggenheims Playing Freeze-out" While Question Is
Pending, and With Legis ation Badly Needed, and
Rate Troubles Numerous 1t Is Growing Issue
By IUDSoN c. WELLIYER.

Who's going to boss NAlaska, anyhow?
| The Secretary of the Interior, the
| Interstate Commerce Commission, and
| the courts are hopelessly tangled on the
! question: and nobody seems to know
what is going to happen.
The Interstate Commission says 1t
can't boss corporations up there be-
| cause Alaska isn't Territory. Con-
gress has repeatedly indicated that 1t
wanted Alaska to be considered a Terri
! tory; but 1t also has referred to Alas
ka, at other times, as something else,
usually as a district" whatever that
is in law.
The Secretary Of the Interior took the
commissions word for 1t, and a few
days ago issued an order to the gov
ernor of Alaska that he should assume
control and regulation of carrying cor
porations in Alaska.
But before that order has time to
get to Alaska by mail along comes the
Court of Appeals of the District Of CO.
lumbia, and. reversing the Interstate
Commerce Commission, finds that Alas
ka is a Territory, and the commission
is ordered to take Jurisdiction OF cases
up there involving transportation rates.
Altogether Alaska doesn't know where
it's at except that the Guggen-i
heimsll get it if it don't watch out.
and probably have got it anyhow.
Laws Are Needed.
The huge muddle, which will proba-
bly, never be settled till Congress gets
around to passing some laws for the
management of Alaska, rose out of the
fight of the Humboldt Steamship Com
pany against the Guggenheim transpor-
tatien monopoly. The Humboldt COM
pany runs one sole boat between Seat
tie and Skagway. 1t is about the only
boat touching Alaska that the Guggen-
helms don't control. Its freight is un-
loaded at Skagway on Guggenheim
docks-which charge 1t g a ton for that
privilege-and then hauled to the inter-
ior over the White Pass and Yukon
railroad and various Guggenheim boat
lines on the rivers. These wharfage
charges and divisions of rates with the
Guggenheim interior transport facilities
absorb about the entire revenue that
the lonesome little antitrust boat can I
get, and, being in a bad way, the Hum |
boldt company petitioned the Interstate |
Commission to help it out. 1t asked a |
more favorable division of rates
The commission sat soemnly on the |
case. and by a vote of four to three de- |
cidcd that Alaska is not a Territory, |
and, therefore, doesn't come within the |
interstate commerce laws, which relate |
to commerce among the States, in the |
Territories and the District of Columbia. |
That left the Guggenheim grip in good
shape. Commissioner Harlan wrote the
decision and three other commissioners
agreed with 1t. Commissioner Clements
wrote a vigorous dissenting opinion. He
said Alaska was a Territory; Congress
had made it such, the, courts had rec
ognfzed It as such, and II was as plain
as anything that this was its proper
status.
In this opinion Commissioners Lane
and Cockrell Joined; so that Alaska was
beaten out of recognition as Territory
by four-to-three vote.
Rate Troubles Many.
Meanwhile all sorts of rate troubles
are cropping out in Alaska. Some tribu
Gal must be found to handle them and
Secretary Fisher. soon after assuming
office, directed Governor Clark to take
over this duty. II
But the Humboldt steamship people
we're not satisfied. They appealed 10
he Appellate Court of the District of
Columbia, asking 1t for writ of man.
Janus to compel the Interstate Commis-
sion to take jurisdiction over the Alaska
situation. This mandamus has just been
ssued, and the minority OF the commits
,ion headed by Chairman Clements,
inds itself sweepingly vindicated.
Now unless somebody appeals from