TANANA LEADER
Published Every Thursday at Tanana, Alaska.
ftl. t SAM J. CALLAHAN. EDITOR Ho. 3
too. M. Arbaeklo. Uootgor
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MR. BALLINGER AND THE COAL LANDS
Throughout the Alaska coal-lands controversy which
it seems probable will force the resignation of Secretary
Ballinger one thing stands out in distinct and undisguised
prominence: neither party to the controversy is prompted
by a sense of justice to the people of the territory in which
the lands lie. So far as the average Alaskan is concerned
it matters but little whether the coal is reserved for future
exploitation by interests outside of and out of sympathy
with the territory or at once turned over to the Guggen
heims to be done with as they see fit. The remarks of
Representative Hitchcock, of Nebraska, in the house Dec.
16, following the introduction of a resolution authorizing
a congressional investigation of the general land office, fur
nish a very fair insight into the situation as viewed from
axi Outside standpoint. Representative Hitchcock said,
in part:
I am asking (or this investigation of
the general land office because it is a
notorious fact that for a number of:
years gross frauds have been perpetra
ted and millions of acres of valuable
public land have been acquired by pri
vate individuals and corporations in
violation of law. I say this fact is no
torious. It has been published repeat
edly in the newspapers. It has been
referred to and admitted in every re
port of the secretary of the interior,
even including the last report of the
present secretary just issued.
Only last year this congress appro
priated a million dollars to protect the
public lands against these frauds, and
if rumor is true—and rumor is some
times true—a considerable part of that
appropriation so made . . . has been
misspent and has been used for the pur
chase of expensive furniture, amount
ing to tens of thousands of dollars, and
the addition of more than 80 clerks on
the payrolls in the land office, and also
to double the salaries of employees who
are competent and willing to stand in
with the ring which now dominates
and controls the land office. It thus
happens that at least one or more of
the subordinates is now actually receiv
ing out of the fund to protect the pub
lic domain more salary than is paid
under the law to his superior officer.
These, however, . . . are only rumors.
Now let, us come to specific charges
which have been made and which in
clude incontrovertible facts. Within
the past few months a sensational con
troversy has arisen within the land
office itself. An old and valued em
ployee in that land office, Mr. L. R.
Glavis, at that time holding the impor
tant and responsible position of chief of
the field division, charged with the
investigation of alleged frauds, was
summarily discharged by the President
of the United States, or by the secre
tary of the interior upon the authority
of the President of the United States,
without i hearing.
And what was the complaint brought
Against this man who was charged
with the duty of investigating alleged
frauds? Was he charged wtth conni
ving with the land wolves who are en
deavoring to plunder the public do
main? Was be charged with neglect
of bis duties? On the contrary, the
only charge made against him was that
be showed too much zeal in his efforts
to protect the public interest, and for
that reason he was summarily dismissed
from the service without a hearing.
Since hie dismissal Mr. Glavis has
published in Collier’s Weekly, one of
the responsible great publications in
this country, a specific, temperate and
carefully prepared article in which he
has stated the history of the contro
versy which resulted in his discharge.
Now, I want to say a word just here
about the unfortunate subordinate in
the government department who by
reason of his work becomes aware of
frauds attempted agaiqst the govern
ment. I pity such a man. I pity him
because be' is forced often to choose
bitwafa bedding his position in silence
and speaking the truth and losing his
position.... We have had recent cases in
New York ot subordinate* Who saw the
government boldly irobbed by one' of
,tka greatest trusts of this Country.
■Years ago theet subordinates beoatae
aieMapf the frauds in New York, and
wiieufflkcy went to their superior offl
eefa in to* government of the United
States with the facts which had come
totheir knowledge, their fate was the
ankle as the fats which came to Glavis
they were summarily discharged or
rein led from the poaitions which they
hiU.
The eaee Of Wakemtn is still fresh
fatlfit public miod.. Had Wakeman
Men...listened to, had Wake man’s
charges bean taken up by his superior
oflKers, di; had a congressional inquiry
Mao held, many later frauds .would
never have occurred aDd the plunder
have been stopped in its incipiency. 1
say my heart is filled with pity for the
poor subordinate officer in this govern
ment who becomes aware of frauds and
crimes jferpetrated in his department,
when he knows that to make pubiic'
the fact means the loss of his position;
and I say that it is the duty of con
gress, by some such investigation as I
propose in my resolution here, to pro
tect those subordinates and to notify
them by this action that there is here
a power which will protect them and
force an investigation, if the adminis
tration will not.
I am inclined to think that neither
the secretary of the interior nor the
President of the United States, 'being
in their sane minds, would discharge a
man and give as a reason that he had
shown too much zeal in protecting the
people’s interest, but that was the real
feeling in the department, and t be
lieve I can show it here by two letters
written by Mr. Dennett, who was the
assistant at one time to Commissioner
Ballinger and who later succeeded him
as commissioner of the land office. This
letter is written by Commissioner Den
nett to the chief of the field service of
inspectors, and he is referring to a
man named Sheridan who succeeded
Glavis. Commissioner Deunett writes;
“Sheridan has taken charge of the
Cunmnghame case”—
And f will state that the Cnnning
hame case was the case involving 5,000
acres of lands in Alaska, valuable coal
lands, having 90,000,000 tons of coal
upon them, which the Guggenheim
company was endeavoring to secure
through fraudulent and dummy entries.
