The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
DENNETTS REPORT IS if OPPOSED BY FISHER
Long Controversy Which Caused Dis missal of Pinchot and Glavis Is Ended Favorable
 to Them ,.t..#s, ..

e lwere today finally disalfowed by the }. tdepa rtn1ent of the interior.
 "a Secretary of. the Interior Walter k Fisher, having approved the depart o xAent's decision as handed down by s Fred Dennett, commissioner of the land s office, the last is believed to have been I. lclosed to the Cunningham claimants i, Their attorneys have threatened an ' DappeaI to the United States supreme ! court but such an appeal can he based Y only on some point of law involved
 band not on the findings of fact as an < pounced by the department.
 y The Cunningham claims have been in " tthe public eye constantly for more Y lHhan two years past. They brought 2 about the Ballinger-P Pinchot investi- | gation by Congress and the dismissal F from the public service of Chief For f ester Pinchot. Louis Glavis, chief of 1 Yield division in the land office, and Fi several minor officials
 e Both Messrs. Pinchot and Glavis a were dismissed for insubordination in n, 'cident to their attacks on former Sec \ retary Baninger, whom they claimed
 was favorably disposed toward the
 claims
 Announces Decision
 T In announcing the decision of the de- D partment today Secretary Fisher. who D succeeded MT. Ballinger in March last, \ declared new coal land laws are needed N in Alaska If that territory is to be developed properly. In a statement the n Secretary said:
 This Is a final decision of the Cum ! ningham claims so far as the depart t..4A tG nd n further proceedings will be merely a formal for the purpose of effecting the | record in case the claimants think 2 there are questions of law which they q desire to present to the courts. It Is my understanding that it is conceded \ that the findings upon facts by the de- n partment are conclusive. VI "1tsjs the intention of the depart ment to proceed st once to final de- termination of all the remaining Alas !. sR6an coal claims so far as this can Xroperly be done, denying these that T should be denied and granting those \ that should be granted as rapily as pos x sible. T do not believe the present laws ap- \ plicable to coal lands in Alaska are E wise or practicable laws. Nevertheless the provisions must be enforced, first, . because they are the law, and, second, E because of the abuses of monopoly and unrestricted private exploitation. l sincerely trust that these laws will be ! modified at the next session of Con- 4 gress, so as to permit the develop ' ment of the Alaskan coal fields under q provisions that will more adequately r protect and promote the public inter- {, ests. If, however there are claims now . pending which under the existing laws are entitled to patent, see 10 justifi- cation for not taking action upon Il them as promptly as the department can be assured that 1t is in possession of the facts upon which such action be \ ultimately taken" t.
 All Improperly Allowed Commissioner Dennett, in his de- I, cision, holding the claims for concela- tion on the ground of fraud, declares 1, that each of the 33 entries was inn i, properly allowed because of fatal de ! fects apparent on their face.
 He asserts the government conclu 't sively established the charges brought ,r against the claimants and that there ! is no doubt that an agreement existed against them in violation of law. < The 3s claims involved amounted to 1, m aggregate area of 5s250 acres. The i. value of the land has been estimated high In the millions. The coal em- braced in the claims is said to be among \ the finest in the world.
 Commissioner Dennett makes ire quent reference to the work of Gavis
 
 against the Cunningham claimants. He \ also refers at length to the negotia- \ tions between Cunningham and repre- \ sentatives of the Guggenheims, who were shown at the Ballinger-Pinchot Q hearing to have taken an option on these coal lands which were to be q worked in connection with other exten- siye Guggenheim interests in Alaska Governments Charges The povernment charged apaiust Cunningham and his associates that their entrance entries of coal land were made in pursuance of an under ] standing and an agreement, entered into by all the claimants prior to loca- tion, to combine the several claims for joint use and benefit of all It was further claimed the entries were made ] with the unlawful purpose that they should inure to the United States and benefit of an association or corpora
 tion. After reviewing all the facts brought out at the various trials and hearings in the cases extending over a period of several years and including the final hearing recently attended by Secretary M Fisher himself, Commissioner Dennett reac the conclusion the claims had no legal standing and ordered them cancelled. Secretary Fisher promptly approved this finding, although to com plete the record. lie must do so form ally upon appeal to him.
 Among the Cunningham claimants arela number of the prominent men of the northwest. Commissioner Den net refers to them as having suffi- cient means to carry forward exten- sive coal operations in Alaska. The various clamants are interested in the Alaska coal situation in 1902 by Clar- once Cunningham. who made the vari- ,ous filings and conducted most of the negotiations. The. claims, once were clear-listed for patent but final ac- tion was held up at, the request of Gla- wis. Merely Subscribers There seems to be no doubt said Commissioner Dennett in his decision that in the beginning the participants were subscribers for joint interests and not owners of separate claims and N the substantial character of the trans-
 action never changed. In 1905 they were still 'co-owners' of single prop erty. although in order to acquirc it each particular claim had been allotted (CONTINUED ON FACE 2) -