2918 CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SEN ATE~ FEBRU.ABY 5,

Also, memorial of the Washington State Federation of Labor, favoring the passage of the Raker Asiatic-exclusion bill; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.

By Mr. KAHN: :Memorial of the Associated Chambers of Com­merce of .the Pacific Coast, favoring appropriation of $250,000 for participation by Alaska in the Panama-Pacific Exposition; to the Committee on Appropriations.

By Mr. KALANIANAOLW: Memorial of the 1\faui Chamber of Commerce, fayoring construction of a breakwater at Kahului, Terri tory of Hawaii ; to the Committee on the Territories.

By Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island: Memorial of Nathan Hale Branch of the American Continental League, of River­point, R. I., protesting against the "One hundred years of peace celebration"; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

By Mr. KIESS of Pennsylvania : Petitions of citizens of Williamsport, Pa., favoring the passage of House bill 6060 re­stricting immigration; to the Committee on Immigration r.ud Naturalization.

Also, memorial of the Covington Seventh Day Adyentist Church, of Covington, Pa., favoring Federal prohibition; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. LAFFERTY: Petition of citizens of Oregon, against House joint resolution 168; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of Longshoremen's Union, No. 38-6, and Local Union No. 90, Independent . Brotherhood of Bakers, favoring seamen's bill; to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

By Mr. LINDQUIST: Paper to accompany bill for relief of Albert Smith; to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Also, petition of citizens of Howard City, Middletown. and Perrinton, Mich., favoring the passage of the Lindquist pure fabric and leather bill; to the Committee on Interstate and For­eign Commerce.

By Mr. LONERGA.l~: Petition of the Polish Talcon's Society, of Collinsville, Conn., protesting against the passage of bilJs restricting immigration; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.

Also, petition of the Wallingford Branch of the Continental League, of Wallingford, Omn., protesting against the "One hun­dred years of peace celebration"; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

By Mr. MAHA.l~: Petition of .American Continental League, of Wallingford, Conn., against the" One hundred years of peace celebralion "; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Also, petition of Norwich (Conn.) Lodge, No. 62, against House bill G060; to the Committee on Immigration and Natu­ralization.

By Mr. MANN: Petition of citizens of Chicago, Ill., protesting against House joint resolution 168; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. MARTIN: Petitions of citizens of Pei!.Ilville, S. Dak., protesting against . the passage of the Sabbath-observance bill (H. R. 9674); to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

By Mr. MERRITT: Petitions of members of the Canton, Pottsdam, and Gouverneur Auxiliaries of St. Lawrence Pres­byterian Society of Home and Foreign Missions, favoring the anti polygamy amendment; to the Commi-ttee on the Judiciary.

By 1\Ir. MOORE: Memorial of the John Quincy Adams Branch of the American Continental League, of Philadelphia, Pa., pro­testing against the "One hundred years of peace celebration"; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Also, petition of George B. Henderson and others, of Philadel­phia, Pa., protesting against the passage of the Columbus Day bill ; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. MOTT: Memorial of the District Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, protesting against suffrage for women; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of citizens of Watertown, N. Y., protesting against passage of a bill excluding The Menace from the mails; to the Committee on Rules.

Also, petition of citizens of thirty-second <listrict of New York, favoring House bill 5308; to the Committea on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of the Carthage and Adams Auxiliaries of the St. Lawrence Presbyterian Society of Home and Foreign 1\Iis: sions, favoring anti polygamy amendment to the Constitution; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. O'SH.A.UNESSY: Petitions of the Rhode Island Work­ingmen's Beneficial Association; Circolo Francesco Crispi, of Providence, R. I.; and Italians of Providence, R. 1., protesting against House bill G060; to the Committee on Immi~ration· and Naturalization.

Also, petition of the Nathan Hale Branch, American Conti­nental League, of Riverpoint, R. I., against " One hundred

years of peace celebration"; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

By Mr. RAKER: Resolutions by the California State Federa­tion of Labor, indorsing the Alaska mining bill, known as the Bryan-Poindexter bill; to the Committee on Mines and Mining.

Also, resolution urging Representatives in Congress to work for the immediate passage of the seaman's bill (S. 136) with­out any of the numerous amendments suggested by big busi­ness; to the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fi heries.

Also, letter from the Concordia Turnverein, protesting against the passage of House joint resolution 16 and Senate joint resolutions 88 and 50; to the Committee on the Judiciary:

Also, resolution by the Junior Order United American Me­chanics, pledging the entire support of the association to the Burnett bill (H. R. 6060) ; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. ~so, petition from the. residents of Woodland, protesting

agamst the passage of a bill (H. R. 9674) preventing labor on buildings, and so forth, in the District of Columbia on the Sab­bath day; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

By Mr. REILLY of Connecticut: Petition of Branch No. 232, Workmen's Circle, of New Haven, Conn., and New Haven (Conn.) Lodge, No. 21, Order B'rith Abraham, against House bill 6060; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.

Also, petition of September Lodge 37, Order Sons of It..'lly, protesting against the passage of bills restricting immigration; to the Committee,on Immigration and Naturalization.

By 1\Ir. SUTHERLAND : Papers to accompany House bill 9518; to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. TREADWAY: Petition of the Tadensz Koscurszko Klub; Polish Athletic Association, Lodge 157, Z. S. P. A.; and Dzienica 124, Komitet Obronz Narodorve, Polish Committee. all of Holyoke, Mass., against House bill 6060; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. .

By Mr. WALTERS: Petitions of citizens and organizations of Pennsylvania, against any prohibition amendment; to the Com­mittee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of organizations and citizens of Pennsylvania, favoring Honse bill 6060; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.

By Mr. WILLIS: Petition of F. A. Zebold and 1~ others, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, fa,oring the two-battleship program; to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

By 1\Ir. WINGO: Petitions of citizens of Van Buren and Fort Smith, . Ark., protesting against the passage of the Sabbath­observance bill (H. R. 9674) ; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

SENATE.

T:mmsDAY, Febr'llary 5, 1914, Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. Forrest J. Prettyman, D. D. The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and apvroved.

READING OF WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS.

The VICE PRESIDENT. There is a standing order of the Senate that, in observance of Washington's Birthday, Washing­ton's Farewell .Address shall be read in the Senate of the United States, and that the Presiding Officer shall name a Senator to read the address. The Chair designates the Senator from Vir­ginia [Mr. SWANSON] to read the address this year.

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.

The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a communica­tion from the Public Utilities Commission of the District of Columbia, stating, pursuant to law, that the balance sheets for the year ended December 31, 1913, and other information re­quired by the public utilities commission of the various utili­ties under its jurisdiction which have been received this date have been submitted to the Speaker of the House of Repre­sentatives, which was referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by J. C. South, its Chief Clerk, announced that the House had passed n bill (H. R. 6060) to regulate the immigration of aliens to and tile residence of aliens in the United States, in which it requested the concurrence of the Senate.

ENROLLED BILL SIGNED.

The message also announced that the Speaker of the Honse had signed the enrolled bill ( S. 4094) authorizing the construc­tion of a bridge and approaches thereto across the Colnrul1ia River at or near Vancouver, Wash., and it was thereupon signed by the Vice President.

1914.: CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-. SENATE~ . 2919 PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

Ur. SHEPPARD. I have received a petition signed by sun­dry citizens of Takoma Park, D. C., praying for the passage of Senate joint resolution 88, proposing an amendment to the Con­stitution to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and importation of intoxicating beverages. I move that the petition be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

The motion was agreed to. .Mr. STERLING presented a memorial of sundry citizens of

Mitchell, S. Dak., remonstrating against the enactment of legis­lation making Columbus Day-October 14-a leglli holiday, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

He also presented a petition of sundry citizens of 1\Iitchell, S. Dak., praying for the enactment of legislation to further re­strict immigration, which was referred to th2 Committee on Immigration.

Ur. WORKS presented a memorial of sundry citizens of Los Angeles, Cal., remonstrating against the enactment of legisla­tion compelling the observance of Sunday as a day of rest in the Dlstrict of Columbia, which was refeYred to the Committee on the Distriet of Columbia.

Mr. LODGip presented a memorial of the Young Men's Lodge, Independent Order of B'rith Abral:.am, of Boston, Mass., re­monstrating against the enactment of legislation to provide an educational test for immigrants to this country, which was referred to the Committee on Immigration.

He also presented a memorial of the Lawrence Branch of the German-American Alliance . of Massachusetts, remonstrating against the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution to prohibit the manufacture, saie, and importation of intoxicating beverages, which was referred to the Committee on. the Judiciary.

Mr. McLEAN presented memorials of thB Independent Minsk~r :A.ssociation, of New Haven, Conn.; of New Haven Lodge, No. 21, Independent Order of B'rith Abraham, o:f New Haven, Conn., and of the Komitet Obrony Narodowe, of Wallingford, Conn., remonstrating against th-e enactment of legislation to provide an educational test for immigrants to this country, which were referred to the Committee on Immigration.

l\1r. ROOT presented a petition of the Young People's Society of Ch~istian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N.Y., praying for the enactment of legislation to prevent Sunday banking, and also unneeessary- work in post offices on Sunday, which was referi'ed to the Committee on Post Offices. and Post Roads.

He also presented a petition of the Young People's Society· of Christian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N. Y., praying for the enaetmBnt of legislation to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquor in buildings and ships owned or used by the Government, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. . He also presented a petition of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N. Y., praying for the enactment of legislation to prevent United States district attorneys from engaging in priYa.te l:aw practice, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

He also presented a petition of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N. Y., praying for the ratification of the pr_opo.sed arbitration treaues with Great Britain and France, which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

He also presented a petition of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeayor of the First Baptist Church ot Alabama, N. Y., praying for the enactment of legislation to prohibit the sale of liquor in the Hawaiian Tslands, which was referred to the Committee on Pacific Islands and Porto Rico.

He also presented a. petition of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N. Y., praying for the enactment of legislation to prohibit traffic in opium in all territory under th~ jurisdiction of the United States, which was referred to the Committee on Finance.

He also presented a petition of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N. Y., praying for the enactment of legislation to prohibit the interstate transmission. of race-gambling odds and bets which was referred to the Committee on Interstate Commerce.'

He also presented a petition of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N. Y., praying for the adoption of an amendment to the Con­stitution to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and imi>Qrtation of intoxicating beverages. which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

He also presented a petition of the Young People's Societv at Christian Endeavor of the First Baptist Church of Alabama, N. Y., praying for the enactment of legislation to compel the ob­servance of Sunday as a day of rest in the District of Columbia,_

which was referred to the Committee on the· District of Columbia.

Mr. OLIVER presented petitions of sundry citizens of Mount Carmel, Mount Pleasant, and Stauffer, all in the State of Penn­sylvania, praying for the enactment of legislation to further re­strict · immigration, which were referred to the Oommittee on Immigration.

He also presented a· memorial of Eittsburgh Lodge, No. 359, Independent Order of B'rith Abraham, of Pittsburgh Pa. and a memorial oi McKinley Lodge, No. 283, Independent Onler- of B'rith Abraham, of Pottstown, Pa., remonstrating a:(Yainst the enactment of legislation to provide an educatiorral te~ for im­migrants to this country, which were referred to the Oemmittee on Immigration.

He also presented memorials of the Ninety-eight Club of Philadelphia; of John Quincy Adams Branch, American Con­tinental League, of Philadelphia; of Gen. Robert Howe Branch, American Continental League, of Philadelphia; of the Charles Stewart Parnell Club, of Philadelphia; of Kosciusko Branch American Continental League, of Pln!adelphia ; and of Pulaski Branch, American Continental League, of Philadelphia, all in th~ ~tate ?f Pennsylvania, remonstrating against an appro­priation. bemg made for the oelebration of the so-calied " One hundred years of peace among English~speaking peopl-es," which were- referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

He also presented memorials of the Cambria. City 1\Iaenner­dor, of Johnstown; of Local Union No. 163, United Brewery, WoTkers of America,. of Wilkes-Bane; of the German Bendicial Union, of Jeannette; and of sundl·y citizens of Columbia; of the thirty-first congressional district; and of Pittsburgh, north side, aU in the State of Pennsylvania, remonstrating against the adoption of an amendment to the ConstitutiGn to prohibit tfie manufacture, sale, allil importation of intoxicating bever­ages, which were referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

He also presented a petition of sundry citizens of North Ea.st; Pa.) praying for the adoption of an amendment to the Consti­tuti'on to prohibit polygamy, which was referred to the Commit-tee on the Judiciary. .

He also presented a petition of sundry citizens of Pittsburgh., Pa., praying for t~e enactment of legislation permitting mem­bers of the United Boys' B1·igade of America to wear uniforms similar to those~ the United States Army, which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. MoCmfBER. I present a telegram in the nature of a memorial signed by W. H. Mann, president of the German­American Alliance of New Salem, N. Dak. It is short, and I ask that it may be printed in the RECORD and referred to the Committee on Immigration.

There being no objection, the telegram wns referred to the Committee on Immigration and ordered to be printed in the REcoBD, as follows :

[Telegram.] NEW SALEM, N. D.AK., February 4~ 1E1_1.

Hon. P. ;r. McCumnm, Wa3hington,, D. 0.

Tlie German-American Alliance of North Dakota protest agninst the present imtnlgratlon bill as detrimental a~st the interests and development of 01!1' large resources and wisn that yon see it in the same light liB' we do and vote and work against tt.

GFJRi\IAN-A~IERICAN ALLIANCE, W. H. MANN, Pt·esident.

. Mr. BRANDEGEE presented a memorial of the Independent Minsker Association of New Haven, Conn" and a memorial o:f Dzieinica No. 105, Kom1tet Obrony Narodowe, of Wallingford, Conn., and of the German-American Alliance ot Hartford, Conn., remonstrating against the enactment of legislation providing for an educational test for immigrants to this country, which were referred to the Committee on Immigration.

He also presented a petition of members of Company r;, Second Regiment Division of Connecticut, of Danbury, Conn.., praying for the adoption of an amendment to Senate bill 3777 providing for the wearing of uniforms by members of that com~ pany similar to those of the United States Army~ which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. GRONNA presented a petition of sundry citizens of Rugby, Calvin, Rolla, Bisbee, Starkweathe-r, and Devils Lake, an in the State of North Dakota, praying for the- adoption of an amendment to the Constitution to proln'bit polygamy, which wa:s referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

PARCEL POST ON STAR ROUTES.

Mr. BRADY. 1\fr. President, the parcel post has caused injury, to be done to some of the carriers on rural routes in my State. I hav-e a very short article here from the Pocatello Tribune, to­gether with a letter from one of the contractors, 1\-Ir. Hansen.. I will ask that they be read into the REcoRD.

2920. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE~ FEBRUARY 5,

Mr. SMOOT. Does the Senator from Idaho wish to ·have them referred to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads?

1\fr. BRADY. That reference may be made after they have been read.

Mr. SMOOT. They are in the shape of a petition? Mr. BRADY. The communications are in the form of a peti­

tion. Mr. SMOOT. I was wondering, that being the case, whether

they might not be referred without encumbering the RECORD with them. Does the Senator wish to have them printed in th(:: RECORD?

Mr. BRADY. I should like to have them read into the RECORD at this time, and then referred to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there objection to the reading of the communications? The Chair hears none, and the Sec1:etary will read as requested.

The Secretary read as follows : MACKAY & CENTRAL IDAHO STAGE Co. (LTD.),

Hon. JA!\IES H. B'nADY, Maokav, Idaho, Jan.uarv 31, 1914.

Senate Chamber, Washington, D. 0. DEAR SENATOR : I have seen by the paper that you were interested in

the sta.r-route mail service, and as I am one of them and have been in the business for the past 15 years and I am trying to get a new con­ttact, if possible, without too much risk, but under the present condi­tions of the parcel-post business a person does not know what to do, as you will see from the clipping inclosed, which will give you some idea of the rate conditions here.

For example, let us take the rate from Mackay to Bonanza, a distance of 118 miles, at the rate by parcel post of $1.08 per hundred; by slow freight during summer months the rate is $1.25 per hundred, making a difference· of 17 cents per hundred. During the winter months the rate by slow freight is $2 per hundred, so you will readily see that if busi­ness improves, which it no doubt will, the mail contractor will be unable to handle the same, except by so doing at an enormous loss. The man who handles slow freight is at a very trifling expense com­pared to a mail contractor, as the mail must go through regardless of expense and the slow freighter can take his time; the slow freighter employs no help.

I do not think the department is aware of the conditions as they exist In a mountainous country, as we have waterspouts to contend with In the summer months and snowslides and blizzards in the wintertime, to say nothing of excessive cold. .

Allow me to . call your attention to the contractors on the routes be­tween Boise and Idaho City, and Mountain Horwe and Rocky Bar. When tlje contractor of the Boise-Idaho City took the contract his bid was for $7.68 per trip; parcel post so increased the mail and diminished the express that he was forced to give up his contract, and his bonds­men, who are now operating the line, are doing so at the cost of $46 per day. The same :facts are true in the case of the Mountain Home contractor.

Thanking you for this and past favors, I remain, Yours, very truly,

C. V. HANSEN.

HANDED HIM ORE FOR PARCEL POST.

After throwing up his hands in despair and calling for aid, when three carloads of ore, in 50-pound packages, shipped by parcel post, were handed him to deliver recently, the contractor who handles the mail between Stites and Elk City, Idaho, is expected to succumb when he begins to receive from Spokane a 50,000-pound parcel-post shipment of groceries over the same route. Stites is on the railroad and Elk City is not, and the parcel-post shipments are carried · 60 miles by a Government mail carrier between the two points. He has been m;ing light wagons but may have to engage a battery of automobile ft•eighters if business picks up. The grocery shipment comprises one thousand 50-pound packages, and goes at the rate of 54 cents for 50 pounds. To top it off, it is understood the Elk City retailer expects to have dry goods and hardware supplies shipped in by parcel post from Spokane.

'rhe VICE PRESIDENT. The communications will be re­ferred to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. Mr. MYEJRS, from the Committee on Public Lands, to which

was referred the bill (S. 2316) authorizing leave of absence to homestead settlers upon unsurveyed lands, reported it without amendment and submitted a report (No. 223) thereon.

He also, from the same committee, to which was referred the bill ( S. 656) granting to the trustees of the diocese of Mon­tana of the Protestant Episcopal Church, for the benefit of "Christ Church On-the-Hill," at Poplar, Mont., lots 5, 6, and 7, in block 30, town site of Poplar, State of Montana, reported it with an amendment and submitted a report (No. 224) thereon.

Mr. BRADLEY, from the Committee on Claims, to which was referred the bill ( S. 2786) for the relief of the New England Steamship Co., owner of the American steamer Commonwealth, reported it with amendments and submitted a report (No. 226) thereon.

PREVENTION OF HOG CHOLERA.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. From the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry I report back fa>orably, with an amendment, the bill (S. 3439) appropriating funds for the purpose of providing and administering remedies for hog cholera, and I submit a

report (No. 222) thereon. I ask unanimous consent for the im­mediate consideration of the bill.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there objection to the present consideration of the bill?

There being no objection, the bill was considered as in Com­mittee of the Whole.

The amendment of the Committee on Agriculture and For­estry was, in line 8, after the word "of," to strike out "pro­viding and administering remedies for hog cholera" and insert "the investigation, treatment, and eradication of hog cholera: Pt·ovided, howe'l/er, That not less than $50,000 of said sum shall be available for expenditure in carrying on examinations and inspections authorized by the act approved March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. L., pp. 832, 833), regulating the preparation, sale, barter, exchange, shipment, and importation of viruses, serums, toxins, and analogous products for use in the treatment of domestic animals, and for the euforcement of the provisions, including

. detection of violations, of said act and the regulations made thereunder," so as to make the bill read :

Be it enacted, etc., That there is llereby appro.printed, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropnated, the sum of $500,000, or so much thereof as in the opinion of the Secretary of Agriculture may be necessary, to be exi,>ended, by and under his direc­tion, for the purpose of the investi~a.tion, treatment, and eradication of hog cholera : Prov ided, however~ 'l'hat not less than $50,000 of said sum shall be available for expenditure in carrying on examinations and inspections authorized by the act approved March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. L., pp. 832, 833), regulating tl.Je preparation, sale, barter, exchange, ship­ment, and importation of viruses, serums, toxins, and analogous prod­ucts for use in the treatment of domestic animals, :md for tbe enforce­ment of the provisions, including detection of violations, of said net and the regulations made thereunder. ·

Mr. BURTON. Mr. Pre·sident, I hope this bill appropriating $500,000 for the prevention of hog cholera will be passed with­out delay. Promptness is required in acting on it. If we wait until the Agricultural appropriation bill is presented and passed, the opportunity to stay the ravages of the disease may be lost.

In this connection ·I should like to address the Senate briefly on the preventable waste in this country. Very few realize the aggregate loss to the people of the United States from this cause. It is characteristic of our country that everything is on an enormous scale, and in nothing is that enormous sc..'11e quite so notable as in losses which for the most part might be prevented by the exercise of care and improved methods. These losses bear with unusual weight · upon agriculture.

In the report of the National Conservation Commission, sub­mitted in January, 1909, which contains the most complete sta­tistics upon this subject, it is stated that the direc.t and indirect losses from fire in the United States during the year 1907 ap­proximated $450 000,000, nearly one-half the cost of new con­struction. A comparison of the standard of construction an<l fire losses in the larger European countries shows that of this loss four-fifths, or an average of $1,000,000 per day, could ha -,e been prevented.

The loss from floods in the same year was estimated at $238,000,000. In the year 1913 the flood loss was vastly greater, while the losses from fire, it is gratifying to note, were dimin­ished nearly one-half.

In treating of agriculture the report of the commission, on page 81, states that-

Aside from careless or ignorant farming and such hostile climatic conditions as storms and droughts, the most serious enemies to crops are noxious insects and mammals.

The chief insect enemies of the grains are the corn-root worm, the bollworm, the chinch bug, the Hessian fly, plant lice, grasshoppers, cut­worms, and army worms. The worst enemy of cotton is the boll weevil. Fruits are injured chiefly by the codling moth and the San Jose scale. The Bureau of Entomology estimates that the annual damage by noxious insects to growing crops, fruit trees, and grain iu storage is no less than $G59,000,000. This total includes the cost of preventive measures which greatly reduce the aggregate loss.

The average yearly loss to animal products from flies, t fcks, and other insects is estimated at $267,000,000. This does not include the enor­mous loss of human life and the cost of disease due to house flies, mos­quitoes, fleas, and other germ-carrying insects-a loss much greater than that suffered by the live stock and their products.

The Biological Survey estimates that the damage to live stock and crops · by wolvesi rats, mice, and other mammals averages over $100,000,000 year y.

The average annual loss to stock by disease during the pre­ceding five years was: Among horses, 1.8 per cent; among cattle, 2 per cent; among sheep, 2.2 per cent; and among swine, 5.1 per cent.

The total annual losses to the agriculture of the country, in­cluding live stock, animal products, and grain in storage, from insects, mammals, and disease was estimated at $1,142,000,000, or one-sixth of the total production. Texas fever among cattle caused a loss of $40,000,000. The estimated loss from hog cholera was $54,000,000 in a single year. Unfortunately th~ lo~s from hog cholera has greatly increased, and the estimate gi>en was unquestionably much too _small.

1914 . CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 2921

. 'While the conservation of. human life and health should al­ways be the first consilleration. these· increasing injuries to the farming industry of the country demand immediate and thorough attention, and among them all the eradication of hog cholera is the most pressing.

It is hardly necessary to say that the prosperity of the farmer and the maintenance and increase of farming products are objects of universal interest. This is not a mere State or a local but a national problem.

The food products of one State are the food supplies of an­other. Grain and live stock are objects of interstate commerce and a proper subject for national appropriation. Whatever may be the theory as to the connection between the State gov­ernments :mel the National Government, appropriations have been made on a \ery large scale for the extermination of the boll wee1'il, the gypsy moth, and for a number of animal and plant diseases.

With the consent of the Senate, I will include a brief state­ment of some of these derived from the last agricultural appro­priation bill:

BGP..EAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY.

For inspection and quarantine work, including all necessary expenses !or the eradication of scabies in sheep and cattle, the inspection of southem cattle, the supervision of the transportation o! live stock and the inspection of vessels, the execution of the 28-hour law, the inspec­tion and quarantine of imported animals, including the establishment and maintenance of quarantine stations and the alteration of buildings tJ;lereon, the inspection work relative to the existence of contagious d1seases and the tuberculin and mallein testin~ of animals, $654,000 : Pt·ovidetl, That of this sum not less than $75,0u0 shall be set aside for ~~~~~:.trating the best method of preventing and eradicating hog

For all necessary expenses for the eradication of southern cattle ticks, $325,000.

BUREAU OF PLANT I~DUSTRY.

For the investigation and improvement of cereals and methods of cereal production. and the study of cereal diseases, and tor the investi­gation of the cultivation and breeding of flax for seed purposes, includ­ing a study of flax diseases, $104,925: Pt·ovided, That not less than $30,000 shall be set aside for the study of corn improvement and meth­ods of corn production.

BuREAU OF E)ITOMOLOGY.

For investigations of insects affecting deciduous fruits, orchards, vineyards, and nuts, $45,000.

For investigations of insects affecting cereal and forage plants, including insects afl'ecting wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, alfalfa, clover, etc., $90,000, of which amount not to exceed :ji10,000 shall be expended for the investigation of the range caterpillar.

For investigations of insects affecting southern field crops, including insects afl'ecting cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar cane, etc., and the Argentine ant, $50,000. • For investigations of insects affecting forests, $44,750.

For investigations of insects affecting truck crops, induding insects affecting the potato, sugar beet, cabbage, onion, tomato, beans, peas, etc., and insects afl'ecting stored products, $35,000.

l i'Or investigations in bee culture, $15,000. . For investigations of insects affecting tropical and subtropical fruits,

including insects affecting the orange, lemon, grapefruit, mango, etc., • 21,500.

Fo1· investigations of the Mediterranean fly in the United States, its Territories and possessions, $35,000.

For investigations of miscellaneous insects, including the study of insects affecting the health of man and domestic animals, household insects, the importation and exchange of useful insects, and experi­ments with insecticides and insecticide machinery, $45,000.

In all, for general expenses, $381,250. Preventing spread of moths: To enable the Secretary of Agriculture

to meet the emergency caused by the continued s~read of the gypsy and brown-tail moths by establishing and maintaming a quarantine against further spread in such manner as be shall deem best, in coop­eration with the authorities of the different States concerned and with the several State experiment stations, including rent outside of the District of Columbia, the employment of labor in the city of Washing­ton and elsewhere, and all other necessary expenses, $300,000.

I do not wish to take further time, but I trust the bill will pass immediately, because it is of the utmost urgency to the agricultural States in which hogs are raised. It is also es­pecially urgent that action be taken during the colder weather of the winter when remedial action will be more effective.

It should not be forgotten that there is a close connection between ·the raising of hogs and that of cattle. The cattle industry and the profits therefrom ure dependent in a con­siderable degree upon the raising of hogs. Thus the prevention of hog cholera will have a very appreciable effect in increasing the quantity of both these varieties of meat.

Mr. BRADY. Mr. President, relative to the bill which is now before us for consideration, we have had this matter before the Committee on Agriculture for some time. Several bills were presented. This last week we called before us Mr. Galloway, the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, and discussed the matter very thoroughly with him. He made a statement to the effect that the department is thoroughly satisfied that hog cholera can be eradicated and the disease in almost every case pre\ented by proper scie~tific treatment, and he stated that

LI--185

action should be taken at a~ early date when the disease is known to be in a community.

Various approp~·iations were asked for, $500,000, $750,000, and I believe $1,000,000, but it was unanimously agreed that $500,000 spent now would be of as much benefit to the farmers of the country as $2,000,000 spent in July.

Therefore it was decided by the committee to ask for this smaller appropriation, so that it could be used immediately, and the Agricultural Department be in a position to commence the work of assisting the farmers throughout the country as early as March. The measure has been ably discussed and no serious objection has been made to its passage.

.A. great many statistics have been presented showing the great loss to the farmers of the country by the ravages of hog cholera; my own State of Idaho suffered an enormous loss in 1913 on account of this disease.

I noticed a map on the wall of the Senate Chamber the other day, when the junior Senator from Iowa [Mr. KENYON] was delivering his address on this subject. He stated there were something over 7,000 hogs lost in 1912 in the State of Idaho, valued, I believe, at something over $100,000. That was quite true for the year 1912, but the hog cholera broke out in my State in 1913, and the disease caused a loss of hogs in that State amounting to over $1,500,000. I believe that the Agricultural Department and the State, working in cooperation against the disease, can do a great deal to prevent further loss not only in my State but in the Nation. For that reason the committee decided to ask for this small appropriation at this time, with the hope that the Senate would give the bill immediate and favorable consideration. The Agricultural Department is doing splendid work along these lines, and with this appropriation made will be able to do an immense amount of good before the gener!l.l appropriation is available in July. For these reasons I hope there will be no objection to the immediate consideration and passage of the bill.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the amendment I'eported from the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry,

The amendment was agreed to. The bill was reported to the Senate as amended, and the

amendment was concurred in. 1\.fr. SMITH of Georgia. Is there a report accompanying the

bill? The VICE PRESIDENT. There is a report. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Very well. . The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read

the third time, and passed. The title was amended so as to read:· ".A. bill appropriating

funds for the purpose of the investigation, treatment, and eradication of hog cholera."

FISH-CULTURAL STATION IN FLORIDA •

Mr. FLETCHER. From the Committee on Fisheries, I report back favorably without amendment the bill (S. 1899) to estab­lish a fish-cultural station in the State of Florida, and I sub­mit a report (No. 221) thereon. I ask unanimous consent for the present consideration of the bill.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there objection to the present consideration of the bill?

There being no objection, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill. It approprjates the sum of $50,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the establishment of a fish-cultural station in the State of Florida, including purchase of site, construction of buildings and ponds, and equipment, at some suitable point to be selected by the Secretary of Commerce; and provides that before any final steps shall have been taken for the construction of a fish-cultural sta­tion in accordance with this act, the State of Florida, through appropriate legislative action, shall accord to the United States Commissioner of Fisheries and his duly authorized agents the right to conduct fish-cultural work and all operations connected therewith in any manner and at any time that may by them be considered necessary and proper, any fishery laws of the State to the contrary notwithstanding; and provides further, that the operations of said fish-cultural station may be' suspended by the Secretary of Commerce whene\er, in his judgment, the laws and regulations affecting the fishes cultivated are allowed to ~main so inadequate as to impair the efficiency of said fish­cultural station.

:Mr. FLETCHER. I ask that a letter from the Department of Commerce in reference to this rna tter may be read. It is brief.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The. letter will be read.

2922 CONGRESSIONA~ RECORD-SEN .ATE ..

The Secretary read as. follows :

IIon. J. R. THORNTON,

DEPARTMENT OF COM6fERCE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,

Washington, October 2-g, 1918.

United States Senate, Wa8hingfon, D. 0. MY DEAR SENATOR: Referring to your letter of the 20th instant, trans­

mitting a copy of Senate bill 1899, for the establishment of a fish­cultural station in Florida, the depa.I.'tment makes the following state­ment and recommendation :

It would appear to be very appropriate and desirable for this depart­ment to have a fish-cultural station at some suitable point in Florida where both migratory and pond fishes could be handled for the purpose of keeping up the supply ID the waters of Florida and of contiguous States. Among the migratory fishes of gTeat economic importance which may be cultivated to 11.dvantage in Florida are shad and sturgeon, while the local races of black bass, sunfish, crappie, etc., are among the largest and best in the country.

The form of this bill meets with the entire approval of the department, and its passage is strongly recommended. · Very truly, yours,

· E. F. SWEET, Acting Secretary.

:Mr. SMOOT. Mr. President, I should like to ask the Senator from Florida whether there is any amendment suggested by the committee to the bill?

Mr. FLETCHER. There is no amendment reported. The bill is reported precisely as recommended by the department.

.Mr. SMOOT. I will say that the bill is not in the usual form of bills providing for the establishment of fish-cultural sta­tions within the different States, and I was wondering why there should be a difference in a bill for the establishment of such a station in the State of Florida and for those in othe1· States.

I will also state to the Senator from Florida that the amount of the appropriation is twice as much as is generally allowed for the establishment of a fish-cultural station.

Mr. FLETCHER. This appropriation covers the site as well as all other provisions for this fish-cultural station. The form of the bill is the form approved by the department. I do not know in what respect it differs from any similar bill, but I repeat that it is precisely in the form the department desires it shall be.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, if the Senator from Utah will permit me, I will state that the Department of Commerce sent a letter to the committee setting out that the appropriations heretofore provided in bills which have been passed have been entirely inadequate for the construction of such fish hatcheries as should be constructed, and they recommended that the amount of the appropriation should be increased, and the committee have accepted their suggestion.

In reference to the form of the bill, I desire to suggest to the Senator from Utah-! did not notice the reading of the :first part of the bill-that I think it, with the change suggested by the department, is in exactly the form in which similar bills have heretofore passed the Senate. The bill was introduced to meet the suggestions of the department. Therefore no amend­ment was necessary to make it conform with bills heretofore passed.

.1\fr. FLETCHER. I consulted with the department before introducing the bill.

Mr. Sl\fOOT. I did not say that the Senator from Florida had not done so. What I said was that the wording of the bill is so different from that of other bills establishing fish-cultural stations in other States that I wondered what was the reason for it. This bill provides that there shall be an act of the Leg­islature of Florida in relation to the culture of fish or the authorization of the Government of the United States to propa­gate fish within the State. No other bill which we have passed here has had any such requirement as that, and. I repeat, I wondered why it was so framed.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, the Senator from Utah is mis­taken in that. Dm·ing the last two years such a provision has been inserted in every bill which has passed the Senate for the establishment of a fish-cultural station. ·

Mr. SMOOT. I h"'llow that the last bill that became a Jaw for the establishment of a fish-cultural station in the State of Utah <lid not include those words.

l\lr. JONES. That is true as to the last law, but we have had no law for se>eral years. I know, however, that during the lnst two or three years such bills as have passed the Sen­ate have nll contained such a provision.

Mr. FLETCHER. I know it was recommended by the depart­ment. .As to the limitation, I am perfectly willing to accept it in that form, and the State is willing to cooperutt with the department to that extent. I do not think that it requires an act of the legislature, but it requires cooperation by the authori­ties of the State.

1\!r. S11100T. lUr. President, I have no objection to the con­siuera tlon of _the bill being proceeded with.

The bill was reP<>rted -to the Senate without amendment, ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

PRISON REFORM,

Mr. FLETCHER. On January 15 the Senator from Arizona [Mr. AsHURST] presented a memorial prepared by J. J. Sanders, parole clerk of the Arizona State prison, and it was referred to the Committee on Printing for consideration. I submit a report from that committee which I ask may be read.

The report ( S. Rept. 225) was read, as follows : The Committee on Printin ... , to which was referred the memorial to

Congress prepared by Ron . .f. J. Sanders, parole clerk of the Arizona. State prison, as presented by the senior Senator from Arizona [Mr. AsnunsT] on January 15, 1014, repot·t the same back, with the recom­mendation that it be referred to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Ronds without printing. The memorial is an argument ureing the passage by Congress of an act prohibiting the restriction ;'r a prisoner's mail by State prison authonties. It is accompanied by data relating thereto, and the committee is of the opinion that the manu­scl'ipt should be referred to a committee having jurisdiction of the subject matter to determine whether it is proper1y one for considera­tion by the Federal or State Governments. If the mail regulations of State prisons are for the States themselves to determine, the committee is of the opinion that the memorial submitted ought not to be printed as a. Senate document at the expense of the Federal Government.

.Mr. FLETCHER. I ask that the report may be agreed to, and that the memorial be referTed to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The report is agreed to, and the memorial will be referred to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRIDGE, HANNIBAL, MO.

Mr. SIMMONS. From the Committee on Commerce I report back favorably, without amendment, the bill (H. R. 9574) to a\lthorize the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. to con­si:ruct a bridge across the Mississippi River ncar the city of Hannibal, in the State of Missouri. A similar Senate bill has been reported from the committee and is now on the calendar.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chair is informed the REconD discloses that the Senate bill passed last week.