To resume the reading of the letter:
“Sheridan has taken charge of the
Cunninghame case, and impresses me
very favorably. I think he can handle
it against any rival they may bring
against him. The rest of the Alaska
cases are in a bad mess. Glavis is very
much enthused on the proposition of
canceling them all and getting the
lands back in cold storage, and this is
just what will happen unless congress
helps out.”
In another letter Commissioner Den
nett says*
“Glavis has these coal cases on the
brain, anil cannot see anything but just
ene line. I have told him how it looks
to us and have reminded him of every
thing we have done for him, and it
looks as if he were returning our fa
vors by not standing by us as he
ought.,”
This letter reveals the real grava
tteh of the complaint against Glavis.
. . . Now. this case of Glavis has been-,
well and simply told by himself . . in
Collier’s Weekly. He wrote a history
of the case, the reading of which car
ries conviction. It shows that whether
the land office was presided over by
Mr. Ballinger, with Mr. Dennett as
assistant, or later by Mr. Dennett as
commissioner, with Mr. Ballinger out
side as an attorney for the claimants,
or later still with Mr. Ballinger re
turned to power as secretary of the
interior, it was manipulated to assist
land thieves In their depredations upon
the valuable coal lands of the United
Btate^ in Alaska. - '. . . , | . . .
- Npw, let us look specifically at some
of the facts stated in the history of the
one, as told by Glavis. In the first
place, it should be understood that as
long ago as 1903 Inspector Love report
ed to-the land office that be thought
meet of the 900 coal-land claims in
Alaska were fraudulent, and that in
cluded the 30 claims embraced in this
Guggenheim syndicate of 5,000 acres.
A few months after that President
Roosevelt withdrew the coal lands of
Alaska from entry. In 1907 Glavis be
came Chief of the field division, and
went to work to' investigate these land
claims that were then being forced so
urgently to approval in the land office
and held in such high favor by the
land commissioner.
One inspector, Love by name, had
reported in favor of this Guggenheim
or Cunnningham group. Another inr:
spector, Jones, questioned their validi
ty and honesty and advised their fur
ther investigation. . . The then Com
missioner Ballinger, now secretary of
the interior,' was urging haste. He
insisted constantly on hurried reports.
In the fall of IDO" Mr. Glavis discovered
at Seattle and reported to the depart
ment that he had found evidence show
ing the fraudulent nature of these
Cunningham claims. . . Glavis report
ed this fact. . . He also reported that
he had discovered that the interest be
hind this Cunningham syndicate . was
ibe Guggenheim company, which has
also absorbed to a large extent the
great copper interests of Alaska. He
made his report to the land office. . He,
then reported to Commissioner Ballin
ger that one of the claimants of the
Cunningham group had refused to an
swer questions, and had given as his
excuse that Mr. Ballinger had udvised
him not to do so until the charges had
been made, so that he would know
what he had to meet.
Think what a spectacle’ this pre
sented—Mr. Ballinger, commissioner of
the general land office and now secre
tary of the interior, advising a claim- .
ant suspected cf fraud to stand mute
and not give his testimony, pot make
(Continued on Page 4.)
Log of U.S. A.T. Thomas!
The following is supposed to
be a part of the log of the trans !
port Thomas, given to the Ma
nila Times by a young lieutenant
and printed in that paper in
April, 1907. The paper is pre
served by a man now attached to
Fort Gibbon garrison, in mefitioiy
of other days:
At wharf, San Francisco, Cal., March
5, 1907.
8:55 a. m.—Completed loading cargo.
9:05 a. m.-th cavalry arrived as
follows: Train of 8 coaches carrying
children; train of 6 coaches carrying
ladies; train of 5 coaches carrying
nursemaids; train of 4 freight carsear
rying'toys: train of 6 coaches carrying
pbiy mates of children; handcar carry
ing soldiers. All embarked in the.,
above order. Soldiers looking rather
out of place, each wearing an apolo
getic air.
5:00 p. m.—Took pilot aboard and
put to sea; discharged pilot at 5:40
p. m. Course S. 64 W.: weather cloudy.
MARCH 0, 1907.
Discovered shortage of baby food,
called consultation of ship's officers,
and decided not to put back for more,
as it is feasible to dismantle eight
staterooms and stall cows in. them at
Honolulu, using forage destined fq|r
horses in Philippines to feed theur;
some objection on part of unmarried
officers, as it will necessitate some of
them sleeping in lifeboats, but they
subsided on being infurraed they had
no rights, but only a few privileges,
which they were abusing. Weather
fair; course S.-S. W. } W.
MARCH 7, 1907.
Weather clearing. Read log at 10;55
a. m. Distance 177.3. Held muster of
children on foiecastle at 1 p. m. to in
form them that the idea that the ‘'non
commissioned officer” is the backbone
of the army is ridiculous, and that the
hopes and fears of the army were cen
tered in them. Soldiers continue to
look downcast and apologetic air is
more marked.
