The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-01-02
COAL LAND CLAIMS
UP To PRESIDENT
Pinchot Asks Him to Cancel
Immediately Patents Obtained
by the Cunninghams and File
Brief

Washington, Jan. 2.-What Presi-
dent Taft will do with the Guggen-
helm monopoly in Alaska is the ques-
ton brought up by the brief which
Clifford Pinchot and his brother,
Amos, filed with the President to-day.
The PinchOtS have put it up to. the
President to cancel Immediately the
Cunningham coal claims in Alaska,
valued at twenty-five million of dol
lars. The Morgan-Guggenhei syn
dictate has an option on these claims
and the contention of the brief is
that if the President allows them to
go to patent the advantage from their
development will go straight into the
pockets of the Morgan-Guggenhe
The Pinchots in their brief express
the fear that the President may
avoid responsibility by turning the
Cunningham claims over to a court.
Ono transfer of the Cunningham
the records" they declare, would
relieve the Executive Department of
responsibility"
The Pinchots declare chat the du-
ty Of the Executive with regard to
the Cunningham claims is obvious
ment, the record "abundantly proves
that the claims are illegal and that
the claimants have conspired to de-
fraud the Government. No resort to
a court or hearing in the case is nee
essary to secure justice and protect
against the claims is already conclu-
sive. The claims should be cancel
led by the President forthwith"
Whether Congress, or Secretary
Ballinger, will take action to break
up the monopoly which the Pinchots
declare Is holding Alaska at stand
still is another question which the
brief brings up. The Pinchots say
that the prompt development of the
Alaska coal fields is of great impor-
lance but the to day, defective coal
land laws make Alaska a forbidden
land to the coal operators" They
say that late census figures show that
in the last ten years the population
of Alaska has increased only one and
five-tenths per cent. They attribute
dustries of Alaska ''have been largely
in the hands of great and oppressive
monopoly the Guggenheim Syndicate,
which has kept out other capital,
throttled competition, and held Alas
ka at standstilll in spite of its vast
wealth in minerals, water powers and
fisheries"
They say that capital should be en-
couraged to develop the Alaska coal
fields for the benefit of the people,
but this result can only be accom-
plished by the. passage in Congress OF
reasonable and practical laws for the
disposal of the coal fields in the in
terest of the people," Until this is
done, the Pinchots declare, the pres
ent law should be enforced and the
peoples property protected. They
say it was to prevent just such mo-
nopoly as the Cunningham claimants
are seeking that the existing coal
land law was made. They declare
that the Cunningham claimants have
violated this law by a fraudulent
conspiracy to acquire more public
coal lands than law allows. They
quote records to show that the Cum
ningham claimants never intended to
operate their claims individually,
that the claimants never took any in
terest in their individual claims which
the Cunninghams are trying to secure
The brief declares that although
the Cunningham case involves one of
the richest coal deposits on the North
American Continent, worth many
of dollars, the responsible
ity of saving these lands to the peo-
pie was placed by the Government
in the hands of a young
lawyer, who had been a translator
Of Spanish in one of the Government
had been graduated only thirteen
had never tried a case in
court, and whose actual practical law
experience was limited to forty-one
days. The Pinchots say that the peo-
pie are entitled to full and able
of their case and declare
hat no transfer of the Cunningham
Executive Department of responsible
ty for failure to have the case fully
by attorneys of experience
Ind ability.