The Topeka state journal., 1911-07-27

Assured OF Good FAITH
The president says he EaC every as
surance at the time that The Controller
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
possible" he continues, that the own
ers of the Copper River Railway COM
Dany (Messrs. Morgan and Guggen-
heim) might attempt to buy this rail-
road when and if it were built 1t
was possible that Mr.. Ryan was acting
for the interests of the Copper River
railroad, although 1 did not believe II;
but whether this was true or not II
was clear that the order of elimination
by reason of the restrictions of the act
of congress would not permit the own
ers of either railroad to shut out any
other CAPITALISTS" Moreover, he states,
the rates to be charged would be al
ways subject to congressional control,
and if government ownership seemed
the wise policy under the peculiar cir
cumstances. ample land for right OF
way, harbor frontage and terminals
must always remain available under
the law for governm ent use, or If it IS
preferred to take over to tie govern
ment a railway built bv private en-
terprise. condemnation p easy.
Il am as strongly convinced as any
one of the necessity for the conser-
walton of our national resources" says
the president, land as much opposed
as any one to their nopolization by
large corporations, but my convictions
on this point did not deter me from
taking the step which hoped might
lead to encouraging the construction
of a railway from Controller bay to
the Behring 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 & poor policy
and one not calculated to secure in
vestment or speedy construction
The President Explains.
The president goes on to explain
that there are iron boupd limitations
covering the method for securing title
for governm ent lands and for this rea-
son he feels no fear of any interest
obtaining a monopoly. Briefly the re-
StrictiOnS are.
First: Not more than $50 acres can
be entered in a single body by scrip.
Second: No location of scrip along
any navigable river or ether waters
can be made within eighty rods of any
lands along such watevs- No entry
can be allowed extending more than
.16O rods along the shore of any nav
igable water; and along such shore a
space of at least eighty rods must be
reserved from entry between all such
claims.
Third: Nothing in the act contained
is to be construed to authorize entries
to be made or title to be acquired to
the shore of any navigable waters
within the district.
1.-THE whole contention that the ex-
ecutive order and the opening to set
tlement of the shore of Controller bay
grants q monopoly to the railway COM
pany." he resumes. rests on a claim
that it has given an opportunity to
persons using scrip to appropriate the
control of the only avails BILE and prac-
ticable parts of the channel by the To-
cation of the scrip opposite to those
parts. If now the location of
the scrip opposite to the harbor
gives no right to reach the harbor
except as congress may expressly give
it. clearly the Controller Railway &
Navigation company has not the
slightest opportunity for exclusive ap-
preparation of the harbor facilities un-
less congress shall by future act dellb-
erately and voluntarily confer it.
Having explained in detail his rea-
sons for opening up the land in ques-
ton. the president takes occasion to
answer several criticisms. "The order
has been criticised because it was not
in the form of a proclamation, instead
of an order,' he writes. This was de-
termined by Mr.. Graves. the forester,
ne explains anu ne QUOtSS I ACAACA VI
Mr.. Graves to the effect that when a
comparatively small area is eliminated
from a national forest the executive
order is very commonly used instead
of a proclamation.
Was No Secrecy.
AS to the charge made on the floor
of the senate that the order was Sc
cret, the president says: This was
utterly unfounded." In support of this.
he says that ten days before the order
was made the details Of Ryan'S ap-
plication and the probability of its be-
ing granted were given vide publicity.
He cites in this respect tfat the Asso-
ciated Press carried an account of the
matter October %, 1910, IS taken from
a typewriter statement issued by the
interior department
The order has also been criticised,
he says, on the ground +Eat it did not
contain provision DELAYING it's taking
effect for thirty days after its publica-
ton, as orders restoring land to set
! tlement by homesteaders frequently
do. In this respect the president says:
"An examination Of the record fur
niskes an explanation of this feature
/ of the order as made. When in Oc-
tober the two departm ents had agreed
with my acquiescence that the order
should be an elimination of only 800
/ acres. it was deemed wise
! 10 spread on the race OF the Order a
specific declaration that it was made
to afford terminals for the Controller
| Railway & Navigation company, and
as no one else was expected to inter
vene and take up any part of the elm
mated tract, the restoration was made
Immediate. The form thus amended
was submitted to the secretary of ag-
riculture, who expresse7 his prefer
ence for the immediate restoration or
der. When I directed TIE striking out
of the reference to the railway COM
pany and the enlargement Of the area
from $50 acres to u 500 acres, the
form of the order in it's provision fol
imm ediate restoration vas not chang
ed. I have no doubt that this was the
reason why the order issued took the
form it did. Had the postpon ent
clause been snggested. ] would. donbt-