The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-08-11

acquainted, I was absolutely and en-
tirely cognizant OF the principles i'm
accordance with which each one OF
these acts was taken. and each act
faithfully represented the putting into
effect of the principles in which be-
lieved and which I had laid down for
the guidance OF my administration.
Some Examinations Necessary.
Tn every part Of the country In
which there are forest reserves 1t has
been found, and It win in the future
be found. necessary to make elinina-
tions for town sites. for agricultural
purposes, for manufacturing purposes,
and the like. Each such case stands
on its own merits; each such case de-
pends for its justification upon the
conditions existing at the time II is
made, and is in no sense precedent
for any other case, arising under new
conditions, or when facts hitherto un-
discovered have been made known.
1t may be not only proper TO elm
mate IL; and yet. IL the elimination
Of another tract Of land will give
monopoly to mining company or a
transportation company, or any other
company ~ may DC W the Ad5L uGkFGG
improper. At the time the elimina-
tions at Eyak and Valdez Arm were
made, no suggestion had been made to
me from any source, nor was there
any public knowledge, that there was
the slightest danger OF the Guggen-
helm syndicate, or any other syndi-
cate. obtaining control of Alaska. as
the developments during the past three
years have shown to be the case, and
as has been matter of public motor
iety for at least two years.
Months after the date Of these
eliminations Cunningham made affi-
davit that he knew OF no entrymen in
the Guggenheim group that had any
contract with the Guggenheim syndi-
cate; the eliminations being made in
July and September, 1907, and the Cum
ningham affidavit In September, 1908.
When these eliminations were made,
there was not vestige Of evidence
to show that we should be on our
guard to prevent such a monopoly as
is now evidently threatened. Incident
ally, anent the assertion of Mr.. Ryan
that he has no interest whatever in
the Guggenheim syndicate, let me
punt Jul IAAN EApAASAt NAAcAA bCLSA VI NuE
Cunningham affidavit that the Gug-
genheims had no interest in their
claims; and. in any event, our entire
past industrial history gives US war
rant for saying that, If the Ryan
road is built as planned, It will be
but matter of time, and probably a
very, very short time, before Ryan's
road and the Guggenheim interests are
merged into one.
1.-THE state of affairs brought to light
during the administration Of Mr.. Bal
finger showed conclusively, and for
the first time. that we had to guard
against monopoly in connection with
the development Of Alaska, or, to
speak more properly, the exploitation
Of Alaska by great syndicate for
the sole benefit OF that syndicate.
When the eliminations at Eyak and
Valdez Arm were made. not a revela-
ton as regards the Guggenheim syn
dictate, or any other syndicate, had
been brought to my attention, or, as
far as / knew, or know, to the atten-
ton Of any man in a responsible posi-
ton around me, and the public was
wholly unaware Of the existence of
any such state Of things as the Bal
linger investigation showed to exist.
No Monopoly Then.
whether Mr.. Garfield or anyone
else had been told that the Guggen-
helms were engaged in a syndicate TO
act in Alaska, know not. for I never
was informed; but. in any event, it
was of no possible consequence, be-
cause at that time nothing had devel-
oped to show that they had become
an exploiting syndicate tending to
establish a monopoly in mining and
transportation-aside from the fact
that 1t had never been suggested, as
it has since been proved, that they
were expecting to be the beneficiaries
of what has since been declared to
be a fraudulent transaction. The
difference between elimination in one
to be sufficiently obvious.
"The elimlnations at Eyak and
Valdez Arm have no more bearing
upon the elimination Of the Controller
bay tract than have the previous
eliminations in the Rocky mountain
states. In the Rocky mountain states
eliminated tract after tract OF forest
reservation to permit Of agriculture,
Of manufacture, or the establishment
OF town sites; and refused to make
what on the surface were similar elm
nations when / became convinced that
they were really asked for the pur-
pose Of monopolizing the water power.
In the newspaper despatch to
which have referred 1t is limited that
I acted as / did because thought
the law, then and still in force. suffi-
GENTLY protected the public interest.
Perhaps this is meant to be ironical
It Is certain that the law did not suffi-
Gently protect the public interest. 1t
Is for that reason that, as president, /
repeatedly urged that the laws per-
tanning to Alaska be amended: as I
still urge that they be amended.
Eastern States An Example.
ain the eastern states we have suf-
fered from the fact that the owner
ship of the coal and the ownership OF
the railroads have been permitted to
fall into the same hands. What havoc
such a combination can work was
shown when. during the anthracite
strike, the people OF a large section
Of the country were threatened with
winter coal famine which would
have caused disasters as great as those
of the Civil war. The effort to remedy
this state Of affairs by government
action, after 1t had been permitted
to arise because OF government in
action, was necessarily fraught with
hardship and suffering for many In
nocent holders of securities. 1t is, to
my mind, the duty Of the United
States government to prevent sim