Mr. SIMMONS. If the Senate has passed the bill-I did not know that it had been passed-! ask unanimous consent, tben, for the present consideration of the House bill just reported by me.

.Mr. Sl\IOOT. I think, Mr. President, before that is done the Senator ought to ask that the former action of the Senate be reconsidered, that the bill be recalled from the House, and the vote whereby it was passed be reconsidered before he asks unanimous consent for the consideration of the House bill.

Mr. SIMl"\IONS. I do not see that that is necessary. Mr. CLAPP. Mr. President, the Senator from Utah iB mis­

taken. The proper procedure is to pass the House bill and, after it has been passed, then request the recall of the Senate bill and move its indefinite postponement.

The VICE PRESIDENT. There is not any doubt about it. Is there any objection to the present consideration of the House bill?

1\fr. Sil\I~10NS. That is the course I intended to pursue. After I heard thn.t the Senate bill had been passed-! did not know that it had been passed-! intended to move, after the Senate had acted u110n the House bill, ·the recall and indefinite postponement of the Senate bill.

1\II'. SMOOT. The Senator can not do that. The bill has passed the Senate.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The parliamentary situation is ab­solutely clear. When the House bill is out of the way the Senator from North Carolina can move that the Senate bill be returned from the House, and when it is returned the votes whereby the bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed can be reconsidered, and the biH can then be indefinitely postponed.

1\Ir. SMOOT. It seems to me the proper proceeding is to first ask for the recall of the Senate bill; but I am not going to ob­ject if the Senator from North Carolina wishes it done in the other way. -

Mr. SI1\11\10NS. I wish to state that at the time I made the original motion I did not know the Senate had passed the bill. I did know, however, that the Committee on Commerce had re­ported it favorably, and I supposed it was still on the calendar. Now, that I am advi~ by the Ohair that the Senate has pas ed the bill, my motion is that the Senate proceed to the consider­ation of the House bill. I do not think it is necessary that the other motion should precede thnt and I withhold it until action is taken on the House bill.

Mr. OUhlillNS. What is the bill? I do not think the title has been stated.

1914, CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SEN ATE. 2923 The VICE PRESIDENT. The Secretary will state the bill

by title. . The SECRETARY. A bill (H. R. 9574) to authorize the Mis­

souri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. to construct a bridge across the Mississippi River near the city of Hannibal, in the State of Missouri.

The VICE PRESIDE~'T. Is there objection to the present consideration of the bill ?

There being no objection, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill.

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment, ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.

Mr. SIMMONS. I move that the House be requested to re­turn to the Senate the bill S. 3625.

The motion was agreed to. l\Ir. SIMMONS. I move that the Senate bill be indefinitely

postponed. The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chair will be compelled to

hold that motion out of order until the bill is returned to the Sea~ ·

Mr. Sll\Il\IONS. Very well, I withdraw the motion for the present.

AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION.

1\Ir. CUl\HIINS. I submit the views of the minority of the Judiciary Committee on Senate joint resolution No. 26, propos­ing to amend the Constitution of the United States so that amendments can be initiated through the action of the States or through the people of the States. The report is signed by seven members of the committee. It is brief, and I ask that it may be printed in the RECORD and also in the usual form.

The VICE PRESIDEI\TT. Without objection, the report will be printed in the REcoRD.

1\Ir. ASHURST. I hope the distinguished Senator from Iowa will ask that the views be read as well at this time.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there any objection to the read­ing of the report?

Mr. LIPPITT. How long is the report, 1\Ir. President? 1\fr. CUMMINS. I may say that the views are expressed by

seven members of the committee, but they are different views. They are all against the report of the committee, but they do not concur with regard to just what should be done. I suppose it would take about three or four minutes to read the whole document.

Mr. VARDAMAN. I hope it will be read. I should like to hear it read.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there any objection? The Ohair hears none, and the report will be read.

The Secretary read the report (No. 14'7, part 2), as follows: · [Senate Report 147, part 2, Sixty-third Congress, second session.]

AMEYDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTIOY. Mr. CUMUINS (for himself and Messrs. ASHURST, WALSH, BORAH,

NELSON, 0VER111AN, and CHILTOY), from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following views, to accompany S. J. Res. 26.

VIEWS OF SENATORS CU::\11\HNS AND ASHURST. The undersigned Senators, being a minority of the Committee on the

Judiciary, beg to submit their views upon Senate joint resolution 26, which has been reported adversely by the majority of the committee.

Aside from the provision for a constitutional convention, which is practically of no avail, amendments to the Constitution must be initiated by Congress by a two-thirds vote of each House. No matter how generally the people desire a change in their organic law, they are powerless unless Congress, burdened as it is with a load of legislation and hampered with its variety of intei·ests, has the inclination to adopt the resolution necessary for the submission of the proposed amendment. A constitution ought to be the direct declaration of the people rather than the declaration of a legislative body representing the people. A constitution controls legislation, and it seems illogical to subject it to the judgment of the legislature it is to govern. The people should be able to initiate amendments to State constitutions which are limitations upon power, and much more should they be able to initiate amendments to the Federal Constitution, which is a grant of powet·.

The members of the committee who sign these views are not In entire agreement with respect to all parts of the resolution. Some of them nre of the opinion that the legislatures of a reasonable number of the States should have the right to require the submission of an amend­ment, and that it is not wise to extend the right to primary voters to be exercised through petition. Others believe that the right of initiation should be given not only to State legislatures but also to the voters undet· proper restrictions. They are, however, of one mind in this, that there should be submitted to the States for approval or rejection an amendment providing that either a proportion of the States or a pro­portion of the people, or both, should have the power to initiate amend­ments to our Constitution.

Respectfully submitted. ALBERT B. CUl\IMINS, HENRY F. ASIIUBST,

VIEWS OF SEXATORS W..I.LSH AXD BORAH. While differing from some of the conclusions and principles asserted

tn the fore~oing, I am in favor of .an amendment to the Constitution permitting ft to be amended on conditions much less onerous than those Imposed by the Convention of 1787, and accordingly join in opposing the report of the committee.

T. ;J, WALSH. Wlii, E. BOR\.II.

VIEWS OF SENATOI:S NELSON AND 0>ER!\JA.Y. I am in favor of so much of the resolution as permits the legislattll'es

of the sev-eral States to propose amendments.

VIEWS Oli' SEXATOI: Cnn.TO:f.

KXUTE NELSOX. LEE S. OrERlH~.

The merits of the proposed amendment are many. It is not strange that the States, as well as the people thereof,

should find that a Constitution adopted in 178!) needs amendment now ; nor is there cause for wonder that they feel that the existing method of making such amendments is cumbersome. The first gantlet to be run is the Congress, where the amendment must receive two-thlrds majority in both branches before it can be submitted to the people. Under the rules of the Senate. one-third of the membership has the power to prolong a debate indefinitely. Thirty-two .Members (one-thil·d of the Senate's membership) can delay and debate a resolution to amend the Constitution indefinitely ; therefore it is in the power of one­third of the Senate-even a less number, in fact-to prevent the sub­mission of an amendment. I think, therefore, that to give a reason­able number of States the power to submit an amendment for ratifica­tion is wise and is demanded by the present situation.

I think the limit of time within which the States may ratify is justi­fied by sound principles. It is altogether proper that a proposed amend­ment, after the lapse of five years, should die unless ratified. The submission of a proposed amendment to the people of the States, if the le~islatures desire to do so, can not be objectionable, and no doubt that, With present conditions, habits of thought, and experience before them, the original convention would have adopted that plan. Anything which facilitates the expression of the people's will appeals to me.

The resolution does not abolish the present method of amending the Constitution. It adds another method, and would be used, ~robably. only in those instances where the people demanded the submission of the amendment and tired of the delays of Congress. By either method the same solemnity for ratification is required.

W. E. CniLTOX. BILLS INTRODUCED.

Bills were introduced, read the first time, nncl, by unanimous consent, the second time, and referred as follows:

By Mr. S~100T: A bill ( S. 4373) to provide for a commission to codify and

suggest amendments to the general mining laws; to the Com­mittee on .Mines and Mining.

By Mr. CLAPP: A bill (S. 4374) to provide for tile allotment of members of

the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa Indians in the State of Min­nesota ; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

By Mr. BURLEIGH: A bill (S. 4375) granting an increase of pension to Francis Y.

Pattet;son ;. and A bill (S. 4376) granting an increase of pension to Truman S.

Bigelow; to the Committee on Pensions. By Mr. BANKHEAD: A bill ( S. 4377) to provide for the construction of four reve·

nue cutters; to the Committee on Commerce. · By Mr. DILLINGHAM: A bill (S. 4378) granting an increase of pension to Edwin H.

Dana; to the Committee on Pensions. By Mr. CLARK of Wyoming: A bill (S. 4379) granting a. pension to Charlotte Perry; to

the Committee on Pensions. · INTEBNATIONAL FISHERIES COMMISSION.

Mr. ROOT. I offer the following resolution which I send to the desk, and ask for its present consideration.

The resolution ( S. Res. 263) was read, as follows: Resolved, That the Secretary of State be requested to inform the

Senate whether the International Fisheries Commission, created under the treaty concerning fisheries in United States and Canadian waters, concluded April 11, 1908, have completed their work, and whether fur­ther regulations under said treaty are now or are soon to be ready for action by Congress. ·

Mr. ROOT. Mr. President, this resolution relates to a subject of very great importance, the preservation of a great food snpply which is in danger of being destroyed unless there are some rer;ula tions adopted.

The treaty was made to provide for a joint commission to make regulations for the preservation of the snpply in the Great Lakes and the whole St. Lawrence system. The com­mission was created, and agreed upon certain regulations, which were sent to Congress for its action; but there were a. few sub­jects remaining upon which there seems to have been a failure to agree, or a misunderstanding, and the Congress ne\er acted finally on the regulations which were sent in.

I know the commission has had the subject up, and has been dealing with it, but I do not know whether or not it has reached a point where the dnty rests upon us to act. I am exceedingly desirous that we shall ascertain whether or not it is our duty now to go on and do something; and that is the object of this resolution of inquiry.

The VICE PU1'JSIDENT. Is tbere any objection to 1he present consideration of the resolution?

The resolution was considered by unanimous consent nn<l agreed to.

2924 CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SENATE. FEBRUARY 5,

AMENDMENT TO THE RULES. vote at the election. The right of Congress to enact a regis-Mr. SHEPPARD. I offer a resolution proposing an amend- tration law applicable to congressional elections can not be

questioned, such a law being clearly a "regulation" such as ment to the rules in pursuance of the notice given by me on is contemplated by the section of the Constitution referred to, yesterday. the purpose of which is to insure an honest election. It has.>

The resolution (S. Res. 264) was read and referred to the been fully justified by the decisions of the Supreme Court of Committee on Rules, as follows: the United States. (Ex parte Seibold, 100 U. S., 371; ex parte

Resolved, That the above-named committees on expenditures in the Coy, 127 U. S., 731.) se•eral departments shall have within their jurisdiction the following A method of election in vogue in earlier times, both in this sul:Jjects : '.rhe examination of the accounts and expenditures of the sev-erai departments of the Government and the manner of keeping the country and abroad, required that the elector come fot·ward aame; the economy, justness, and correctness of such expenditures; their and viva voce announce his candidrite, the election officers re­conformity with appropriation laws; the proper application of public cording his vote. The constitution of Kentucky once enJ"oined moneys ; the security of the Government against unjust and extravagant demands: retrenchment; the enforcement of the payment of moneys this method of voting. (:McCrary on Elections, 117.) due to the United States; the e~onomy and accountability of public Such a system subjected the voter to a multitude of em­officers; the abolishment of useless offices; the reduction or increase of barrassments. Obviously he would often not act with the the pay of officers.

HOUSE BILL REFERRED. fi·eedom desired if his vote was thus made public. That plan would no longer be tolerated. Secrecy was deemed essential

H. R. 6060. An act to regulate the immigration of aliens to to permit the voter to exercise entire freedom in his choice. and the l'esidence of aliens in the United States was r.ead twice The system of voting viva voce gradually gave way to the plan by its title and referred to the CommHtee on Immigration. of voting by ballot. No one could doubt that Congress, recog-

ELECTION OF SENATORS~ nizing the evils inherent in the ancient system, might provide The VICE PRESIDENT. Morning .business is closed, and that all elections for Members of Congress must be conducted

the calendar under Rule VIII is in order. pursuant to the more modern plan. Indeed, it has done so. Mr. W .ALSH. Mr. President, I gave notice the other day It decreed by an act passed in 1871 that all votes for Repre­

that at this time I should call up for consMeration Senate bill sentatives in Congress should be by written or printed ballot. 2860. I ask the Senate to resume the consideration of the bill. Later this act was amended so as to permit the voter to record

The Senate, by unanimous consent, resumed the considera- his choice by means of a voting machine. It now reads as tion of the bill ( S. 2860) providing a temporary method of follows : conducting the nomination and election of United States "SEc. 27. (Votes by ballot or voting machine.) All votes for Re~re-Senators. sentatives in. Congress must be by written or printed ballot, or votmg

machine, the nse of which bas been duly authorized by the State law; Tlte VICE PRESIDEI\T. The pending question is on the and all votes received or recorded contrary to this section shall oo of

amendment proposed by the Senator from Utah [.Mr. SUTHER- no effect. · (Fed. St. An., 212.) LAND]. The plan of voting by written or printed baHot prepared by

Mr. WALSH. l\fr. President, before the debate proceeds the voter or prepared for him, generally, by interested parties, further, I desire to submit to the Senate some reflections upon affording- abundant opportunities for perpetrating a fraud upon a feature of the bill which has been the subject of some con- him, and, more dangerous, for the purchase of the vote of the sideration heretofore, namely, whether the power of Congress elector, an abuse that became national in its extent and his­to legislate in the premises extends to that part of the pro- torical from its reaching e>en to the selection of a President of cedure of election commonly referred to as the nomination of the United States, practically all the States passed laws which candidates. forbade and prohibited · the use of any ballots at elections

I am convinced that if those who deny that the authority except such as were prepared by officers of the Government and conferred on Congress by the fourth section of the first article · were supplied by the election supervisors to the voters as they of the Constitution to make regulations concerning the time, seV"·erally appeared to exercise the franchise. The essent"~l dif­place, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Repre- ference between the Australian ballot law and the system which sentatives extends to regulations in relation to nominations of it displaced lies in the fact that under the former the Govern­candidates for such offices, will but concentrate their attention ment provides the voter with a ballot on which appears the upon the actual working of the prevailing system of elections, names of the candidates nominated by the various political they will-and I make the assertion with the very greatest parties. or otherwise iunong whom he is permitted to select, deference-realize how impossible it is to maintain that any leave being given him ordinarily to write on the ballot the such limitation of the power exists. "Regulations" concerning name of some person as his choice who has not been nominated the ltolding of elections are required, :first, that an election may in any way. It is not open to serious question that Congress be held at all, and, second, that such election may be free from might, if it saw :fit to do so, make this method of \Oting irupera­error or from the influence of fraud, duress, or corruption. ti\e. Surely no candid mind, conceding its power at each sue­The "regulations., which the Constitution contemplated the cessive stage of the route we have been traveling, can hesitate States shonld p1·escribe, or, in case they should omit to · do sv, now. But when the Government undertakes to prepare the or sufficient reason for its interposition should appeal\ Congress ballot, it must make some provision by which it shall be known ~;hould enact, were such as should provide the machinery by who is the candidate of any particular political party. When means of which the public choice might be regularly and authori- the Australian ballot first went into effect in this country, nomi­tatively expressed, and such as assured that such choice might be nations by conventions wns the universal method in vogue. So freely and honestly expressed, justly counted, and accurately the statutes provided usually that the officers of nominating returned. Really, the whole purpose might be regarded as em- conventions sbouJd be required to :file certificates showing the braced in a solicitude to secure a free and fair choice of the party nominees. About the same time corrupt-practices acts electorate. Our election laws, now elaborate and inh·icate, are were generally passed and made applicable to the work of con­a growth. They were developed as the ingenuity of those who ventions and to caucuses and primary elections by or through sought by~ :vlethods open to public condemnation to thwart the which delegates to the nominating conventions were chosen. public w fl enabled them to operate with a gren.ter or less de- These acts were passed in recognition of the utter futility of gree of success. Until very recent times no very direct provi- making elaborate provision for insuring the regularity of the sions were found in the laws of any State by which the right conduct of the final election and to prevent fraud and corrup­of one who offered to vote could be ascertained. The solution tion thereat, if the malign influences through whic:h they might of the question was left very largely to the detet:mination of otherwise be perpetrated were left free to operate in the pre­the judges or inspectors at the very time the vote was offered. liminary proceedings absolutely necessary to be observed in

If in a particular State there existed no law, or if the law order that the proceeding thus provided for might be put in of any State was by Congress deemed insufficient to secure a operation at an. Why Congress may not respond to the same just determination at the very time the vote is offered of the necessities in connection with congressional elections it is diffi­right of any individual to participate in an election, it can cult to concei\e. Let it be admitted that Congress has pre­scarcely be doubted-indeed, it would be idle to assert-that scribed that the voting for :Members of Congress shall be by Congress could not make provision to test the right so asserted. the Australian system as we have assumed it may. It has Since such provisions as had been made in the several States already amended the act of 1871 so as to permit voting by rna­for the purpose of testing while the election is progressing the chines. That act necessarily contemplates the operation of the right of those offering to vot~ have been demonstrated to be Australian system, for the voting machines are devised in con· entirely ineffective, registration laws have become all but formity to that system alone. Will it not be admitted that universal. Under these the right of those claiming the privi- Congress might provide that in cities having a certain popula­lege of voting in any particular precinct is determined in ad- tion the voting must be by machines? vance. A roll is prepared and none except those whose names The wisdom of such a law might be questioned; the power a.ry fpund the~eon, _sometimes :!ith ex~eptiop~. :::.re PEt~·mitt,ed to of pongr~ss to enact it can not be. If, then, Congress should

f1914 .. -CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 2925 tnsist by proper legislation that the Australian ballot sys­tem should be pursued in all congressional elections in order that their purity might' be assured, and it was thereafter represented, ::ts the fact would probably be, that the legislation was wholly ineffective because the criminally inclined simply transferred their nefarious operations to the processes by which the party candidates whose names the law required should appear on the ballot were selected, could it be asserted by any candid student that Congress would be powerless to m:1ke any regulations controlling such processes? In what respect would such regulations differ from a registration law? Both are intended to accomplish more certainly the resnlt of a fair and free election-the determination of the real choice of the majority. Both are reasonably calculated to attain that result.

It is conceded in the able argument of the junior Senator from Tennessee [Mr. SHIELDS] that the word "elections," as it is used in State constitutions, has often been held, and by courts of the highest character, to extend to and embrace primary elections as well as those through which the ultimate choice is made. A study of the cases in which the more re­stricted significance was given to the term will reveal that not infrequently there were other constitutional provisions which seemed to require that the meaning be so limited. By what rule shall we determine whether the narrower or the .wider meaning is to be given to the word as used in the im­portant section under consideration? Shall we be influenced by the fact that primary elections were unknown at the time of the adoption of the Constitution?

In the exigencies which have arisen in our career as a Nation it has been found necessary repeatedly to apply the language of the Constitution to conditions never dreamed of at the time of its adoption by either statesman or seer. Early 1n its history the Supreme Court, confronted with the neces­sity of laying down some rule by which the power of Congress 1n any particular case resting upon the interpretation that should be given to the language of the organic law, said:

The safest rule of interpretation after all wlll be found to be to look to the nature and object of the particular powers, duties, and rights with all the lights a.nd aids of contemporary history,· and to give to the words ot each just such operation and force, consistent with their legitimate meaning, as may fairly secure and attain the ends proposed.

And then refeiTing to the particular part of that instrument involved in the case before it, added:

How, then, are we to interpret the language of the clause? The true answer Is in such a manner, as consistently with the words, shall fully and completely effectuate the whole objects of it. If by one mode ot interpretation the right must become shadowy and unsubstantial and without any remedial power adequate to the end, and by another mode it will attain its just end and secure Its manifest purpose, it would seem upon principles of reasoning absolutely irresistible that the latter ought to prevail. No court of justice can be authol"ized so to con­strue any claase of the Constitution as to defeat its obvious ends when another construction, equally accordant with the words and sense thereof, will enforce and protect them. (Prigg v. Com. of Pa., 16 Pet., 610-612.)

In the discharge of the duties before us we may very properly attend to the observations of Mr. Justice Story on the rules which had been worked out by the highest tribunal in the land for the resolution of the perplexing questions which so often arise touching the power of Congress.

At section 430 of volume 1 of his Commentaries, ~e says : Government presupposes the existence of a perpetual mutability in

Its own operations on those who are its subjects, and a perpetual flexi­bility In adapting itself to their wants, their interests their habits, their occupations, and their infirmities.

At section 431-In the interpretation of a power all the ordinary and appropriate

me.c'l.ns to execute a are to be deemed a part of the power Itself. This results from the very nature and design of a constitution. In giving the power, it does not intend to limit it to any one mode of exercising It exclusive of all others. lt must be obvious that the means of carry­ing into effect the objects of a power may, nay, must be varied in order to adapt themselves to the exigencies of the nation at different times. A mode efficacious and useful in one age or under one poature of cir­cumstances may be wholly vain or evE~D mischievous at any other time.

And at section 432-In the practical application of government, then, the public func­

tionaries must be le!t at liberty to exercise the powers with which the people by tbe Constitution and laws have intrusted them. They must have a wide discretion as to the choice of means, and the only limita­tion upon that discretion would seem to be that the means are appro­priate to the end.

If in the experience of the seyeral States it has been found almost if uot altogether indispensable, in order to secure a pel'fectly free and fair election, to assume control over the machinery by which political parties nominate candidates to be voted for by the whole people, why should Congress in legis­.fs1ating under a power authorizing it to make regulations con­cerning the manner of holding elections for Senators and Re~r resentatives, granted to enable it to insure a free and fair

election with respect to such officers, be denied the right similarly to prescribe how and when the candidates for those offices who shall claim a place on the official ballot shall be nominated? Laws touching the manner in which candidates of political parties claiming the right to official recognition as such shall be nominated are as much a part of the election machinery as laws requiring registration. A compilation of the election laws of a State which should be wanting in those respecting nominations by conventions or primaries. if there were any such, could scarcely be conceived of by the ordinary mind. In view of the universality of such laws, one expects, us a matter of course, to find them in every collection of the election laws of any State. If we reject the rule that, in determining the extent of the grant of power to Congress 1mder the section of the Con­stitution here considered, we are to consult the end to be sect1red by it and to inquire whether the purpose of the legislation is more certainly to attain that end, and whether it falls reason­ably within the scope of the language of the grant, there is left no guide by which we may say what legislation Congress may enact to insure the sanctity of the proceedings in virtue of which membership is claimed in this body. Certain it is that, in view of recent history to which we can not shut om· eyes if we would, ·unless Congress can legislate concerning the method by which party nominations are now maue the power vested in it is a barren, futile thing an-d might as well be aban­doned.

The legislation before us may be unwise. I do not share that view. It may be impolitic. I am convinced to the contrary. But that is beyond the power of Congress to enact; it can not, I respectfully assert, entertaining as I do the most profound respect for the learning of the distinguished Senators by whom it is advanced, be upheld upon any theory of the Constitution that would not make of it a vain and useless thing. I venture to suggest that they mlght wisely accept the principle embodied in this bill, that though Congress may legislate concerning nominations of candidates for Members of either House, it ought under all ordinary circumstances simply to give efficacy, if necessary, to such regulations at the States themselves haye prescribed.·

Mr. BORAH. Mr. Pre&dent, the entire subject of the control of the Ifederal Government over elections has bE'come one of considerable inte-rest of late, and the subject may well be con­sidered from the view which has been advanced by the Presi­dent in his late message to Congress. The message, in treating o-f the subject of Federal elections and the control of the Fed­eral Government oyer the election of Federal officers, rends as follows:

I tum to a subject which I ho~e- can be lmn<lled promptly nnd with­out serious controversy of any kind. I mean the method of s~lecting nominees for the Presidency of the United States- I feel confident tbat I do not misinterpret the wishes or the expectations of the country when I urge the pr•:Jmpt enactment of legislutkm which will provide for primary elections throughout the country at which the voters o:l the several parties may choose their nominees for the Presidency with­out the intervention of nominating conventions. I venture the sug­gestion tbat this legislation should provide for tbe retention of party conventions, but only for the purpose of declaring nnd accepting the verdict of the primaries and formulating the platforms of the parties; and I suggest that these conventions should consist not of delegates chosen for this single purpose, but of the nominees for Congress, the nominees for vacant seats in the Senate of the United States, the Senators wbose terms have not yet closed, tbe national committees, and the candidates for the Presidency themselves, in order that plat­forms may be framed by those responsible to the people for carrying them into effect.

It is not to be assumed that the President had not fully con­sidered, both from the standpoint of policy and of constitu­tional power, the question of enacting a national primary law before his delivery of this message, and it is not to be assumed that he did not, as the result of consideration before delivering the message, come clearly to the conclusion that it was within the power of the Federal Government to proyide national pri­maries for the nomination of candidates for the Presidency of the United States.

There is no suggestion made in the message with reference to a constitutional amendment. On the other hand, the infer­ence to be drawn-and it seems to me the only inference that can be dl·awn from the message-is that legislation alone is necessary in order to accomplish it, for the messnge says:

I turn to a. subject whlch I hope can be handled promptly and without serious controversy of any kind. I mean the method of selecting nominees for the Presidency of the United States. I feel confident that I do not misinterpret the wishes or the expectations of the country when I urge the prompt enactment of legislation which will provide for primary elections throughout the country at which the voters of the several parties may choose their nominees for the Presidency with­out the intervention of nominating conventions.

It has since been suggested, not, however, by the President but by others of the party of which he is the leader, that a constitutional amendment would be necessary in order to effectrr-

t l.

2926 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-· SENATE·. FEBRUARY ··5,

ate the purposes outlined in his message. This seems to be a conclusion wholly different from the conclusion which it would seem from the language the author of the message ·entertained.

Mr. President, I am not going to discuss that proposition to-day. I only want to say that if it ·be now the view of the President and his advisers that a constitutional amendment is necessary, no time should be lost in urging that constitutional amendment. We know the conditions which will confront an amendment of that kind, and this legislation can not be enacted ."promptly" nor this purpose effectuated "promptly" unless we proceed without delay to the urging of a constitutional amend­ment, if that seems to be necessary. I do not express at this time a view as to the necessity of a constitutional amendment, but I express a most eaTnest hope for early action-whatever action may be deemed necessary to bring about the result.

I am clear in my own mind that the President did not haV(' a constitutional amendment in view at the time, and I do not know that he has it in view now. Howevei·, I do not rise to discuss questions of a national primary, but to use it as a preface to what I am going to say upon the other question.

Whatever doubt there may be as to the constitutional power to do that which the President suggests ought to be done, there is, to my mind, no doubt whatever of the power of Congress to provide for the nomination at primaries of Senators and Repre­sentatives as the Constitution now reads with reference to the election of Senators. It is clearly within the power, in my judgment, of the National Government, under the provisions of the National Constitution, to control the election of the Congress from the first step to the last. When the fathers referred to the manner of holding an election they treated it as a unit, and whatever pertains to an election which in the wisdom of Con­gress should constitute an election, the manner of bringing it about or effectuating its final purpose comes within the purview of the language of the Constitution with reference to the manner of holding an election. If we think that the candidates who are to receive our votes sl10uld be nominated through primaries, then we make it a part of our system of Federal "elections."

It bas been said in the discussion here that some of the State decisions have given a narrow construction to the word "elec­tion." These State decisions are, to my n:ind, not conclusive, al­though they may be persuasive. They were construing a State constitution, and they gave to the constitution a narrow con­struction for the purpose of upholding primary election laws. But here we are construing, :Mr. President, a national funda­mental law of government, and we ought to take into considera­tion that when the fathers framed this. Government they framed an elective Republic, a Government which can not exist without elections. When they came to treat of the subject of elections, they were treating of a subject which was vital to the existence of the Government, and it is not to be assumed, unless the ex­press language of the Constitution is to the contrary, that the fatllers intended to put into operation a form of government in which the question of the control of elections was absolutely vital to its existence without retaining in the power of that Go>ernment the control of that thing which was vital to its existence. We could not have a Republic without an election. The kind of Government which they organized could not exist without elections. And it seems clear that when they refer to the manner of holding elections they could but have referred to the subject as a whole and that the manner of holding an elec­tion could and would cover any step from the beginning to the close of the election.

As was said by Chief Justice 1\farsball in liD early decision, there was no intent manifested on the part of the fathers to make the National Government depende:Q.t for its existence upon subordinate governments; there was no intent on their part to organize a Government which depended for its existence upon the volition or the will of another Government. Whatever pow­ers were granted to the National Government were intended to be exercised from that standpoint. As was said by 1\~arsball:

No trace is to be found in the Constitution of an intention to create n dependence of the Government of the Union on those of the States for the execution of the great powers assigned to it. Its means are ade­quate to its ends, and on those means alone was it expected to rely for the accomplishment of its ends. To impose on it the necessity of re­sorting to II)eans which it can not control, which another Government may furnish or withhold, would rendet· its com·se precarious, the result of its measures uncertain, a nd create a dependence on other govern­ments, which might disappoint its most impot·tant designs, and is in­compatible with the language of the Constitution.

Here was a Government organized which could not start and could not continue or maintain itself for a fortnight without elections. It came into existence by vtrtue of them. To say that the National Government can not determine the manner of holding elections, ftom the beginning to the end, in order to pro­tect the elections from aU those influences which tend to cotTUl1t ·anrl destroy fl. ·Governrpent, or ·to secure the best possible public

servants, is to withhold from the National Government a most vital element of national existence.

It has been said, of course, that there were no primaries at the time of the adoption of the National Constitution, and that, therefore, the fathers could not have had ·in contemplation the question of a primary when they referred to elections. Cer­tainly not; there were no primaries; but they did not under­take, in making a Constitution, to prepare a schedule of the things which might be done under that Constitution. They were preparing an instrument for a living, progressive, active, domi­nant, aggressive people which granted general powers, and with those general powers followed those things which were neces­sary and essential to the execution of those powers. Customs, habits, and conditions would change, and though changed the general subject matter covered by t)le grant covers all things necessary to be done under the change.

When the fathers said that the National Government should control or direct the manner of holding elections, as witll refer­ence to many other matters with which they dealt, they had in contemplation not an election of the seventeenth or eighteenth century, but such an election as changed conditions and environ­ments and the progress of humanity .might work out to a final and effective conclusion. At that time we had no telegraph, we had no telephone, we had no railways; yet would anyone say that the interstate-commerce clause of the Constitution should be confined in its operation to the manner of transporta·­tion which existed at the time of the framing of the Conslitu­tion? As stated by the Supreme Court:

Constitutional provisions do not change, but their operation extends to new matters as the modes of business and the habits of life of the people vary with each succeeding generation.

·It is immaterial what constituted an election in tlle morning of the eighteentll century; it is who11y immaterial under the conditions as they then existed; but whatever constitutes an election to-day in the contemplation of the people, whatever constitutes a method, the wisest and most effective which can be had for se.curing the best possible public servants, is just as much a part of an election under tllat provision of the Con­stitption as any step in an election in the simpler form was at the time of the adoption of the Constitution.

I call attention, 1\fr. President, to some language found in the case of ex parte Yarbrough, which, it seems to me, we may at least consider ·in connection with this subject. althougll. of course, the specific question was not then before the court. The line of argument, however, and the princip~e adopted by the court can not be other than instructive at this time. 'l'he court said:

That a government whose essential character is republican., whose executive head and legislative body are both elective, · whose most numerons and powerful branch of the legislature is elected hy the people directly, has no power by appropriate laws to secure this e lection from the influence of violence, of corruption, and of fraud, is a propo­sition so startling as lo arrest attention and demand the gravest con-sideration. . · .

If this Government is anything more than a mere aggregation of delegated agents of other States and governments, each of which is superior to the General Government, it must have the power to protect the elections on which its existence depends from violence and cor­ruption.

Mr. President, as we have progressed from time to time we have found that one of the most effective means by which we secure desirable -results of the ultimate facts · in an election is to control the manner of nominating the candidates. It is now regarded by all parties as an essential part of the correct ma­chinery and modus operandi of holding an election, and all of the State decisions which have been referred to and cited as in opposition to this proposition nevertheless treat a primary as a part of the machinery of an election. It is one of the steps which is taken, an essential and a necessary step wllich is taken, to secure a desirable ultimate result. It is therefore well within tlle reasoning of the Yarbrough case to say that it could not have been in the contemplation of the fathers tllat they were forming an elective republic and not giving to those who would come in after years the means of absolutely pro­tecting from beginning to end the method of selecting those who were to conduct the public affairs of tllat republic.

In my humble judgment, l\lr. President, the Congress of the United States has as complete control over the manner and method of electing a Federal elective officer from the first step to the last as a State has conh·ol over its elective officers, and that which is G.eerned an election under a State law can be no less than an election under a Federal law, and that whicll is desirable and essential to bring about a proper election under a State law must, by the same parity of reasoning, be considered ns desirable in bringing about a proper election under a Federal law. Therefore we are not permitted to construe the word "election" within the narrow limits which ~ would relate solely to the ultimate result or the final step by which the officer was

l1914, CONGRESSIO.NAL RECORD-SEN ATE. 2927. selected. In other words, as Mr. Webster · said in treating of the commerce clause, when the fathers referred to the subject of •• commerce," they referred to it as a unit encompassing evt.>ry part of the subject as an entirety and not merely a part of it; not the last step, the middle step, or the beginning, but the entire subject was turned over to the Congress. The sub­ject "Elections" is treated as a unit, and primaries are now an essential part of a twentieth-century election.

In the case of Ex Parte Siebold the court said : In view of the fact that Congress has plenary and paramount juris­

diction over the whole subject, it seems almost absurd to say that an officer who receives or has custody of tbe ballots given for a Represent­ative owes no duty to the National Government which Congress can enforce, or that an officer who stuffs the ballot box can not be made amenable to the United States. If Congr·ess bas not, prior to the pas­sage of the present laws, imposed any penalties to prevent and punish fraud and violations of duty committed by officers of election, it has been because the exigency has not been deemed sufficient to require it and not because Congr·ess had not the requisite power.

Wherever the court has approached this subject it has dealt with it on broad and comprehensive lines. We are to t..'lke no step backward.

.J.\.fr. President, when the bill which was known some years ago as the "force bill" was up for consideration, 1\fr. Tucker, and other distinguished and exceedingly able men who argued the proposition, did not argue that under this clause of the Constitution under which we are proceeding the power did not belong to the Gov-ernment of the United States because of the narrow construction which is now placed on the word "election." Mr. Tneker admitted that if the State failed to net the .vower of Congress would be complete and that tlle National Government might take charge of the election, just the same as a. State might take charge of the election of its own officers. In

1 the mind of Mr. Tucker, judging from his argument, the con­struction placed on the word " election " was not to be nar­

' rowed down to what some now insist it should be. bot that i1 :the State failed to act the power was complete in the National Government.

\1 The law which was passed, I think in 1870, took control, in a large measure, of Federal elections. Many things were done

, under that law whi~ in my judgment, would be far more dit­' ficult to defend as a constitutional proposition than the orderly and legal manner of placing men in nomination for election.

,The court sustained the law and sustained it upon the broad ground that on~r this particular clause of the Constitution

• 1 the power of Congress was plenary as to the holding of elections, , in order that the Government might not only have servants .. whom the people really desired, but that they might have them 1 through elections relie-ved of all taint of corruption or misuse of local power. . Mr. President, I again call attention to the language of the Constitution :

' SEc. 4. T.ile times, places, and manner of holding elections far Sena­tors and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Iegls­latUl'e thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

In Article I, section 2, we find this provision: And the electors In each State shall have the qualifications requisite

for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. Of course, Mr. President, it has long been decided and finally

and ultimately determined by the Supreme Court that, while we can not fix the qualifications of the voter, while the qualifica­tions of the voter are to be fixed by the State, as soon as the qualifications of the voter are fixed, the right to cast the vote is a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and is completely within the control and under the jurisdiction of the Congress of the United States; that the right to cast the vote, the manner in which the voter shall cast it, and the control of the casting of the vote is not one with which the United Stutes Government has parted. The Constitution left to the States the fixing of the original qualifications, but after the qualifications are fixed by the States it then becomes a Federal right. The Federal Government may, in any manner it sees fit, prescribe the law which shall insure the exercising of that right in the manner in which the voter desires to exercise it.

