Douglas Island news., 1911-08-09
Roosevelt Would Save Alaska

Roosevelt Would Save Alaska
 "Alaska-lt must be developed" Editorial by Theodore Roosevelt.
 It is to laugh. This is an article from the yirile pen of the only living ex- president of the United States. It is so full of glaring error and iuaccuracy and actual misstatement of facts that it is worthy of a careful reply, notwith standing the fact that most of the ar ticle is supposedly one in defense of Alaska and the long suffering AIaskans. This is the most amusing part of the editorial, when it is considered that Theodore Roosevelt, as president of the United States, was the first to arhl' trarily vii hdraw the coal lands of Alaska from entry and abrogate the United States laws relating to the talk ing up and development of such lands. As the ridiculous Controller bay bubble figures in this editorial, it is evident that the article was written when Dick Ryan was for three or four days in the ! limelight. It is also evident that the 1 Outlook, in which the article IS pub Gshed on July p, had been in prepara- tion or had run through the presses after Mr. kyan's record had been pub. lished broadcast in Was hington and New York-a record which somewhat startled the Pinchot Press Bureau.
 For the benefit of oug Eastern read, CTS who have only heard one side of this controversy, and especially those who have read the ridiculous article of ex-President Roosevelt, il should be ex. plained that Mr. Roosevelt could refer to the excellent maps of the coast and geodetic survey for Veri6cation of the statement that large portion of Con- troller bay, and in fact all that portion which Ryan has been exploiting, is from one quarter to four fathoms in depth only; that Controller bay and it's approaches are not only filled with foul and shallow ground, but are contiuu- ally the scene of the heaviest breakers on the coast; that it is a wind swept barbor with the exception of that DOT. 1 tion protected by the islands. We would like to see one of the battleships or our transports, of which in times past Mr. Rooseyels took such great pride, attempt to anchor in Controller bay, or in fact, attempt to enter that To eality. To be perfectly plain, MT. Roosevelt does not know what be is talking about, and mau occupying his position in the literary world, to say nothing of his past exalted position, should be careful before he goes into such statements wherein he shows him. self to be lamentably ignorant aud somewhat devoid ofnautical knowledge. 4 Of course, Mir. Roosevelt has always been against the corporations in their development of Alaska, and has SC erred his information from Pinchot and his followers, all of which is a mat. ter with which we have nothing to do.
 That portion of the editorial dealing with the more or less political side of the case, while being inaccurate, is merely rehash of past attacks. How ever, since the outlook has been pub | lished, Mr. Roosevelt has no doubt been fully apprised of the fact that the Gag genheim syndicate has not the remotest interest in Controller bay and that Dick Ryan never has and probably never will be interested connected with them, and his whole article is based up- on a misconeeption offact and an en tireIy erroneous conception of Alaskan conditions,
 In conclusion he says: eff congress fails at once to deal with this matter it will be guilty of criminal neglect" Does MT. Roosevelt have any idea of how the people of Alaska and large portion of the United States regard his action in largely contributing to the present deplorable state of affairs in Alaska, and now as an editorial writer on a great magazine falling in with those who would exploit Dick Ryan