El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-07-27
TAFT ASSUMES ALL RESPONSIBILITY
AND DENOUNCEs DICK POSTSCRIPT

acres to 1880 acres. and that I pro-
posed the change and stated my rea-
sons therefor The thing which the
territory OF Alaska needs is develop
ment, and where rights and franchises
can be properly granted to encourage
investment and construct a railroad
without comforting exclusive privileges,
1 believe 1t to be in accordance with
good policy to grant them"
The Ryan Incident.
He relates how Ryan, representing
the Controller Railway & Navigation
company, applied in 1909 for the elm
ination of tract TO enable this COM
pany to secure railroad terminals, ETC.
The application was referred TO the
forestry bureau and then to the navy
department with a view that perhaps
the navy desired to use Controller bay
as a. reservation. The forestry inter
ests found on objection TO the elimin-
alton of the tract indicated. cor in
deed as the president writes, "to the
elimination of $4,000 acres in the
northwest shore of Controller bay"
The navy departments answer was
negative" says the president. and
after the matter had been considered
by the secretary of agriculture, by the
secretary of the interior and. the gen.
eral land office, Recommendation was
made to him that 800 acres with a
frontage OF 160 rods on the northwest
shore of Controller bay be thrown
open. A formal order to this effect
was finally submitted to him in Octo-
Der, 1910; but when the matter came
before the cabinet late IN that month
he found objection to it. His reasons
for taking this stand, he explains in his
message. in part as follows:
81 expressed dissatisfaction with the
order because 1t purported on It's face
to make the elimination for the benefit
land which the company could not by
lawful entry secure, for ii was a tract
800 acres In one body when only 100
acres could thus be acquired. In the
second place, L preferred to make a
much larger elimination OF a tract fac
ing the entire channel, and with suffi-
cient room for q terminal railway
town I was willing to do this because
I found the restrictions in the law
sufficient to prevent the possibility of
any monopoly of either the upland or
the harbor or channel by the Controller
Railway & Navigation company or any
other persons or company. Because OF
a lack of time sufficient to draft a
memorandum myself L requested the
secretary of the interior, who with the
secretary Of agriculture, after full dis
cussion had agreed in my conclusion,
to prepare a letter setting forth the
reasons fer making the larger elimina-
ton, so that it might become part
of the record.
Is Alone Responsible.
81 wish to be as specific as possible
1,ak II IL
am responsible for the enlargement of
the proposed elimination from 800 to
Il. 500 acres, and that 1 proposed the
change and stated my reasons there
for, and while both secretaries cor
daily concurred in it the suggestion
was mine"
The president says he had every as
su tance at the time that the Control
Ter Railway & Navigation company was
an independent enterprise working In
all good faith, and that no evidence to
the contrary has since been brought to
his attention. "Of course IT was pos
sible," he continues, that the owners
of the Copper River Railway company
(Messrs. Morgan and Guggenhefm)
might attempt to buy this railroad
when and If it were built 1t was
possible that Mr. Ryan was acting for
road. although 1 did not believe it; but
whether this was true Or not, 1t was
clear that the order of. elimination by
reason OF the restrictions of the act
of congress would 4ot permit the own
ers of either railroad to shut out any
other capitalists" Moreover, he states,
the uates TO be charged would be al
ways subject to congressional control,
and If government ownership seemed
the wise policy under the peculiar cir
Ample land for right of way, har-
Dor frontage and terminals must al
ways remain available under the law
for government use. or if it Is pre-
ferHed to take over to the government
a railway built by private enterprises
condemnation is easy"
Il am as strongly convinced as any
one of the necessity for the conserva-
ton Of our national resources" says
the president, and as much opposed as
any one to their monopo1ization by
large corporations, but my convictions
on this point did not deter me from
taking the step which I hoped might
lead to encouraging the construction
of a railway from Controller bay to
the Boring coal fields I thought the
pairing down of the amount of public
land to be acquired for terminals by
the railway company proposing to
build the railroad was a poor policy