Said the f;lupreme Court in One hundred and seventy-nine United States Reports:

r The right to vote for Members of Congress of the United States ts not derived merely .from the constitution and laws of the State in which :W~ltegr~ti~~en. but has its foundation in the Constitution of the

Again it is said-and this is the Yarbrough case (110 U. s. 651)- I

But it is not correct to say that the right to vote tor a Member of Congress does not depend upon the Constitution of the United States. The office, if it be properly called an office, is created by the Constitu­tion, and by that alone. It also declares how it shall be filled, namely by election. Its language i-s, " The House of Representatives shall bJ composed of Members chosen every second year by the people of tho several States, and the electors in each State shall have the qual1fica-

tions requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature."

That requisite· is now provided for with reference to United States Senators. So, Mr. President, we have the qualifications of the voter established and fixed by the State, and as soon us they are fixed the tight to cast that vote becomes a right guar­anteed by the Constitution of the United States, subject to the control and to the jurisdiction of the Congress. Congress may, prescribe such methods and su~h manner as it sees fit for the pm-pose of having that vote properly cast and properly re~ corded. This is a most important proposition to bear in mind, as we construe the other provision of the Constitution with reference to the manner of holding elections. If the best method is deemed to be that of a primary, by which to secure the nomi~ nation of the parties, in order tha t the election may be prop­erly and orderly conducted, in order that, in the judgment of the Congress, the best officers may be selected, that is one m~thod which may be adopted for the purpose of exercising the gen­eral power which the Government has to protect its Federal rights. · Whichever view we take of the subject matter, whether we

confine it to the one provision of the Constitution or take into consideration both, we can not do otherwise than conclude that a public depending for its existence upon elected officers must necessarily have control of the manner of holding the elections, and nothing but an express provision of the Constitution dele­gating that control elsewhere would prevent the conclusion that it is ret ained by the ·National Government.

Mr. SUTHERLA.l~. Mr. President, I have only a word or tw() to say upon this subject.

I have not the slightest doubt as to the power of the General Government, not only to regulate the actual holding of the election so far as that involves the machinery that is in opera­tio-n upon the day of election and all of the incidents surround~ ing the day of election, but also to regulate all of the prelimi­nary steps which lead up to and are necessary pr<!requisites of the holding of the actual election itself. I think that necessarily follows from the provisions of section 4 of the first article of the Constitution.

The Constitution provides that the Members of the· House of Representativ-es shall be chosen every Second year by the people of the several States, and, under the seventeenth amendment, that the Senate shall be composed of two Senators ehosen from each State by the people thereof. In order that all the neces· sary machinery for electing Repr€Sentatives and Senators might be in existence section 4 of Article I provides :

The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof.

I think there can be no doubt that under those three words, "times, places, and manner," every element which is necessary to an election may be prescribed by the legislature of the State. The mere balloting, the mere reception of the votes, the mere count­ing and announcing of the result is not sufficient. There must be, in the first place, voters who are qualified under the pro­visions of the State constitutions and laws to cast their votes. They are as necessary to an election as the actual depositing of the ballots themselves. There must be candidates for whom the voters may cast their ballots. They are as necessary under our form of government as the voters themselves, and they must be proTided for by proceedings which antedate the actual bal­loting. So, under the provision of the Constitution that the times, places, and manner of holding the election may be pre­scribed, there can be no doubt that the State legislature may pronde for the registration of voters, the nomination of candi­dates, and the appointment of judges of election or"1nspectors of election, although each of those tllings precedes the actual hold­ing of the election.

Whatever the State legislature may do in that regard, under this provision of the Constitution Congress itself may do, be­cause the provision continues:

But the Congress may at any time by law make or alter snch regula-tions. \

Namely, such regulations as the State legislatures are author- / ized in the first instance to prescribe. So anything which the 1 State legislatures can do by virtue of this provision of the Con- )' stitution, necessarily the Congress itself can do, either by way of making the regulations originally or by way of altering those · which have been made by the State legislatures, if Congress is not satisfied with the regulations which have been made.

I directed the attention of the Senator from Georgia [Mr. 1

BAcoN] the other day to the fact that we have provided for the l supervision of the registration of voters, and we did that under this power of the Constitution. So far as I am informed, no~ ' body has doubted the validity of that statute. It was after ... 1

2928 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-- SENATE: FEBRUARY 5~

wards repealed; but so long as it ·was in operation nobody doubted the power of the General Government to _do that. Cer­tainly if we have the power to supervise the registration of voters, which is a step antecedent to the holding of the election, we have the power to regulate the nomination of candidates. I can see no difference between the two things.

The Senator from Idaho [Mr. BoRAH] calls attention, how­ever, to another phase of the election question, and that is with reference to primary elections for electors of the President and Vice President of the United States. While I have no doubt whatever as to the power of Congress to regulate the holding of elections for Representati>es and Senators, and within that power to regulate all the preliminary steps leading up to the election itself, I base my conclusion in that regard upon the lan­guage of the Constitution. When, however, we come to the pro­visions of the Constitution with reference to electors of Presi­dent and Vice President we find an altogether different situa­tion. · The language of the Constitution in that regard is:

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Con­gress-

And so on. In that instance the power is devolved upon the State legis­

lature to prescribe the manner of appointing electors, and no supervisory power is reserved to Congress by the Constitution. The power is conferred upon the legislature alone. Congress is given no authority whatever, either in ·the first instance to regulate the manner of appointing presidential electors or to alter such regulations as the State legislature may make in that respect.

The absence of any such provision with reference to electors as we find with reference to Representatives and Senators is further emphasized by the affirmative provision in the Consti­tution, a little later along, that-

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors and the day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same throughout the United States.

Taking those two provisions together, it seems to me there can not be the slightest doubt that the power of Congress over the appoin"tment of electors is limited to prescribing th.e time when they shall be chosen, and that it can not prescribe (!ither the place or places or the manner of choosing the electors.

Therefore it seems very clear to me that, while Congress has the undoubted power in the one case, it has no power whatever to deal with the subject of primaries, so far .as presidential elec­tors are concerned. Of course, we might pass a law such as the President recommends, but it would be nothing more than good advice or bad advice, according to the point of view of the in­dividual who was looking at it. It could not be law, because there is no constitutional -;varrant for it. If it is law, it must be enforceable. How could it be enforced?

The Constitution says that "each State shall appoint,_in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors" and so forth. Suppose Congress passes a primary law directing that these electors shall be selected at prim~ry elec­tions in particular ways, and some State chooses to disregard the.law of Congress and appoints its electors in the manner that its legislature has directed, and it turns out that that is an alto­gether different method from that which ~s. directed by the <:on­gressional primary law. Under the proVIsiOns of the Constitu­tion, would we have any right to refuse to receive the votes of those electors? It seems to me clearly we would not.

Therefore so far as I am concerned, I entirely disagree with the view apparently entertained by the President in this message as to the authority of Congress to deal with the subject of presi­dential primaries at all.

I have an amendment pending to this bill which I desire very briefly to discuss again, but I notice that the Senator from Ten­nessee [Mr. SHIELDS] rose, and I presume he desires to be heard upon this question. Therefore I shall defer until a little later what I have to say upon the amendment. .

[1\.Ir. SHIELDS" addressed the Senate. See Appendix.]

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. CHILTON in the chair). The hour of 2 o'clock having arrived, it is the duty of the Chair to lay before the Senate the unfinished business, which will be stated by the Secretary. . .

The SECRETABY. A bill (H. R. 7951) to provide for cooperative agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of an act of Con­gress approved July 2, 1862, and of acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mr.-WALSH. I believe the general discussion on Senate bill 2960 has almost reached a close. I ask the Senator from

Georgia whether he would not be quite willing to allow us to go on with it?

Mr. SHIELDS. I am perfectly willing that it shall go over. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I desire to conform to the wishes ot.

the Senate, and if the bill which has been before the Senate this morning could be completed in a reasonaLle length of time, I think it would facilitate the business of the Senate; and while I regret very much to lay the agricultural extension bill aside temporarily, I think I ought to consent to do so. However, in doing so I wish also to add that to-morrow morning, immediately after the close of the morning business, I shall ask the Senate to take up the agricultural extension bill without waiting for 2 o'clock. I understand from the Senator from Montana that this discussion will probably . be over in an hour; at least I have been told so. ·

Mr. Sf:IIELDS. I can not state how long the discussion will continue. Really, I prefer that the bill should go over. I do not wish to interrupt the unfinished business. . Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. President, I would suggest to the Sena­tor from Montana that the Senator from Georgia [1\fr. BACON], who has been profoundly interested in the bill he has in charge, is at present detained from the Senate by ill_ness. Does not the Senator from Montana think it might be well, as there is no special hurry about this measure, to let it go over until the senior Senator from Georgia returns to the Senate?

Mr. WALSH. I was not unmindful, Mr. President, of the in­terest of the Senator from Georgia [Mr. BACON] in the measure. However, before he left the Senate, some days since, when he was complaining of illness, I spoke to him about the matter and said I should be glad to take it up at his convenience; and he then stated to me that he did not desire to say anything fur­ther in connection with the bill, and that I need not defer it on his account. If, however, h.is colleague will say to me that the senior Senator from Georgia would like to be here, I should hesitate very much to press the measure to a determination in h.is absence.

Mr. SUITH of Georgia. I know that my colleague is very much interested in the bill, but he has not said to me that he desired to have it delayed on account of his absence.

Mr. WALSH. Very well; as there seems to be some question about it, I shall not ask to have a vote on the bill to-day.

1\Ir. SMOOT. I wish to state that this is a Senate bill, and it has to be acted upon in the House. If not acted upon before the adjournment of the present session, in many of the States an extra session of the legislature will have to be called. I believe it would be a splendid thing for the Senate to act upon the bill at an early day, in order that the House might receive it and act upon it before the adjournment of the session.

1\fr. SIMMONS. I do not think there is a Member of the Sen­ate who does not desire that the bill shall be acted upon during the present session of Congress. I do not think there is the slightest danger of Congress adjourning until we have acted upon it.

Mr. SMOOT. I hope that may be the case, but the Senator k'"llows that legislation in the House moves very much more slowly than it does here. ·

Mr. SIMMONS. A bill of this sort will be certain, I think, to secure consideration in both Houses before final adjourn­ment. Everyone concedes the absolute necessity of some legis­lation along this line.

1\Ir. SMOOT. I would not do anything to retard the passage of the unfinished business, as the Senator from Georgia knows, but that is a House measure, and I am sure that it can be passed either to-day or to-morrow at least. Therefore I thought if th-ere was no real objection it would be the proper course for the Senate to lay the unfinished business aside and finish this measure this afternoon. If there is objection to tllat, of course that ends it. ·

Mr. VARDAMAN. Mr. President, I wish to add to what has been said regarding the interest of the senior Senator from Georgia [Mr. BACON] in this matter, that he discussed it with me, and I do not think a measure has come into the Senate in which he is more deeply lnterested than the question of the control of the nomination of Senators by a law enacte~ by Congress. I am very sure that he wants to submit some observations upon the bill, and · if he could be here I would be very glad indeed for him to have that opportunity.

Mr. WALSH. Mr. President, in view of what has been said, with the permission of the Senator from Georgia, I shall move, then, that on the disposition of the bill now in charge of the junior Senator fi'Om Georgia the Senate will resume the con­sideration of Senate bill 2860.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Mon­tana submit that as a motion or give. a notice?

Mr. SMOOT. I do not think a motion would be now in order.

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 2929. Mr. SIMMONS. The Senator can not make a motion no_w. Mr. SMOOT. Even if a notice is given, if the Senator desires

to give a notice, I wish to call his attention to a notice already given by the Senator from Arizona [l\1r. AsaunsT] that imme­diately following the disposition of House bill 7951, the coop­erative agricultural extension bill, he will move to proceed to the consideration of Senate joint resolution No. 1. That notice is already upon the calendar, as the Senator from Montana will &:;ee. The Senator from Montana will lose no right whatever by giving no notice, and if the Senate desires to take up his bill at that time, of course it can do so.

Mr. WALSH. Let me inquire of the Senator, would that notice take precedence of the notice given by me with respect to the bill now under consideration, which follows immediately on the calendar?

Mr. SMOOT. I think the notice of the Senator from Arizona was given prior to the notice of the Senator from Montana. If so, naturally the notice of the Senator from Arizona would take precedence so far as a notice is concerned.

Mr. WALSH. Then I withdraw the request. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The unfinished business will

be proceeded with. COOPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORK.

The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the con­sideration of the bill (II. R. 7951) to provide for cooperative agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the seyeral States receiving the benefits of an act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, and of acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mr. JONES. I submit an amendment which I ask to have read.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washing­ton submits an amendment which will be read.

The SECRETARY. On page 2, line 10, beginning with the word "Provided," strike out the clause "That in any State in which two or more such colleges have been or hereafter may be estab­lished, the appropriation hereinafter made to such State shall be administered by such college or colleges as the legislature of such State may direct," and insert in lieu thereof the fol­lowing:

That no money shall be paid out under this act to any State to be administered by any college in which a distinction of race or color is made in the admission of students, but payment to any State in which there are separate colleges for white and colored students shall be held to be a. compliance with the- provisions of the act if the funds received in such State be equitably divided as hereinafter set forth: P·rovitled further, 'l'hat in any State in which two or more such colleges have been or here.'lftet· may be established, or in which thet·e bas been one college established in pursuance of the act of July 2, 1862, and also in which an educational institution of like char·acter has been established, or may be hereafter established, and is now aided by such State from its own revenue for the education of colored students in agriculture and the mechanic arts, however named or styled, or whether or not it has received money heretofore under the acts of 1862 and 1890, above referred to, the legislature of such State shall propose and report to the Secretary of Agriculture a just and equitable division of the appro· priatlon hereinafter to be made to such State between one college for white students and one institution for colored students, and when ap· proved by him the share in said appropriations, as determined by such division, of such college for white students, shall be administered by such college fot· white students, and the share in said appropriations, as determined by such division, of such institution for colored students shall be administered by such institution for colored students.

Mr. WORKS. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from California? Mr. J0111'ES. Certainly. Mr. WORKS. I should like in this connection to send to

the desk a telegram which bears directly upon the amendment offered by the Senator from Washington, and: ask to have it read.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California sends to the desk a telegram, which will be· read, without objection.

The Secretary read as follows : OAKLAND, CAL., February 8, 191-f.

Hon. JoHN D. WORKS, United States Senate, Washington, D. 0.:

The northern California branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, representing the interests of 10,000 colored people and their friends about San Francisco Bay, urge you to vote for the Jones amendment to the Smith-Lever bill relative to the Government appropr·iation for agricultural extension, thus assuring justice to the negro in the South. ·

CHniSTOPHBR Rm:ss. Miss ANITA WHJTNEY. WALTER A. BUTLER THOMAS N. JACKSON. Miss EvA B. JONES. Mrs. H. E. DEHART. JAMES A. HACKETT, W. N. RICKS.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, the amendment which I have offered has been printed and has been on the desks of Senators to..: some time. It is changed in one particular. The-amendment as I originally introduced it provided that the plan proposed by

the legislature of the State should be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. I have changed that in the amendment, as I now offer it, to the Secretary of Agriculture, so as to correspond with the other provisions of the bill.

This legislation, Mr. President, I consider to be of very great importance. It is intended to assist in the development· of the agricultural resources of the country, and whatever develop­ment can be brought about in the agricultural resources of the country must redound to the happiness, comfort, and prosperity of the people. With the general purposes of the bill I am in very hearty accord, although I fear that the results hoped for will not come from its passage.

I think it very doubtful, however, if the Congress of the United States can afford to pass legislation of very great im­portance at the cost of making a great class of the citizenship of the colmtry feel that they have been unjustly and unfairly treated by such legislation, no matter what its importance may be. As I view the bill, it will, as now framed, result in causing a very large class of our citizens to feel that they have been unfairly treated by the bill. In fact, I believe that under the operation of the measure they will be very seriously discrimi­nated against. The purpose of my amendment is to prevent such a discrimination as far as possible. The bill now pro­vides as follows :

That in order to aid in diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects relating to agricul­ture and home economics, and to encourage the application of the same, there may be inaugurated in connection with the college or colleges in each State now receiving, or which may hereafter receive, the benefits of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts" (12 Stat. L., p. 503), and of the a.ct of Congress approved August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. L., p. 417), agricultural extension work which shall be carried on in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture.

It also provides that--No portion of said moneys~ That is, the money appropriated under this act--

shall be applied, directly or indirectly, to the purchase, erection, preser­vation, or repair of any building or buildings.

I understand that under this act, if passed, during the next seven years there will be appropriated for the colleges indicated in the bill some fifteen or twenty million dollars, and this pro­viso is contained in the bill as it is now framed:

Provided, That in any State in which two or more such colleges have been or hereafter may be estn.blished the appropriations hercin::tfter made to such State shall be administered by such college or colleges as the legislature of such State may direct.

Under that proviso of the bill I do not belie-ve there will be any other than one result. That result will simply be thnt in certain of our States the legislatures will proyidc that all the fund going to the State shall be used by the white college in the State. There are 16 or 17 States in the Union that haYe separate agricultural colleges for white and colored students. In view of what has been done in the past with reference to ap­propriations made by the National Government, I do not believe there is any doubt but that all the fund provided under the terms of the bill and under the proviso I have just read would go to the colleges for white students in these various States. I doubt if the friends of the measure will even contend otherwise.

What has been done under the acts of Congress with reference to the organization and the development of agricultural col­leges? The act of 1862, which provided for the organization of agricultural colleges, gave to each State 30,000 acres of public land of the United States for each Senator and Representative in Congress. It was provided that the proceeds from those lands should go into a nmd that should be undiminished. The income of this fund was to go to the organization, support, and the development of agricultural colleges in the various States. If any part of the fund was lost or misapplied, then it was to be made good by the State. There was no provision in the act that there should be any division between different colleges. In fact, there was no occasion' for any legislation of that character at that time. As a result of that fact there was no provision with reference to the disposition of this fund that would prevent all of it from going to colleges to which white students alone were admitted.

The fund has been divided in this way: Three million one hundred and seventeen thousand and six hundred dollars has gone to the colleges where white students are received and edu­cated, and $201,285, or only about 8! per cent, to colleges where colored students are received. So under the origin.al act a very large part of the fund arising from it has gone exclusively to colleges for white students, and the colleges for colored stu­dents have received practically nothing-as I said, only 8! per cent.

The act of 1890 appropriated $1·5,000 a year and $1,000 addi­tional each year for 10 years for the support of these agricnl-

2930 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATJ;j). FEBRUARY 5,

tural colleges, until the annual amount appropriated would be $25,000 a year. This was to come from the proceeds of the sales of public land . In that act there was inserted substan­tially the provision that is contained in my amendment. In other words, in the act of 1890 it was provided that a p-lan should be proposed and submitted by the State legislatures to the Secretary of the Interior for the distribution of the money arising under that act for the benefit of white colleges and colored colleges.

Under the act of 1901 Congress appt·opriated $5,000 additional, and pro-vided that $5,000 additional for each year for five years should be added to the amount appropriated in the act of 1890, and thereafter we were to appropriate $50,000 a year for the support and maintenance of agricultural and mechanical colleges. That act pr<YVided that this fund should be used and administered in accordance witli the terms of the provisions of the act of 1890.

So under the two acts of 1890 and 1907 we have had a fund distributed in substantially the same way as is provided in the amendment that I have proposed.

Under these two acts a reaso-nably fair disposition of this fund has been made. The income to the colleges under the two acts has been: divided substantially as follows:

The colleges educating white students have received $009,-521.63 and the colleges educating colored students $240,478.37, or about 28 per cent.

Under the acts of March 2. 1887, and March W, 1906, experi­mental stations were provided for in connection with agricul­tural colleges. In the law providing for these experimental stations no provision was made requiring any of the money appropriated under those acts to go to agricultural colleges for colored students, and as a result none of the fund has gone to those colleges, at least substantially none. In 1912 in 12 States of the Union each State received $30,000 for its experimental stations, and not a dollar went to co!Ieges where colored students ,were admitted and educated.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I should like to ask the Senator how much went to white colleges?

Mr. JOl\TES. Thirty thousand dollars went to experimental stations in connection with agricultural colleges for white students.

Mr. SMITH o-f Georgia. No. Mr. JONES. It went to experimental stations in the States-­Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Yes. Mr. JONES. In 12 States it went where white students were

educated. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Not at all; they were not educated

at the experimental stations. Mr. JONES. I mean they took the course carried on at the

experimental stations. 1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. There is not any course at the ex­

perimental stations. The experimental station is a scientific investigation of agricultural problems, the information from .which all the people of the State are entitled to.

Mr. JONES. They are operated in connection with the agri­cultural colleges.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. No. That may be the case with some, but not in others.

Mr. JONES. In a great many of them they are. That is the case in my State.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. In my State there is a separate board of trustees, and it has no connection whatever with the State college of agriculture.

Mr. VARD.AM.AN. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. THOMPSON in the chair).

Does the Senator from Washington yield to the Senator from Mississippi?

Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. VARDAMAN. I wish to say_ to the Senator from Wash­

ington that there are three agriculture experiment stations in Mississippi afilliated, and in that way connected, with the agri­cultural and mechanical college; one of them is 100 miles from the college and the other two are farther. That they are under the control and direction of white men there is no doubt.

Mr. JONES. I find here in the report of the commissioner of education for 19121 page 358, a statement of the incomes of colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts, and I find this statement of the United States appropriation for experiment stations:

Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College, $30,000; University of Missouri, $30,000.

1\Ir. VARDAl\i.A.N. I wish to say to the Senator--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi? Mr. JONES. Certainly.

Mr. VARDAMAN. These institutions are experiment stations. One of them is situated at Holly Springs, in tbe extreme north-· ern part· of the State; another in the western part of the State on the Mississippi Ri\er; another down in the Gulf coast sec­tion. 'l'he college is situated at Starkville, in the extreme east­ern part of the State.

Mr. JONES. But this fund is administered by the controlling power of the colleges.

Mr. V ARDA..MAN. As a matter of course, as I said, it is under the control and direction of the men employed for that purpose, and it is affiliated or associated with the colleges.

Mr. JONES. That is all I have said. That is what I have contended. - Mr. CUMMINS. Mr. President--

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­ington yield to the Senator from Iowa?

Mr. JONES. Certainly~ :Mr. CUMMINS. I rose to ask a question of the Senator from

Mississippi. Is there more than one director of experiment sta­tions in your State or are all the experiment stations under the direct control of one director?

Mr. VARDAMAN. I think there is a director at each station. Mr. CUMMINS. I was under the impression that the experi­

ments carried on in each State under the act were under the control of a single director.

Mr. VARDAMAN. I do not think that is true. Mr. SMOOT. I will say to the Senator tllat is the way it

is in my State. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. In the State of Georgia there is a

board of directors of the experimental station consisting of seven men entirely disconnected with the agriculture college. The station is located in about the center of the State, and they elect scientific men as far as possible to handle the work of experimentation. The effort is to distribute the result of their investigations to all the farmers in the State. Negro farmers have equal access to information passed at the station.

Mr. CUMMINS. I ask the Senator from Georgia, does not the governing board of the experiment station, whatever that board may be or however it may be associated or disassociated with any college, elect or select a director of the experimental sta­tion?

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I think the leading offi.cer at our station is called the superintendent and not the director. It is practically the same thing by whichever name he is given. There is a man at the head of the work at the experiment sta­tion. Then there are various, specialists with him experiment­ing on the farm and experimenting throughout the State, but conducting their work distinctively at the experiment station.

Mr. CUMMINS. I supposed that was true in every State, that no matter in how many places the work might be carried on it was all canied on under the directorship or superintend­ency of a single head.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. But the white college of agriculture has no advantage in that station except that the men at the head of it are more capable of using what is done at the station. Everything that is done at the station is furnished to the col­ored agricultural and mechanical school and furnished to the white agricultural college. It iS distributed to every citizen in the State who will use it. Local funds are raised, I think, to pay for pamphlets showirig what they do; and not only is it sent to anyone who will take it, white or black, but the people are begged by the papers to write for it. It is simply a question of inducing them without regard to color to take information which the station can furnish.

1\Ir. SMOOT and Mr. VARDAMAN addressed the Chair. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield further, and to whom? Mr. J"ONES. I will yield to the Senator from Mississippi.

I think he wishes to make some suggestion to the Senator from Iowa.

Mr. VARDAMAN. In reply to the question propounded by the Senator from Iowa, I will say these directors in Mississippi are selected by the board of trustees of the agricultural and the mechanical colleges. I want to say that the board of trustees for the college attended by white students is the same board of trustees that control the college where negro students are educated. There is but one board of trustees for the con­trol of all the educational institutions in Mississippi, and as stated by the Senator from Georgia, the results of these ex­periment stations are sent out to all these institutioDB.

As the governor of Mississippi, I was ex officio the president of the board of trustees of the aglicultural and mechanical col­lege for the education of negro boys and girls; and I state that the same subjects were taught, the same experiments were made1 the same opportunities were given to the negro boys

·;.

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATEr 2931 and girls in the agricultural and mechanical college for their instruction as were given in the school for the whites. They diu not make the progress the white students made, but that was not expected.

1\fr. JONES. Mr. President--Mr. CUMMINS. Will the Senator allow me just a moment

more? 1\fr. JONES. Certainly. 1\fr. CUMMINS. I am not questioning the fact stated by

the Senator from Mississippi [Mr. V ABDAMAN]. The experi­ment station accomplishes its purpose, so far as publicity is concerned, mainly by the issuance and distribution of bulletins. I was curious, howm·er, to learn whether there were really three experiment stations in 1\lississippi or whether one sta­tion carried on its work at three places under the direction of one head.

Mr. VARDAMAN. It did not. Mr. CUMl\UN S. I should like to learn from the Senator from

Washington [Mr. JoNES] if he has inquired in regard to the report made by the experiment station in Mississippi, and whether that report shows whether there are three independent stations or whether the work is all done under one head?

Mr. JONES. I have not made any inquiries about that, but I think I can show very clearly that the experiment stations are under the aglicultural colleges. I am not making any question as to the manner in which the work is done, as to whether the negro students have access to it or anything of that sort; I am simply contending that under the acts appropriating money for the experimental stations practically all the money provided · by those acts has gone to experimental stations to which white students go and under the control of the colleges to which white students go. I think that is clearly settled by the language of the acts themseh-es, which I intend to read to the Senate.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Will the Senator allow me a moment before he reads those acts?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­ington yield to the Senator from Georgia?

Mr. JO~~S. Possibly what I may read may shorten this dis­cussion a little. , Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I will take only a moment.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­ington yield to the Senator from Georgia? . l\Ir. JO?\~S. Certainly.

Mr. S:MITH of Georgia. Mr. President, in the State of ·Georgia the governor appoints the trustees of the agricultural college located at the university and also of the experiment stations. They constitute entirely separate _boards; they have no relation to each other. Having filled the office of governor in my own State I know that I named trustees to fill vacancies that occurred, and they are just as independent as the negro agricultural and mechanical school. The governor names the trustees of each, and there are. three separate boards of trus­tees that control the three separate institutions.

Mr. JO:L\ES. l\Ir. President, under the law providing for these experiment stations 11ractica1ly every experiment station in the Southern States has been attached to and connected with the agricultural colleges for which this fund has been a!,)por­tioned by the different States where white students are admitted. Here is the act of 1887. This was the title of it:

Mr. V ARDAl\I.AN. l\Ir. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yie1d to the Senator from Mississippi? Mr. JONES. Not just now. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington

declines to yield. Mr. JONES. This is the title of the net of 1887: An act to establish agricultural experiment stations in connection

with the colleges established in the several States under the provisions of an act approved July 2, 1862, and of the acts supplementary thereto.

So under the law itself these experiment stations are estab­lished in connection with agricultural colleges e3tablished under the act of 1862. ·

Mr. V A.RDA.MAN. I want to say, Mr. President, if the Sena­tor will allow me--

'£hc PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi?

Mr. JONES. Just in a moment I will yield to the Senator. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington

declines to yield. :.fr. JONES. This proviso was contained in the act: P1·ovided, That in any State or Territory in which two such colleges

have been or may be so established-That is, agricultural colleges-

the arpropriations hereinafter made to such State or Territory shall be equal 1 dtvided betw~en such colleges, unless the legislature of such fltate br Terdtory .shall otherwise direct.

.And in practically every State in the South the legislature has directed that these experiment stations shall be established in connection with the agricultural colleges to which white stu­dents are admitted. There is the law, and that is the way it has been carried out in certain States.

Mr. Sl\IITH of Georgia. In reply to the Senator--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Georgia? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. Sl\IITH of Georgia. The law expressly provides that the

legislature of the State can control it, and in the State of Georgia the legislature established an independent experiment station, with an independent board of trustees, controlled by neither of the two agricultural colleges, and the State fur­nishes equally to each the benefit of all information that is developed.

Mr. JONES. l\fr. President, the act does not--l\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. One moment. The Senator may say

" practically all," but I know that it does not take place in my State; that is all.

Mr. JONES. The law does not provide for doing what the Senator from Georgia says is done. It says that the .experiment stations must be established in connection with the agricul­tural colleges provided for in the act of 1862. You may ha 'e a subordinate board, but the experiment station is in ('On­nection with your agricultural college or the law has not been followed.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. They do work in connection, and the State furnishes both of the colleges all the information gathered, but they are not under the trustees of either in any sense, and the bill authorizes the legislature to give it that direction.

1\fr. JONES. No, Mr. President, the bill simply authorizes the legislature to provide that in a State or Territory in which two such agricultural colleges have been established the appropria­tion hereinafter made shall be divided between such colleges­that is, between the State agricultural colleges-unless the legislature otherwise provides; that is, it can provide that it shall all go to one college, and that is what they have done.

Mr. V A.RDAMAN. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. V ARD.AMAN. I think I can probably facilitate the Sen­

ator's discussion of this matter by simply saying to him that the money has been expended in the State of Mississippi-and I presume the same is the case in all the Southern States-under the direction of, if not of the board of trustees, the presi­dent of the agricultural and mechanical college where white students are taught. I say if that does not provide for it, the laws should. The money has been disbursed and the expendi­ture has been conducted under the direction of the white people of Mississippi; and for it to be permitted to be disbursed by any­body else would be a great mistake. I dare say that no man who has given any thought to this subject would any more think of turning the money over to the negro race to be disbursed than would the Senator from Washington think of turning it over to the Japanese in the State of Washington.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, the Senator is going off into a line of argument which I have not gone into and which I have not even suggested. I am simply trying to detail here in a plain way how these expenditures are actually distributed. I am not questioning that they are not distributed properly; I am not even suggesting, and I have not suggested, that the distribu­tion of the money should be turned over to any particular race or to any class; but I may refer to that a little later on.

As a matter of fact, the funds provided for experiment sta­tions have been placed under the control and used in connec­tion with the agricultural colleges in practically every one of the Southern States where white students are admitted. Of the total revenues derived under the acts of 1862, 1890, and 1907, $1,244,025 has gone to the colleges for white students and $269,154 to the colleges where colored students are admitted.

It seems to me plain from these facts as to what will be done with the money appropriated by this bill if it is passed as now framed. The money will go to those agricultural colleges where white students are admitted and to them only.

This is very largely true of the State revenues in 16 or 17 States in the Union. Of the total State and national revenues for these agricultural colleges in 17 States $4.026,979 has gone to colleges where white students are admitted and $D2G,306 has gone to colleges where colored students ure admitted. I mean where white students exclusively are admitted and where the colored students can not attend.

As I said in the beginning, there are 16 or 17 States where they have separate colleges for white and colored students,

2932 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. FEBRUARY 5,.

and colored students are not admitted to the white colleges. In everything that goes to a successful institution the same dis­parity exists in these States with reference to tbeir colleges. For instance, as to the white colleges-that is, the colleges exclusively for white students-their buildings are vuluetl at $9,462,645, and the buildings ot the colleges to which colored students nre admitted are valued at only $2.291,020. Farm lands and grounds of the colleges at which white students are admitted ru·e valued at $2,759,674 .. while the farm lands and grounds of the colleges for colored students are valued at only $466,076. Apparatus and machinery in the colleges for white students are valued at $2,967,868. while in the colored schools the value is only $39{),772. The libraries in the white colleges are valued at $T22,274, and in the colleges for colored students at $54,450. '.fhe live stock in connection with the white colleges is valued at $228,482, while the colored colleges have live stock of the value of $54,89{), or the tot:l.l value or buildings, farm property, live stock, apparatus, machinery, and so forth, in connection with the white colleges in these 17 States is $21,-516,100, and in the colored colleges it is only $3,841,769.

Mr. WORKS. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from California? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. WORKS. In that connection, is the Senator from Wash­

ington able to give us the comparative number of people in the State of Georgia, of the white and blacks, or the number of attendants at the colleges?

Mr. JONES. I will make a statement with reference to that a little later, but possibly it might be well to refer to that right in this connection.

It was stated the other day, us I remember, by some Senator in the debate that the colored people do not send their children very largely to the agricultural colleges, or at least the col<fred students do not take part in the agricultural studies. Tbe stntis­tics show that in 17 Southern States the attendance at the agricultural colleges wtts, for the whites, 12,081, or 0.00068 per cent of the rural population, while of the colored people there were in attendance 5,689, or 0.0008 pet~ cent of the colored rural population; in other words, a larger proportion of the colored rural population attend the agricultural colleges than of the ,white rural population.

In the State of Georgia in 1912 there were 423 white students attending the white agricultural college, and there were 568 colored students at the colored college, showing actually a larger number of colored students at the colored agricultural C()llege 1n Georgia than of white students in the white agricultural college there. I do not know whether that meets the suggestion of the Senator from California.

Mr. WORKS. It does in part, Mr. President; but tmder this bill the distribution of the appropriation as between the States is dependent not upon the number of colored people or white people who attend these colleges, but is dependent upon the entire rural population. It may be that very few of the colored population attend tbe agricultural schools.

Mr. JONES. I have just s]+own that a greater proportion of the colored rural population attend those schools than of the white rural population.

Mr. WORKS. In some of the States; yes. Mr. JONES. In all the 17 States to which I have referred. Mr. WORKS. Then that meets the question I had in mind. l\1r. JONES. It is true in the whole 17 States. It hus been

suggested that there are no colored teachers--Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I inquire of the Senator what are

his figures for the 17 States, and to which 17 States does he refer?

Mr. JO:NES. I will name the States. They are .Alabama, Arkansas, DeJaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, 1\fississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Does that make 17? 1\Ir. JONES. I think so; at least those are the States. The

percentage of rural white population attending the agricultural schools is 0.00068 of 1 per cent-I have pretty nearly forgotten my arithmetic, and I do not know whether I read the figures correctly; but there is a decimal point, then three ciphers, and then 68. That will give it to the Senator. The per centum of rural colored population attending these colleges is O.<JOOS-I know I am reading that right-0.0008; in other words, nearly 0.0002 greater than of the whites.

.Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Will the Senator give me the total of each and let me work ont my own percentage?

Mr. JONES. Certainly. There are 12,081 white students in the white agriculturul coiieges in the 17 States named and 5,689 colored students in the colored agricultural collegess ne figures

are tairen from the report of the Commissioner of Education for 1912, volnme 2, pages 344 and 356,

Mr. CUMl\IIINS. 1\fr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Iowa? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. CUM.MI.NS. It is a little difficult to see the significance

of the figures when so many States are grouped together. Will the Senator from Washington take one Stute, as he did a mo­ment ago in the case of Georgia, and state again the number of students in the white agricultural college and the number- in the colored agricultural college; and also, in connection with that statement, give the revenue from all sources of tbe white college and the revenue of the colored college?

