The Cordova daily times., 1917-11-06
STATUS OF LAIN ASSESSMENT
 WORK

There is a conflict of opinion as to the status of legislation governing assessment work on mining claims in Alaska.
 James Wickersham, former delegate in congress from this territory, who is now contesting the seat in the house of representative of Charles 4. Sul- ger, in a letter to the Anchorage Times, declares that the law recently passed by congress purporting to do away with assessment work during the years 1917 and 1918 merely suspended the federal requirements and that it does not stop the operation of the Alaska legislatures law compelling assessment work on all mining claims.
 Mr. Wickersham' contention is that while the federal assessment law has been suspended for this year and next year, the territorial assessment law is still in force
 Georg B. Grigsby, attorney general for Alaska, when informed of Mir. Wickersham' opinion, declared that he differed from it. The attorney-gen- eral said that the congressional act doing away with assessment work had the effect of suspending the territor- ial law requiring it.
 The text of the law passed by con gross and the opinions of Mir. Wick ersham and MT. Grigsby are as fol lows:
 Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Uni. ted States of America in Congress assembled; That in order that tabor may be most effectively used in rais ing and producing those things needed in the prosecution of the present Wal with Germany, that the provision oi ] the section twenty three hundred and twenty-fourl of the Revised Statutes of the United Sates which requires on each mining claim located, ard un i til patent has been issued therefore not less than $100 worth of labor to he performed or improvements to be made during each year, be. and the same is hereby, suspended during the years ninteen hundred and seventeen and nineteen hundred and eighteen Provided; That every claimant oi any such mining claim in order to ob tain the benefits of this dissolution shall file or caused to be filed in the office where the location notice or the 1 certificate is recorded on or before | December thirty-first. of each of the years nineteen hundred and seventeen and nineteen hundred and eighteen a notice of his desire to hold said min. 1 ing claim under this resolution: Pro, vided further. That this hesolution shall not apply to oil placer locations or claims.
 This resolution shall not be deemed to amend or repeal the public resol. Iution entitled joint resolution to re lieve the owners of mining claims who have been mustered into military ser vice of the United States as officers or enlisted men from performing as- sessment work during the term of such service, approved July seven. teenth. nineteen hundred and sixteen.
 Approved, October 5. 1917"
 MT. Wickersham's opinion is as fol lows:
 "The foregoing Act of Congress sus- bends or repeals) Section 1924 of the United States Revenue Statute 1878, requiring assessment work on mining claims for the years 1917 and 1918. but it does not suspend or repeal Sec tion 3 of the Act of the Legislature of Alaska. of 1915. which requires such assessment work to be done in Alaska"
 The statement of Mr. Grigsby is as follows:
 "The resolution of Congress sus- bends the annual labor law in Alaska as we'll as elsewhere. All that is neces- sary to hold a claim is to file notice of application before January 1. 1918"
 James Drummond. day chef at Stat