The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1911-08-17
DEMOCRATIC VIEW
OF TAFT'S POSITION


editorially:
If we were not fearful of encourag-
ing the use of slang, we should call
President Taft's Controller Bay mes
sage a "socdollager.' 1t is worthy of
such title. 1t is one of the most
complete refutations of cunning
calumny that we have ever seen; and
incidentally, it is as well one of the
most scathing indictments of the self
righteous disciples of Pinchot, who
wish to conserve" everything but
Justice.
President Taft emphatically declares
that he, and he alone, is responsible
for throwing open to entry 12,S00
acres on the shores of Controller bay.
He did this openly not secretly; for
ten days before the land in question
was eliminated from the forest re-
serves, and thus thrown open to en-
try, the Associated Press carried a
very full account of the affair He did
it becomes, in his own phrase, "The
thing which Alaska needs is develop
ment, and where rights and franchises
can be properly granted to encourage
investment and construct a railroad
without comforting exclusive privi-
leges, I believe it to be in accordance
with good policy to grant them.'
Coming now to the central point Of
the matter, the charges against Presi-
dent Taft in this Controller bay affair
may be summed up as follows:
That the elimination was made to
enable the Morgan -Guggenheim syn
dicate to get monopoly, through To-
cation by scrip, of the shores of Con-
troller bay.
That they have secured this mon
opoly.
That Controller bay is the only
available port from which the Goals Of
Alaska can be shipped; and therefore,
that the monopoly of harbor facilities
here gives the syndicate a practical
monopoly of the coal fields.
President Taft shows thaat Control
Ter bay is NOT the only harbor from
which the coal can be shipped-if any
one ever gets a chance to do any ship
ping. On the contrary, this same
Morgan -Guggenheim syndicate has
railroad terminals at Cordova, from
which it can tap the Bering fields.
operates to break a monopoly than to
the syndicate, through location by
scrip, could get monopoly on the
shores of Controller bay, President
Taft quotes the restrictions on loca-
tions of all sorts, as follows:
"First-Not more than 160 acres
can be entered in single body by
scrip:
fSecond-No location of scrip along
any navigable river or other waters
can be made within eighty rods of any
lands along such waters, and no en-
try can be allowed extending more
tran 100 rods along the shore of any
navigable water, and along such shore
space of at least eighty rods must
be reserved from entry between all
such claims.
"Third-Nothing in the act con-
tanned is to be construed to authorize
entries to be made or title to be ac.
quired to the shore of any navigable
waters within the district" +"
In other words, you cannot locate
by scrip anything within eighty rods
of the shore. Actual entrymen may
locate down to the shore; but no en-
tryman may claim more than 100 rods
of the shore line, and between each
two entrymen making such claims, the
government reserves a strip eighty
rods wide to itself One-third of all
the water frontage is thus held by
the government. The other two thirds
may be claimed only by actual entry
men. Will someone kindly tell us
how, under such circumstances, any
merely human corporation could get q
monopoly on the water frontage OF
Controller bays
The answer is plain. No such mon
opoly con be secured unless congrss
NOT the observation-disclosures
grants away the reserved eighty-rod
strips to a corporation which has pre-
viously bought up all the entrymen.
Then why have the heavens been
dented by the wild shrieks and appeal
ing gestures of the apostles of econ
servations'
To carry out the gangs fixed desire
to "get" President Taft. That is all
The fellows who were wailing that
Alaska had been handed over to the
Guggenheims knew better-if they
know anything. They knew of this
reservation of one-third of the water
frontage to the government. They
knew, too, that their Own and Only
Righteous Official, President Roosevelt
himself, threw open to entry $4,000
acres of land fronting a bay, back in
1907. They knew-and did not care
Obsessed by what seems little short OF
mania to "get" President Taft, the
gang has put forth to the country
statements which ought to send some
one to Jail for libel.
As for the charge that President
Taft was corruptly influenced through
his brother to throw open this lane
for entry-it is not worth an answer
The originator of that lie should serve
Jail sentence for libel. or be con
fined in home for the feeble minded
we hardly know which. The woman
who claims to have seen and copied
a letter, bearing ont this charge
dares not come forward and testify
10 the same and no such letter can bt
found in the files. But no one whose
opinion Is worth CONSIDERING ever he