MARCH 8, 1907.
Weather overcast; sea roughs SteWr
ard reports good saving on food, with
demand for pork light. Gavj£?order£.
that piano should not be played, nor
band play at guard mount, as it dis
turbs the infants. Hung Lieut.
(bachelor) at yard arm at 11 a. m. for
rocking the ship and making the chil
dren sick.
MARCH 9, 1907.
Weather clearing. Course S. 651 W.
Made ineffectual attempts to catch a
seacow for fresh milk for children.
Protracted dispute between two of the
children as to precedence at table, one
asserting his father’s rank and the
other his grandmother’s—decided in
favor of latter. At 10 a. in. cry of
“Toy overboard” called away starboard
lifeboat and after hard struggle with
heavy sea rescued tin rooster; lost
three seamen in rescue, but owner>of '
rooster is much consoled by its recov
ery. Nursemaids reported second offi
■cer-navigator for allowing ship to get
in trough of sea and causing a child to
bruise his shin oh hatchway. Had him
keelhauled and put in brig on bread
and water for six days. Read log at
11 a. m. Distance 183.4. At 11:05a. m.
changed course to S. 44 W. At 11:20
passed 17. S. S. Cockroach and torpedo
destroyer Woodtick outward bound.
Confiscated quoits belonging, to game I
of deck quoitsfor use as teething riugs;
have evolved a plan to give each child '
'a stateroom to himself, by putting six
bachelor lieutenants into a stateroom
instead of three, they sleeping “watch
and watch,”—that is, four hours in bed
and four on deck.
SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 1907.
Hymns as follows: Orison, “To Morn
ing;” children’s voices (3 and under
class) 4 a. m., chant "W-a-a-a-aa-a-h,
Y-a-a-a-a-a-a-h, Take Yer Finger Out
o’ Me Eye;” same, 5:20 a. m. At 6:20
a. m. swung ship for deviation on a
flock of seagulls—error of compass 3
deg. 22 min. E. Wish children would
wear brass instead of steel safety pins.
At 9:17 a. in. towed Lieut. -
(bachelor) from taffrail for one hour
for refusing to permit two babies to
play with his watch.
At 11:01 a. m. threw overboard 68
kegs salt pork to make stowage room
for baby carriages and caissons.
President of Mother's Association de
manded that skip's course be changed,
'as present course causes ship to pitch '
and prevents some of the childien’s
games from being played. Accordingly
a'l 11:52 a. m. changed course to S. 18
W;t which will eventually land us in
the New Hebrides. "Salve Mater”
and damn the expense. Gave direc
tions to fit up smuking room as aft
nursery, and posted orders excluding
all but ladies and children.
At 0502 p. m. passed and spoke U. S
A, T, Sherman, bound in, with light
passenger list, viz.. 42 ladies, 102 chil
dren, 51 nursemaids, 71 clerks insular,
government service, 51 nursemaids, 1
private of the hospital corps.
Submitted recommendation to the
quartermaster general to change title
“Army” transport service, which des
ignation is an absurdity so profound as
to startle the brain of an idiot.
Secretary's Estimates
for Appropriations.
The late report of Secretary of the Treasury MacVeagiyin
eluded estimates for Alaska appropriations as follows:
To carry out the work of the boundary survey. $200.
For the care of the insane.'.i. ... 50,
For the education of natives. . . 200,
For protection of game. ... 10,
For the maintenance of reindeer herds;..\12,
For the support of native^] .. 19,
fclagrapbdines.
:-hael.
For the military cable anc
For the ship canal at St.
For a new lighthouse .tender and additional lights along
the Alaskan coast...... ....... .
For the expenses and salaries of the governor and judi
cial offices. ... ...
75,
100,
125,000
90,000
HUNTING TROUBLE
If a mah goes out on? the trail of Woe (there’s always a
trail behind it), he won|(. have a very long way to go,he’s
thundering sure to find The; man is foolish frho rofjrhs jbe
land for trouble until he’s-found it; if he had a bushel of nice
white sand, he wouldn’t have sense to pound it. If people., on
earth would not give chase to Trouble, when she is flitting, me
thinks that Trouble would hide her face and tend to her pri
vate knitting. Our time is short, and our way is brief, and the
road is rough and rutty; and if we tag at the heels of prief,.it
shows that we’re going nutty. It was. long ago that I up and
swore that I would be gay and cheerful; “I won’t be seen with
a head that’s sore, or an eye that’s red and tearful; I’ll smiling
rise from my downy couch, and smile till the evening closes,
and I’ll never carry a sigh of grouch, till I turn up my toeses.”
I’ve tried to live by that, motto grand, as close as a man may
do it, and Trouble for m^ is dead and canned, though t’other
most chaps* pursue it.—Walt MaSon.
iiiniii
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in A. B. Hall, corner Second at.
and Campbell ave. at 8:30 o'clock.
Visiting Arctics cordially invited to at
tend the meetings of the Camp.
Phil Gallaher, Arctic Chief.
J. Russell Walle, Arctic Rec.
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