The daily Alaskan., 1912-03-06
ALASKA GOSSIP AT
 THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.
lspaclal cerrasnnnasaeel


 Before the Senate 1rertitorIal Com mittee. senascs Jehn L. Wilson. rep. resenmaye og tbe Pacific c5aat chamber of commsree, ssated tlat one oi the easiest 8lkys out of the controversy over ue Alaska coal lands would be for the government to open up and develop b coal mine in ,he Matingssa coai fslds for the benefit Of the United States Nay aud make contract with a pri- sate railroad enterprise 10 haul this ooal from the mines b the coasi If a contract os nat kthd Is eaicsed into. the senator eoliteuded. there woald be no need for tae construct- ton of a railroad by the government as the Alaska No7thergt Raii7oad Com pany would be more than willing o complete 8ts railroad If the coal fields are opened. B,s pointed cut to the Committee thts the govern ment could make a saEing of 8 m'l- Hon dollars a year bg shipping its coal from Alassa rath nr than from ihc West Virginia fields. Senator Wilson also informed the Committee that an area Of arabbs land larger than the thirteen original states had been dedicated Co solitude in the West through the so-clIed coasegYa- ton jaws.
 Senator smith, chairman Of t1e Territorial Committee. Informed his confrores that a few years ago there had beaG much talk ol the early ex. haustion of the iron fields and taat since that time they lad discovered that in one county In Michigan there lies enough iron to sJippiy the pee pie Of the United Stat,is al the pres ent rate Of consumption for more than a thousand years The Senator expressed the opinion hat the same might be true Of the Alaska coal fields
 Governor Walter E. Clark appear ed before the Senate Ciommittee and urged many Alaska ref,rms, inc prin- cipal one being the e1Rctmeut into law Of the bin introduced in the House by wickersham b restrict the power of attorney in stakinr mining claims ln Alaska and the passage of a measure providing foi a greater inc crease in the tax on sslimoa Gamer les and the repeal of tlIe law which enables the salmon canperies Co swear off their taxes by filing afti- dsyits that they have rblease5 a cer tain number of salmon ity
 A reduction or the telegraph tolls from Seattle to Alaska reasonably nay be expected befous the sassloa ls closed. The brief filed by Sen ator wilsou left tho signal service without e leg to stand on iu their statement that Che system had been conducted at loss to the general government General Allen is aerec- able to a twenty per e snt reduction in tolls. provided that lhe Secretary of War win conmw.
 Richard s. Ryan, oWHer of a large front and rapar raitsoad ehov-ed up ia Washington a day or two ago. Ryan looks prosperous aud with much osteutation makes trib every few minutes to examine tht news con- veyed by the ticker in the lobby of the Willard Hotel. 1t is pretty hard to say how thines are oming with Dick for he Is difficult man to iu- teryicw when in aftlpent eircum- stances.
 A Cody, formerly Jinited states Marshal at Nome. accompaaied by Mrs. Cody. passed throne eh here Che other day enroute to seatile from Europe. Albert Cody. lr.. who has been taking voice culture in Italy for the past seven yesrs. recently made his debut at Milan la Grand Opera and scored tremeaduuus hit He is now playing a graild opera cir emit in Ensland.