The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-08-02
MESSAGE ABOUT
CONTROLLER BAY
President Answers Critics Of
His Elimination Order.
n The "ClCk TO DICK" LETTER.

No Trace Of u In the Filss or Else.
whsrs-chsrIss p. Taft Never Heard
n 81 Controller Bay Railroad. Prssidsr.
saya Until Very Recently.
Washington. July 26.-President Taft
today sent TO the senate O message
concerning the Controller bay affair
and the reduction of the area OF the
Chugach national forest reserve to per
!. NIT the Controller Bay Railway and
y Navigation company to acquire hand
on the buy to be used as terminals
Tor a railway tine To the Bering coal
neids. twenty-five miles away. The
message is In response to resolution
passed by the senate June u last.
which asked for copies OF all depart.
npentai orders maps. surveys. letters.
reports aud official documents, In the
case. Copies OF these documents &c.
company the message.
The executive order OF Oct. 2s. 1910.
referred to IN the resolution was In the
terms following:
~ cHuGAcH NATIONAL FOREST.
ALASKA.
Under authority OF the act Of congress
% June 4 1897 GO stat. II. at - and 80
and on the accommodation of tie secre-
tary OF agriculture II IN hereby ordered
that the proclamation OF FEB. "a. 1909. en-
iargtng tho chugach National foress be
modified TO reduce the area Of such na-
eionai forest by eliminating therefrom tho
ownx described tract. containing ap-
yproaimately l2so acres of land. which
Has been found upon examination TO be
not ehieny valuable for national fores,
purposes:
Beginning at point where the mersiian
Of longitude Ia degrees minutes ives,
crosses the coast line OF Controller bay
thence north along said meridian line to
sSsths parallel OF latitude at 60 degrees 10
minutes north. thence west along said
parallel TO point whero the same crosses
the coast line at or near the mouth OF
Berinz river and thence along the coas,
10 the place OF beginning
The tract above described is hereby re.
stored to ths public domain.
\ WILLIAM II. TAFT
The white House. Washington. Oct. 2s
~ The president declares that the order
does not permit the Controller Bay
Railway md Navigation company to
secure monopoly or the Controller
bay harbOr as, under the law. n strip
eighty rods wide must be left between
each entry. having a frontage OF 100
rods on navigable water. The law also
0keeps the control OF the shore. which
includes the iats lying between high
water and low water. under the di.
recfiou of congress. This provision
says MIR. Taft fully protects the pub.
t2 and absolutely prevents any In
dhitual or corporation from acquir-
ing monopoly
In regard to the Dick TO Dick" let.
ter. I'm which there IL reference 10
Charles Taft. the president denies that
Ills brother ever spoke To him con.
cerning Controller buy. Richard s.
Ryan or any grant In Alaska. He says
thar the letter I'm question cannot be
~found In the dies OF the government.
and he refers 20 IL as wicked fab
rication." lie declares that his broth.
CT never heard OF Controller bay un.
regarding the subject.
Feasible Hsrbor In Controller Bay.
The message describes the location
0of Controller bay. which was original.
ly Included In the Chugach forest re-
serve. For time II was thought that
the water OF the bay was too shallow
10 make IL valuable as a harbor, but
In 1907 a channel was discovered ex.
tending into the bay about seven miles.
The tract taken from the forest re-
Aserve by the presidents order covers
1850 acres I'm triangular form. the
side along Controller bay being be-
tween SIX and seven miles long. which
covers the channel mentioned.
The presidents message then says:
All the territory surrounding Con
: troller bar was included In the Chu-
gach forest reservation I'm 1909 by a
proclamation OF President Roosevelt.
The Importance OF Controller bay is
that ft lies about twenty-five miles
from very valuable coal deposits.
known as the Bering coal fields. Ka.
n ITALIA bay is 20 the west OF Controller
bay and almost Immediately adJoins
H. IL II an open roadstead. upon the
shore Of which an attempt was made
By the Morgan Guggenheim syndicate
TO establish railway terminal ard
thence to build road 10 the BeriiIg
coal fields. already mentioned. The
attempt failed for the reason that the
:. breakwater protecting the terminals
- was destroyed by storms and the
terminals became impracticable Some
fifty miles or more farther west Of
Katalla hay IL the mouth Of the Cop
per river. where there is an excellent
harbor. on which Is the town OF Cor.
dova. There the Copper River rail.
A road. owned 10y the Morgan Guggen-