Mr. JONES. In that State? Mr. CUMMINS. In that State. 1\fr. JONES. Mr. President, I can very soon give the per­

centage of students, but whether I ean give the total income o! particular schools I am not prepared to say.

Mr. CUJ\Il.UINS. I thought the Senator stated it awhile ago. Mr. JONES. I gave the total of all the colleges in the aggre~

gate without separating a particular one, but I think I can give here what the Senator desires. I can give the total income for the one year; 1912, at any rate. In Georgia, in 1912, at the white school there were 423 students; that was 0.0003 per cent af the white rural population. The number of colored students was 568, a:nd that wns 0.0005 per- cent of the colored rural popu­lation. The total income of the agricultural eollege for the whites in Georgia: in 1912 was $249,656, made up of State and national: appropriations.

1\fr. S~fiTH of Georgia:. Will the Senator give those figures again?

Mr. JONES. 'I'he total income from State and national sources of the agricultural college for the whites in Georgia in 1912 was $24.9,656. Of that amount $50,287 were United States ftrnds and $182,000 State funds. The total income of the colored college in 1912 was $24,667, of which $16,607 was from tile United State and $8,000 from the State.

Mr. CUMMINS. Does that mean that they were trying to teach 500 colored stndents on $24,000 and 400 white students on $240,000, in round numbers?

hlr. JONES. I assume that to be correct Mr. CUMMINS. That seems to me a very startling dis­

parity. 1\Ir. JO~'ES. The Senator will find with reference to a goGd

many of the schools in the diffe1:ent Southern States a dispn.rity very much like that.

lli. S~ITTH of Georgia. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash·

ington yield to the Sena.tor from Georgia? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. S~HTH of Georgia. The Senator is no doubt aware that

this is an agricultural and industrial appropriation. Does he Lnow whetll.er in Georgia the two are combined or whether there are two separate institutions?

1\Ir. JONES. I do not understand what the Senator means. Mr. S~IITH of Georgia. Whether there is a separate indus­

trial college and a separate agricultural college for whltes? Mr. JONES. I am referring to the agricultural and mechanic

arts school. l\Jr. S:~ITTH of Georgia. Does the Sen~tor know whether the

mechanical part is separated from the agricultural part or is in the same institution?

Mr. JONES. I do not know what separation the State legis­lature has mader I simply take the statistics furnished by the Commissioner of Education, which show the amount of money spent for the white agricultural and mechanical school in the State of Georgia as being two hundred and forty-Ol1d thousand dollars.

1\lr. 3l\HTH of Georgia. Will the Senator cite me to nny Government report which shows that there are only 423 students -in: both our agricultural and mechanical colleges for white. ?

.1\lr. JOl\TES. The report of the Commissioner of Education for 1912.

.1\lr. SMITH of Georgia. I will state to the Senate that there are o-ver 600 students in our mecha..nical college alone.

Mr. JONES. Is that in connection with your agricultural school?

.l\lr. SMITH of Georgia. It is in connection with tbis appro­priation. We separate in Goo:rgia our agricultural college and our mechanical schooL Instead of conducting together an agri­cultural and a mechanical school for whites. we separate them, and we have a technological school in which there are oyer GOO students and an agricultural college in which• there are over 400. At the colored agricultural and industrial school we have found

1914 .. CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SEN ATE}'.

lt impossible to accomplish anything by se-paration. It has- been found impossib-le to induce any large number to take the agri­cultnral course, and it is practica.Ily an industrial school.

lUr. CUMMINS. That answers the question I was about to ask. which was wfiether the colored school was likewise di­vided?

1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. No. We have a number of separate industrial schools for colored boys in Georgia which are sup­ported largely by private subscriptions. We· nave a number of industrial schools for the negroes, but we do nat separate the funds of our colored agricultural and mechanical school. We wanted to develop that into a distinctive agricultural school, but we ha:ve not succeeded in doing so ; we have not been able to keep them out of the industries. We have a number of separate­industrial schools for negro boys pro-vided for by State appro­priations and private subscrjptions, but we do not separate this fund, because we have never been able to develop enough of them in the agricultural line to make it an agricultural sc.llool. The boys in that school are from the cities just as well as from the country.

1\Ir_ JONES. Mr. Pr·esident, of course the Senator from Geor­gio. is much more fumilio.r with the deto.ils in connection with the administration of those colleges than I am, but I belie-ve if there was more encouragement gtven :md mor""e incentive held out to the colored students, the colored boys :md girls in the South, there would be many more of them in the agricultural schools than there are now. That point I shall touch on prob­ably just a little later on. These agriculturnl colleges have been organized and largely sup.vorted by national aJ)propria­tions, and I assume that the national law has been complied with.

It was suggested in the debate a few days ago that there are very few of the. colored people who are capa.ble of teaching the colored students in agriculture. Thnt probably has resulted from the condition of things which the Senator from Georgia has just now suggested, tllat they can not get the colored boys and gjrls to take up or to study agriculture. I thlnk possibly that results very largely from the lack of incentive to take it up. They do not know whether or not, if they do fit themselves for that worf4 they will have opportunity to use the education which they get. It seems to me that if we hold out to them the incentive that when they do fit themselves they will be permitted to engage in that line of work or that profession in which they desi.Fe to enter we shall have a great many more of them attend­ing the colleges than there are now. Close the door of oppor­tunity to white or black and you dwarf growth and development.

As a matter of fact there are a grea.t many colleges and insti­tutions in the South that are maintained, as the Senator from

· Georgja suggested a moment ago, by private subscription, by private endowment, by private funds. There are a great many colored boys and girls attending those colleges who are develop­ing great aptitude for agricultural work, probably thus far not so great an aptitude as the whites have shown, but that can not be wondered at, for practically every encouragement of a sub­stantial character that has come from the State and from the National Government has gone to the co11eges where the white students are educated. There has not been the opportunity for the colored boy and the colored gjrl that has come to the white boy and girl. They feel that it is impossible to obtain a posi­tion~ even if fitted for it. They have not neglected the indus­trial occupations, however. I want to suggest that in a good many of the Southern States they have gone into industrial work where they have had the encouragement to do so. There was a fund C..'llled the Jeanes fund, for the encouragement of students in agriculture, and under that a great deal has been. accomplished in several States of the South.

:Mr. CUl\fMINS. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Iowa? .Mr. JONES. Certainly. JUr. CUMMINS. Before the Senator passes from that point,

I want to be sure that I understand the situation, because it is a very great surprise to me if I have gathered it correctly. Is it true that in the State of Georgia there is an agricultural and mechanical college in which in 1912 there were about, or a little more than, 500 colored students? Is tl:!.at the fact?

Mr. JO~. That is what the reJ)ort of the Commissioner of' Education shows~

Mr. CUMMINS. Is it further true that this school is con­ducted at an annual expense of not more than $24.000?

Mr. JONES. Those are the figures given in the report of the Commissioner of Education.

Mr. CUMMINS. To me that seems almost unhelievable. I think there must be an error somewhere in those fi~ures~ r can not ~onceive th~t you can carry; on. a copege with 500 or

[ I • : : : I ; . : ~

more students for $24,000 per year. If that. is true, they lia:v-€' reached some process· of economy down there that is totttlly unfrnown to m€-. I ho.pe tne Sena.-tor from Georgja will go into that matter at some time, because certainly that ean net be correct. It can not b~ a college which endeavors to teach these people the science of agriculture and the trades for $-24,000· a year.

l\<f11. JONES. It is the scho-ol tha:t has been designated in connection with th.e a~ricultural apprupriations that ou-r Gov­ei·nment has made.

1\-fr. CIDUiiiNS. If you take tire other side of it, under the statement made by the Senator fwm Georgia that they have in the agriculturn.l college and in the industrial college an aggre­gate of a thousand' students, accordjng to the· figures given by­the Senator from WashirrgtOIJl those tw-o schools ha-ve more thal.I $240,000 per year for tl'leir support-probably more, because I doubt whether the Semrtor from Washington had the· industrial college in his mirrd when he was giving tile figures. Tbe idens o-t teaching a thousand white students at a cost of $240,000 or ~250,000 per year, an·d teaching 500 or min-e students of the colored' race at a cost of $24,000 per year, presents a situation that to me is rather inexplicable.

1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. l\fr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Georgia? Mr. JONES.- Certainly. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. If the Senator will yield, I will

says that the character of the instruction is utterly different. The character of the students is utterly different. They liavfr not a boy in the negro school that could go through the colleg-e of agriculture at the untversity, or- that could stand an e-x­amination to enter. They come there for a few months and take a trade. While the :figures show 500 ttnd odd' there matricu­lating during the year, I do not think there are 25 that are studying o.griculture. The 500 do not stay there during the year. It is the matrieuiation fOr- the yeur that the Senator is: gtring. They come in and stay awhile to take a coUTse in saddlery~ to take a course. fn shoemaking, to take a course in bricklaying, o-r to take a special course in carpentry.

I haye been in close touch with men who are frequently at the school. My own impression is that the number there at one time does not reach half the number given in the figures. We have provided quarters for all who would come. 'Ve ho.ve en­couraged them to come.

It does not take the same expense to teach shoemaking that it does to teach higher chemistry. It does not take the same expense to teach bricklaying that it does to tench botany. We have had no applications there for any such courses of study. We. have not been able even to get them to take the more ad­vanced work in farming. We have th€- best farmer we can find among the negroes there. the best-trained man we could get in charge of the furm. The difference is that at one school the higbest class of scientific work is done, for men who are capable of receiving the instruction and who are seeking it.

Mr. CUMMINS. May I ask the Senator a question, .Mr. President'!

Mr. SMITH ot Georgia. Yes. Mr. CIDD\IINS. In our sc.Ilool the term " mechanic arts·" is

not confined to the trades. I take it tor granted that all the· agricultural coiTeges-that is, colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts, or agricultural and mechanical colleges-teach many oth& things than agriculture and the trades. They teach: civil engineering, they teach electrical engineering, they teach mechanical engineering, they teach chemical engineering. Does the college for colored students in Georgia teach these things?

Mr. SMITH of Georgia: I do not think it teache& any of them.

1\Ir. CU1\fMINS. Why? Mr ~ SMITH of Georgia. There are no negroes to take them .

There are no applicants to take them. You are dealing with an utterly different proposition. You are dealing with the masses of the negro race who are not ready for it, are not prepared for it, and are not seeking it. We are trying to reach out and Sei:""Ve them in the only sane way in which we can sene them_ Out of our 1,200,000 negroes in Georgia, at least 900,000 of them are coal black. It is all we can do to advance them gradually, as we are seeking to advance them, beyond the con­ditign in which we found them.

Mr. CUMMINS. I am only seekfng information. I know the difficulty as well as the Senator from Georgia.

Mr. Sl\llTH of Georgia. I am seeking to answer the Senatol"' fairly.

Mr. CUMMINS. But the colored children of S(ime parts of· the South are trying to get just such information as I have sugg~sted we a}:'e imparting in the North, in some of the pri,vate

• ~ l : 11 1 I '. l I I I l

2934 CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SEN ATE. FEBRUARY 5,

institutions of learning, such as that conducted by Booker Washington. Is not civil engineering taught in that college?

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I do not know. If so, I never saw a negro who was a civil engineer, and I certainly ne-ver saw one who was a chemical engineer or a mechanical engineer.

Mr. CUMMINS. What does Booker Washington teach in his college?

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I do not know. I never see any of his graduates doing anything anywhere in my State. I do not know one of his graduates who is at work in my State. In that agricultural and mechanical college we are seeking to take hold of the great muss of the negro race in our State. We have 900,000 negroes who are rural. In our negro grammar schools we are trying to teach as many of them as we can to rend and write. Few go beyond the fourth grade. We are spending each year for the negro schools, out of the money paid by the white taxpayers of Georgia, many times the amount the Government gi-ves to these co1leges. We are advancing the negroes in these schools just as well as we can and as fast as we can. Of the appropriation to the State college of agriculture, $50,000 is used to put demonstrators all over Georgia, who demonstrate to the negro as well as to the white man, and who are ex:­h·emely gratified whenever they can get a negro on his own place, whether it is rented or owned by him, to take his acre and follow their directions and use the knowledge deri-ved from participating in the demonstration.

.Mr. CUMMINS. My surprise is that after all these years of educational effort the State school in Georgia open to the colored race is not able to gather students in such numbers as to require more than the expenditure of $24,000, gathered from all sources, national as well as State, to carry on the school. To me that is the most depressing information that has been developed in the course of this discussion.

Mr. TOWNSEND. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from ·wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Michigan? Mr. JONES. In just a moment I will yield. On the very

point at issue here, I wish to suggest to the Senator from Iowa that in 1912 there were in Mississippi 586 students in the agri­cultural and mechanical college, while in the same year the income of the colored college of Mississippi from all sources was $59,932. In South Carolina, in the same year, there were 826 students in the colored college, and the income of the col­lege was $48,361. Not so much difference in these different colleges. Very likely the facilities afforded were in keeping with the money aYailnble.

I now yield to the Senator from Michigan. l\lr. TOWNSEND. I was interested in the argument which

was presented the other day by the Senator from Georgia, and I had some sympathy with it, to the effect that the rural popu­lation of some of these Sv:lthern States requires the assistance this bill carries. I should like to ask the Senator from Wash­ington whether, in the distribution of the fund in this bill, it is

• equally divided among the white and the colored people in the rural districts of the Southern States?

Mr. JONES. l\Ir. President, possibly the Senator was not here during the first part of my remarks. I am trying to show that none of it will go to the colleges for the colored people, and I am basing that statement upon what has been done in the past. I do not contend that the colored people will not get some benefit from it. What I am contending is that it will go to the white colleges, to be distributed and used where only white students attend. That does not mean that no colored people will get the benefit of it, because under this bill people are to be sent out into the country; but they will be sent out by the colleges that are exclusi>ely for white students. In other words, those who ha>e charge of the colleges where colored students go will hn ve nothing to say as to how this money shall be used or where it shall be used.

It seems to me, when the National Go>ernment is appropri­ating money for the encouragement of education, that in Stutes where there are two colleges recognized as agricultural colleges, recognized as entitled to recei>e the benefits of the appropria­tions which we have made heretofore for agricultural colleges from the National 'l'~'easury, we should not place it in the power of the State to say that this money shall all go to or be handled by one college to which white people only are ad­mitted. . I do not contend that the negroes will not be benefited by this

appropriation. I do not contend that the demonstrators you send out will not demonstrate in communities where there are colored people, and "here they can get benefit from it. I do not contend that. E\·en if I "ere to admit thnt· the colored children 'W'Ould get the same benefit under your bill that they would under the provision ~ offer, I sllon1Ll still think Cong.ress ought

to put in this provision, so as to show these people that we propose to see that they are treated fairly, and to gi-ve them the encouragement that must come from the fact that there is a college to which colored boys can go that will have control over a part of this appropliation, and that if they develop boys who are capable of demonstrating they will have an oppor­tunity to go out and do it.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. l\Ir. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington further yield to the Senator from Georgia? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I wish to ask the Senator, then,

if he would waste half of this fund in its beneficial effects if intelligently administered, upon the DOO,OOO negroes in the r~ral section of Georgia, just for the purpose of shifting part of it to a place where there is nobody competent to do the demon­strating?

Mr. JONES. Of course we have not wasted any of this money heretofore, and I do not belie>e it is a fact that there are no colored people or white people connected with the colleges where colored boys go that are competent to do this work. I do not believe that is the condition of things, e>eu in the State of Georgia, to which the Senator is referring.

Mr. V ARDA.MAN. Mr. President--The PRESIDIKG OFFICER. Does the Senator from ·wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi? l\Ir. JONES. Certainly. Mr. VARDAMAN. The Senator speaks of the white people

connected with the colored college. Does the Senator l'eally know anything, of his own knowledge, about the management of the colored college of Mississippi?

l\Ir. JONES. I say I do not, l\Ir. President. I ha>e not visited it.

Mr. VARDAMAN. The Senator, than, is speaking out of the profundity of misinformation.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Want of information. Mr. JONES. No, Mr. President; I am not going into the

question as to how they are handled. I am going upon the broad proposition as to what it is fair for the National Gov­ernment to do with its money. If these institutions are so lacking in facilities for education, how, in the name of God, can you expect people to go there to attend them? It seems to me, if the National Government is going to appropriate money for any of our agricultural colleges, we ought to see to it that some of the money goes to colleges that really need it. If they have not the necessary facilities now, let us provide facilities. If they have not colored teachers, let us provide white teachers for the colored schools.

Mr. V ARDAl\fAN. 1\Ir. Presiuent--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wa h­

ington further yield to the Senator from Mississippi? Mr. JONES. Certainly. .Mr. VARDAMAN. I -very heartily concur with the Senator

from Washington in his desire to benefit the colored man. Mr. JONES. I do not doubt that. Mr. VAH.DAl\'lAN. But I do not in the least concur with the

Senator in the method by which he would do it. If the Sena­tor would just take a few days off and study this question and inform himself as to the racial peculiarities of the negro, with which we of the South have to deal, I think, from my acquaint­ance with him, instead of standing in his place and criticizing the white people of the South who are carrying this burden, his attitude on this question would be entirely different. Would the Senator ask the Go-vernment to share this fund with the Japanese in California? 'Vould he give the yellow man a voice in the disbursement of it?

1\:lr. JONES. I will answer that question, Mr. President. I would, if the Japanese were citizens of this country. They are not citizens of this country. I ho11e they never will be.

Mr. VARDAl\lA...~. Why not? l\fr. JONES. The colored people are citizens of this country,

legally as well as otherwise, and we must regard them as such. I will say to the Senator, however, that I can not discuss this question upon any other basis than that. He may look at it in a different way.

Before I forget it, I "ant to say that I do not intend, at any rate, to criticize your people of the South, and I do not believe I have done so. I am merely trying to show, from my stand­point, what I think ought to be done with the funds tbe National Government is going to take out of the ~reasury fct· the development of schools in the different States.

Mr. V ARDAl\IAN. l\fr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator ft·om Wnsfr.,

ington further yield to the Senator from Mississippi? l\Ir. JONES. I do.

1914.: CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SEN ATE. 2935

Mr. VARD.A.MAl'l'. I desire to ask the Senator why he is so averse to the Japanese becoming citizens and so mucb in favor of the negro as a citizen?

Mr. JONES. The colored man is a citizen now. I am not here to say what I think ought to have been done 40 or 50 years a~o. He is a citizen, and as such he is entitled to the snme rights fhat I am entitled to under our Constitution and under our laws.

Mr. V ARDAUAN. The .Japanese is here. Mr. JONES. He is not a citizen and never will be. 1\Ir. VARDAMAN. I agree with the learned Senator that the

Japanese should not be permitted to become citizeas. I am opposed to any colored race acquiring citizenship. But in all the elements that go to make up a perfect man the Japanese if:! vastly superior to the negro. The Senator knows that.

Mr. JO!\'ES. I do not admit it. JUr. VARDAMAN. The .Senator .does not admit it? Mr .. JONES. No. Mr .. VARDAMAN. 1\~eu, Mr. President, I can not argue

against that k'ind of information. The ·Japanese has shown marked capacity for self-government; the negro has not.

Mr. JONES. I do not think it is necessary to admrt that for the pm·poses of this argument. ~ wish to say that I recognize the burden that the white

people have in the South, and I should be glad to do anything possible to help them bear that bmden, because it is a national burden. I believe this is a good way to help them bear it. They may not agree with me, and they may have better in­formation than I have with reference to the situation. I think, however, that human beings have about the same feelings and about tbe same aspirations to a grea-ter or less degree, and that about the same influences affect one that affect another, to n greater or less degree, of com·se; and I believe that about the same influences that will elevate .and lead upward the white man will also elevate and lead upward the colored man. It may be true that the progress of the colored man will not be quite so rapid, but I think if you hold out to him hope for the future he will reach for it just as we reaeh for it. He may not reach for it quite so vigorously or quite so effectively as we no. I believe he will reach for it, however, .and I believe tlle de­velopment of the colored people irl the South nas shown lt to be chara-cteristic of them as we-ll as .of us.

1\Ir. WORKS. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash-

ington yield to the Senator fTom California? · Mr. JONES. Certainly. :Mr. WORKS. If it is an admitted fact, as stated here, that

the colored man is not susceptible of educati-Oll along agricul­tural lines, I will ask the Senator from Washington whether tlhe National Government ought to be making an appropriation for that purpose?

l\fr. JONES. I certainly do not think he should be counted to get a certain part of the fund if he is not considered capable of getting any benefit from it, but of course I would not admit that he is not capable of development in that line. In fact, I think he ha:s shown his capacity in that respect to a very great degree.

Mr. WORKS. I am not admitting it, either. I am .simply taking the statement that comes from the other side of the Chamber.

M~:. JONES. I did not intend to convey the impression that the Senator was doing so, because I was satisfied he was not.

It was suggested here a few days ago in the debate. that the negro people did not want negroes sent out to teach them. My recollection is that the junior Senator from Georgia [Mr. SMITH] suggested something of that sort.

I can not believe that to be the case. The1·e may be some evidence of that in Georgia or in some of the other Smtes, but it seems to me it is so contrary to the principles of human nature that we can not believe it as a general proposition. I believe the colored people like to ·be taught by people of their own race. I believe they like to be educated and led by peo­,ple of their own race rather than by those of another race. I think that is not only in accordance with human principles and human character, but also in accordance with experience.

There are a great many colored schools in the South estab­lished and maintained by private capital. What do we find about tenchers in those schools? Why, we find, of course, both white teachers and colored teachers, but we find colored teachers in a far greater pr oport ion than white teachers.

If the n egro does not like a colored teacher, why is it that these institutions employ a great many more colored teachers than white? 'rhe people who furnish the money for these different institutions are business people. They are white people. They are men of experience. They are men of wisdom. It seems to

rue they would use· the methods that would bring the greatest good out -of the money they invest. ·If they found among the col­ored people the feeling that ha:s been suggested, that they do not want to be taught or led by their own race, they, of comse, would have a great majority, if not all, of the teachers white. Yet what are the facts in that regard?

The teachers in the secondary and high schools, excluding the public high schools, in the followin'g States, are as follows:

In Alabama there are 68 white teachers in these schools, and 440 colored teachers.

In Arkansas there are 9 white teachers, and 88 c.olored teachers.

In Florida there are 19 white teachers, and 80 colored teachers. In Georgia there are 111 white teachers, and 227 colored

teachers. In Kentucky there is 1 white teacher, and there are 68 colored

teachers. In Louisiana there a:re 65 white teachers, and 97 colored

teachers. In Maryland the-re are 5 white teachers, and 39 colored

teachers. In lfississlp-pi there are 55 white teachers and 1.95 oolored

teachers. In 1\lissomi there are no white teachers, but there are 41

colored teachers. In North Carolina there are 56 white teachers an-d 275 colored

teachers. In South CaooHna there al'e 54 white teachers and 2G4 -colored

teachers. In Tennessee there are 90 white teachers and 322 colored

teachers. In Texas there are 44 white teachers and 1GC colored teachers. In Virginia there ure 150 white teachers and 431 colored

teachers. It seems to me that shows that these colored students would

prefer and do prefer people of their own race for teachers and leaders above those of the white race. If they did not prefer them, it seems to me the people who finance these institutions woul-d get the teachers they did prefe1·.

M:r. VARDAMAN. 1\Ir. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi! Mr. JO.r ES. Certainly. . Mr. VARDAMAN. I do not wish to interrupt the Senator,

but I desire to say to him that so far as :Mississippi is con .. cerned, in aU the public institutions for negroes they have negro tea-Chers. If there are :my white teachers for negroes, they are in private schools maintained by priv.ate contributions.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, that emphasizes what I am try­ing to bring out, namely, that we otlght to have colored teache-rs for colored people; and if we have and insist upon having col .. ored teachers for colored people, we ought to give them some direct benefit from the funds we are going to appropriate out of the National Treasm·y.

The Senator says that in -the public schools of 1\Iississippi all the teachers for the negroes are colored people. In other words they either recognize the fact I have stated or else they fore~ upon the colored people, against their will, colored teachers and colored leaders.

1\lr. VARDAMAN. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from 'Vash­

ington further yield to the Senator from Mississippi? 1\Ir. JONES. I do. 1\'Ir. VARDAMAN. 'The manageme-nt of the schools in Missis­

sippi in all the municipalities is under the control of a white board of trustees. There is a negro superintendent and negro teachers in the agricultural and mechanical college of Missis­sippi for colored students. As 1 said a moment ago, they are under the control, however, of the same board of trustees that control all the other educational institutions. There are a few private schools, maintained by contributions largely from the North, that have white teachers. I do not think they have negro teachers at all in those schools. There is one in .Jackson and one north of Jackson, at Tugaloo, which is maintained by, donations, and my understanding is that they are all white teachers; but so far as the teachers in colored schools that are provided by law in Mississippi, they are co1ored.

I wish to say while I am on my feet that I ruther think the negro prefers a negro teacher, but I have my doubt about the negro tea-cher being as helpful to the negro student as the more capable- white teacher.

If I may be permitted to occupy the floor in the Senator's time, I believe that it would be a very unfortunate condi­tion of affairs if the negroes were permitted to manage their public educational institutions. I will cite an instance to sus--

2936 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. FEBRUARY 5,

tain this view. When I was governor and president of the board of trustees of the negro agricultural and mechanical col­lege I went down to the college on one occasion and found a repetition of one of the revolutions they have down there in Haiti. The yellow and the black members of the faculty had gotten into a race war, and when I went there and inquired about it I found it was absolutely impossible to keep order in the institu­tion until a white secretary was provided to look after the busi­ness affairs of the institution and was put in charge of it.

I speak, l\lr. President, as one who has lived with the negro all my life and who wishes him well, and who would make a greater sacrifice to-day to preserve his rights to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the products of his own toil than some gentlemen who live at a distance from him, who love him as a race but who despise him as an individual. [Mani-festations of applause in the galleries.] ·

The PRESIDING OFFICER. There must be no manifesta­tions in the galleries. The Sergeant at Arms will be directed to clear the galleries if it occurs again.

Mr. JONES. I do not suppose the Senator has any one par­ticularly in mind when he makes a suggestion of that sort. I think I would go just as far to help the man lying at the gate, whether he was colored or white or any other color, as the Senator from Mississippi. The fact that I happen to live in some other section of the country certainly ought not to deprive me of the right of saying some words in behalf of the people of some other sections of the country. I have endeavored as far as possible not to criticize or even to suggest that t)le people of the South are neglecting their duty. I do not want to sug­gest anything of that kind, and I have tried not to do it. I do not know why it is that such thoughts seem to be upper­most in the minds of our friends on the other side and why they seem to attribute to us something that is farthest from our thoughts in trying to solve this problem. I know it is their burden, although in a broad sense it is the Nation's prob­lem, and I sympathize with them in it. I recognize the con­ditions, but not so clearly it may be as they do. Probably I do not realize the difficulties so clearly as they do, but I try to do it, and I believe I do grasp them to a certain extent. I want to do everything that I can to help them solve this prob­lem and to bear these burdens, and I am suggesting this as one of the ways by which I believe we can help them to do it.

I believe that if we will take some of this money that we propose to take from the Treasury of the United States and guarantee that it will go to and be used by some of those \!Ol­leges, or put under their control, to help develop teachers from those colleges, and help develop teachers that the Senator from Mississippi thinks ought to be teachers for the colored race, we are helping to solve this problem and that we are going forward in the solution of it rather than backward. It may be that I am mistaken and that he is right, but I do not think so.

Mr. V ARDAJHA..1~. Mr. President--'l'he PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. VARDAMAN. I hope the Senator from Washington will

acquit me of any purpose to impute to him improper motives. I do not. I believe the Senator feels that he is rather called upon to deal wit'.u this question, though his method of dealing with it would go contrary to the best opinion of the best people of the South, who have been face to face with it all these years, whose burden the Senator from Washington says it is. Yet he said a moment ago that he had never lived among them and he does not know any.thing about them except that which he has received from sources that I am quite sure from my own observation and experience are not reliable.

If the Senator from Washington had his way about this matter-and I do not pretend to impute to him improper mo­ti\es; I _ think he is just as honest and just as sincer~ and just as patriotic and just as devoted to duty as the inquisitors were during the Spanish inquisition, who broke the bodies of the Jew on the rack and boiled dissenters, believing, as they did, that it was better, that by punishing them for a day they might be induced to recant and thereby save their immortal souls from eternal damnation-! say to him-· -

1\fr. JONES. Mr. President, I do not think the Senator-­Mr. V AllDAl\IAN. The Senator would bring about a condi­

tion in the South which would be unendurable for the white people of that section, and the civilization of the South, glorified by the genius of our fathers and consecrated with their blood, would perish from the earth.

Mr. JONES. I do not think the Senator has any right or any occasion to suggest that I am animated by the same rnotiYes and the same spirit that animated the inquisitors.

Mr. Y ARDAl\IAN. They were perfectly-honest.· Torquemado was as sincere in his bloody work as Washington was in his patriotic effort. ·

1\lr. JONES. Yes; - but they had a spirit and a malignity about them that I thought was entirely foreign to me.

1\Ir. V ARDAl\IAN. Absolutely. They were onJy trying to save humanity. They thought a little suffering in this world was justified in order to save souls from perdition.

Mr. JO:r..TES. If that is the way the Senator looks at it, of course it will be a long time before he and I will agree on these matters. I am inclined to think the Senator, probably biased by the very surroundings in his part of the country, may not be as capable of suggesting a proper solution of these matters as some others who might take a little more dispassionate view of the situation. I am trying to think that, and that, too, with­out questioning his motives or his honesty of purpose in his views as to how to work out this problem.

As I started to state awhile ago, there is a fund called the Jeanes fund that is formed for the education of colored people in an industrial way. I find from official sources, not from living among these people but from official_ sources, that they have b~en making quite a development in that respect; that they have been accomplishing considerable; and that there are those among them who apparently are above the ordi~ary mass of their race as the Senator from Mississippi is above the great _ mass of his race.

I have here, in the report of the Commissioner of Education, a statement with reference to industrial teachers who were edu- . cated under the fund I have referred to, and I find the fol­lowing:

The first industrial teacher was employed by the Jeanes fund in Octo- · ber, 1908, in Henrico County, Va.

It was a striking thing to me; it may not surprise our friend from Mississippi, but it surprised me to read this statement:

A negro woman, Virginia El. Randolph, who had taught 13 years in the county and bad. achieved notable success as a n'lral teacher, was appointed the first industrial supervisor.

She must have been capable. Mr. VARDAMAN. What State was that? Mr. JONES. In Virginia. There were 23 negro schools in her county. The industrial teacher

during the fu:st year organized the parents into improvement leagues,· and through these leagues secured very marked improvements in the conditions of the buildings and _the grounds . . She introduced into the schools work in cooking, sewing, mat making, and elementary agri­culture.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. .Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Virginia? · Mr. JONES. Certainly. -Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. I should like to ask the Senator

from Washington something about that system in Virginia. I never heard of an industrial supervisor there.

1\fr. JONES. An industrial teacher. I believe it does sny­that she was appointed an industrial supervisor.

1\Ir. MARTIN of Virginia. I suppose she was an instructor in some colored school. I know that no colored woman has been appointed a supervisor of any sort over white schools in Virginia.

.Mr. JONES. Ur. President--1\fr . .MARTIN of Virginia. The Senator, I suppose, has gotten

hold of an account of some colored. industrial school, of which there are several in Virginia, and they are doing very good work for the betterment of the colored race. They are taught by col­ored instructors. I have no doubt that was some colored insti­tution with a colored woman appointed as an instructor in it; but we have no public office known as an industrial supervisor in Virginia. _

Mr. JONES. I take thjs from the report of the Commis ioner of Education for 1912, at pa-ge 119, and I stated that it was under the Jeanes fund.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. Yes; it is under some special fund--

Mr. JONES. A special _fund. . Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. Dedicated to tue education of

colored children in their institutions. _ 1\Ir. JONES. CertainJy.

Mr. l\IARTIN of Virginin. No colored woman ha been ap­pointed a teacher or industrial supervisor or anything of that sort except in a colored institution devoted to the education of colored people, and it is \ery proper that they should be ap­pointed when they are qualified. Some of them, I am glad to say, are qualified to do the work in industrial in titutions do voted to the education of colored people.

1\lr. JO~TES. I would not consider it far wroug if a _com­petent colored woman were appointed to an official position in

1914. (JONGRESSION AL R.ECORD-SEN ATE .. 2937. Virginia, as far as that ·is concerned; but I do not tllink that was probably an official position. It was under this fund.

1\Ir. MARTIN of Virginia. I am not familiar with that par­ticular fund, but I would differ with the Senator about appoint­ing a colored woman to an official position to instruct white people.

1\fr. JONES. Oh, I did not say instruct--. 1\Ir. MARTIN of Virginia. If appointee. to an official position to instruct colored people, it is all right, just as is being done in private institutions.

Mr. JONES. · l did not say she had been appointe<! to an official position to instruct white people. I understood that the Senator from Virginia wanted to make it clear that this woman was not appointed to an official position of any kinu.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. That is correct. Mr. JONES. I want to say that I would not ha\e any objec­

tion to appointing her to an official position, especially in con­J,lection with colored people, if she was competent. The report says:

In Virginia, where a second State supervisor of rural schools has been appointed to give his time wholly to negro schools, the negro industrial upervisors are in large measure under his control.

During the past year negro industi·ial supernsors were employed in 117 counties in 12 Southern States.

Then it gives the numbers and the States that I will not take the time to read.

Now, with reference to their capacity for farm work and farm-demonstration work, which the Senator from Georgia seemed to think they did not do or were not capable of doing, and that colored people really do not want them as leaders, but prefer white people, I find this same report on page 249 the following:

Closely allied with the work of the Jeanes Fund and the State super· visors is that of the farm-demonstration work, which was begun by the late Dr. Knapp. This work is carried on under the direction of the United States Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the General Edu­cation Board.

There were 32 negro farm demonstrators in 1912, distributed among the States as follows: Virginia, 10; Alabama, 7; South Carolina, 7; Georgia, 2 ; North Carolina, 2 ; Florida, 1 ; Oklahoma, 1 ; Arkansas, 1 ; Mississippi, 1. In speaking of the work of these agents-

These are colored people-Mr. Bt·adford Knapp said in his recent report to the general education board:

" I believe that it is safe to say that these, togcthet· with the negro farmers and tenants who are receiving direct instruction through white agents, will bring the total of negroes being instructed up to about 20,000."

As an illustration of the work of the negro demonstratot·s, Mr·. Knapp describes the activities of one of them in the "ellville com· munity, in Virginia:

I call attention to the improvement that has been brought about in that particular community under the direction and supervision of a colored teacher, or instructor, or demonstrator : . The improvement in the Wellville community under the special super­intendence of J. B. Pierce is a source of great interest, and presents a showing that iB little short of remarkable. Some of these negro farmers are making yields of corn from 50 to 200 per cent larger than they did formerly, and are doing it at less cost per bushel. They have become immensely interested in grass demonstrations, and some of them have produced as high as 2 tons of hay per act:e, while formerly they grew no grass whatever. Seventy-five per cent of these farmers are now growing wheat and 35 per cent of them are growing oats, and the acreage has vastly increased over what it was before. They are building up their soils by the use of cowpeas, crimson clover, soy beans, rye, and buckwheat. Before the demonstration work began in this com­munity only one crop was grown on the cornland, and the land was continuously cropped to the one crop, year in and year out. Now fully 40 per cent of the farmers with whom this work is conducted have adopted two or three year rotation of crops.

Mr. President, that simply illustrates what can be done with the e negro demonstrators, and that is what I would like to see done with a part of this appropriation. I believe it can be done, and I believe it will benefit the people of the South. I belie\e it will help them solve this problem. I believe that every negro farmer who can be led to increase the production of his corn or: his wheat from 50 to 200 per cent is helping to solve this problem and to relieve the people of the country and the people of the South from the great burden that they ha'\"e to bear. I believe that if we can have institutions established in these various States, to which these boys can go in the hope and in the knowledge that when they fit themselves they will be sent out to their race and the people of their community to help them to· develop themselves as better farmers and better hus­bandmen, we will have this problem further along the road of a proper solution than it is now.

