The Alaska citizen., 1911-09-25

The state of affairs brought tu light during rhe administration of AIr Ballinger showed (. nclusivsly and for the first time that We had to guard against monopoly in connec- ton with the development Of Alaska. or. To speak more properly. the cX- ploiratjou of Alaska hy a great syn dicaIo for the sole benefit ,f that syndicate. When the climiuarions ar Eyak and Valdez Arm were made. not a revelation as regards The Gug- gcuhcims syndicate. or any other syndicate. had been brought to my attention. nr. as far as | knew. or know. to The attention of any man in a responsible position around me. and the public was wholly unaware of the existence If any such state of things as Dhe Ballingcr investigation showed To exist.
 Whether Nr. Garfield or anyone else had been told that the Guggen- helms were engaged in a syndicate ta act in Alaska. I know not. for I never was informed; but in any event. il Was of no possible conse- quouce. because al that time noth- ing had developed to show that they had become an exploiting syndicate tending ro establish monopoly in mining and transportation aside from the fact that it had never been suggested. as il has since been prov cd. that they were expecting t1 be i bsnctieiaries of what has since been declared 10 he a fradulent ,ransac- ton. The difference between elm. iuari uS in one case and in the other seems tc me to be sufficiently obvious
 The eHminarious at Eyak and Nal' z Arm have no more hearing upon thc chminati.n of the Control. Ter Bay tract than have the preyiou4 elimnoDjor- in the Rocky Mountain states. In the Rocky Mountain states | eliminated tract after tract of folosr reservation fo permit ol agriculture ef manufacturing. or tn, establishment f townsites; and re fussd to make what on the surtac, were similar ciminations when became convinced that they were really asked for the purpose Of mou opoiiziug the water power.
 In thc newspaper dispatch ro which have referred, il is hinted
 that acted as did because thought the law. then ard still in force sufficiently protected rle pub lie interest Perhaps this is meant 10 be irOnicaI. II is certain thai inc law did not sufficiently protecD Ihc public interest. II is fr tha reason that as president, repeatedly ure- ed that the laws pertaining ,o Alas Ila he amended as | still urge that they hc amended
 Tn rhe Eastern states We have suffered from the fact that in. ownership of the coal and the own. orship of rhe railways nave been ro,, mitted To fall into the same hands. What havoc such d combination can work was shown whcn during tho anthracite strike the people of q large section of the country were threatened with d winter C. al famine. which would have caused disasters as 2 eat as those of the Civil war. The eIlort to remedy this state of affairs hy government action, after ii had been permitted 10 arise he cause Of goyernmen, iuaction was necessarily lraughr with hardship and suffering for many innocenl holders of securities 1T is. to my mind. lh duty of The United States gsyern- ment to prevent a similar condition arising in Alaska.
 "I do mt believe in the policy of sta,e-owncd railroads as a general thing; but am quite willing fo see the Panama railroad owned and run by the government, as it actually i~; and in the same way. if difficulty occurs in connection with what has been done i'll Controller bay, l feel that il would be a good thing for the United States 10 build and Crer- ate he short line of railway twith it's tfrminals). which would connect the bay with the coal fields Then with the coal fields given over to private developers on lcasehOI@ system as simple as D ssible. and on such terms as 10 guarantee ar ample profit to those engaged in the Work of development. the trouble in connection with the Alaska coal fields would vanish
 "I have said already that the re- sources of Alaska must be developed l advocate with all my heart the con diti ms of development being made such as tO give ample return 10 those willing 10 undertake the work, and, as there is an element of hazard in the work. l would prefer to see