The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1950-07-10

that if will try to select the best lands available and
it is difficult to conceive any considerable tracts OF
land which might be so selected which would not
contain within their exterior boundaries I'M
patented mining claims and some other unpatented
ground held by settlers for purpose or another
In the first place since the Stats is authorized to
select only vacant unapproprated and unreserved
public lands could hardly be said that tracts which
include unpatented mining claims and other I'M
patented claims would be either vacant or unappro-
prated therefore, according to the strict letter OF the
law the Secretary would refuse to make the survey
and issue the patent to the State
If he should attempt to make the survey and issue
the patent just how would the valid existing rights
of anv person be protected? Furthermore there might
be existing rights which the Secretary or the new
State might consider not to be valid.
This would surely litigation in case the
Secretary should consider the lands to be vacant.
and unreserved and issue the patent
to the new State.
The very best he could do would be to survey the
lands selected and issue patent which would con-
bill that all valid existing rights on the land are I'M
affected No one would know what those valid exist
ing rights were how many claims involved, their
area or extent or what other rights might be eff
fected and there is no machinery set up in the
bill for determining these things.
This is most serious matter and one which might
well prevent the State from ever getting any
public lands if it did acquire any, there would be
endless law suits to determine who had valio eXsthg
rights on those lands prior to their transfer VINO
would be the Judge as to what valid existing
right? In all cases it would require litigation.
Another Objectionable feature in Section 5 is the
provision for the of State lands in tracts OF mot
more than GAO acres for any purpose. The meaning
of that phrase is certainly obscure We do not know
whether it means that not more than GAO acres may
be osd any person or corporation-but II 1t doesn't
mean that, it is meaningless
If it does that any one person or corpora
ton is limited GAO >what would happen in the
case of mining company like the Alaska Juneau
Gold Mining Company which operated before the
large low-g grade property on very narrow margin
recurring very considerable acreage of land exceed
ing $40 acres? mining property such as the Alaska
Juneau requires very large investment, requires
large, number of claims and millsites, power plant
SITES land for transmission lines, dam Sites ETC. How
could If ever operate if it is restricted to owning
$40 acres?
Another very Objectionable provision in Section
sob is that which provides that when the State &C
oujres lands and sells it must reserve royalts
on minerals of not than l2l2%. The mining
industry in Alaska and generally throughout the
United States has always been strongly opposed 10
royalties yet the statehood bill for some reason which
cannot ahom requires that the State must reserve
a ROYALTY on minerals whether the people desire 1t or
not In our opinion this would further discourage
mining in the State.
royalty is on gross production and again let
us illustrate by taking the of the Alaska-Juneau
mine 1t was large lowgrade mine and 1t was
necessary to operate very extensive scale, mining
very low grade of the The mining in the pre-war
DAYS was on scale which required gross production,
we believe of between five and six million dollars
wear The profit in years when there was profit,
was very SLIM and even if royalty OF 10 on the
gross production had in effect that is to say
if such mine were operated on lands acquired from
the State the royalty alone could well mean the dit
ference between profit and loss.
1t is difficult to how such provisions were
inserted in statehood bill by the committee ana
we repeat what we said before, that II statehood is
to be granted to Alaska certainly OF sufficient
Importance to permit the people of the Territory to
some opinion as to the public lands provisions
of the bill.
We think the bill as amended by the Senate Com
mittee should be generally distributed throughout the
Territory in order that the people may read and
consider and comment upon Section before 1t is
enacted 1t will be too late afterward.
mes from North Meanwhile here is the inside