The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1911-01-06
THE P|NCHOTS ARE TELLING
PRESIDENT TAFT news
concerning the Alaska Coal Claims
In Which the Morgan Gug-
genheimers are Interested.

helm monopoly in Alaska, is the
question brought up by the brie
which Clifford Pinchot and his broth
at. Amos, filed with the President to
day. The Pinchots have put it up tt
the President 10 cancel Immediately
The Cunningham coal claims in Alas
ka, valued at twenty-five million
dollars. The acknowledgement
Syndicate has an option on these
Claims and the contention of the
brief is that if the President allows
lhem to go to patent the advantage
from their development will go di-
rectly into the pockets of the Gug,
xenheims
The Pinchots in their brief ex.
Aress the fear that the President may
avoid the responsibility by turning
she Cunningham claims over to a
court.
No transfer of the Cunningham
claims to court for a decision upon
The records" they declare, would
relieve the executive department of
responsibility.
The Pinchots declare that the
1iuty of the executive with regard to
She Cunningham claims is obvious
aud Immediate, that in their judg-
tnent, the record "abundantly proves
ehat the claims are illegal and that
1he claimants have conspired to de,
fraud the government. No resort to
= court Or a hearing in the case is
necessary to secure justice and pro-
lect the peoples property. The case
against the claims is already con-
elusive. The claims should be can
celled by the President forthwith"
Whether Congress or Secretary
ballinger will take action to break
UP the monopoly which the Pinchots
aeclare is holding Alaska at a stand
still is another question which the
grief brings up. The Pinchots say
2hat the prompt development of the
alaska coal fields is of great impor-
lance, but that today. defective
coal land laws make Alaska a for
hidden land to 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 at
tribute this to the fact that for years
Ehe Industries of Alaska "have been
largely In the hands of great and
oppressive monopoly, the Guggen-
neim syndicate, which has kept out
other capital and throttled competi-
ton, and held Alaska at standstill
m spite of it's vast wealth in min
erals. waterpowers and fisheries. .
They say that capital should be
encouraged to develop the Alaska
coal fields for the benefit of the
people, but this result can only be
accomplished by the passage in con-
gress of reasonable and practical
law for the disposal of the coal fields
In the interest of the people," Until
this is done, the Pinchots declare,
the present law should be enforced
and the peoples property protected.
They say it was to prevent just such
monopoly as the Cunningham claim
ants are seeking that the existing
coal land law was made. They de-
clare that the Cunningham claimants
have violated this law by fraudu-
lent conspiracy to acquire more pub
lie coal lands than the law allows.
They quote records to show that the
Cunningham claimants never in
tended to operate their claims indi-
vidually, that the claimants never
took any interest in their individual
claims which the Cunninghams are
trying to secure from the Govern
xnent still hold good.
The brief declares that although
the Cunningham case involves one of
the richest coal deposits on the con-
tinent. worth many millions of dol
lars. the responsibility of saving the
londs to the people was place by the
government in the hands of young
lawyer, who had been a translator
of Spanish in one of the government
departments at $1,000 a year, and
had been graduated only thirteen
months, had never tried any cases
in court, and whose actual practical
law experience was limited to forty
one days. The Pinchots say that the
people are entitled to full and able
presentation of their case and de-
clare that no transfer of the Cum
ningham cases to court would re-
lieve the executive department of
responsibility for failure to have the
case fully presented by attorneys of
experience and ability.