It was suggested a few moments ago by the Senator from Mississippi that there are negro teachers in all the negro schools and that that is the proper thing. That simply emphasizes what I insist upon, that the colored people want colored instructors, colored farm demonstrators, colored supervisors, and that the best way to solve this problem is to fit colored men to occupy

LI-~lSG

tllose positions. Of course, if we have not negroes who are fit to occupy them now we will ha\e to take white people, but that is uo reason why we should not help them to fit themselves to take advantage of such opportunities as may present themselves. It is really a good reason why we should do this.

In line with that suggestion of the Senator, I find that legis­lation bas been passed in some States that actually prohibits white men from teaching in colored schools. I saw in a ]')aper just the other morning--

Mr. V ARD.A1\1.A.N. Mr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi? 1\Ir. JONES. Yes. Mr. V .A.RDAl\IAN. I wish to ask the Senator if he is familiar

with the industrial condition of the negro in the South? l\Ir. JONES. I am going to refer to that a little later on. l\Ir. V ARD..AMA.N. Are you familiar with the progress they

ha\e made, industrially? l\Ir. JOl\'ES. I am going to refer to that a little later on. Mr. VARDAMAN. I say, are you? 1\Ir. JONES. I think so. Mr. VARDA....\IAN. Ha\e they made progress? Mr. JONES. I . think they have made wonderful progrP.3S.

I am coming to that in a few minutes. l\Ir. V ARD.A.l\I.A.N. I wish to make a suggestion to the Sen­

ator, because I want him to have it in mind. I have listened with a great deal of interest to his discussion of the question, and I hope that the friction of suggestions and attrition of ideas may evolve the eternal truth which will furnish a light to lead us· out of the wilderness.

1\.fr. JONES. I hope so. Mr. V ARDA.l\I.A.N. I want to suggest to the Senator tllat it

would be interesting if he would contrast or compare the prog­ress of the negro race since 1865 with the negro in other parts of the world. If he shall go deeply into this question he ,vm probably reach the conclusion that under the kindly guidance, assistance, a.nd cooperation of the white man he has probably accomplished more, he has probably done better for himself, than in any other counh·y in the world.

Unless the Senator is absolutely sure of his footing, in his desire to reach the h·uth and promote the welfare of the ne~ro I would suggest that he had better be careful not to change the system under which the negro has made such progress, lest he might make a mistake and ha\e a repetition of Haiti, or some country like that, where the negro has absolute control.

1\Ir. JONES. 1\Ir. President, I think when I go into the mat­ter of progress I will advance about the same idea the Sen a tor has with reference to the negro's progress. I am unfortunate in my expression if he thinks I have suggested that tile white people have not done a great deal for the colored man. AU I want to do is to see if we can not do a little more and do it in a better way.

1\lr. V .ARDAl\I.A.N. If the Senator will pardon me, I do not want to interrupt him and break the thread of his argument--

1\Ir. JONES. There is not any thread to it. 1\fr. V ARDAl\f.A.N. I suggest to him that under the terms

of this bill as it is, in Mississippi to-day-! do not know how it is in other Commonwealths of this Republic-a negro farmer may be selected who has intelligence above the average, who is prudent and provident, who has a little farm; they will help him to improve his farm and to show what he can accomplish. There are a great many of these experiments being made on negro farms. r want to warn the Senator that he will commit a great mistake and he is not a kind friend of the negro if he shall give the negro control of this fund. Under this plan the work is going to be done under the direction of the Anglo-Saxon, the man of proven judgment, initiati\e, wisdom, and experience, and the negro men and women will get the benefit of it. They are going to do the work which will serve to develop whate\er qualities they possess susceptible of development, but it is going to be done under the supervision of a superior head and a more skillful hand.

Mr. JONES. l\Iy amendment will not take away the superior head or the superior hand. I do not know whether in the col­leges that have been designated as entitled to take part in the benefits of the act of 1862, where colored students attend, there is a colored board of regents, but I doubt it. Those in control, I suppose, are white people. I am not going to disturb that at all.

Mr. BRADY. l\.lr. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER.. Will the Senator from Wash­

ington yield to the Senator from Idaho? 1\Ir. JONES. Certainly. 1\Ir. BRADY. I ha\e been following the line of argument of

the Senator from Washington very closely and I am at a loss to

2938 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- SENATE;

understand exactly what advantage the amendment he proposeS' Seeretacy of Agriculture, regardless of his political affiliation, wiLI be to. ·the corored ·race of tne South. In listening t01 the will believe that the members of the legisiature of that State remarlts, of' the Senato:-r from Georgia (Mr-. SMITJJ] and the Sen- know bette!' than an indiv:iduaJ how the fund! snould be appor­ator from Missi stppi [Mr. VARDAMAN] they seem to be firmly tioned and what should be done with it? It seems to me, after convinced that the best way to administer this appropriation in listening ta the statement of the Senator- trom Georgia [~Jlr. the Southern States:, where the white studentS' and the colored SMITH], that the action of the legislature in that State would students attend different schools or colleges, is to have it ad1nin- be unanimously in favor of a distribution of the fund that would istered for the benefit of colored students: and white students by give the white men the control of the same. uncl I fear that if. the white men of the different States. I tbi.nk that was the real · we tcy to force them to nandle this industrial problem i:n a: intent of the first section that this am~mdment attempts to strike manner that they do not believe, after years of. experience, tO' out. The nrst section whicfi the Senator provose~ to- strike out be light, that it will in the end be a detrimetl.t rather than a provides- benefit to the colored man, and it is the colored man that we are

That in any State in which two or more such colleges have be-en or trying to b-enefit and help by the passage of this law, just tlie h reafter may be established 11I:re- approp-riations. hereinafter made _to such same as the white man, and I believe t:tp.s can be accomplished State sh:JIL be. administer d by such e.ollege or coLleges as the- Iegrslature> . in a better way by leaving the States to na.ndle their part of of such State ma.y direct.

I understand that is the part of the. bill the Se11ator proposes the approiJrirrtion in the manner best suited to the conditions to strike out. in the different States.

Mr. JONES~ I propose to strike out that provision and put in 1\Ir. JO.i.rES. He may and he may not. I do not know whether :mother that bas been found in the other acts of Congress passed, or not the Senator has heard all of my remarks, but I find that the act of 1890 and the act of 1907. where the law does not contain a provision of that kind-for

Mr. BRADY. That is what I understand. In place of that instance, the act of 1862-neariy all the mouey went to tb.e white school , and under the· acts of 18~0' and 1907 ~ which contain a

the Senator proposes to insert the fellowbag: provision like that, but not quite so strong, I tlrink-the approval That in any State or Territory in whleh two or more such colleges· f D

have been or hereafter may be established. or in which there has. been o the o;)ecretary was not even requi-red, though I am no-t sure one college- estabiished in pnrsmmce of the act of July 2, 1862, and about that-but substantially the provision was the· same· m:r also in which a:n educational iastitntton CJf like character has been this, tllere was1~ to my mind, a fairer and juste-r and mare e tablishe.d or may be hereafteli' established. and is now aided by sn.eh .onuifable division of the ID"'lletr, :m· d my belief i"' that ·~~-re.,., -rnv, State from its own revenne, for the education. of colo-Fed stooent in ~..,., v J: a u.uu .. ~J • agricultlil'e and the mechanic' arts, nowever named or styled, or whethev- amendment thete' will be such a division. ] have not :my doubt or not it ha recei-ved m.on.ey heretofore under theJ acts of 1862 and in the world tl:Iat if this provision iS' not incorporated in the 1890, above referred to- bfli every dollar of that fund will be controlled by the colleges

I wish especially to call the Senator's attention to tbis. part- for white students. tite legislature of such State ma-y propose and report to the Secretary 1\I•• BRADY 1 ·fu·ny ""''. ith th ~ . ..,., t th. t ~,_ __ Of the lnteriOl' a just :llld equitable diVisiOD Of the tlppl'f)p:UiatiOD!I he-re- -"• ' aoLee W e C€.u<'l Or a WR!' qnes-. inafter to be made to such State between one college for white stu· tion for ns to decide iS' whether or not it would be better :for us dents and one in titutfon for colored students, and thereafter the share to baye it so controlled--of snch college for white students in. said appropriation, a.s dete-rmined 1\Ir, JONES. Certainly that .is true. by such divis-ion, shalL be administered by such college for white stu- ... I.... BR' "DY. rrr,.. lL>•ave I't t" the J'U'"tne"". s o-Il' ~-...e man 1' dents and the snare of such institution for colored studentS' in said u .. cii .Lu = ., "' "' L !ill.

appr~riations. a:s determined by such division, shall be ad'nrfnistere~ the South who has this problem to contend with OT whethet• it by such institution for colored stu.den1!s. is better for u to- leave it to the Secretary o'f Ag?iculture ta-

If I understand it-and if I do not I hope tile Senator will say whether what their legislature has determined to be- a explain it, so that I may thoro-ughly understand it-the- State just and equitable prop0rtion is in reality j.ust and equitable legislature proposes what it considers to be a just and equitable I do not believe any Secretary of Agriculture would ovenide division of tile appropriation, and then, atte:r the legislature O'f the decision of' the legislature of a State as to what they the State deteYIDines that .in the future-" thereafter-" the> thought was a ju t and fail distribution. amendment says-" the share of such college fo1· white stn- Mr. JONES. I have been spending a couple of holii'S in try­dents in said app-roptiation *' * * and the sfrare of such rug to show that, rn my judgment, it is. better to do what this institution for colored students" shall be administered in ac- amendment provides, but I may not have been able to convince cordance with the report of the just and equitable distribution the Senatot· from Idaho. made by the legislature of the State. If the membet~s of.. tbe .Mr. BRADY. I fully agree with many E>f the statements made­legislature in a State where there are twa c-olleges feet that by the Senator from Wasnington. He has. ce1·tainly ID< de a this appropriation can be better administered by the white very able argument along th.e lines. pro])osed il11 Ws amendment. people, and they have absolute supervision over the entire ap- :Mr. JONES I thank the S-enator. propriation, then it will be so administered. Mr. BRADY. I simply a:m asking the e questions so that

If one portion is left for the benefit of white students n.nd we may become thoroughly enJ:ightened on this subject before ~me portion left for the benefit of colorecl student , it seem to we east our votes,. for I realize tllll.t this is. one of the, seriou. me a division might be made that wonld be more detrimental problems that the men in the· South have to contend with, and to the colored students than the present bili. I realize further that the people of the North are ve1·y much. •

Mr. JO~TES. I do not see how:. interested in a fair and equitable use of the fund by the differ-Mr. BRADY. As an illustration, the· Senator fro-m Georgia . ent States.

made the statement that he believed the amount o:f $24,000· for 1 :rur. JONES. I know that. the 500 colored students was in proper PI'Oportion, as I tmder- l\Ir. BRADY. .And it is our duty to see that justi . e is done tOJ stood him, to the provision for the white students, which was ea€b and every citizen of this Union. several times larger than that made for the colored stud€nts~ Mr. JONES. That is right, and that is what I want to do. Mr~ JONES. But I da not think so. · Neither do we want to overlook the fact that we are taking this :Mr. BRADY. T.hey are the: me~ unde:r your amendment, who money out of the Federal Treasury, and we are taking it out

would have to decide this. · for the benefit of' our citizens. It seems tame that we, as rep-Mr. JONES. No. re-sentatives of an the people, ought to see to it that it shall be Mr. BRADY. Does not yom· amendment say that- used witho-ut discrimination and as nearly as possible for the

tlle legislature of such State may propose and · report to tlte Secl"etnry uplift and tile benefit of all citizens whom it is intended to of the :Interior a }ust and equitable divi ion of the apvropriations? benefit, regardless of race ot• color.

1\Ir. JONES. Certainly; it must be approved by the Secre-- 1\lr. President, I was just starting awhile ago. when I was bury of Agriculture before they can do it. interrupted by the Senator from Mississippi [Mr. VARDAMAN],

Mr. BRADY. It does not say so here. to calJ attention to a clipping which I cut from a newspaper a Mr. JONES'. Yes, it does. The Senator has not read the morning or- two ag9, which reads as follows:

WOrdS •• and when appl'VYed by· him." NO WIIITES TO TEACH. NEORQ-OTHEll. DIU.STIC FEATURES IN B-ILL P.\SSED. Mr. BRADY. That is the part that I should like explained. BY souTH cAROLINA HOUSE. Mr. JONES. It must be approved by .him. CoLUMBIA. S. c., January I!S, mv,. 1\ir. BRADY. That is further on in the amendment? TM lower brancfi of the generar assembly to-day passed on final read-Mr. CLAPP. The Senator has not the right amendment. ing the Fortner bill, prohibiting white persons from teaching in negro-"f JONES H h th ndme t T"' t {.,. the schools anything but the Bible, by a vote o:f 62 to 40. J} r. · e as e wrong arne n · ua = Amendments to the measure which were adopted provide " that the

amendment as it was first introduced, but it has been changed. pro-visions of this bill shaH apply to intimacy of the races in houses of It has to be approved by the Secretary of Agriculture. m repute., and that the btll shall include "white nurses to be em-

:Mr. BRADY. If the Secretary of Agriculture, even under ' ployed in' negro hospitals or to nurse negroes at any no pi tal or sanl, your amendment as amended o:r changed, is called upon to ap- tarium." prot"e a just and equitable appropriation as determined by the I understand that in Florida the whites are absolutely pro-· legislature of the State, does not the Senator believe that the ·hibited from teaching in negro schools. I understand that that

1914. CONGRESSIO~AL RECORD-SENATE. 2939 is also true in Louisiana. It simply emphasizes, as I have said, the importance of the National Government, when we are ap­propriating money from the FederU Treasury, to see to it that a part of this ftmd, at any rate, shall go to those who really need it mora than anybody else.

l\fr. President, I haye taken far more time than I expectell to take, but I 'Want to notice, for just n few moments, the question 1·aised by the Senator from Mississippi [1\Ir. VARDAMAN] a mo­ment ago, 'With reference to the progress of the colored race. I had c..:!casion some little time ago to make an investigation 'With reference to that subject; not by personal visitation to the section of the country where the colored people mostly are, but by looking through official reports, statistics, and so forth, I endeaYored to gather information with reference to the progress of the negro race. I want to say that I was really amazed at their progress; I was amazed at what they have done during the last 50 years. I do believe that the white people are entitled to some credit ·for what has been done and what has been accomplished by the colored people. I have put into writing what I found and my impressions with reference to the matter, and I think it will take less time for me to read it than it would if I were to try to state it otherwise, because there might be more interruptions that way than there will be in this way.

Fifty-three years ago there were nearly 4,000,000 human beings in this country in a state of slavery. They were bought and sold like so many sheep or cattle. They owned no property; they were nothing but property themsel \es. They had no busi­ness training, but for 250 years had been working for and under the direction of others. Instead of developing self­reliance, every influence affecting them tended to destroy self­confidence, self-reliance, and individual initiative. They were given no education, but, on the contrary, to instruct them was made a crime by law. All the moral instincts of their natures were disregarded, dwarfed, and destroyed. They bad no rights that anyone was bound to respect. At the close of the most bloody and terrific war in the history of the world this race, this property, became a free people. They were almost as help­less as children; they had scarcely enough clothing to hide their nakedness; they were in a country devastated by war and among former owners and masters who could not help but feel more or less unkindly toward them. Instead of looking to others for food, clothing, an<l shelter, they must provide for themselves. A more discouraging prospect for a people could scarcely be jmagined. It is a high commentary upon the gener­ous nature of their former owners, as well as upon themselves, that they should have made such great advancement and should have reached such a friendly relationship 'With each other as now generally exists.

l\lr. V ARDAl\IAN. Will it interrupt the Senator for me merely to make a suggestion at this point?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from Wash­ington yield to the Senator from Mississippi?

Mr. JONES. Certainly. · Mr. V ARDAl\lAN. In the discussion of this question I would

invite the Senator from Washington to consider the condition ·of the negro in 1865 and contrast his condition then with the

condition in which be was when the slave dealers-who, as it happened, all lived in the North-brought him to this country 200 years before. The Senator remembers that when brought here the negro had to be taught to eat cooked food; that he had to be taught a language. He was a cannibal, a worshiper of the voodoo, and under that "cruel condition of affairs" which, he described, existed in the South the Senator finds him, after 200 years, capable-as the Senator and some other people of the country who clid not know so much about it thought-of governing the southern white people. .

l\lr. JONES. No, l\lr. President; I did not suggest anything of tlla t sort.

l\lr. Y ARDAl\IAN. I said that the Senator finds the negro in that deplorable condition which be has just described when the race came out of slavery.

Mr. JONES. Wait a moment. I can not yiel<l to the Senator from Mississippi to put into my mouth something that I clid not say at all-that we found them capable of governing the south­ern people. I suggested nothing of that kind.

Mr. VARDAMAN. But they 'Were given the right to do that under the law.

Mr. JONES. Oh, yes; they were given the right to vote. l\lr. VARDA:\fAN. I was simply calling attention to that

fact. Mr. JOi\""ES. I was not justifying that. 1\Ir. VARDAMAN. The Senator has presented the negro as

n num who had been oppressed. I want to call attention to the fact that instead of the negro not being helped along during

the 250 years of slayery the reverse is true. I am going to make this statement soberly, and I challenge contradiction­consi<lering the negro's condition as it was 'When brought to this counh-y, he made greater educational and moral progress during the 250 years of slave1-y than he had ever done before or since in the history of the negro race. .

Mr. JONES. I want to ask the Senator a question. Is there any statement or suggestion that I haye just read here that is not correct?

l\lr. VARDA..~fAN. Except that you present him as much oppressed--

1\fr. JONES. Ko. Mr. VARDAMAN. That he has ha<l no opportunity for de­

velopment; that he had simply been driven as a beast of burden. I have no word of defense for slavery; bad I Jived ·in those days I should haye been as much opposed to it as was Thomas Jefferson; but I 'Want to say to you tbat slaYery did not burt the negro, though it was a very decided disad­vantage to the owner of the slave. I repeat again, however, that no man can take the history of this country and the his­tory of the negro race who will not find that he made greate1· progress, morally and otherwise, during the 250 years of slavery than he had ever done before or since in the history of the world.

Mr. JONES. Nevertheless, the negro was in tbe condition I have just described.

Mr. V ARDAl\IAN. I do not think he was in that condition at all.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. 1\Ir. President--The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. MARTINE of New Jersey in

the chair). Does the Senator from Wasbington yield to tile · Senator from Virginia?

l\lr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. As the Senator from Washington

has on more than one occasion asked the question whether he had described the condition of the negro accurately, I can not fail to respond. In so far as my State is concerned the Senator has described the condition of the negro with great inac­curacy.

Mr. JONES. In what particular? I do not want to describe his condition inaccurately. I should like the Senator to point out in what respect I have been inaccurate. .

l\lr. MARTIN of Virginia. That demonstrates to my mind the fact that those who live in the same communities w:lth the negroes are better qualified to solve the negro problem than are Senators 'Who li\e in remote States.

1\Ir. JONES. Mr. President, I am going to ask some ques­tions.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. I am not going to occupy many seconds. I merely wish to dissent from nearly eYery statement which the Senator has made about the negro when be was freed in 186G.

l\lr. JONES. I want to ask the Senator if it is true that negroes were bought and sold like sheep and cattle. Is that true?

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. They were bought and sold, but I can not say that they were bought and sold like sheep and cattle. For the most part they were bought and sold in the most humane manner that was consistent with the institution of slavery.

Mr. JO!'-.~S. I am not condemning it; I am not even argu­ing it.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. The Senator says they were bought and sold as sheep and cattle. I say they were not.

Mr. JOI\TES. I always understood they were. l\fr. MARTIN of Virginia. I say they were not, and I was

there and saw the conditions. Mr. JONES. I should like to have pointed out to me the

difference. Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. They were bought and sold in the

most humane possible manner under which slavery existed. Mr. JONES. Sheep and cattle are sold in a humane way. Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. Wherever it was possible husband

and wife were sold together. Mr. JOI\TES. I am not questioning that. Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. Well, stating that they were sold

as sheep and cattle was intended to indicate that they were brutally dealt with.

Mr. JONES. No; sheep r.nd cattle are frequently sold .to­gether. You sell a cow and calf together often.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. I myself am not willing as a southern man, familiar with the negro and having almost an affection for the negro race, to see tbem characterized in that way without dissenting from it. They were not sold as sbeep and cattle. When they had to be sold in the division of estates

2940 CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SEN ATE. FEBRUARY 5 '

or for one reason or another they were treated with every consideration and kindness that it was possible for human beings to show to each other under the institution of slavery.

M1·. JONES. Then, I will ask this question: I say here that they owned no property, but they were property themselves. Is not that correct?

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. That is not correct. Mr. JONES. I should like to have it explained, because I am ·

glad to get some information. 1\Ir. l\.IARTIN of Virginia. Under the law they could not

own property, but most of them did own some property. By the custom of the country and the consideration of thair masters they were allowed to own a great deal of property that would be helpful in providing them with comforts and conveniences. Their masters were the custodians of their money. They were allowed a part of their time to work for themselves, and were allowed to have the fruits of their labor. Their masters took charge of their money, took care of it, and handed it to them as they wanted it and called for it.

Mr. JONES. It is r. fact, is it not, that to teach them in a great many States-! do not say in all-was made a crime by law?

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. It was. In my State the teach­ing of negroes was made a crime, but I have seen my mother assemble the negro children on the plantation and teach them to read and write. From the time I could read myself I saw that work going on. The negro youth who waited on me and at­tended me could read and write, and when he was set free he became a minister in the church to teach religion to his fellow men. There was a very large degree of education given to the negroes by their masters and by their mistresses. As I have said, I have seen them being taught from the time I was 10 years old. I have seen my mother and the governesses who were employed to teach the white children in the family teach­ing the colored children, and many of them were taught to read and write, taught the Bible, and taught the principles of religion.

Mr. J01\TES. I have not disputed that at all here. Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. The Senator not only disputed it,

but he has called upon me to testify about it. Mr. JONES. I mean with reference to teaching the Bible,

religion, and so on. Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. Again, I say to the Senator that

the negroes, when they were freed, were not left in a helpless condition, unable to earn a living. I will say to him that they were not poorly clad and unprovided with clothes. They were as eomfortably clad, in comparison with the white people of that time, as the negroes of the present day are clad in com­parison with the white people of the present day.

I will tell the Senator, too, that the negroes were not only not left in a condition unfit to earn a living, but they were trained to earn_ a living and were amply able to earn a living. They were blacksmiths, shoemakers, harness makers, and so forth. The women were able to cut out and to make clothing. The men were skilled laborers and common laborers. .A.ll of them had been trained to the necessity of industry and frugality, and when they were freed they were in a good condition to earn their living, and they did earn their living.

I will say to the Senator, also, that there was no hostile feel­ing toward the negro race. In the paper from which the Sena­tor read it was stated that they were turned adrift poorly clothed and ill provided to make a living, and that there was a certain degree of hostility in the minds of their old owners against them. The contrary was true. The kindest relations and the kindest feelings existed; they found their old masters extending a helping hand, enabling them to earn a living by paying them for their services, and helping them in ev-ery way to make their way as a freed people in the land.

I may not have caught all the points sought to be made in the paper from which the Senator was reading, but, to the best of my recollection, there was not an accurate statement in it; it was all inaccurate. I think he will find that the people who have been raised in the midst of the negroes, as I have been and as other southern Senators have been, know more about their condition, more about their characteristics, and more about their necessities than he knows, and are just as ready to extend a helping hand and as ready to alleviate the negro's condition as he is.

Mr. JONES. I am not questioning that, Mr. President. Mr. l\1A.RTIN of Virginia. Then, I will suggest to the Sena­

tor, if he is not questioning it, let the southern people, who have the negroes with them and have to solve the negro problem, attend to this matter, and let the Senator attend to the condi­tions in his own State, and things will be more equitably ar-­ranged.

Mr. JONES. :Mr. President, we are handling the money of the United States; we are disposing of that, and I think-­

Mr. MYERS. Mr. President--The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Washing­

ton yield to the Senator from Montana? Mr. JONES. In just a moment. I think I have a duty and

a responsibility with reference to how that money shall be dis­posed of and how it shall be taken. Furthermore, I want to say_ that the Senator from Virginia has demonstrated to my mind, even far better than I have done, the necessity, the importance, and the desirability of our using some of this money in the direction suggested by this amendment. He has shown the colored .man to be even far more competent than I thought him to be at the close of the war.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. Undoubtedly, accepting the state­ment of the Senator, he was. We have aided him in his progress during the last 50 years, and we will continue to do so, and in the expenditure of any money that comes to Virginia the negro will be treated fairly, according to our judgment. We might not think that he ought to receive as much of this money as the Senator from Washington thinks, because we know how much of it he can use advantageously, and the Senator from Wash­ington, I am sure, does not know anything about how much of this money can be used advantageously for the negro in Vir­ginia.

Mr. JONES. That may be true; but I have my opinions about it.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. President--The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Washington

yield to the Senator from illinois? Mr. JONES. Certainly. Mr. SHERMAN. I am desirous of further information; ancl,

with the permission of the Senator from Washington, I should like to pursue that line for a moment. It is said that this side of the Chamber is incompetent to handle ·this question, because we do not know anything about the negro race. I want to know whether we are to abdicate our powers and duties here because of the fact that we do not live in the midst of the negroes to the same degree as Senators making the suggestion?

Mr. VARDAMAN. Mr. President--The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Washington

yield to the Senator from Mississippi? Mr. JONES. I have yielded to the Senator from Illinois, but

I am perfectly willing that the Senator from Illinois shall yield to the Senator from Mississippi.

Mr. SHERM.A.N. I have no oBjection to the Senator yielding to the Senator from Mississippi.

Mr. V .ARDAMAN. Mr. President, I want to ask the Senator from Illinois to name the Senator on this side of the Chamber who said that the Senators on the other side knew nothing about the question.

Mr. SHERMAN. I understood the Senator from Virginia to say that we were incompetent to deal with the question, because we knew nothing about the negro race.

Mr. VARDAMAN. I asked the Senator from Washington if he had any definite, personal information on the subject, and the Senator told me he did not.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President, the Senator asked me if I had personal information, but not if I had definite information.

Mr. SHERMAN. I was referring specifically to the Senator from Virginia.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. The Senator from Virginia will answer the Senator as soon as he can get the floor.

Mr. SHERMAN. I will be glad to have the information. I had reference to the statement of the Senator from Virginia.

Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. Mr. President, what I said could not, except in a captious and unfair spirit, be construed as a

·charge that the Senators on the other side of the Chamber were not qualified to discharge their duties. I said nothing of the sort, and by no reasonable inference can such a conclusion be deduced from what I did say. I did state, what is an axiomatic truth, that those most familiar with the subject can deal with it more wisely than those who are not familiar with the subject. I did say, and I repeat, that the Senators from the Southern States, reared in the midst of the negro race, living in the midst of the negro race, feeling just as much interest in that race as Senators from other sections, and perhaps more, by reason of their nearness and their association, and having greater oppor­tunities for knowledge and consequently greater knowledge, were better able to solve the negro problem than men from communities where there were no negroes. I said that not in disparagement of Senators from other communities and without intending to charge in any sense that they were unfit to dis­charge their duties here. I said, and I repeat, that the southern Senators. living in the midst of the negroes, and having their

1914~ CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE.: : 2941: very existence involved in the wise solution of ·the negro prob- :Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. I have told the Senator franklY, lem-for it is a great problem; it has been a menace to our that I do not know the number, .and I am not going to be cross­'Civilization at times, and we are even now not free from the examined about it. menace in some of the relations concerning it-I say, in view 1\fr. SHERMAN. I will say that twice as many negroes vote of the immense interests involved in that problem and in the in the State of Illinois as are permitted to vote in the State ot midst of it, as we are, I think we are in a better position to Virginia .

.'deal with it than are Senators from remote sections of the Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. That may b~ so. You may permit country, where there are no negroes. them to vote without being qualified, or it may be that they are

That is what I said, Mr. President. I said it in none other better qualified. I am not responsible for anything that goes than a kindly spirit; in no other way than as a fair argument {)n in Illinois; but I say that Virginia does treat the negro fairly; based upon established facts, deducing from those facts a con- and lle Totes if he is worthy of voting. elusion which I think is irrefutable. If a man can better deal Mr. JAl\IES. .And if the Senator from Virginia will pardon with a subject when he is ignorant of it than when he is fa- me, I want to say that as many negroes vote in Virginia under ..miliar with it, then I am wrong; but if familiarity with a sub- the provisions of their law as would vote in Massachusetts, if ject, if knowledge of a subject helps the solution of the prob- the same number were there, under the provision of their law. lem, then I say that Bouthern men, assuming that they are ac- In other words, both States ha\e an educational qualifieation tuated by the same patriotic purposes as men in the States as a condition to the right of suffrage. where there are no negroes-! say that under those conditions Mr. SHERl\IAN. It is peculiarly within the province Qf :State southern Senators are bett"Br qualified, from superior knowl- legislatures to prescribe the qualifications of voters, if the edge of the conditions, to deal with the negro problem than Senator from Washington will permit me to trespass a little are men from the northern States. I said that, and I said it further on his time. in a fair spirit, not intimating or intending to suggest that Mr. JONES. Certainly. northern Senators were not qualified to discharge all the duties Mr. SHERMAN. I am not complaining .about that. I do not

•devolving upon them as Senators here. know whether or not you have any further provisions, such as Mr. SHERMAN. With the permission of the Senator from the payment of a poll tax and a "grandfather clause," in addi-

Washington, I should like to continue. tion to possessing a collegiate education, in Virginia. 1\lr. JONES. Certainly. Mr~ MARTIN of Virginia. I will say to the Senator that he Mr. SHERMAN. I am quite certain that I did not misunder- is inaccurate in that, as he is in almost everything else. A

stand the Senator from Virginia, and his explanation only con- collegiate education is not required in Virginia, and I can not firms me in my understanding. I should like to ·ask the Sen- imagine where the Senator got such an idea. ator from Virginia whether he knows that ma:ny northern Sen- Mr. SHERl\fAl~. Is there any "grandfather clause," or is ators have more negro constituents than he has in Virginia? the payment of a poll tax required:?

Mr. l\IARTIN of Virginia. I know that they have not in Mr . .. MARTIN of Virginia. There ds a requirement that a proportion to their numbers. There is not a .northern State- poll tax shall be paid, which is applicable to white and colored

.Mr. SHERMAN. May I add that probably the Senator has alike. It is a very small tax, and the man who does not not weighed the statement wllich I made. When I speak of choose to pay it or is not able to pny it .has no business \Oting. "constituents," I mean constituents who vote. I have more I It is a dollar .and :a half .a --year. negro constituents in the State I come from than you have in Mr. LODGE. Mr. P~·esident--Vu·ginia; and they are just as capable of taking care of them- The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from W.ashin.,-.rt-on selves .as nre those in Virginia, and they are given the rights yield to the Senator from Massachusetts? under the law and constitutional amendments which they are Mr. JONES. I do. denied in your State, sir. 1\!r. LODGE. As the Senator from Virginia is so extremely

:Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. E\ery negro in Virginia who is .accurate this afternoon, I think he .had better be :accmate ·qualified to vote is permitted under the law and under the prac- when he speaks about .. Massachusetts. W-e haT~. and have bad tice to vote. for- the l-ast 60 years, the qualification -of reading and wrlting

Mr. SHERMAN. How many of them vote in your State? for all voters, but we haYe no poll-tax qualification, so it is not Air. M:.A .. RTIN of Virginia. Every man who is qualified to identical.

vote and can come up to the desk and :fill •up the form that is Mr. JAMES. Do you have any property qualiflcation? given him. Mr. LODGE. No.

Mr. SHERMAN. What is the fonn? ·Mr. JAMES. They have to -read .and write, though! Mr. MARTIN of Virginia. 1 would not undertake to go Mr. LODGE. They ha\e to read and write.

through all the questions, but they Telate to his age, occupa~ Mr. JAMES. Yes. tion, and other ordinary matters which .a man who can read Mr. LODGE. But it appears that here there is a -poll tax .and write can understand. If he can read and write and has in .addition. This is merely in the interest of a:ceuracy, ·about the ordinary intelligence that goes with the knowledge of read- which we haTe .heard so much this afternoon. ing and writing, .he can qualify to vote in Virginia. Negroes Mr. JAMES. Certainly-; but I was wondering why tile in Virginia, when they are qualified to vote, are permitted to v:ote. Senator from Illinois did not jump on the State of 1\Iassa­I know nothing about the qualifications in the Senator's State; chusetts for having an educational quulliication. His objection but there is an educational qualification in Virginia, or what is not as to the payment of the poll tax, because that is merely amounts tci an educational qualification, applicable to the $1.50 a year and it is applied alike to all; but there is an whites and negroes alike. There is no discrimination or dis- educational qualification in the State of Massachusetts, and was tinction of any sort or kind whatever, but every negr-o in Vir- for many years before Virginia or any of the Southern States .ginia who is 21 years of age, and is not an idiot or a lunatic, ever had such a la.w. can vote if he has the educational qualifications that are -re- Mr. LODGE. The law was passed in the :fifties-about ~853, quired of white men. I think.

Mr. SHER~IAN. I now renew the question-! have not the MT . .JAMES. Certainly~ information yet-how many negroes vote in the State of Vir~ · Mr. LODGE. But I did not know the Senator from Tilinois ginia, which -the Senato-r represents in part? , was "jumping" on any State that had an e(!uca.tional quali-

1\Ir. l\I.ARTIN of Virginia. I do not know the number of fication. negro voters in the State of Virginia. Mr. SHERMAN. The Senator from Massachusetts correctly

Mr. SHERMAN. I thought possibly, with the knowledge the understood ..me. I am forbidden by the rules of the Senate to Senatm· possesses of the racial lines in Virginia, that he might reflect on any State. I have too great respect for such sov­gi\e me that information. ereignties to reflect on them. I am only inquiring fOr informn-

lUr. :MARTIN of Virginia. I would not be able to make a tiDn as best 1 can, so that I may be able at some time to "VOte statement .as to the number; but I say we have an educational on the amendment offered by the Senator from Washington. ,qualification such as exists in most of the Northern States. I Mr. JAMES. That is what I thought, and that is the reason am told, fur instance, by a friend sitting near me, that Massa- I ealled. the Senator's attention to :Massachusetts, a northern chusetts has substantially the same -requirement. Negroes are State. not excluded 'from voting in Virginia if they are qualified to Mr. SHERMAN. Yes; and then I made the further inquiry vote. Exactly the same test is applied to them that is applied about poll-tax regulations, .and I find that the State of Virginia to the white man, it is justly and impartially administered, :and possesses a poll~tax qualification, and unless the 'VOter can pro­no negro fails to vote who is ·qualified to vote and desires to duce ·satisfacto-ry evidence of the payment of that tax, l>y way :vote. of !l'eceipt or otherwise, he is barred from voting. Probably the

Mr. SHERI\I.A.l~. I wish to .ask the Senator from Virginia Senator from Kentucky knows whether that is a qualification ~hetlier as many as 40,000 negroes vote in the State of Virginia? in Kentucky, across the river from where I live,

2942 .CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-SEN ATE. FEBRUARY 5,

1\Ir. JAMES. It is not. There is no such qualification as that in Kentucky, and practical1y 75,000 to 100,000 negroes walk up to the polls and T"ote at every election in Kentucky. There is no qualification required, educational or otherwise; nor is there any requirement as to paying a poll tax, nor any property qualifica­tion, the only condition to the dght to vote being that the voter shall be 21 years of age and a legal resident. If the Senator wants information about Kentucky, it is a very great pleasure for me to give it to him.

l\Ir. SHERMAN. Yes, sir; I want it; and I am glad to know that Kentucky is so much more progressive than Virginia--

1\Ir. JAMES. What about Massachusetts? Mr. SHERMAN. Or Massachusetts; I was going to add that.

Wait until I get through. I want some further. information, that I hope will be fur­

nished me, if the Senator from Washington will allow me to trespass a little further on his time.

