Norwich bulletin., 1911-07-27
TAFT'S MESSAGE ON CONTROLLER BAY

was silent on the subject, but not only the statute of 1898 but also the amend ing statute of 1903 expressly imposes the restriction that no title or right can be obtained under the act in the shore of a navigable body of water.
 submit to all fair minded men who may have been disturbed oyer the charges made in respect to the execu- tive order Of Oct. 2s. 1910, that 1t hao been demonstrated by the foregoing that no public interest has suffered from it's issue. that great good may come from it and that no dishonest or improper motive is needed to explain it. l might, therefore, stop here; but, rather, for the purpose of the moral to be drawn from them than to vim dicate the order, propose to consider the attacks upon the order that hys- teria or rancor has prompted
 Order Was Made Public.
 The charge has been made that this was q secret order and that though it was made in October, 1910, no one knew it until April, 1911. This is ut terly unfounded. The statement of MT. Vernon, the correspondent of the Post-Intelligencer of Seattle, a news paper of wide circulation among a peO- pie most interested in Alaska, shows that ten days before the order was made news of the details of Ryan's application and the probability of it's being granted was given wide public ity. It further appears from the rec ords of the interior department that the evening the order was signed, Oct. 28, 1910. a full notice of the issue of the order and it's details was furnish ed by the department to all core spondents in the form of a news bull letin. Finally the agent of the Asso- ciated Press certifes that at 7:23 D. m., Oct. 28. 1910, there was sent out by that association to all it's newspaper clients telegram taken from a type written statement issued by the in- teriorAdepartment as follows:
 Washington. Oct 2S.-Approximate1y 12- 800 acres of land in the Chugach National forest, Alaska, have been restored by the president for disposition under appropri- ate land laws, according to information made public today by the interior depart ment. These lands are situated on tho coast line of Controller bay. in southern Alaska, near the Cunningham claims, and have been found upon examination to be of little value for forestry purposes.
 It would be difficult to prepare an advertisement more informing to the public or more likely to attract the at- tention of all likely to desire acquisi- tion of land on Controller bay. On the 29th the chief forester sent telegram making a similar announcement to his district forester at Portland, Ore.
 The order has been attacked on the ground that it did not contain a pro- vision delaying its taking effect for thirty days after it's publication, as orders restoring land to settlement by homesteaders frequently do. An ex- animation of the record furnishes an explanation of this feature of the or der as made. When in October the two departments had agreed. with my acquiescence, that the order should be an elimination of only 32O acres an order describing the 32O acres, direct ing it's restoration to settlement and containing the usual provision post poning it's taking effect thirty days was prepared in the forestry bureau and forwarded to the interior depart ment There 1t was deemed wiser to spread on the face of the order a spe- cifc declaration that it was made to afford terminals for the Controller DoiI ov7fnr f nd as no one else was expected to inter- vene and take up any part of the elim- mated tract the restoration was made immediate.
 Approved by Secretary.
 The form thus amended was submit ted to the secretary of agriculture, who expressed his preference for the inn mediate restorati ton order through his solicitors memorandum on the face of the orteF as follows:
 MT. Clements. Assistant Attorney In the Interior Department-We think this o. K. The secretary says it is the direct way and appeals to him.
 GEORGE P. M'CABE.
 The idea of the secretary doubtless was that the short form of order was preferable because on it's face it was directly indicative of the purpose to secure an opportunity to the railway company by proper entry to settle on the laisd elimina ted, and as no one else was expected to intervene no postpone ment was needed. Accordingly when the case came for decision in the cabi- net the order was without any post ponement clause. This was the form sent me for my signature by the acting secretary of the interior department.
 When I directed the striking out of the reference to the railway company and the enlargement of the area from 32O acres to 12,S0O acres the form of the order in its provision for imme- diate restoration was not changed. I have no doubt that this was the req son why the order issued took the form 1t did. Had the postponement clause been suggested I would doubtlessly. have directed it to be embodied in the order. But the event has proven that it was really not important in this case, for in now nearly nine months only the Controller Railway Naviga- tion company has made any scrip en- tries on the eliminated tract, and this although 11,0OO acres and three miles