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Show Demands That Taft Cancel Can-cel Cunninhmi Alas-ka Alas-ka Coal Cilaims Washington, Jan. J 1. President Taft was appealed to oday by former form-er Forester Glfrord PLnehot and his brother, Amos Pinchot. to cancel im-the im-the so-called Cunningham Alaskan coal claims. In a voluminous brief filed with the president, in .accordance with permission per-mission given In a letter written to them by Secretary Norton' on November Novem-ber 29," Mr. Pinchot and. his bi other contend that the record In the case "abundantly proes tjiat the claims aro Illegal and that fjrom the beginning begin-ning the claimants hae cont-pired to defraud the government." The brief says that resort to alqourt for a (rehearing (re-hearing of the case iFjIiecessary to:se- ( cure justice and proBct the peoplejs I property. I The brief contlnuBh' "The ' caso j against tho clalraanMis already conclusive. con-clusive. Wo belloveBho dutv of "the executive in regard Wh the claims is ' obvious and ImmedMe The claijs should bo cancelled By the Ffreside'iit forthwith." I "No transfer oi Bo Cunningham r'es.to .sw zv)"M&(zlsoji upon tho present record fuid rpliec the executive departmer of responsibil it for failure to have ho case against the claimants fully resented by attorneys at-torneys of experienceand ability and for omitting to profee all the evidence evi-dence of fraud avjable." declares tho brief after charrfg that "In spite of the clearness of Q existing proof we boliove it to bour public duty to point out that ,e whole of the case againU-' - falmants has not been presented." Denounces Gggcnr.ims, "The evidence ii this j;ase ?oes much furthor than to establish tho fraud of attempting by subtorfuge to acquire from the government more coal land than th law Allows. It shows that from ho beginning the claimants acted wib the definite and sustained intention of defeating tho purpose and essentkl spirit 0f tho law the spirit and prposo io prevent monopoly, and secne coniLetitive development de-velopment of tho ntion's resources." Regarding tho efect of iionooly in Alaska the brief siys: I "It is evident that an enefflmous saving sav-ing can be made to the peojfc of Alaska, Alas-ka, to the whole northwest ! to tho United States naj if onlyBese coal mines are opened, "nnder erHfations of competition." It clarges t "the in- dustrles of Alaska iave betjfor years largely in the hatds of :lBreat an(l oppressive monopoly, tbeJkjjenheim synMcatc, v hich iasjept out othej-crnual, othej-crnual, throttled competition and held Tle brit i recltcjthat the case for thr govt rumen t unsupported by five main lines of evidflice, as follows: ' First The hlsflry of tho operations opera-tions of the Cunniljhani entrymeu in Alaska, as derivJ from their own records and stablients. shows that ' f i om the bcginnltj to the end, they were all membertlif a single nssocin- j tion engaged in alulring a joint property prop-erty and that til claimants never owned these clains separately. Points Ott Evidence. "Second The q0z of accounts of J the Cunningham group and the reports rande $T ,ts agews aie all evidently based on the assiniption that all tho claims fare one property, owned by one tssociation. ( "Thinl From frst to last, the sub-scrlberstook sub-scrlberstook no interest whatever in the situation or lvalue of particular claims lettered their respective names. ' "Fourlh Withh the short timo j)inctic?hle after final certificates , were issued, th Cunningham associates asso-ciates Took stenf to turn over their claims t n corporation on a basis of equal pbareb "Fiftllore .than one-half tho claimaiUS have tdmltted In affidavits that tltey had Hways acted with a mutual jijudorbtauilifg that they would combinqS-boir cliims after titles were secureuTnnd on so confessed at the hearings?'- DlsciiBBlDg th charge that important import-ant evidence ngainst the claimants was suppressed by land office agents, the brief; says- "JohnfAV. Dudley, icgistrar of the land- office at Jimeau. Alaska, one of these agents, vent so far as to advise ad-vise Cunnlnghasi specifically how one of the -'claimanis. who had told tho truth lif'bls affidavit, should change his statement $& as to strike out evidence evi-dence of fraud and avoid investigation investiga-tion which would at least lnolve,an Interminable delay.' |