Mr. JONES. I yield. Mr. SHERl\fAN. There will be a literacy test up here some

day on an immigration bill, and in voting on that we shall have an opportanity to apply to those coming from foreign countries the same high standard of intelligence that we apply to negroes in Virginia and elsewhere.

I wish to pursue the inquiry a little further and to ask if the condition so glowingly portrayed by the Senator from Virginia and also the Senator from Mississippi as to the great progress made by the negro in slavery days does not indicate that the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments are a radical and gross governmental error?

Mr. VARDAMAN. Does the Senator address that question to me?

Mr. SHERMAN. Yes, sir. Mr. VARDAMAN. I think, so far as the fourteenth and fif­

teenth amendments are concerned, that they are-that is, the fifteenth amendment particularly, and part of the fourteenth.

1\Ir. SHER.MAl~. I have the information I desire. 1\Ir. JONES. Mr. President, the Senator from Virginia seems

to think we are trying to solve the whole problem by this bill. I do not so understand it. The only question in my mind is as · to what is the best course to be taken by the National Govern­ment with reference to the particular fund we are asked to appropriate for the purpose of assisting agriculture, and what would be the best way to use this fund in its distribution in the sections of the country where they have this problem, which is a national problem, too, so far as that is concerned. Leaving all the rest of the problem for them to work out and solve, I really can not understand why there is this enthusiasm with reference to propositions that I think are not actually involved in this bill at all. Much of the suggestions and· discussion is, in my judgment, far afield from the real issue.

I shall now proceed with reference to the condition of the colored race at the close of the war, and I shall endeavor to show the progress it has made since. I may not be entirely accurate, in the minds of some of my friends on the other side, with reference to each individual of the colored race. I notice that they make suggestions here that are a little different from mine; and yet they are not, taking them as a class, contrary to what I believe to have been the condition of these people. There may have been a few of them who could read and write, but the great mass of them could not read and write, and it is a fact that in many States it was made a crime by law to teach them to read and write. When I made that statement, however, of course I did not intend to convey the impression that not one of them could read and not one of them could write, but I applied it to th{:.m as a whole, and that is the sense in which I am going to use other references to them and what they have accom­plished.

Four million ignorant, helpless, childlike, freed chattels have increased to 10,000,000 citizens, who are now represented in all walks of life and who are advancing in industrial pursuits, in education, and in moral growth with amazing strides. A state­ment of the facts is more eloquent than any panegydc that could be uttered.

From the most reliable information that I can secure, I find that they own property of the value of nearly $1,000,000,000. They have accumulated over $50,000,000 worth o.f church prop­erty and have erected about 20,000 churches, with a seating capacity of six or seven million. About 2,000,000 of their chil­dren are attending the public schools, and over 40,000 are at­tending higher institutions of learning. Over 30,000 are teach­ers, and a thousand or more hold life certificates. Twenty-eight thousand are learning trades, and several thousand are· pursu­ing classical, scientific, and business courses. They have more than 150 institutions of higher learning, with 300,000 volumes

in their libraries. About 2,000 of their race are physicians~ 1,600 are lawyers, and there are more than 500 newspapers and magazines under their management. They have over 150 insurance companies, over 60 banks, 325 drug stores, 25,000 grocery and supply stores, and thousands of representatives in all the trades and vocations of life.

I hope in making these statements as to what the negro owns I am not in any way reflecting upon his southern white neigh­bors.

Wholly ignorant when the war closed, fathers and mothers could not teach their children. For many years there were few, if any, public schools to which they could go; but more and more the public-school system has been made available to them, and over $16,000,000 have been contributed for educa­tional purposes through their churches.

The wonderful results are shown by the statistics available from census reports. In 1860 they were practically all illiter­ate; in 1870, 79/rr per cent were illiterate; in 1880, 70 per cent were illiterate; in 1890, 56/o- per cent were illiterate; in 1DOO, 44-fo- per -cent were illiterate; nnd in 1910 only 30~ per cent were illiterate. ·

These figures are taken from census reports. At this rate of progress it will not be long until illiteracy will be practically unlrnown among them. I earnestly hope they will continue t<f improve in this respect until every one of school age and over can read and write. Education is the sesame that will unlock the door of progress and happiness to them, as it has to all those who have availed themselves of its benefits, and I w:mt this legislation to be fair, just, and helpful to them in every possible way.

It is natural that these people should be social in their habits and inclinations. The lives of their ancestors, when slaves, developed the social instinct as a part of their natures. They like to be together, and it is natural that the cities and city life should attract them. The excitement, companionship, closer associations, and entertainments attract them and their boys and girls as well as those of our race, and we find them con­gregated in the cities in large numbers. It is very gratifying to me, however, to find that there is a tendency to go to the soil and that the negro race in increasing numbers are becoming owners as well as tenants of farms. I hope this legislation will accelerate this movement.

The owner of land is the only real free man, the only man who can act with independence. The lawyer's clients may quit him at any time, and he can not help himself nor compel them to make use of his services. The doctor's patients may lea\e him and go to another without asking his consent. When the preacher's term expires his flock may hire another, and he can not complain. The day laborer can not compel anyone to employ him nor continue his employment after he is discharged. No landlord can be compelled to renew a lease when the term of his tenant expires. The owner of land, however. can not be de­prived of it without his consent. He can leave it and go back to it when he will. He can plant such crop as he may desire. When the year expires he need ask no one for permission to farm H the next year. With a little house on it, he need not worry for shelter, and with industry and thrift he need not worry about something to eat; but he can make things reason­ably pleasant, and always have the real joy that comes from a good appetite, a healthy body, and a mind free from worry.

Of the 6,361,502 farms operated in 1910, 75 per cent were oper­.ated by native whites, and 920,883, or 14! per cent, were operated by colored farmers. From 1900 to 1910 colored farmers increased 19/o- per cent. The value of lands and buildings of white farmers increased during the 10 years ending 1910, 122.6 per cent, while those of the colored farmers· increased 136.7 per cent. The size of the farms of the whites decreased, while the size of the farms of the colored people increased. While the farms of the whites are larger, the improved lands of the colored people incre...'lsed 65 per cent, while the improved lands of the whites increased only 39.4 per cent.

Of course, I understand that with the percentage basis we can make a better showing, and yet nobody ought to object to a good showing on behalf of the negro race. It seems to me we ought to rejoice at the showing they have made. Of course, a small percentage for the white people me...'lns more in acres th:m a large percentage for the colored race, as far as that is con­cerned; but I am not quoting this to reflect upon the white peo­ple, but for the purpose of showing what the negro people have done.

1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. I do not so understand it. I just wish to ask a question. Those farms are all in the South, are they not?

Mr. JONES; Yes; I think so.

QONGRESSION:AL. RE.CORD-SEN ATE. 2943 Mr.. Sl\HTH of. Georgia. And. this progress is made under our

plan of handling the negro in the South, and our- h·eatment of him?

Mr. JONES. Yes; thatis trne. 1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. That is what I . wanted to bring_ out. l\fr. JONES. What I hope for is to g.et greater progress, to

get an impr-ovement. on the present plan. I have not understood that all the Senators on the other side are standpatters, that they do not want to impro-ve. on conditions, but I want to help them to improve this condition. I am not saying that they are not helping the negroes, but I think we can help them more, and L want to help my friends on the other side to help them more.

I hope no one on the other side will think I am charging you ,with not helping the negro or not trying to help him, but I want to help him a little more and I want to help you to help him a little more. That is what I want.

In the State of Virginia there were 32,228 colored farm owners in ~910, owning about 1,381,223 acres, or' about one­tenth of the acreage owned by the whites, and or the value of over $28,000,000. In the United State& there were ·218,467 col­ored filrm owners in 1910, or- an increase of over 30,000 during the last 10 years. They own over 15,600,000 acres of land, as against 13,300,000 in 1910, and of the value of over $272,000,900, as against $106,600,000, or an increase of over 100 per cent. Now, very likely the development brought about by our white friends down there has had much to do with that increa-se.

.1\-Ir. SMITH of Georgia. Can the Senator tell us what propor­tion of that land, or those farms, is right in the South-in the States we· represent?

Mr. JONES. Why, I think they aTe all there--possibly not all, however.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Practically all? Mr. JONES. There are some in my State; but practically all

of them are in the South. . Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Practically all? 1\fr; JONES: Why, to be sure. 1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. That is what r wanted to bring out. 1\fr. JONES. I do not want to suggest the opposite; not at all. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I simply wanted that fact brought

out. 1\Ir. JONES. Farm tenants increased f~·om 552,40~ to 670,474.

r hope this means that these tenants will soon become, by their thrift and industry, owners of these farm lands.

Without homes, without churches, and without organizations Of any kind when released from the shackles of slavery, they haT"e demonstrated the virility of tlieir race not only by the increase in numbers from four to ten millions, but by the extent to which homes have been established, churches erected, scho.ols patronized, and the adoption of those systems of organization which characterize the civilization: of the day, it being estimated that more than one-third of their people belong to these or­ganizations at this time. · l\Ir. President, it seems to me- that a people who have made a progress like that, under the conditions and under the cir­cumstances existing, are entitled to all the help and all the encouragement possible. As I have said, I know that their friends in the South who are with them, of a different race, are doing what they can to assist in this progress, this growth, and this -development. I am willing to concede that possibly by reason of their familiarity with the surroundings and condi­tions and characteristics and habits of these people they are better able to solve this great problem than I am; but we are not endeavoring to solve all of the problem by this legislation. ,We are endeavoring by this legislation to help you people solve the problem that confronts you. We are endeavoring to assist you in carrying the burden that is peculiarly youT burden, but which is in fact the burden ot the whole Nation. We are pro­posing to take money from the Treasury of the United States· and I think it is our duty, regardless of where we come from: to do what we can to put that money to the best possible use to accomplish the purposes desired.

l\Ir. VARDAMAN. 1\fr. President, if the Senator will permit me a moment-the Senator's purpose, as I have said before, may be wholly pah'iotic and altruistic; but I. wish to say to him, and I do not think I am biased, that he is helping us just about as- effectively and just about as disastrously as if he should undertake to light us through a daTk powder house with a flaming torch. He is simply handling something that he does not understand, and instead of helping the white man and helping the negro in the solution of this problem, he is multi­plying the difficulties.

~Ir. JONES. Did the provisions of the act of 1890 and the act of 1907 multiply the difficulties that confronted you in

working out this problem? I address- that inquiry to the Sen:. ator tram Mississippi.

1\fr. VARDAMAN. To what acts does the Senator refer? r do not recall.

Mr. JONES. They are the • acts- appropriating a · certain amount of money for the support of theS.e agricultural colleges that had in them substantially the same provision that I a~ offering in this amendment.

Mr. V ARDA.MA.N. No; I do not think they have the same provision that the Senator offers.

1\Ir. JONES. Yes; they have substantially the same pro-vision.

Mr. VARDAMAN. I do not think so. 1\Ir. JONES·. It is almost word for word the· same. Mr. VARDAMAN. If so, they have not been executed · as the

Senator would have this provision executed. Mr. JONES. Why, yes, Mr. President; the manner in- which

they have been executed is one of the strong arguments I have for this amendment. Under this provision in those laws 28 per cent of the money went to these schools instead of 8 per cent under the act of 1862.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. If the Senator will allow me it is the difference irr the way in which this work- is to-be don~ that makes the entire distinction that we draw between the former act and this; and to sustain that requires the whole scope of discussion that I hope to present when the Senator takes his seat.

Mr. JONES. I had about concluded, Mr. President . The Senator from Mississippi refers to the bins I have in this

matter. I do not believe I have shown any more bias than he has shown with reference to the matter. Probably he has more bias growing out of the more intimate knowledge he has of the situation than I have. Of course, however, that has nothinO' to do with the merits of the proposition. !:)

I do not believe I shall take the- time of the Senate further. We have branched off into a great many matters that it does not seem to me--although I may be mistaken-are really involved in this question. The question is simply, What is the wise way to provide for the distribution of this money that we are going to take from the Federal Treasury for the agricultural develop­ment of the country?

I believe that in those States. where it has been shown in the past that the State legislatures control or are permitted to con­trol the. disposition of this money, they have given it to insti­tutions devoted. entirely to the education of white students Even if this is a different character of work from that in which they are engaged, I believe we should see to it that a part of this money shall go to the colleges that have been recognized under the former acts of Congress as the proper colleges to receive the funds that the National Government has heretofore do­nate~. Part of this money should go to those colleges, and be distributed by them. I do not ask that the agencies of distribu­ti~n shall be interfered with, but that the money shall be dis­tnbuted by the agencies provided by the State. In that way we shall offel" encouragement to the colored race in the solution of. this problem, which is a serious one; and we shall see to it that th.e money C~ngress appropriates out of the Treasury of the Uruted States 1s used for the uplifting of those who really need help, encouragement, and assistance.

Mr. S.MITH of Georgia. 1\ir. President, I shall not question the motives of anyone who differs with me with reference to the proper mode of handling this fund, but I do think I am probably in a better position than the Senator from Washington [1\!r. JoNES] to understand how the fund can be best used in my own State. -

We have in G9?rgia more negroes than are found in any other Sta.te of the Umon. We have 1,176,000 negroes in our State. How to move forward the great mass of the negroes is our serious problem.

The reason why those of you from other States do not under­stand the situation is that the great mass of the negroes are entirely different fr_om those you see as waiters downstairs. In 1865, when they were freed, those who were old enough to work had been taught to work. Many of them had been taught trades. Many of them had been taught how to farm well and how to cure for stock. Relieve<L of enforced labor, it was but natural that the tendency should be to avoid labor, not so much among the old as among the young who had never been made to work at all.

To-day we have in Georgia 900,000 negroes who fall under the class or rural population. We have something more than 200,000 who fall under the urban class. The large majority of the negroes of the- State still need the stimulus and the training that may- induce them to work for more than is necessary to

2944 OONGRES.SIONAL- REOORD-SENATE:.J FEBR1JARY 5,

meet their immediate wants, and instill in them a desire to save something, and to work more hours than are· absolutely neces­sary to clothe and feed themselves. ·

There are a few, a small percentage, such as you see here, a small percentage of the -more advanced in the cities, that are making admirable progress; but our problem is not with that class. It is with the great majority, 75 per cent, that it is diffi­cult to move forward to any progress at all.

You can go to a county in Georgia during court week and see three negroes to every white man, coal-black negroes from the farm, full-blood Ethiopians, and it is difficult to move them to work beyond what is absolutely necessary and what they are &lmost forced to do in order to live. ·

Now, l\fr. President and Senators, just a word with reference to the distribution of money. I still use the figures with regard to my own State. The negroes pay in State taxes $173,497 in all. '.rhat is· the amount they pay to what we call our State tax fund. The balance is paid by the white people. With absolute control of the State, we appropriate out of this very fund, in round figures, $6ti0,000 a year toward the education of the negroes. We appropriate toward their education nearly 400 · per cent more than they pay in all to State taxes.

I mention this to show that there is not an unwillingness on the part of the white people to help the negro. I mention this fact only as it bears upon the question we have before us in order that I may, at least in a meastue, remove any misappre­hension in regard to our feeling toward the negro.

I desire now to call your attention to our system of farming in Georgia. We have practically no negro labor hired for wages on the farm. Ninety-five per cent of the negroes who are on the farms of Georgia work for a part of the crop.

The white man's profit from his land must come from the good work done by the negro on the farm.

I do not mean that a majority of our farms are worked by negroes. To-day more than half the agriculturaJ product of Georgia is the product of white man's muscle on the farm. But of the negroes who work on the farm, and over 900,000 are con­nected with farm life, 95 per cent work for a part of the crop, and the white man's profit from his lands depends upon the pro­ficiency of the negro farmer. How do they work? Principally under a system which we call cropping. The white man owns a far111 large enough to divide up into perhaps a dozen small farms. I take that as an a>erage. He locates a negro family on every one of those small farms, and in many instances you will find they have been working the same farm that they are on for 10 or 15 years.

Mr. CLAPP. Will the Senator pardon a question purely for information?

l\1r. SMITH of Georgia. Certainly. Mr. CLAPP. What would be, perhaps, the average size of

tho e farms? Mr. SMITH of Georgia. About 50 acres; perhaps less. On

some of the best farms the owner of the land has a common pasture, or two or three common pastures, in which all their cattle go to graze; but 40 to 50 acres make about the average.

The owner of the land, of course, picks the very best negroes be can get to take his land. He frequently requires them to keep a cow. He requires them, as a part of their contract, to raise their own hogs, to keep their poultry around the house, to plant perhaps a few fruit trees, or to take care of them if they are there. There is a vegetable garden for their own house. T·he interest of the owner of the land is in the staple crops-cotton, probably, and corn; in some sections wheat, and in some, oats. Those are the crops that the tenant cultivates on shares. Sometimes in his contract he is.required to cultivate n vegetable · garden solely for himself, and is required to keep a cow and raise his own meat. The landlord gets his profit.

Mr. CLAPP. ]'or further information--1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. Certainly. Mr. CLAPP. What proportion, as a rule, does the landowner

get? Mr. S~HTH of Georgia. I was just going to give it to you.

Under that arrangement, if the landowner furnishes the stock and the agricultural implements, the animals, and· ·so forth; necessary to make the crop, and pays for half the commercial fertilizer, and advances to the negro his food supplies if he needs them, the landlord receives one-half the cotton or corn or other staple crop.

1\ir. CLAPP. The Senator speaks of an advance. That is paid back by the tenant? " · ·

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. The advan.::!es are paid back. .Any­thing advanced for the tenant to eat is paid back. ·When the landlord furnishes the stock ·he frequently pays half the food required for the stock. He meets half of that expense and half the expense of the fertilizers. That is the plan upon which I

should say 75 per cent of the negroes farm who farm ln Georgia. A part of them own their own stock and their own supplies, and then the contract is one-third of the cotton or one-third of the corn or one-third of the oats.

Now, what is the interest of the white landowner? The only w~y he can make anything is for that negro to farm well, or · fmrly well, and the better the negro can farm the mor-e thtf white landlord receives for the use of his land. He looks after and directs his dozen farms and encourages the negro tenant to work. He perhaps keeps a little farm of 50 acres around his own house, and plants a few acres in cotton and corn and wheat· and oats for his own use; but the profit from his land comes from the net return that the negro must bring from the soiL That white landowner has every inducement to encourage his negro tenant to learn how to farm well.

From 1865 to 18 0, speaking of my own State, we lapsed into the most careless and slovenly manner of farming. The con­trol had pas ed off from negro labor, and but few white men were then engaged in actually working upon farm . The negro naturally became more and more careless, as he forgot the en­forced labor which slavery placed upon him. The change came for the better in about 1 0, when more intelligence began to take hold of the negro and there was on his part more willing­ness to work, and improved methods to a certain extent began to be adopted.

l\ir. TOWNSEND. May I interrupt the Senator long enough to ask him-- .

1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. Yes. Mr. TOWNSEND. _If the argument he is now making can

not with equal force and effect be applied to every empl<>yer of labor and his laborers; that the _employer says the conditions under which they work are the best possible, and they have no business to complain? Is not that conclusion necessarily to be derived from the Senator's argument?

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Not at all, I think. The argument I am making is that 75 per cent of the white landowners in the State get their sole profit from a portion of the 'negro farmers~ production, and therefore if they can ndcl 25 per cent to the capacity of the negro the landowner will get 25 per cent more return.

Mr. TOWNSEND. Is the Senator arguing in favor of a permanent landlord and tenant system?

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Oh, no; I do not men,n that at all. I am just discussing the existing conditions to show that the white men of Georgia who own the land are directly interested in using this farm demonstration work to improve every negro farme·r they can possibly reach. What I am leading to is that there is e-rery possible inducement to the white men to stimulate the negro to use the ad vantages of this demonstration work, and that this demonstration--

1\lr. V .ARDA.l\lAN. 1\fr. President, I wish to suggest to the Senator from Georgia that under the improved method of farming in Georgia the productive qualities have been increased at least 50 per cent in the last 25 years, and that is the case all through the South.

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. That is undoubtedly true. The only proposition I was seeking to urge upon Senators who doubt the soundness of the proposed plan to use this fund was, first, that the white farme.rs of Georgia have every ince_ntive to use that plan of demonstration work which will improve to the greatest extent the capacity of the negro farmer to produce good crops.

Mr. President and Senators, I wish to refer to the two col­leges in Georgia-the agricultural college located at the uni­versity of the State and the agricultural and mechanical school located near the coast, which is used for the negroes. I wish to repeat what I said before--that we have been able to do very little, that we have been able to get scarcely any negroes at the agricultural college who wish to take agriculture and make it a specialty. The result is that that in titution on account of the aversion of the negroes who went there, has been shapecl chiefly to a plan of short courses to meet what they seemed to want, and it is almost exclusively a mechanical school to train negroes in mechanical lines. It ha~ gone in that direction on account of the pressure from those who wish to come to it and wish to be given that kind of instruction. We have a good man at the head of it. All the teachers are negroes. We have adopted the policy in the State in all the negro schools and places of instruction· where negroes are· the pupils to equip the school with negro teachers. I belieye that was wise. I was chairman of the board of education in .Atlanta when we pressed through; at the instance of some of our best negro preachers, the exclusion of whites from competition with the negroes in the teachers' examinations and gave those places in the schools to negroes: '

:Mr. ROOT. Mr. President, may I ask the Senator a question?

~914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 2945. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Yes. 1\fr. ROOT. What is the control of the institution for colored

people above the teachers-the board of trustees? . :Mr. SMITH of Georgia. There is a special board of white

men, who are trustees, who look after it, and who feel the deep­est interest in it, and who dissuaded me from pressing legisla­tion to change the nature of the institution. They simply said I was interfering, and I did not understand it as w~ll as they did; that they had brought .it out; that they had started with the news with which I had started when I felt a part of the responsibility as governor of the State. I had an idea that if we would press agriculture into that school we would make it a normal agricultural school; we would get more_ well-trained negro teachers for our negro rural schools. They convinced rue thn t a large majority of the negroes prefened mechanical trnin.iug . and .that I would lessen the value of the school if I pre sed my views. I yielded to their ad,ice, as they spoke from experience, not simply from theory. The fact is that scarcely any of our negroes who get beyond the negro rural schools want to stay on the farm or study ag1icu1ture.

1\Ir. CLAPP. If the. Senator will pardon an interruption--1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. Certainly. 1\lr. CLAPP. That I may be clear upon this subject, I read

this provision of the bill : 'l'I.Jat in any !:!tate in which two or more such colleges have been or

he1·eafter may be established the appropriations hereinafter made to such State shall be administered by such college or colleges as the legislature of such State may direct.

That is applicable to Georgia-that is, there is more than one college that this fund might be administered by?

"l\lr. SMITH of Georgia. Yes. ML·. CLAPP. And one of those is a colored college? 1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. Yes. l\lr. CLAPP. Now, without asking the Senator what he

thiuks--1\lr. Sl\fiTH of Georgia. I will tell the Senator frankly what

we will do. We will put it in our white agricultural college. We. would not appropriate a dollar in Georgia to undertake to do extension work from the negro agricultural and mechanical school. It would be a waste of money. 'Ve have in our State college of agriculture a great dean. He was a Canadian. He has been connected with the agricultural college of the State of !\fi souri and is a man of great power and zeal in his work. 'Ye have gathered the ablest faculty we could obtain from Wis­con~in, from Iowa, from Missouri, from different parts of the United States, men who are scientific students of agriculture, and we want to have this work done in the very best possible way. If we tried to handle a part from the negro school, while I suppose tl:te board of trustees would .control it, we could not haudle it effectively. ·

Ur. CLAPP. Then the ·: e~>.ator would not expect that under the bill any of this fund would be administered through the colored college?

Mr. Sl\HTH of Georgia. No; I would not. 1\fr. CLAPP. I merely wanted the Senator's ·dew. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. I am just as candid with the Sen­

ator about it as I can be. We :::;hould handle it where we can ha-ndle it best. When we handle it best we handle it best for the negro as well as for the white man in the State. We have a great corps of scientific students at the college of agriculture. There is a great corps of scientific students in the Agricultural Department. Yon have not a negro scientist in the list. You are ·not going to fill up your Department of Agriculture here with negroes, because they are black. You are not going to say that their work, where the negro is to be benefited, must be done by the neg_ro, because you ca:q. not do it. We could not have filled properly in our agricultural college from within the State of Georgia the professorships. We have gone outside of the S_outh to get men who are scientists, and ha>e given them chairs in our agricultural college.

1\lr. CLAPP. But I understand the Senator to say that the board of control-that is what we would call it; I do not know what it is called in Georgia-having charge of this colored col­lege is composed of· white · men.

Mr. SUITH of Georgia. Yes; but who are the real students of agriculture in Georgia? Who are analyzing the soil in Georgia? It is being done at the univ-ersity, at our agricultural college. Who are making soil suneys in Georgia? It is done from our agricultural college. Who are analyzing plants that are being raised in Georgia? Our agricultural college men, our chemists, and our masters of the subject are found at the State college of ngricnlture.

l\lr. VAHDAllAN. 1\fr. President, if the Senator from Georgia will permit an interruption for a moment, I should like to ask the Senators on the other side if there are any members

of the colored race doing any special work of the character qe­signed under the bill in any of the Northern or Western States? Are they chosen because of their race .for that wo~·k?

1\Ir. LAl~E. Mr. President, I am not on the other side, and I do not like to interfere with any family row, but I should like to say, for the information of the Senator, that I read an item the other day which interested me. It was published pretty generally, and stated that the best farmer in the South, the most successful farmer, the one who gathered more crops off his land than any other man in the South, or in the West, for that matter, where I live, or in America, is an old negro down South-- .

1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. I do not believe there is a word of truth in that item.

1\Ir. LANID. I was simply going to--Mr. SMITH of Geotgia. I do not yield to the Senator any

further, Mr. President. I want to go on with my remarks. Mr. LANE. Very well. 1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. We have some very good negro farms

in Georgia. There are a few where you find a very capable_ negro farmer, who owns a piece of land of his own. We .have several quite large negro farms in the State; but the only place we have any scientific knowledge on the subject of farming, the only organization in the State that can intelligently handle this fund, is the State College of Agriculture. We separated the mechanical branch from it. We established a mechauical branch, known as our Technological Institute, and devoted our agricultural college exclusively to the study of agricultural problems. .

You speak of this money being spent with them. Why, it is not si>ent with them; not a dollar is spent with the college; not a dollar is used to help the college. We simply take the students of agriculture who are most competent in the States to direct our demonstration work throughout the State. Just now, to stop a moment, I am going to send a letter to the desk, furnished me by the Senator from Mississippi [l\lr. VARDAMAN], which I desire to have read.

Mr. CLAPP. I will wait until the letter is read. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Well, the Senator may ask his ques­

tion first, and I will answer it. Mr. CLA.PP. What I want to get at is this: Of course. this is

an appropriation of money that is gathered into the Federal Treasury from all over the country. Does not the Senator from Georgia feel that, if the necessity could "Qe shown, as the Sena­tor from Georgia is showing it now, of administering this fund­taking his State as an illustration-through the white college, it would be perfectly safe to leave the determination of that matter to a member of the Cabinet of this Republic, especially in view of the fact that we are appropriating Federal funds'?

Mr. S~HTH of Georgia. If the Cabinet officer did not know more about it than some others who have expressed themselv.es, I should say no. It is not a place for debate. We are not appropriating a dollar to be · administered in Georgia through the negro agricultural and mechanical college.

Mr. CLAPP. No; because you are appropriating there the money of the taxpayers of Georgia; but I will be frank about this matter. It does seem to me, inasmuch as we are appro­priating Federal money, that there should be some final Federal authority that might act as something of a check in the dis­position of these funds within the State, subject to the advice of men like the Senator from Georgia and other residents of the State as to what was the wisest course to be pursued within the State.

Mr. SMI'.rH of Georgia. The bill provides that a plan for the work must .be submitted by the college of agriculture to the Department of Agriculture here and receive the approval of the Secretary of that department, or else for the next year not a dollar can be drawn from the Public _Treas.ury.

Mr. CLAPP. That is the plan for the detail work. Mr. SMITH of Georgia. If it were seen that the plan of

work did not do the negroes justice, the power would be there to entirely stop it.

Mr. CLAPP. Well, but if it were seen that, owing to any possible prejudice-although I do not think it is .in the mind of the. Senator-the administration of this entire fund due to any one State was being administered through one _ college when a portion of it ought to be administered through another colleg.~, it does seem to me that, dealing with Federal funds, we should reserve somewhere in the Federal Government some check upon the legislature of the State. Under the Senator's own statement, while it would be most improbable, of course, in Georgia, the legislature of that State could administer this funcl through the colored college under the. terms of the act.

1\fr. S~HTH of .Georgia. That would be impossible. Mr. CLAPP. Yes. .

2946 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SEN ATE. FEBRUARY 5,

1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. It would be impossible to so admin'­ister it if they tried.

Mr. CLAPP. Well, if that be· true, then no Cabinet officel! would attempt to administer it. The point I am making and the objection I am making to this clause is, that we are dealing here with a Federal appropriation. I did not want to get into this debate. I have asked three or four questions for information, which the Senator from Georgia so kindly gave; but, while I am on my feet, i! the Senator will pardon me, dealing here with a Federal appropriation, it does seem to me, I repeat, that there ought to be somewhere in the Federal Gov­ernment a final authority with reference to the administration ef that fund through the different colleges where there is more than one .

.Mr. SMITH of Georgia. The amendment of the Senator from Washington goes far beyond the suggestion of the Senator from Minnesota. The amendment of the Senator from Washington requires the fund in part to be administered through both. I am sure that no Secretary of Agriculture would ever require it to be administered through both if it were left to him.

Mr. BRADY and 1\Ir. SMOOT addressed the Chair. The YICE PRESIDENT. To whom does the Senator from

Georgia yield? Mr. Sl\-IITH of Georgia. I yield to the Senator from Idaho,

who was first on his feet. 1\fr. BRADY. Mr. President, the remark of the Senator from

Minnesota [1\Ir. CLAPP] brings us back to the very question that I raised when I interrupted the Senator from Washington [1\fr. JoNES] , and tba t is that I do not believe, if this amendment shall be passed in its present form, it will materially aid the conditions in any way. ·

lUr. SMITH of Georgia. It will tak.e the whole benefit of the fund a way from the negro if you let the demolli3tration work be done through the negro college.

Mr. BRADY. The purpose of this bill is to assist in demon­strations in agriculture, and our aim and purpose is to do the greatest good to the greatest number. According to the state­ment of the Senator from Washington, the schools in the South attended by the colored people and the colored people them­selves have made wonderful progress under the system as ad­ministered by the States at the present time. There is no ques­tion about that.

Mr. JONES. Mr. President-­Mr. BRADY. Just a moment. Mr . .JONES. I did not state that any school had made won­

derful progress. It is the colored people themselves who have made the progress.

Mr. BRADY. Well, the colored people themselves have made that progress under the system now in vogue in the Southern States. There is no question about that. We may disagree with our friends from the South as to their n·eatment of the negro with reference to the ballot, but I can not bring myself to believe that they do not intend and are not trying to help the negro race to became more efficient and better citizens and to improve their condition. We are proposing to pass here an amendment in which it is stated:

T he legislature of such State shall propose and report to the Secre­tary of A.griculture a just and equitable division of the appropriation hereinafter to be made to such State between one college fOI' white students and one institution for colored students, and when approved by him-

That is, the Secretary of Agriculture-the share in said appropriations as determined by such division, of such college for white students, shall be administered by such college for white students, and the share in said appropriations as determined by such division of such institution for colored students shall be adminis­tered by such institution for colored students.

Now, I want to ask the Senator from Georgia whether he does not believe that, according to the terms of this amendment, the State would have a right by its legislature to recommend, propose, anll report to the Secretary of Agriculture just how the funds should be divided? That is what the amendment says.

l\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. Yes; it requires a division of some sort between the two.

1\Ir. BRADY. Of some sort; but, for instance, we will say that yom· legislature in GeoTgia, after due deliberation and investigation, should honestly decide that you should give 99 per cent of it to the white college, to be administered in a man­ner for the benefit of the colored students or in any manner that you might see proper, I want to ask the Senator whether he does not believe, under this amendment, that the Secretary of Agriculture would approve that plan, believing that your people best understood the conditions?

Mr. SM:ITH of Georgia. Unless be felt that he was obeying the spirit of the legislation, I think be would feel that he was disregarding the legislation. I think if that was what was

meant by the legisJa tion, nothing of the sort ought to be in tho legislation.

I tell you frankly anything that we paid through the agrl­culturnl and mechanical college for agricultural extension work we would consider so much wasted. I do not say that the State college of agriculture will not use in the counties negroes as assistant demonstrators, but I have no idea that they will put a negro in charge of the work in any county. We have not, of course, a negro supe1intendent of education in any county. We have a white superiutendent of education in every county.

1\Iv. SMOOT. Have you one capable of filling that position? 1\fr. Sl\IITH of Georgia. Of county superintendent? Mr. SMOOT. Yes. 1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. No negro could fill the position of

superintendent o:£ the whites as well as of the blacks of the State.

Ur. SMOOT. No; but I ask the Senator whether there is one there who is capable of filling the position?

Mr. Sl\IITH of Georgia. Yes; as superintendent of the negro schools. We have them in that capacity, and we have assistants assigned to negro schools; but the man who directs the whole system, which includes the white as well as the black, is always a white man. He has an assistant usually, or wherever it is practicable, to aid him, devoting his time entirely to the negroes. Whenever practicable we get a capable negro, usually a negro woman, who helps to do that work.

1\lr. BRADY. That is your manner of handling it at the present time?

l\fr. SMITH of Georgia. Yes; that is our whole educational system where we put up the entire money and where· we give $650,000 out of the fund toward negroes alone, when the negro ta:xes to that fund are about $150,000.

Mr. JONES. 1\fr. President--The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Georgia

yield to the Senator from Washington? 1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. Yes. 1\Ir. JONES. I understood the Senator from Georgia a mo­

ment ago, in answer to a question of the Senator from Minne­sota [Mr. CLAPP], to say that, under the bill as reported by the committee, the Secretary of Agriculture bas the decision with reference to the ultimate disposition of this money?

1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. He has to approve the plan for its use.

Mr. JONES. But he does not have to approve the college which the legislature may select to use the money?

1\!r. SMITH of Georgia. No; the legislature would select the college.

1\Ir. JONES·. That is "left entirely to the legislature? Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Yes; and we do not in my State

want the fund if it goes to any but the white college. I will be frank with you. We could not do the work if you should put a negro in charge of white people in conducting demonstrations, but the negroes will be used wherever they can be used, and we will help them, just as we are helping them now. When I tell you that the whole contribution of the negroes to the State's taxes is $173,000, and that the legislature and the governor, all white men, voted $650,000 of the fund to which I have referred to the negro schools, $500,000 being from the contributions of white people, an amount in excess of the total sum which the negroes pay for the enfu·e support of the State, you can not feel that the white people of the State are moved by prejudice. I mention this because I want you to understand that we are caiTying the negroes forward and helping them out of our own funds.

Let me say one thing more. Of course w~ have bad a fight in Georgia to try to separate the fund, to use all the white taxes for the white schools and to give nothing to. the negro schools except the negro taxes. It is just such figh~s as this now being made by men who undertake from the outside to in­terfere that binder the men il. the South who are trying to help the negro. .

Mr. SMOOT. For information, I should like to ask the Sen­ator a question or two. Take, for instance, Georgia, where you have an agriculture college for white students and an ngricul­ture college for colored students.

l\1r. Sl\ITTH of Georgia. We have an agricultural and me­chanical college together for the colored.

Mr. SMOOT. Yes. What I want to know is this: What has been your experience in Georgia at this agricultural and me­chanical college by way of educating a colored man so that he would be absolutel' fitted and qualified in every way to do the demonstration work which we desil·e to have done under this bill?

1914 . . CON.GRESSION AL RECORD-SEN ATE. 2947 Mr. SMITH of Georgia. We have not had one of whom I

know who could do it. The negroes that we use as demon­strators in Georgia are the negroes who have made a special success on their farms, starting as farmers. I do not know one of them who attended the agricultural and mechanical col­lege.

