The Alaska daily empire., 1914-01-22
Gen. Davidson Urges
 Land Law Changes

Surveyor General Charles E. David son thinks that the law as construed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office that reserves for the Fed eral government an SO.rod strip of land between all homestead or other entries along the shores of navigable waters is retarding the development of Alas ka. He thinks homesteads and min- eral claims should be exempt from the application of the law. and that the government should provide for ease ments for roads of all kinds, water pipes and power lines across all such lands held by the government.
 While Gen. Davidson believes the construction Of the law by the De- partment is the correct one. he thinks Congress intended that it should apply only to the classes of applications spe- officially mentioned. as locations by land scripts, locations under the trad ing and manufacturing sites law, and those for wharves and landings, etc. He contends. further. that under the law as it is, companies owning the property on each side of the govern ment tracts use the latter when need. ed to the exclusion of other people.
 In a letter to the Secretary of the Intrior. through the Commissioner of the General Land Office. Gen. David son sets forth his reasons for believ- ing that the law should be changed. After setting forth the law and the manner in which it operates, Gen. Da, vidson says:
 Tt is not thought that Congress in tended that a reserve space should be required between homestead claims abutting on shores of nayigable wa ter. and I respectfully request that such requirement. be cancelled in the regulations. because 1t is not in har- mony with good policy, is of no bene' fit, and largely prevents the settle ment in the Territory of the most de- sirable and substantial class of citi- zens.
 Nearly all the land in Southeast ern and Southwestern Alaska, ayaila- ble for agriculture of any sort, is along the shores of nayigable streams, inlets. gulfs, bays, or seashore. This largely is the case in the interior of the Territory. as the most desirable agricultural lands in that section front on the banks of navigable streams.
 Irrespective settlers. otherwise ia yorably disposed for making their homes. hesitate about isolating them selves in the way that results from such condition. It initiates against neighborhood gatherings and is bar rier to schools and churches.
 Imagine, if you can, the develop ment of the territories lying along the banks of the Mississippi. the Sacra- mento. and Columbia rivers. the At. lanticSand Pacific oceans which wash the shores of the United States, de- yeloping as they have, under similar restrictions as have been placed upon this much stricken land by Congress.
 We. too, have great rivers aanked on either shore by rich and fertile lands. The valleys of the Yukon. Tan ana and Kuskokwim rivers. as well as other large valleys, and the thousands of miles of Pacific shore, will some day help to feed the many hungry mouths of our people, if Congress will allow this vast Territory to progress, as have the other great States and Territories of our Union.
 "The most deplorable of all is the requirement. of reserve spaces between mineral surveys abutting on navigable water. This will call halt. in a very marked degree, to the develop ment of the mineral resources of Alas ka. The exploitation of its minerals is the principal industry of the Terri tory. It is the treasure trove of the United States; and any impediment placed in the way of the output from it's vaults. is a national wrong.
 Alaska is in a class by itself in regard to it's lodes and placer claims. Generally speaking, the lodes are composed of enormous. deposits of very low.grade ore. the average value of which. in most places along the coast, does not exceed two dollars per ton. Tn order to make the reduction of this ore yield a profit, very large and ex- pensive plants must be installed and a very great tonnage mined; and any obstruction placed in the way of min ing and transporting such tonnage to
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