The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-02-08
ALASKA BILL
is BIG GRAFT
NELSON PLAN WORSE THAN CIV
ING THE LAND, UlNCHOT SAYS
live CENT ROYALTY.

Washington, Feb. Ga strong at
tack on the coal land leasing bill
of Senator Nelson of Minnesota, was
issued tonight by Clifford Pinchot,
president of the National Conserva-
tion Association. In part, it follows
The National Conservation Associ.
alton has steadily been a vigorous
advocate of the immediate opening
of the Alaska coal fields to deveI-
oDment under a system of leasing
by the federal government. But any
bill for the purpose of developing
Alaskan coal under lease should be
fair to the people of Alaska and the
Pacific coast, and free from ''joliers'
favorable 10 the special interests
The Nelson bill is unduly favorable
to the special interests both in its
open and concealed provisions and
leaves the consumer of coal wholly
without protection, which it pretends
to give him.
If the Morgan-Guggenheim syn.
dicate should succeed, directly or in
directly. in leasing the coal lands
covered by the Cunningham claims
under the royalty fixed in this BILL
the profit to the syndicate above
what Il would have made out of
its bargain with the Cunningham
claimants, would be from Is million
to more than 80 million dollars, ac-
cording to whether the whole or
only half of the coal was included
By the official estimate of the
land office expert there are more
than so million tons of available
coal in the Cunningham claims. BY
the agreement of July 20, 1907, be-
tween the Cunningham claimants and
the -Guggenheim syndicate
the syndicate undertook to pay
merely the cost of mining. $1.75 a
ton, for all coal used by its railroad.
and to pay s225 ton for all coal
to be sold to the public. In other
words, the syndicate was to get fuel
for its railroad at cost, while il
was to pay a profit or royalty Of
fifty cents ton on all coal intend
ed for the market.
As against this royalty of fifty
cents ton established by actual
bargain, the Nelson bill proposes to
lease the coal at a royalty of five
cents per ton. This price is not to
be increased in the period of the
lease, which is for thirty years. The
advantage to lessees under the bill,
as compared with the Cunningham
Gugegnheim bargain, is therefore for
ty-fiye cents per ton, or more than
30 million dollars for the available
coal in the thirty-three CUNNINGHAM
claims.
The bill provides that the price at
which the coal shall be sold shall be
controlled by the interstate com
merce commission, but such control
covers only sales made by the les
sees This clause contains a "joker"
and leaves the consumer entirely un-
protected. All that would be neces-
sary to defeat it would be for a
syndicate to organize a selling com.
pany, which company being beyond
the jurisdiction of the commission,
could charge the consumer whatever
his necessities would compel him
to pay.
The clause purporting to prevent
transportation companies and their
stockholders from being interested
IN any lease, is made futile by the
absence of any provision for its en-
forcement or penalty for breaking
the law.
The bill does not provide for the
classification and disposal of coal
in Alaska, according to its value,
as is now provided by law for gov
ernment coal in the United States.
And it limits for twenty years in
advance the maximum royalty that
people of the United States can re-
ceive, and fixes it at a fraction OF
its true value.
As it stands. the bill is a most
unfortunate example of the legisla.
ton so common in the past. under
which, az every critical point the