Mr. SMOOT. I am rather surprised at that statement. because I certainly thought that, out of the number of students attend­ing that school, th_ere would certainly be some who would be capable of being educated sufficiently to fit them at least to be demonstrators; but the Senator says that he knows of none such.

1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. I do not recall one; and I do not recall a graduate of Tuskegee who is making a successful farmer in Georgia. That will startle you; but it is so.

Mr. SMOOT. It did startle me when I heretofore heard the Senator make that statement.

1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. I have been in every county in my State, and I have discussed agriculture in nearly every county in my State, because I was deeply interested in really putting the college of agriculture on a sound basis. I obtained an appro­priation for demonstration work about four years ago, and I have been pressing the demonstration work in Georgia for a number of years. I have noticed that the white people are just as anxious to have the negro improve as a farmer as any human being can be to have a little more income for himself. ·we bring them where the demonstration goes on; we have demonstrations made on their own land, and we bring them to our agricultural trains.

We find that the best practical means of improving the negro in the country that we have ever tried. If we can get a negro here and there who can take part in the work, and go out and work among the negroes and demonstrate, we use him. There is no race clash in it; they are not in the schoolhouse. We have never engaged in anything iu the State which I think has <lone as much for the negt·o as the demonstration work of the past four years, when we have been spending about $50,000 a year for this purpose. I think it has done more for him than all we have spent in the rural colored schools.

Mr. BRADY. The Senator stated the amount of taxes that were paid by the colored people. Has he at hand the total amount of taxes paid by the white citizens of the State?

1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. Into that same fund, $3,846,000. Mr. BllADY. As against how much? 1\fr. S~fiTH of Georgia. One hundred and seventy-three thou­

sand dol1ars. Mr. BRADY. And the amount appropriated for education? Mr. S:\IITH of Georgia. Six hundred and fifty thousand dol­

lars out of that fund for the negroes exclusively. I mention that solely that I may use it with yon to let you see that we are trying out of our own money to help the negro. This is only one fund. This goes almost exclusively into the rural sections; but the special tax in the municipalities &nd in cities is largely more-l would say several times more-than all the taxes the negroes pay. I think four times as much as they pay as taxes for all purposes is spent on their education alone in the State. We spend several times more on their education in the State than they pay in taxes.

1\lr. CUMMINS. Mr. President--The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Georgia

yield to the Senator from Iowa? Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Yes. 1\fr. CU:l\fMINS. I wish the Senator from Georgia would

make complete the statement he has just made, at least complete as I view it, by adding this informatio_n: How much does the State of Georgia spend per person for the education of its white people and how much per person for the education of its col­ored people?

1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. I can not give you the exact figures; but more for the white people.

Mr. CUMMINS. How much more? 1\fr. SMITH of Georgia. I can not give you that exactly.

Of course, when we get into the branches of higher education the expense is far greater. The bulk of our work with the negroes is in the lower grades of the common schools.

1\lr. CUMMINS. I take it thflt the Stafe of Georgia prob­ably spends five times as much per person for its white popula­tion as for its colored population-probably more than that?

1\lr. S liTH of Georgia. I should not be surprised if that were so.

1\Ir. CU~1MINS. I am very sorry that the Senator from Georgia did not make this argument, which is quite persuasive, before my amendment relative to the dish·ibution of this fund among the States was voted upon, and I have some hope that he may be willing to reconsider his position with regard to

that amendment. Just see what tile situation is-if the Sen­ator from Georgia will allow me to propound a question at the end of a statement?

Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Certainly; but I would rather not go back into tha.t discussion until we get through with this.

Mr. CUl\11\IINS. Well, I am very anxious to go bnck. I think that is where we began to go wroug.

The State of Georgia gets a proportion of this appropriation based upon a rural colored population of more than 900-,000. In getting that appropriation a colored person has just as much influence as a white man; but having gotten it, according to the Senator's own statements, the policy of the State of G~orgia. is to spend vastly less per person in the education of its colored race than in the education of its white race.

I am not complaining about tile last matter, because the Sen­ator from Georgia and his people understand that situation far better than I do; but I am complaining, and shall continue to complain, that having gotten the appropriation upon the theory that as much will be expended for the black person as for the white person, it is then not so distributed in the educational system of the State.

I think we ought to return to the original proposition, which did not include at all the internal policy of any State with re­gard to its educational plan, aQd distribute this money upon some other basis. I am sure the Senator from Georgia, in view of the argument he has made this afternoon, will join me iu an effort to reconsider the vote upon that amendment.

Mr. Sl\1I'l'H of Georgia. I am glad to correct the Senator at once. He did not quote me correctly, because he did not quote me entirely. I had distinctly stated that in this farm demon­stration work the negro received a benefit and a proportion of the benefit as he did nowhere else. In this farm-demonstration work we go to tlle negro as much as we do to the white man, and we are teaching him, and he receives his per capita benefit; while in the school house, with the white man far more ad­vanced, and in lines of education far more expensive, with few of the negroes going beyond the fourth grade of the grammer school. 'rhe white children stay in- school many more years and as many, many more of the white children continue through all the grades of the grammar schools, through high schools, and colleges, the educational work advances in gx:ade the expense greatly increases.

While I belie-re it is probably true that we spend $5 per capita on our white children to $1 on the negroes in schools and col­leges, in the $50,000 that we spend on demonstration work I belie...-e the negro gets his benefit and has his chance just as much as the white man.

l\Ir. VARDAMAN. Mr. President--The VICE PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Georgia

yield to the Senator from Mississippi? Mr. SUITH of Georgia.. I do. 1\lr. VARDAMAN. Lest the Senator from Iowa and oilier

Senators on that side of the Chamber have an erroneous im­pression about the facts regarding the distribution of the fund as between the races in the Southern States, I wish to make a statement.

Under the constitution of Mississippi the public schools are required to run not less than four months in the year. The school fund is distributed among the counties according to the number of eligible children. ~'he difference in Mississippi is not so great as the Senator from Georgia has stated it is in Georgia, but the amount is very considerably more.

1\Ir. SMITH of Georgia. I admit that I have not any accurate figures. I simply accepted the suggestion. I am not sure it is correct.

Mr. VARDAMAN. 'l'he difference is very great in 1\fissis­sippi, but here is the reason for it: In the black belt the black population ranges ±rom 60 to 94~ per cent of the whole. There are counties in l\Iississippi-Issaquena, for instance-where the population is about 95 per cent, in round numbers, negroes. The negroes are concentrated upon the great plantations. The schools there are run as long as nine months in the year, and they really can not spend the money; it is not all taken up; while in the hill sections that are settled by white people, as they are in Georgia, and more sparsely settled, there are more schools. It necessarily costs more money to conduct a white school where only a few people live on a se"ction of land than it does to conduct a school in the black belt where 100 or more live on !l plantation. That very largely accounts for the dis­parity.

I want to be entirely candid. The education of the negro does not cost as much as it costs to educate the white man, and the UII\OUnt of money that is expended in the agricultural and mechanical college of my State is very much larger in the case of the white than it is in the case of the black. Moreover, the

.

'2948 CONGRESSIONAL REdORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

effect of it is more largely felt; the results are -very much greater. The reason for the disparity, however, is that the negroes are concentrated ; they are more thickly settled in the community than is the case among the white people.

.Mr. SMITH of Georgia. Mr. President, I shall say but little more upon this subject.

I have sought to let Senators see that the white men of Georgia are not entirely neglectful in the effort to do some­thing for the upbuilding of the negro. I have sought to let Senators see that even if a broader spirit did not influence them, if they were moved only by selfishness, it would be dol­lars and cents in their pockets to improve these negro farmers. I have sought to show that .the-negro agricultural and mechani­cal college is scarcely more than a mechanical school. I am sure that if we had been able to hold more of them on agri­culture the State would have contributed more from its treas­ury toward the school, but while we have tried to check it the preponderance of work there is simply learning a trade.

I have sought to show, and I think I have ..shown, that the best of all ways to help the negro in our State is through farm demonstration; that there is a great institution there, with the ablest scientists we could gather from all over the Union and from ·canada working out scientific truths; that a vast .amount of information valuable to the ..farmer is already there; that under the demonstration which they will conduct every truth they can discover, every truth they .have, will be carried to the .People of the State and furnished to the farmers of the .State, and every effort will be made by them to induce the negroes to use it; and that those who advocate the other course, either through lack of knowledge or ,from .a mistaken sentiment, wotild seek to divert the fund from its valuable s.ervice to one of inefficiency.

I wish the Secretary would .read now the letter I sent to the desk. It Js a letter telling how the .work is done in Mississippi. It will take .only a moment, and I shall be glad if Senators will hear it.

The "VVCE PRESIDENT. The Secretary -will read _as re­quested.

The Secretary read as follows :

Hon. JOHN s. wiLLIAMS, Wa-shington, D. 0~

-FEBRUARY 2, ~914.

..DEAR SENATOR : 1 note ..a .running debate in the Senate on the agri­cultural extension bill. The impression £eems to have been left in the ~ds of some at leas.t, that tpe negro in the South will not get any direct benefit from th1s extension -work. Such is not the case. 1 am in the extension field in Mississippi, paid by State •funds, but have op­portunity to see and know what men are doing who are in the Federal demonstration service. They are giving this service to colored as well as white people directly, and have both colored demonstrators and many colored cooperators on the farm. The colored .farmers are invited to our meetings, and we hold special meetings for them in many sections and in some cases find that they more readily respontl to advanced teach~ ing than some white farmers who have old set ideas to eradicate. We attend their fairs; we visit their industrial s.chools.

I am giving you i:his infotmation that you can use if necessary to dispel such "an impression if it may so exist in the minds o'f any of the Senators ·who may not be properly informed. Personally, ·I will n.ot be interested in the distribution of this fund, as I am in State work and will likely continue. But we all work along together on the same line as a team working ·for the common good of all industrial inter-ests, and draw no color ·tine. .The measure should remain as .it came from i:he .House, as far as the distribution of tunds is concerned.

Yours, very truly, J. F. McKAY.

.Mr. LA.L""UD. Mr. President, before the question is !)Ut I should like to say a word on this matter.

The question is one which T am willing to concede the Sen­ators living in that section of the country understand better than we who do not live there or who are not familiar with the conditions there. At the same time, there is a presenta­tion of the subject which .I do not quite unders¢nd; and lnas­much as T shall have to vote upon the matter, I think I am entitled to know about it.

As I understand the statement of the Senator who is urging the bill, it is to the interest of the people of the South to make as good farmers as possible of the colored people; it benefits them financially, and in e-very other way it is to the advantage not only of the colored citizen but of the white man as well ; in many cases they are tenant.farmers; and yet, at the same time, after the money is in the hands of the white men, who handle it, they spend about one-fifth as much upon the purpose of educat­ing the colored .man as they do upon the white dudent.

It struck me that that was rather an anomalous condition; that if it was for the benefit of the white man to improve the mental condition of the black ·man, the negro, and by that method, through 'his tenant 'farmer, the white man may profit, it might pay him and benefit him to spend a little more money -upon him and wake him a still better farmer. Yet, according to the contention of the Senator who is mging :the bill, 'tl!at is 'the ve~

thing he does not wish to do. It may· be wise, but to me it does not seem exactly fair; and yet it may be the pro-per thing to do. I Bhould like to have the Senator say something upon that subject, but I do not know that I shall ask for it.

I stated a while ago that there is an old colot·ed man in :;orne s~ction of the South of whom I have read the statement in a number of papers that he was the most successful farmer, the man who made more off his land than any other individual in that section or in any other portion of the United States; that he had sol>ed the problem of mulching to an extent to which it had not been carried by any other farmer in the country · and that they were taking lessons from him. '

In a general way I will say that there is a thing about this bill which has attracted my attention, and that is that there is no farmer in the State from which I come wbo has written me a letter urging me to assist in the passage of the bill. As a mat­ter of fact, it seems to me the bill is a measure in behalf of teachers, ·-peo-ple who are engaged in teaching the farmer, rather than in behalf of the farmer himself. ~he farmer is to -be taxed for his education and to pay somebody for educating him with­out asking that it :shall be done.

l: do not question the fact that great good can be done, with the proper system of education, along agricultural lines u.s well as any ofher. The farmer, however, does not need that so badly as he needs many other things. If the farmer is allowed a free mnrket and given an opportunity to make a profit from his pro­duce, he will till his land to the full extent that it will stand tilling, and there is where he needs help at this time. 'He does not need to be taxed to have some person come around and teach him how to carry on llis farming in order that he ma-y produce more, when be does not receive the full benefit from that whicll 'he now raises. J:n addition to that, it will not benefit the farmer to teach .him bow to live upon 1ess, how to eat less, how to make it go :further, or how to raise more upon his land, if he is not allowed :to benefit 'from it; if the benefit is to go to some -owner, some landlord, or -to some trust or combination which handles his product before it reaches the market. ·ne aoes not need some -scientific -person to come around ·and teach his wife how to stretch the beefsteak 'for su-pper in order -to make it meet the demands of the family so mucb as he needs free access to ·the markets of the country and a :fair price for ills product after he raises it.

It rather struck me 'that the bill was designed for the bene­fit and advancement of the teacher more than 'for the benefit and advancement of the man who tills the soil. I have not heard any very strenuous petitions on the part of the farmer· in behalf of the bill.

In Tegard to 'the amendment T will say that, as a matter of fairness, •it appeals to me. I have great respect for the expe­rience of tbe Senators from the South, but if the negro is to receive ·but one-fifth of the money, and the benefit is to go to the 'landlord,~ -do not see just wbere the negro is going to profit very much from it. That does not appeal to me as a fair propo­sition.

I think ~ "S1la11 vote in favor of the amendment on those grounds. While by ch-emical analysis the 'bill might be proved to be 1'air, as a matter of fact, on its face it does not seem so to me .

Mr. KERN. I move that the Senate do now ·adjourn. 'The motion was agreed to; and (at 6 o'clock p.m.) the Senate

adjourned until to-morrow, Friday, February 6, 1914, at 1~ o'clock meridian.

ROUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THURSDAY, Februa?:J 5, 1914.

The House met at 11 o'clock a.m. The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. •Couden, D. D., offered the fol­

lowing prayer : Father in heaven, draw us, we pray Thee, by Thy holy in­

fluence very close to Thee, that Thy thoughts may be onr thoughts, Thy justice our justice, Thy ways our ways, Thy will our will; that the issues of this day may be the fruits of love and good wnl to ·our fellow men, for when our attitude is right toward our fellow men we m~y be sure that we are in harmony with Thee. So may Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done in us, now and always. In His name. Amen.

The Journal Df the proceedings of yesterday was read and approved.

RA.ILBOADS .IN ALASKA.

1\!r. "'HOUSTON. Mr. S!)eaker, I move that the House resolve itself into Committee of the Whole House on ·the stute of the Union ·for -the consideration of Senate bill 48 in lieu of House bill 1739L on j;he same subject.

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2949 The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Hous­

TON] moves that the House resolve itself into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for the considera­tion of Senate bill 48 in lieu of House bill 1739, heretofore pending. The question is on agreeing to that motion.

The motion was agreed to. The SPEAKER. The gentleman from :Mississippi [Mr. HAR­

RISON] will take the chair. .Accordingly the House resolved itself into Committee of the

Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of Senate bill 48, with Mr. liARRrsoN in the chair.

The CHAIRMAN. The House is now in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for th~ consideration of Senate bill 48 in lieu of House bill 1739, and the Clerk will report the bill by title.

The Clerk read the title of the bill, as follows : S. 48. An act to authorize the President of the United States to

locate, construct, and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes.

Mr. BORLAND. Mr. Chairman, the pending bill is to au­thorize the construction of not exceeding 1,000 miles of railroad in the Territory of .Alaska by the United States Government, between such points and over such routes and in such mttnner as may be determined by the President of the United States. For this purpose the United States is !1-Uthorized to oorrow, upon the issue of its own bonds, for the purpose of construc­tion, $35,000,000. This money is to be repaid to the Treasury of the United States from the sale of public lands in .Alaska, the value of which is supposed to be materially increased by the construction of the road.

'.rhe measure has received the earnest indorsement of the citizens of .Alaska and is urged by the Delegate in Congress from that Ten·itory. It was framed in accordance with the recommendations of the .Alaskan Railway Commission, a body created by the last Congress for the express purpose of investi­gating and determining whether the Government of the United States should engage in the construction of railroads in the Territory, and if so, to what extent. It has been recommended to Congress by the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Lane, in his annual report filed December 19, 1913. It has been mentioned with special approval and recommended to the immediate atten­tion of the legislative branch of the Government by President Wilson in his annual message at the opernng of the present Congress. The bill is reported to the Hous~ with, I believe, but two dissenting votes. This consensus of opinion indicates that the matter has had thoughtful and careful consideration and that some vital necessity exists for the legislation.

In the minds of most people .Alaska calls up only visions of snow fields and the weird light of the midnight sun. It is re­garded as a land of perpetual snow, barren, rugged, inhabited only by fur-clad Eskimos, polar bears, and seals. It has been found, howe-ver, by actual exploration and scientific investiga­tion carried on under the auspices of the Go-vernment to be a storehouse of vast treasures. It is so far from worthless that it actually possesses agricultural possibilities, both of son and climate. exceeding those of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is capable of producing food for man and beast by agricultural culti-vation sufficient to support a rugged and hardy population of the white race with the force and vigor of development which distinguishes the countries on the Baltic Sea. I have no knowl­edge, outside of what has been laid before this House, of the resources of .Alaska agriculturally, and yet it is a matter of considerable interest that there is a very large element of agri­cultural development in certain valleys in .Alaska.

.Alaska is so enormous in its extent that it is easily possible for certain sections of the Territory to be valuable for agri­cultural purposes, while other sections of the Territory are ut­terly out of the range of agricultural possibilities. But if it be true, as it seems to be, on the showing made here, that there are in the Territory of .Alaska some agricultural possibilities suf­ficient to sustain or aid in sustaining a white population in that Territory, that adds very materially to the promise of success of the proposed development of .Alaska.

.Alaska cost the United States $7,200,000 at the time of its purchase from Russia in 1867. Up to that time little attempt had been made to develop any of the resources of .Alaska ex­cept the seal fisheries, the whale fisheries, and some rather inferior lines of bartering with the Indians. For many years after our purchase of the Territory it was regarded as prac­tically worthless and its only prominence in national or in­ternational affairs was by reason of the fact that it contained the breeding grounds of the most valuable fur seals. It be­

.came necessary to protect these grounds by international agree-ment nnd the regulations were enforced by the Revenue-Cutter Service of the United States. It was only in the closing years of the nineteenth century that the discoverY. of gold in the

streams and beach sands of .Alaska led to the rush of white adventurers. These adventurers in their eager search for wealth poured over all portions of the Territory, thus carrying on the work of exploration. They found placer gold min~s in paying quantities and in widely cattered regions and sent to the United States more than $200;000,000 in gold. It ·was this wonderful discovery of gold in .Alaska at that opportune time which made possible the success of a gold standard of currency in this country and freed us from a financial servitude to the Bank of England. The gold of Alaska poured into the lap of our Nation more rapidly than the gold of the Rand poured into that of Great Britain, and, unlike our British cousins, we were put to no war of conquest to perfect our title to the treasure. The discovery of gold-placer mining indicated in Alaska, as it did in California, the presence of quartz mining. The gold which is found in river sands and in the sands of the seashore is worn off by attrition from the quartz ledges far in the in­terior and carried down by streams to its place of deposit. .As the placer mining gradually gi-ves out discovery is made of the sources of supply in the quartz ledges. .At the present time quat'tz mining is carried on very -extensively and the output is almost as great as during the most active period of placer mining.

The work of the army of prospectors and adventurers who invaded the Territory during the gold rush has been supple­mented by the scientific exploration and investigation of the Geological Suney of the United States. .As a result not only gold-quartz mining has been established as a paying industry, but there have been discovered vast deposits of coal, copper, and oil Some of the coal is of the very highest quality, both anthracite and bituminous. Much of it is of: a low grade of lignite character, suitable for local consumption for fuel in that cold climate. The deposits of copper are exceedingly valuable and run to a very high percentage pure copper, while the wealth of oil has never been estimated.

The annual production of wealth in .Alaska a.t the present time is astonishing to those who have made no detailed study of the situation. In 1912 the production of gold was $16,500,000; of copper, $4,904,715; gypsum, marble, and tin, $297,365; fish­eries, $17,373,566; making a total of $39,075,646. .Alaska pro­duces more canned salmon annually than Oregon and Wash­ington combined. From 1867, the year we pmchased Alaskn, down to and including the year 1911, .A.la.ska had produced in natural wealth near $430,000,000, which was brought into the general volume of trade in the United States. The Territory cost us originally $7,200,000, and the Federal Government has expended on the Territory for all purposes, including the post office and the expenses of the Revenu·e-cutter Service for the protection of the seals, a total of $28,616,674.25. The total cash receipts from the Internal Revenue and Postal Service in that time has been $17,117,354.79. The Federal Government there­fore has paid out in governing the Territory and for the original purchase price $18,009,319.46 more than it has received. .As a result, however, of this expenditure the people of the United States have profited in national wealth more than $400,000,000. It may be said that there is no other new terri­tory acquired by the United States which bas shown within the first years of its administration such a substantial return upon the investment and cost of maintenance.

As Pr~sident Wilson said in his annual message to Congress, l..laska is a vast storehouse o:. treasure belonging to the Nation at large. We must unlock it for the benefit of all of the people o..: the Nation. We are confronted now with the supreme test of the entire theory of national conservation.. We must choose between two possible courses: Either this national wealth must be opened up and developed for the benefit of the people of the United States, or it must be turned over entirely to the .Alaska Syndicate, comprising the Morgan-Guggenheim interests, to be developed as an asset of ptivate monopoly. I need not pause at this time to catalogue the economic and political crimes en­actoo by the Morgan-Guggenheim Syndicat~ in .Alaska since the wonderful rediscovery of that Territory during the gold excite­ment of 1898. The story running in the sober records of the courts includes everything from the corruption and bribery of judges to the wanton attack by armed bands of assassins upon the workmen engaged in rival enterprises_ It is a drama of greed and carnage unparalleled since the days of Warren Hast­ings.. Its scenes were enacted not only upon the snow-clad plains of the .Arctic Circle but in the banks of Wall Street and the counting rooms of London. It is this high-handed and law­less attempt to grab the tremendous resources of .Alaska which caused the locking up of that great Territory by legislative en­actment. The story of Alaska as portrayed in the newspapers, the magazines, and the current novels has crystallized the public opinion of America in favor of conservation a.s .against unlimited exploitation by syndicates and monopolies.

2950 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRU~Y 5,

Let us take a brief glance at the Wstory of Alaska during the last few years in her relation to the Nation. The effect of the discovery of gold was to attract a large number of adventurers from all parts of the United States to the Territory of Alaska. The foundation of the wealth of the Territory was the gold placer mining, which was within the re~h of any prospector who had the courage and tenacity of purpose to achieve success. Deposits of gold were found in widely scattered parts of the Territory, and the restless prospectors, in their search for gold, discovered but left undeveloped many other sources of natural wealth.

Immediately following the gold rush the United States Gov­ernment, through the Geological Survey, began a scientific in­vestigation of the resources of Alaska, with the surprising re­sult of the discovery of vast deposits of coal, copper, tin, and other workable minerals. The Federal Government also, through the agricultural experiment station, discovered possi­bilities of producing in some of the fertile valleys of Alaska' during its short summer a supply of certain hardy foods for man and beast. Through the schools established for the Eski­mos and Indians a successful attempt was made to acclimate and breed domestic r"'indeer of northern Europe. These sci­entific efforts of the Government toward . developing to the fullest e:~tent the natural resources of Alaska were intended to make that great land available for all of the people of the United States. At once, however, the slimy tentacles of the trust began to steal around those resources. All of the domi­nant financial interests in Alaska, including the banking house of J. P. Morgan & Co., which was financing various industries, the great copper trust of the Guggenheims, which was inter­ested in seizing the copper resources of the Territory, and cer­tain British and Canadian banks, which had seized all the avai1able passes through the mountains for railroads into the British territory of the Yukon, combined and consolidated themselves under the name of the Alaska Syndicate. The boldness and lawlessness of this syndicate startled the entire country. In 1904 Congress attempted to throw open the coal lands to private purchasers under the same law which had ap­plied to coal deposits in the public lands of Wyoming and other Western States. That law fixed the price at $10 per acre, with certain easy terms in proving up the claim. It was assumed that it would work to the advantage of the small proprietor and permit the coal lands to be developed by individual own­ers. Exactly the contrary proved to be the case. Immediately large bunches of filings were made, which may have been in technical compliance with the law, but were iii fraud upon the rights of the Government by the Alaska Syndicate or those nuder its control. So rapidly was this work carried on that in two years-to wit, in 1906-President Roosevelt, by a sweeping order. withdrew from entry all of the coal lands in Alaska.

It is claimed that this act of Roosevelt's was unauthorized by law, and that is probably true in a literal and technical sense; but the American people neither by direct action at the polls nor through their chosen Representatives in Congress have ever reversed that order. On the contrary, the greatest scandal of President Taft's administration was the alleged attempt of Secretary Ballinger to issue patents in the Cunningham coal claims. These claims, if not actually fraudulent, were so clearly in Yiolation of the public interest that they had been the origi­nal cause of the withdrawal of the coal lands from entry and the ubsequent block up of the Territory for all forms of de-velopment. ·

In 1910 Congress expressly ratified the withdrawal of the coal lands and provided for their segregation and appraisement. From the time of this withdrawal down to the present time the re ources of Alaska, which are based upon the accessibility of coal, have been locked up from all forms of development. Even under this adverse condition of affairs, the great natural wealth of the Territory and the energy of its citizens have contributed nearly $40,000,000 annually to the national wealth. To-day the situation confronts Congress of either reversing the policy of conservation and turning Alaska back again into the hands of the Alaska Syndicate to be exploited solely in the interest of primte greed and partly for the benefit of British and Canadian bankers, or el e finding some means of making those resources available for the people of the Territory and for the · people of the United States. It is either the Government or the Guggen­heims. This proposed railway is the key to the situation, for under existing circumstances no railroad can be financed or built in Alaska by private enterprise except by the Alaska Syn­dicate. The roads projected by the Alaska Syndicate would be so constructed as to give them control of the coal fields, the copper deposits, the passes through the mountains, and the available harbors, without any regard primarily to the general or uniform de...-elopment of the Territory. Under these circum-

stances I am strongly in favor of giving to the President of the United States the power; as contemplated by this bill, to con­struct such railroads as will open up the entire Tc.rritory, the cost of which railroads will be reimbursed out of the increasecl value and increased sale of public lands in Alaska.

The opponents of this bill are divided between those who favor the removal of all restrictions from private enterprise, and who insist that the Territory will be developed by private initiative if the resh·aints of the conservation act are removed, and those who favor some form of Government aid to a railroad short of the actual construction by the Government. Those who favor the development solely by private enterprise draw a very beau­tiful picture of a sturdy pioneer going into a new country ·with his ox team and his household furniture and establishing ~l humble but independnet American home. Those who favor the Government extending its aid to the construction of a railroad without actual Government ownership admit that under exist­ing conditions proper railroad facilities can not be obtained in Alaska through any source except the Alaska Syndicate unless by the use of the Government credit. ·'!'hey advocate that some private corporation be aided, either by land grants or by the issue of Government bonds or by the Government indorse­ment and guaranty of its own bonds, to build such railroad. Both sets of opponents are wrong and their arguments not only fail to meet the needs of this situation but are contrary to the teachings of history. If Alaska were a land of generous agri­cultural resources like the Mississippi Valley, where the life of man and the domestic animals could be supported even in the unbroken wilderness, the sturdy pioneer might find his way in with an oxcart, and might take his family with him and estab­lish an independent American home, but as applied to actual conditions in Alaska, where the wealth is more largely mineral than agricultural, and where transportation is the only possible basis of development, the picture of the sturdy pioneer with his oxcart is a wild dream of the imagination. In fact, the sturdy pioneer did not get very far west of the Mississippi River without the aid of Government subsidized railroads.

Mr. GOULDEN. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. BORLA.ND. Certainly. Mr. GOULDEN. Does not the gentleman think that when

they spoke about ox teams they really meant reindeers? 1\fr. BORLA:t\TD. Well, they might have meant that the

sturdy pioneer could use reindeers, but the sturdy pioneer iu Alaska is not going to develop the country by either ox team or reindeers, if I know anything about pioneering, and I think I do, as I am the son of a pioneer myself.

Those who contend that the Government should aid by land grants, mouey, or credit some private corporation to build n railroad are r~:>futed also by the facts of history. Nearly all of the railroads west of the Mississippi River were built with Government aid or with the aid of States, counties, and town­ships. Some of them managed to secure all forms of aid, and the aid thus given by the people through the taxing power of the various divisions of government exceeded in a large meas­ure the cost of construction of the roads. It is only necessary to direct our attention to the great transcontinental roads which were directly aided by the Federal Government. In 1862 the first act was passed offering a land grant to the Union Pacific Rail1·oad. This was followed in quick succession by grants to the Central Pacific, the Southern Pacific, the Northern Pacific, the Central Branch, and the Kansas Division. Between 1862 and 1875 the United States Government contributed to these roads 155,000,000 acres of land, worth approximately $400,-000,000, and $65,000,000 of Government bonds. It has been said that the railroads could not and would not have been built but for the aid of the Government in a new territory where the local business would not support the road.

Assuming this to be true, the plan adopted proved to be waste­ful, extravagant, and unsatisfactory to the people of the United States and to the Government. The amount contributed by the Federal Government directly would have built the roads twice over. It encouraged a wild era of speculation and debauchery of finance which plunged the West and the entire country into a disastrous panic in 1873. The failure of the banking bouse of Jay Cooke & Co., which precipitated this panic was the direct result of the frenzied finance of the Union Pacific Railroad. The plan resulted in political corruption, extortion of the set­tlers, and fraud upon the Government, in the increase of the expenses of the Land Departtnent, in litigations and evictions of homesteaders, and bitterness between the citizens and the corporations, which finally culminated in the granger legisla­tion which swept the entire West about 1880. In less than 10 years after the first grant of land was made the effects of the political blunder were clearly apparent and the Government abandoned :for all time the plan of subsidizing railroads by land

1914-i CONGRESSIONAL RE'CORD-· HOUS1iT.: 295l grants. The· fa-vorite argnlHlent on bebaJf of lancl g1·a:nts wa:s that they would facili!taie the settlement of' honlestea:d& along the line- of t1le' ruilroad, but even this arg11ment fails: entirety in the case o:f Alaska, wbere the lands which the corporation would take are chief'l'y valuable for their mineral deposits. Lewis H.. Haney, professor of poUtical economy at the Univer­sity of Michigan, has recently written a very valuab1e mono­graph on the "Congressional history of railways in the United States, 1850 to 1887." In: discussing at length the' history and operations of the land-grant railroads Prof. Haney makes this conservative sta.temen:t:

Without standing tor- Government ownership as a: general policy, the question may be rai ed whether in this case our Government might not have built the first Pacific railway with JJelatlve profit. As opposed to the policy of assista:nce which was adopted and administered it would seem simplel!. Here private interests ran amuck and the tardy light ot publicity only guided the historian. Economic waste and politleall corr~1ption were rlfe,, w_hile constant.. litigatio.n injtll'ed both railway credit an-d national digmty. In the light of history it may reasonably be maintained that tile United States would have best solved tlre Pacific railway problem that confronted It in 1860 by constructing a natlonall l'ailway oveJ: the central route, leaving to private initiat1ve, aided only by adequate rights of way and mate.I:ials, the· exploita!ion of secondary uUway lines~

·rt may also be said in this connection that whether Govern­ment ownership of raill'oads will ever become an established policy of our' Government is still a debatable question in the minds of many people. It the1·e is any section of our land where Government ownership could be tried as an initial ex­periment with a fair promise of success and with little dis­turbance of our economic system, it is in Alaska:. Alaska is a Territory of the United States, and the Federal Government has plenary power over it. No constitutional restrictions such as might exist iii the case of a State appty to Alaska.. The con­stitutional power of the Government to construct railroads tl1ere fs full and complete~ Its situation is so isolated and its economic conditions so different from those of the rest of the country that it seems that the experiment might safely be tried. If it did not prove a success in Alaska there would be less reason to try the dangerous and expensive experiment throughout the United States generally of Government owner­ship of railroads.

The cost of tbe proposed railroad in Alaska will be reim­bm·sed from the sale of public lands in that Territory. These lands vary greatly in value. Some are totally worthless and some are. of . enormous value on account of their mineral de­posits. The best scientific information obtainable shows that their value. properly used, will more than pay for the cost of construction of tlJ.e proposed railroad, without ultimate expense to the people of the United States. Under these circumstances it would be equally bad buslness and bad political policy to grant these lands to a private corporation of unc~r·tain credit as a reward for constructing a railroad when the work can probably be done at less cost, and certainly on a firmer basis of credit, by the Federal Government. The United States can borrow money at 3 pel' cent, but no private railroad corporation in Alaska can borrow it at less than 6 per cent, and the expeuse of commissions and discounts· would probably make the rate of interest at least 8 or 10 per cent..

But on even broader grounds I am in favor o1 this bill. I am in favor of developing the resources of this vast Territory primarily for the benefit o-f the people wbo live the.re and for the benefit of the people of the United States, rather than for the benefit of a n<>nresident, partly foreign corporation. I am in favor of maintaining the spirit and principle of conservation. The best conservatimr is the wise use of the· natural resources, so protected by law as to prevent the encro-ac-hment of private monopoly. To my mind, Government aid oT the lending of Go"Vernment credit to- some pet corporation would be just as dis­astrous in the end as a retnrn to the control of the Alaska Syndicate. Thus far conservation has meant to the Alaskan only the withdrawing of all primary resources from private ownership and private development. The aim and object of conservation is not to lock up resources, but to :permit their general use. The Alaskans have borne this conditio-n of local restraint for eight years and some reasonable answer to their demand :for reiief must be made. They feel that they can de· velop that great Territory with energy, courage, and success. Tpey feel that they are entitled to use as. an asset for that purpose the basis of credit of their public land&. In this demand they are fully in line with the advanced thought of our country on th~ subject of conservation. They have· the hearty support ()f President Wilson and Secretary Lane, both of whom are conscientious, clear-headed, and conservative public officials. Under this policy I believe that the .Territory of Alaska wilT become a great storehouse .of treasure, filled with a vigo-rous w:hite population, which will add! to tll~ national wealtli, peace, prospertty, and happiness of the American people. [Applause.]

Ur. BYR~'Es of South Carolfrra. .Mt·. Chairman, I ask 11nanimous consent to- extend my remarks in the· RE:com>.

The (JI{AIRlUAN~ Is there objection? There was no objection. Mr: HENRY. Mr. Chairman, this- is a matter thllt is of so

great importance that I think we should have a quorum presen4 an:d I make the point that there is no· G_Uorum present.

The CHAIR~l'AN. The· gentleman from Texas makes the point of nO' quorum. The Chair will count. [After counting.] Evidently there is not a quorum. The Doorkeeper will. close the doors and the Sergeant at Arms will notify absentees. The Clerk will call the rolJ.

The Clerk pr-oceeded to' call the roll. Mr. HENRY (interrupting- the roll). Mr. Chairman I ask

unanimous consent that I may be permitted to withdr~w the poin:t of no quorum. . 1\fr. A!ANN. Mr-. Chairman, I will remind tlle gentleman

from Te~as that the Chair can not entertain such a request, The Chair has declared that there is no quorum present, and after t11at declaration, under the· rules, notbing can be done except to ascertain the vresence of a quorum. In the absence of a quo-rum nothing can I>e done excepr to get a quorum. .

Mr. GOULDEN. 1\Ir. Chairman, I demand the regnia1· order. The CHAIRMAN. The regular order is to call the roll. The Clerk called the roD, a:nd the fol1owing Members failed

to answer to their names: Aiken Doremus Hoxworth Palmer Ainey Th:roghton Hughes, W. V'a. Pnrt Authony Drtsc:oll Hulings Patton, Pn. Avis Dunn Jones- Peters, Mass. Bailey Dupr~ Keister Ragsdale naJ.Tchfeld Eagan: KeUey, Mfcli. ReiiJy, Conn. :Bean, Tex. Eagle Kelly, Pa. Riehardson. Bcll, Cal. Elder Kennedy, Conn. Riordan Blackmon Fairchild Key, Ohio ltoberts. Nev. Botchers FinleY' Korbly Rucker Bremner Fitzgerald Kreider Rupley Browne. Wls.. Floyd, Ark. Langham Sharp :Burgess Fowler Lee, Ga. Siemp Burke, Pa. Freneh L'Engle Sloan Burke·, S. Dak. Gallagberr Lesher- Smith, Md. Butler Gardner Lever Smith, Minn. Candler, Miss. Gillett Levy Smith,.N. Y. Cantor Glass Lewis-, Md, Sparkman Carlin Goeke Lewis:, Pa. Stanley Cary Goldfogle Lieb Stephens, Tex. Clancy GondWin, Ark. Loft Stout Clark, Fla. Graham, Pa. McCleUan stitberfand Coady · Green, Iowa McCoy Tavenner Connolly, fowa Gregg McGilliclUldy Taylo-r, Colo. Cooper Griest McLaughlin Temple Copley Ha-rdwick 1\:t:ahel." Thomas Cevington Hart 1\fanahan Vare Crisp Hau~en Martin Volstead Curley Hawley Merritt Walters Curry Bay Metz Watkins Danforth Helgesen Murd"Ock Webb-Davis Helm Nelson Wilson, N Y. Dixon Hill O'Brien Wins low Dooling Hin.ds- Oglesby Woods-

The committee rose; and the Speaker having resumed the chail·, lUr. HARRisoN', Chairman of the- Commfttee of the Whole House on the st.ate of the Union, reported that that committee had l'lad under consideration the bill S. 48, the Alaska railroad bfll, and finding itself without n quorum he had directed the ron to be called, that 297 Members had answered to their names, a quorum, and he reported the names of the absentees to the House.

The SPEAKER. A quorum being present the doors will be opened. The committee will resume its sitting.

The committee resumed itff session. Mr. STAFFORD. Mr. Chairman, a parliamentary inquiry. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman will state it. Mr. STAFFORD. Will the Chair kindly inform the committee

how much time is left for general debate? Tbe CHAIRlUAN. 'The Chair will state that under a special

t'Ule ali of to-day is to be taken up with general debate. There are some thirty-odd applications for time, and the Chair will s<tate fnrther that whenever the time allotted on the pa per, which the Chair bas, to the different Members who desire ta speak is extended by the committee, that much time will be taken a way from the remaining speakers.

~ir. ANSBERRY. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of mY' colleague, Mr. GoEKE, who is unavoidably absent, I ask unanim6us con­sent that he may extend his remarks in the RECORD.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection? There was no objection_ Mr. · GOEKE. _Mr. Chairman, the key to unlock the g.reat

storehouse of Alaska is a railroad bt:ilt, owned, and operated by the :people. :a,ailroads were the keys whicl1 opened the locks ot our· undeveloped West, and made it possible for the people to ;move ·in and d~velop the ·lands. Alaska is a part of our great Nation, and her citizens are the same as we· of the States,

2952 CONGRESSIONAL-RECORD-· HOUSE._ FEBRUARY ·5~

and they should have the protection, the care, and the laws we have. No eli. crimin"ation against the Tenitory or her people or added hardship in development of the resources of that country shoulcl for a moment be allowed. Her people are asking only for what our western citizens now enjoy, and have enjoyed in the past-to help in the upbuilding of their land. Many people from my State, as well as from every State within our borders, have been there, and a great number wish to return. It is but fair that we give the Territory the helping and needful hand so that the farming lands in the interior, the mineral resources, and the business of the country can meet with development that follows railroad construction, as has followed railroad construction throughout our great West.

I am not going into detail to show the valuable holdings of the country. All of the Members here are convinced, more or less of the wealth of the land, but there are a few things I wo~ld like to call your attention to. How was it that the United States became _the o-\vner of this country? Lest we for­get, I will go back to the time when the United States, stricken down with war, crippled, weak, and our bonds worth 50 cents 0::1 the dollar, and no one knew what t.he morrow would bring forth, threatened by a great power in Europe-now our cousins across the way-just at that time another great power, Russia, made it quite plain to our cousins that war on us meant war between those two great European nations. That is why England was stopped from jumping upon the helpless, tottering States.

If England bad then been permitted by Russia to fight us, there would probably have been different history about us now. In gratitude for this brotherly act the Government at Washing­ton wished to make a substantial return for the expenses that Russia had been obliged to assume in order to make preparation for the defense she undertook in our behalf. Russia then owned both Siberia and Alaska and looked upon both countries as a great glacial, moss-covered arctic region. Russian and Wash­ington diplomats :fi ally agreed upon the Alaskan purchase plan, Russia only too glad to let go of her iceberg across the Bering Straits. President Johnson expressed his reason of the purchase in his annual message in true diplomatic language, for at that time the matter was considered a -.ery close State secret. I repeat that we owe a moral obligation to the country that was at that time our greatest friend. We also owe something to the descendants of the people Russia turned over to our care and keeping, as well as to our brothers and sisters of our States who have cast their future in that Territory.

For a moment let us see what Russia has done for the other glacial country-Siberia-similar in all respects, climatic, agri­cultural, mineral, timberlands, and so forth. Since the dis­covery was made in Siberia that her lands would produce in bountiful harvests Russia bas built a great system of railroads across the country. Side branch lines, connecting at both ends with the main line, have been put in operation. o-.er 2,000,000 people have emigrated from southern and western Russia into the lands of Siberia. The shipping has so increased that the GoYernment has opened up arctic ports and built railroads to connect with the arctic port of Archangel. Extensiye ware­houses at this port are used t0 store grain and other freight, and in the summer, when shipping is possible in the Arctic Ocean, steamships go to the port and load with the accumulated freight for European markets. With over 10,000 miles of main line and branches iu Siberia, that Government has found that a second system of railroads across the country is now necessary. For two )!~ears that Government bas been constructing this second sy tern of railroads, which, when completed, will be 7,000 miles of trackage.

The first system of railroads is paying operating expenses and fixed charges and bringing in a large profit each year, and that Go>ernment is using the money so deriyed in track improvement and new lines, as well as the upbuilding of country roads and stage lines. Nearly every part of Siberia can be reached to-day by the Government owned and operated railroads or by a stage­coach operated by the Government. If we take as an ex­ample what is being done in Siberia as to what we may expect from Alaska, then there should be no fear as to the road paying or that the weather is too cold to operate the line.

There are Members here who represent districts that produce coal, timber, oils, and minerals. Alaska's development, it has been suggested, may close some of the markets now obtainable upon the Pacific coast, both with regard to sales to the Gov­ernment, the public, and to foreign commerce. The great State of Ohio, and in particular the district which I have the honor to represent, may feel for a short time the marketing of the abundant resources known to exist in Alaska, but we feel that trade will adjust itself. and if we do not send to the coast one thing the upbuilding of the Territory will increase the demand

for other manufactured goods, machinery, and so for th, so that in no event will we lose. And this is quite true with every other State, and why be afraid? Are you trying to keep Alaska back and her development locked up for fear that our own States may suffer ? How about the 350,000 American fa rmers wllo have gone into a similar country in Canada, of whom a large majority became citizens in order to take up lands? If rail­road transportation had been built across the Tanana Valley, how many of the 350,000 Americans now Canadians would baye gone to the Tanana and remained at least umler our flag? We all want to keep our farming class at least under the flag. The GoYernment of Canada. has given cash anll bonds as guaranties and her lands to secure railroad construe· tion across lands similar in all respects to Alaskan lands and climate. Did the people go, and have the railroads paid in this so-called frozen North? 'The American farmers, with their families and their friends, number OYer a million persons in Canada. The railroads are meeting with success. More line are under construction. We have the example of GoYernment ownership and operation in Siberia, llussia, and Germany, a1l yery successfully operated railroads. In Canada we have the example of the Government unconditional guaranties, both principal and interest, and the railroads are a success.

Laws are about to be enacted by this Congress governing the issuing of railroad securities, limiting and restricting the amount of the issue to the :-.ctual investment made. This will eliminate the speculative features of railroad construction. There will be no further opportunity for so-called "melon cutting," "stock­jobbing," and " yndicate frauds," and hence the speculatiye railroad magnate who has been dealing in American railroads will not venture into Alaska, deprived of the opportunity of making exorbitant profits out of railroad construction. There can be no question but wl:..at the people of this country want a law of that character, and it is certain that one will be enacted. With this condition of affairs it is a foregone conclusion that no bank or banker, European or American, will undertake the financing of an Alaskan railroad unless our Government gives its unconditional guaranty of the securities. Without snell Goyernment aid the attempt to finance a railroad in Alaska would be a waste of time and energy. As the Government owns almost all the Territory, it would hesitate a long time before gi\·­ing such unconditional guaranty and add thereto a part of the hinds to any priYate corporation or railroad promoter as an in­ducement for railroad construction; and hence it follows that the Government must undertake the construction of a railroad itself if it would do its duty by Alaska and develop this great Territory.

The distinguished and able Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ron. Franklin K. Lane, :n a letter dated May 15, 1913, addressed to the lion. KEY PITTMAN, chairman of the Committee on Territories of the United States Senate, in refer­ence to the policy of the construction and ownership by the National Government of a railway system in the Territory of Alaska, says :

I favor the adoption of this policy. I believe it to be that undet• which Alaska will develop most safely and most speedily and undet· which the resources of that Territory will most certainly become avail­able to the whole people.

There is but one way to make any country a real part of the world­by the construction of railroads into it. '!'his has been the heart of England's policy in Africa, of Russia's policy in western Asia, and Is the prompting hope of the new movement In China. Whoever owns the railways of a country determines very largely the future of that country, the charactet· of its population, the kind of industries they will engage in, and ultimately the nature of the civilization they will enjoy. The policy of governmental ownership of railroads in Alaska eems to me to be the one that will most certainly make for her lasting

welfare. To many of our people Alaska is little more than a land of natm·al

wonders, here P.nd there dotted with mining camps and fishing villages. If Alaska is to be nothing more, it is almost a matter of indifference as to who builds her railroads. I have talked with many who know that country well, and I am convinced that we should think of Ala ka as a land not only of mines and fisheries but of towns, farms, mills, and factories, supporting millions of people of the hardiest and most wholesome of the race. If this conception of a possible Alaska is a true one, our legislation should be such as to most surely bring out this possibility, and it seems to me there Is less of hazard as to Alaska·s future if the Government of the nited States owns the railroads which will make its fertile interior valleys accessible from the coast and bring its coal, iron, copper, and other mineral resources within the reach of the world.

This is a new policy for the United States. Very true. This is a new part of the United States. And policies properly change with now conditions. The one determinin~ question in all matters of government should be: What is the wise thing to do? The ancient method <?f opening a country was to build wagon roads. The modern method IS to build railroads. To build these railroads ourselves and control them may be an experiment, but such a plan does not suggest scandals more shameful or political conditions more unhealthy than many we have known in new portions of our country under private ownership. And tn the end we will be free to establish and maintain our own chosen relationship between Alaska and the rest of the United States. unhampered by threats of confiscation or the restraining hand of any merely selfish influences. We can only secure the highest and fullest

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- HOUSE. 2953 use of Alaska by making her railways wholly subordinate to her industrial and social life and needs-true public utilities.

This statement, coming from one so fully informed on this question, ought to dispel all doubts as to the correctness of the policy advocated in the bill under consideration. But if, not­withstanding all that can and has been urged in favor of the Government constructing and owning a railroad system in Alaska, there still remains doubt in the mind of any Member on this side of the Chamber as to his duty in the premises, he might follow with absolute safety the great leader of the Demo­cratic Party, the President of the United States, who, in his annual message to the Congress on this subject, clearly indi­cates in his usual convincing style what he regards ought to be done. I quote from his message:

. A duty faces us with regard to Alaska which seems to me very pressing and very imperative ; perhaps I should say a double duty, for it concerns both t he political and the material development of the Territory. The people of Alaska should be given the full Territorial form of government, and Alaska1 as a storehouse, should be unlocked. One key to it is a system of railways. 'rhese the Government should itself build and administer, and the ports and t erminals it should itself control in the interest of all who wish to use them for the service and development of the country and its people.

But the construction of railways is only the first step, is only thrusting in the key to the storehouse and throwing back the lock and opening the door. How the t empting resources of the country are to be exploited is another matter, to which I shall take the liberty of fr.')m to time calling your attention, for it is a policy which must be worked out by well-considered stages, not upon theory but upon lines of prac­tical expediency. It is part of our general problem of conservation. We have a freer band in working out the problem in Alaska than in the United States of the Union ; and yet the principle and object are the same, wherever we touch it. We must use the resources of the country not lock them up There need be no conflict or jealousy as between' State and Federal authorities. for there can be no essential difference of purpose between them. The resources in question must be used, but not monopolized upon any narrow idea of individual rights as against the abiding interests of communities. That a policy can be worked out by conference and concession which will release these re­sources and yet not jeopard or dissipate them I for one have no doubt; and it can be done on lines of regulation, which need be no less accept­able to the people and Government of the Nation aJ; large, whose heri­tnge these resources are. We must bend our counsels to this end. A common purpose ought to make agreement easy.

I believe that the policy of President Wil~on, just stated, is the correct and true policy for the Government to follow with respect to Alaska, and I shall therefore with great pleasure vote for the bill under consideration.

The building of a railroad in Alaska in no sense commits this Government to the policy of obtaining the ownership and operation of the railroads in the United States. That question is not involved in the measure under consideration. Neither is the country ready at this time to even seriously consider that great problem. I am confident that no party will under­take to acquire the railroads of the country and operate the same without first having that issue distinctly and definitely determined by the people of the country at a general election by proper platform declarations. ·

The fact is that the Government requires coal, oil, timber, and also the opening up of the Territory to settlement. The railroad is the one necessity that will accomplish the result. Alaska with the railroad will soon have a. large population, and will make for us a very strong and comfortable posses­sion, adding to our own naval and military strength, of great value to us. Alaska will serve as an insurance against war on the Pacific. Our aggressive Pacific Ocean neighbors will hesitate a. long time before they make the attempt when Alas~a is opened up and is peopled by that splendid citizen, the American · farmer. Alaska is big enough to become a great nation herself and is rich enough to hold her own. · There is !l most important matter I wish to call to your attention. We all feel proud of our Military Academy. West Point is known to you all. With pride we look upon the splen­did system .. of work it has accomplished, and -upon the perfect men it hns turned out. It has been said that if a man had it in him, that the Military Academy would devolp the best parts of his make-up. We have a most excellent example in Col. George W. Goethals, the builder of the Panama Canal. It is the system of West Point brought out through this genius that has built the canal. This same system has been ably demon­strated by the Army in Alaska. The Army has been building trails, roads, attending to the care of the wounded and sick, and maintaining order in the country for 17 years. In the early days of the rush of gold seekers to Alaska-18n7- 98-and prior to the establishment of civil law, the Army was the means of saving thousands. Hospitals were built and care was

· gh·en to the suffering. People weut to that country totally unprepared, and but for the efforts of the Army there would have been many deaths to record. Tbe men of the Army, en­thused by their leader to accomplish results, have dragged hun­dreds of tons of telegraph wire across the valleys and moun-

LI-- 187

tains and constructed a good telegraph systeu1. They have ac­complished a great deal with a small force. Tllese men haYe worked for small pay, and close to others who were comfort­ably housed and receiving ten times the salary for lighter em­ployment. It was the system, the Military Academy leader who accomplished the result. The Panama Canal was about to be let out to contract construction when it was finally decided to have the Army do the work. The people of the United States now see the wisdom of that decision. I believe that the great majority of the people of the United States would like to see the Army put in charge of the railroad construction in Alaska. We have every faith in our President, and know that he will do the right thing at the right time, and I for one would not limit his powers, but to satisfy all of the people in thls matter, and to further show our high appreciation of the men from West Point, and to encourage our young men now in the academy, to demonstrate our high appreciation of the men of the Army, I _propose at the proper time to offer an amendment to the bill H. R. 1739 to the effect that the actual construction work of the Government railroads in Alaska will be under the direct charge of the Army.

I hope that this side of the Chamber will stand by the Presi· dent and aid in the passage of this bill .

The OHAIRMAN. The Chair will recognize the gentleman from Texas [Mr. DIEs] .

Mr. DIES. Mr. Chairman, the measure now under consid­eration for the construction of a railroad in Alaska proposes that the Government shall issue bonds bearing 3 per cent in­terest, and with the proceeds of the bond sale carry on the work. These bonds are to be secured, so to say, by a first mortgage upon all of the property owned by the United States in the Territory of Alaska and elsewhere. The amount of b::mds to be issued, as proposed in this bill, is $35,000,000; however, the bill as passed by the Senate carried $40,000,000.

:Mr. Chairman, we are at peace with the world. Our annual revenues are enormous. The interest on these bonds, amount­ing to more than a million do11ars a year, must be paid by tax­ing the people. This interest payment will go on and on, like Tennyson's Brook, for we never pay Government bonds. Wby pledge our property in Alaska and our resources at horne? Why mortgage our future to build this railroad in the froz.en gorges of this far-a way land?

We are told, Mr. Chairman, that there is great demand for this bill, that we must open up Alaska and give the dwellers in the crowded cities a chance to •; go out west" and grow up with the country. Now, sir, I am perfectly willing to open up Alaska and permit anyone to go there who cares to do so, but I am not willing that the Government should finance this polm· expedition at the instance of interested cupidity on the one hand and credulous ignorance on the other.

Why build this railroad? I shall not at this time discuss the general question of Government ownership. I have small ) a­tience with the dreams of socialism. But grant, for the moment, that the Socialists are right and that the Government should own everything from railroads to soda fountains, why should we go railroad building in the neighborhood of the North Pole, while so many transportation additions are required in the United States, where people can live and do live?

When conditions in Alaska are generally understood the peo­ple in the United States will no longer marvel that the popula­tion of that Territory has only increased 733 souls in the past 10 years. We have owned this colossal chunk of frozen earth for more than 50 years, and with great labor and expense we have succeeded in thawing out only two or three thousand acres sufficiently for the growth of quickly maturing crops.

Mr. Chairman, Alask.a is a mining proposition pure and sim­ple. We have gold and copper and coal in Alaska. There has already been built and is now in operation a railroad to the principal copper mines. I believe it is not contended that mil­roads are necessary to bring away the gold we find there. True, we catch a great quantity of fish in Alaska, but they are taken from navigable waters, and I have never heard it contended that railway transportation was required for the handling of this product. We also receive from Alaska a goodly quantity of furs, but they are likewise secured in navigable waters nnd do not require additional means of transportation. But the coal mines of Alaska, say the advocates of this hill. can not be developed without additional railroads. And I h::n-e no donbt, Mr. Chairman, that that is true. Of course it llas neYer been contended that Alaska coal could be shipped into many parts of the United States.

The long hm:ll and consequent high freight rates would pre­clude that. But when this bill was first brought forward it was said by its sponsors that we needed Alaskan coal to use

2954 CONGRESSION ALr RECORD-HOUSE .. FEBRUARY 5,

in the Navy on the Pacific coast. That argument, I must con­tess, never appealed to me vecy strongly, but eT"en that poor excuse has been utterly shattered. Now comes the Secretary of the Navy and informs us that his department has completely abandoned the use of coal so far as future construction is con­cerned, and that mn.ny of the vessels already built are being fitted with oil burners, and that oil is to be the future fuel of the Navy. Nay, more, the Secretary informs us that the Gov­ernment is now conducting negotiations with a view to Govern­ment ownership of oil wells, pipe lirfes, and refineries.

1\lr. Ohairman, we appropriated $75,000 at a former session for the purpose of testing the coal produced at the Bering mines in Alaska. The Bering coal was said to be the best to be found in Alaska. We have since appropriated double that amount for the purpose of testing the product of the Matanuska :field. The test for the Bering coal has alreauy been made, and the Secretary of the Navy reports that this coal is utterly unfit for use in the Navy. The other Alask:m coal has not yet been tested, but we have nothing upon which to base the hope or belief that it will prove superior to that already tried and found wanting. These tests were made by Government agents, friendly to Alaska and to this bil1. In the first place, the coal was taken from the mine by employees of the Government. Five hundred tons were secured for the purpose. A large part of this coal was used, or attempted to be used, on the U. S. S. Mm··ylana, and, as I have stated, proved worthless as a coal for use in the Navy. Those who were clamoring for the Alaska approp~·iation were dissatisfied with the test which I have de­scribed. They contended that the coal used was negligently mined and contained a large quantity of dh·t and gravel. They demanded a further test under more favorable circumstn.nces. The entire matter was in the hands of the friends of this meas­ure, and a further test was made with this coal at the Govern­ment testing grounds at Annapolis. Fifty tons were used in this last test. lll order to try the ~oai under the most favor­nhle conditions it was washed and screened. The test was tllen made and the Acting Secretary of the Navy reported" with regret" that this coal was "unsuitable for naval use."

I do not contend for a moment, Mr. Chairman, that Alaskan coal can not be used in Alaska. successfully for many local purposes. I know from all the reports that it can. But I also know with equal assurance that it is neither possible nor neces­sary to bring this coal to the United States, with the possible exception of the northwestern frontier.

The Government has in its employ a great number of persons whose business it is to examine into the mineral resources of the country. The geologists have examined very carefu1ly and repeatedly our coal supply, present and future .. They report that we ha\e enough in sight here in the United States to last us and our successors in existence something over 7,000 years. That, of course, does not include the vast coal deposits in Alaska, where, if the report of the Weather Bureau is to be credited, a goodly quantity will be required for home consump­tion, in the eYent the farmers of New York Oity ever decide to go homesteading in that direction.

But, Mr. Chairman, it was not ordained in nature that man should live on coal alone. The miner of coal will need meat and bread. But the farmers of Alaska, say you, will supply these articles. What will the farmer take his pay in-coal? We have owned Alaska for .more than half a century. In that tlm·e there has been marketed from Alaska products of the value of $446,000,000. That is a great sum; and yet the State from which I come produces cotton worth almost that much every year. What are the Alaskan products which produced these millions? The fisheries brought $148,000,000 of the amount. As stated, the fish are secured in navigable waters, and do not require the railroad. They are caught by means of enormous seines drawn by tugboats. Comparatively few men are required to perform this labor, and practicn.lly no white men are engaged in the work. These fish cn.nneries are owned by corporations, who send vessels up from San Francisco laden with supplies and with Japanese, Chinese, and other laborers to do the work. When the canning season is over the entire product is shipped and the crews and workmen disappear until the following year. Nothing in that to require a Government-built railroad, is there?

In the time we have owned Alaska she has contributed $73,000,000 worth of furs to the market. These furs nearly all come from Pribilof Islands. Tbe fact is a few natives live on these islands and secure the skins of the seals for the Govern­ment lessees, who in tUI'll sell the furs. We have passed a law to stop killing these seals to a large extent. No matter how many Government railroads we had in Alaska, none of the seal­skins would be shipped by rail, for they are secured in navi-

' _gable water, jhe cheapest transportation in the world.

In all the years we have owned Alaska that Territory has produced $168,000,000 gold, not quite enough to pay the war pensions for 12 months. But this gold does not require railroad transportation. Practically all of it is mmed near the coast. The gold production in Alaska year before last was $22,000,000, and last year it had fallen to $18,000,000. Of course, this gold production is a good thing and helps to sustain the world's sup­ply of basic money, but it costs a dollar to mine every dollar of gold that is produced in Alaska or elsewhere. The miner digs it out of the ground, hands it to the Government, the Govern­ment mints it into the form of money, hands it back to the miner, and the taxpayer who gets it has to work for it. And, of course, that same principle applies to all that we get from Alaska, whether gold, furs, fish, copper, or coal.

Mr. Chairman, the people of the United States own about 95 per cent of all the land there is in Alaska, and its area is about one-fifth of that of the United States. In recent years we have inaugurated and are now pursuing a course in Alaska which to my mind is little short of idiotic. The cry of conservation swept the American people off their feet. As in the case of a great mn.ny good reforms, we went too far, and as a result we bottled Alaskan resources up completely.

For one, I am heartily in favor of opening up Alaska as rapidly as the interests of the American people demand it. I would permit every American citizen who wanted to go to farming in Alaska to have as much land as he could use in his business. I would lease the mineral and coal lands upon such conditions as would render monopolization impossible. With the Territory thus opened up, I have no doubt that railroads and other trans­portation facilities would be constructed as rapidly as profitable tonnage was at hand. Under such circumstances railroads would be built in Alaska wherever they would remunerate the builders fo·r the money spent, and at such places as railroads would not be profitable I am unwilling to issue bonds to build them at public expense. It is very probable that the greater part of Alaska is not ready for development. Much of its soil will no doubt lie in frozen virginity until time is no more. In the years to come, when our population becomes dense, it may be that our remote posterity will be driven to dare the migration to this lund of glaciers, but that time, 1\Ir. Chairman, I am happy to believe, is far remote.

The white population of Alaska is only 30,000. This bill, which has grown from $35,000,000, as first presented, to $40,000,-000, as we now consider it, appropriates more than $1,000,000 for each 1,()()(} of the white population of Alaska. And this $40,000,-000 is just a starter. No one can doubt that if we embark upon the governmental construction of railroads in Alaska it will require many hundreds of millions before we get through with it. So it was with the Panama Canal, so it bas been with all Gov­ernment undertakings, and so it will be with this affair. The estimates for the work in Panama was $135,000,000. We have already gone far enough to see that it will cost $500,000,000. The engineers who examined this Alaska scheme have already submitted plans and specifications for railroads up there which they admit would require an outlay of $478,000,000. What will we do with these railroads when we get them built? The Gov­ernment owns the coal land, and gentlemen tell us that it will never do for the Government to lease these coal lands to private individuals. What, then, can the Government do with these coal lands after railroads are built to them? Let the Govern­ment operate the coal mines, you say. Many of the advocates of this bill are already openly advocating Government' operation of the coal mines in Alaska. Of course that follows inevitably it we refuse to sell or lease the property. But it the Govern­ment had the railroads built and the coal mines open, what would we do with the coal? We have enough at home to last us 7,000 years, and the Alaska coal is not suitable for the Navy, even it the Navy wanted to use coal. Would not the Govern­ment ultimately have to go into the manufacturing business in order to use the coal? ~

But when you get the advocates of this bill in a tight place they fall back upon the wonderful agricultural possibilities of Alaska. Happily we are not in the dark about farming in that country. The Government bas been doing a little farming in Alaska for a number of years. We have spent $298,000 of the people's money in the farming business up in Alaska, by way of experiment, and the returns up to date have been $22,000. Your Uncle Samuel is about the only farmer I know of who could stand that kind of farming very long at a time . . Of course our Govet'llment farm managers in Alaska are en­thusiastic over the possibilities of that country. We are pay­ing them large salaries and they can gratify their agricultural curiosity without stint. These Government farmers in Alaska are learned men, and I have no doubt that they are thoroughly honest and patriotic. But not one of them could make a liv·

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2955 lng farming. We professional men shine as farmers as long as we have a good income on the side to help things out, but the real farmers, those who pay our salaries, ha.ve to get up and hustle to make a living even upon good land in a good farming country. I know what I am talking about, for I am supporting a farm right now. It is only a small farm, it is true, but it knocks a right sharp hole in my salary check every month to keep it going.

What do our Government farmers say of Alaska? Prof. Chubbuck, who has charge of one of the experimental farms up there, says in a recent official report:

On the south coast, where the climate is mild, tillable land Is scarce, beca Llse of the proximity of the mountains to the shore line; else­wher·e in Alaska the winters are long and very cold.

Yes; the winters are very long in Alaska. They have, in fact, eight months of >ery severe winter there. During those eight winter months the sun does not rise until 10 o'clock in the morning, and it sets at from 3 to half past 3 o'clock in the evening. True, in the summer months, some three or four in number, the sun shines nearly all the time, but even at that it takes an entire summer to thaw out a piece of cultivated land 2 or 3 feet below the earth's surface. The land in its natural state is covered with moss several feet thick, and will not thaw out at all in summer unless this moss is removed. It is frozen as deep down into the earth as anyone has been ab)e to penetrate. They have gone down 200 feet into the earth and found nothing but blue ice.

The cost of clearing land in Alaska is variously estimated at from $125 to $200 per acre. It costs the Government in excess of the latter suri:l to clear the land required for the experi­mental farms, but this is accounted for by the fact that the Government pays its farm hands in Alaska $7.50 per day and tha t private farmers get their labor cheaper. This is the report of our expert farmers, and I am prepared to believe it, for under our very noses here in the Capitol the Government pays at least twice as much for service as is paid by private employers. Not only is that true, but when one of our em­ployees die we bury him at Government expense and let his salary run on six months after he is dead.

What about the fertility of Alaskan soil after it is cleared and thawed out deep enough to culti_vate? I will let Prof. Chubbuck answer.

As already stated, generally speaking, Alaskan soil holds but a limited supply of available plant food. They soon become exhausted, and the problem is bow to increase this limited store of plant food.

Prof. Chubbuck suggests several remedies for the sterility of these Alaskan soils, and one of these remedies is to allow the land to lie out {:very other year. Of course I have no idea in the world how a farmer could make a living farming in Alaska ; but if such a thing were possible he certainly would have an easy time of it with only three months of growing season every year and his land lying out every other year ; the balance of the time he C01lld go to bed at dark, which comes on at about 3 o'clock in the evening; and rise with the sun the next morning, which would be in the neighborhood of 10 o'clock a. m. Nothing would remain to be desired by such a farmer except for the Government to give him a pension, which, of course, it would be absolutely necessary for him to have in order to buy food and clothing.

Mr. Chairman. I ha>e not reached the decision to vote against . this mensnre hastily. Many of our party leaders are support­

ing tllis bi ll, nud it appears to be meeting with favor throughout the cou•1 try. T::'n cier these circumstances I have felt it to be my duty to im·estigate the proposition most thoroughly. I have looked nt it f rom en ' ry angle, followed it through the tortuous maze of iengtby re11orts, and read many hundreds of pages for and nga lust its enactment. In every aspect of the proposition I can only se2 new burdens to be borne by the taxpayers of thi s lam1.

Why, sir, only 27 per cent of the tillable land in the United States is iu a state of cultivation. We have countless millions of acres yet in a state of nature awaiting but the hand of labor to bring forth abundant yields. The worst of these wild acres is a better farming vroposition than the best there is in Alaska. Why, then. is 73 per cent of the tillable lands in the United States standing idle? It must either be that there is not suffi­cient demand for farm products, not sufficient hands to work the land, or not sufficient railro_ads and dirt roads to open up these wild acres and handle the product of the soil. In either case no better reason can or need be given for the folly of the propo;;ition to build railroads in Alaska. If the Goverr;ruent must embark in the business of building railroads, which I oppose, why not build them here at home, where our people can use them in developing wild lands which are naturally and ad-

' mirubly adapted to the maintenance of a prosperous and happy

citizenship? We need more railroads all over the South and West. Not only do we need railroads, but we need good country roads to intersect these railroads that we already have to enable the people to get the products of their toil to market.

In my own district in Texas we have hundreds of thousands of acres of the best farming land in the world that never had a plow in it. These lands can be purchased at from $10 to $25 per acre. They are comparatively easy to bring into a state of cultivation. We have a long growing season and mild winters. Fuel is plentiful and water is pure and abundant. Less than 10 per cent of these lands are in a state of cultivation. Rail­roads are needed and country roads are needed to open up this fair land. What is true of my section is true of almost the entire South and, in part, of many other sections of the United States. Under these circumstances, how can I go back to the people who sent me here and excuse myself for writing a $40,000,000 mortgage against the property of the United States for the purpose of building railroads in Alaska?

If gentlemen will turn to page 417 of the 1912 Yearbook of Agriculture, they will find a very interesting article there from the pen of Mr. Jay A. Bonsteel, scientist in the Soil Sur­vey. They will find from this article that the best trucking soils in the United States are along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; that there are from thirty to fifty million acres of one series of this soil known as the Norfolk series, and that not one-tenth of 1 per cent of these lands are devoted to truck farm­ing. More than 80 per cent of these soils have never been touched by the plow. In this article you will find a picture of a piece of this land in its natural state, and under this picture you will find these words:

Worth less than $10 per acre in this condition, but capable of pro­ducing $1,000 worth of truck crops per acre in a single year.

That particular land is in eastern North Carolina, but the soil survey shows that it is almost identical with the predomi­nant soil in eastern Texas. Now, sir, there are but two reasons why this land is lying idle to-day; one is the limited demand for the food products which they will produce in such great abundance and the other is the want of transportation facili­ties. With all these millions of acres lying idle at home, pray, tell me where is the logic, where the wisdom of organizing a Dr. Cook expedition to icebound Alaska in search of a place to grow potatoes?

But it is well for the country to understand that this appro­priation is but an entering wedge not only as to railroad build­ing in Alaska but as to the activity of the Government in many schemes of like import. One is not compelled to go far to find advocates in Congress and out of it for every socialistic nostruJD that the nebulous intellects of the past and present ha>e con­ceived.

A Senator of the United States from one of the Western States, who aided very largely in the passage of this bill through the Senate, made the purpose of the bill quite clear in the following statement, made in the course of a speech in the Senate the other day. He said:

We do not propose to build these roads simply to get coal. If that were the sole p01·pose, we could build a line to the Bering River fi elds, equip it, construct docks and terminals, and make a harbor for not exceeding $4,000,000, and have access to all the coal we need for many years to come, not only for Government purposes but to ~uppl:y: the needs and demands of the Pacific coast. * • • In the blll which I introduced I provided for the reservation of a certain coal area and its development by the Government .

The Senator who gave utterance to his desire for the Gov­ernment to enter the coal-mining business is recorded as a Republican. On the same day, or rather in the same issue of the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, I find the speech of another Senator, who proposes a remedy for poverty. '.rhis Senator is recorded as a Democrat. His proposition is as follows:

Let the Government of the United States annually acc,tuire, by pur­chase if necessary, 50,000 small farms throughout the vat'IOus States as may be most suitable and practicable, build commodious dwelling houses thereon and each year place 50,000 citizens, without any expense or • cost to' such citizens, into actual possession of these farms, ca ref~1lly provi.ding that these " home-reserve farm lands " shall not be alien­ated, hypothecated in any way, or transferred under any pretext .bY the citizen inducted therein. * * * These tt·acts of land. Wlth decent dwelling houses, could be provided at an average cost t o the Government of about $4,000 per farm.

A little while ago some one discovered, or thinks he did, that radium is beneficial in the treatment of cancer. Immediately a bill was introduced in Congress to have the Government take over the radium mines and pay the owners of these mines some hundred millions or so as the purchase price.

Within the past few days the Post Office Department has strongly recommended the Government ownership of the tele­phone lines. I have not yet had an opportunity to examine the official report, but from the press copy I find tile following :

According to the best available data the capitalization of the long distance and toll lines represents approximately $200,000,000, .and the /•

2956 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

capitalization of the entire commercial network approximately $900,000,000.

I also gather from this report, Mr. Chairman, tlult the Gov­ernment ownership of these lines would increase the number of persons employed in the Postal Service from 290,000 persons to about 500,000 persons. It is, no doubt, still fresh in the minds of many of my colleagues that less than a week ago an amend­ment, known as the Reilly amendment, was ingrafted.upon the Post Office appropriation bill providing that the Government should furnish free life and accident insurance to about 90,000 employees of the Postal Service, including rural and city car­I'iers and others. My effort to defeat this proposition, though vigorously made, was unavailing. It is now insistently pro­posed to provide pensions for all the civil-service employees of the Government. The former President of the United States recommended that they receive a pension.

A mother's-pension law has been written into the statutes of several States of the Union, and a bill is pending before Con­gress to give the proposition national scope.

An old-age pension bill has been pending in Congress for several years, and is being urged now with renewed vigor.

Mr. Speaker, we are being swept off our feet by a clamor which, in my judgment, does not proceed from the mind and heart of the great body of the American people. Are we ready to cast a way the sober democracy of our fathers for the hybrid faith of paternalistic State socialism? Is there nothing good left in the individualism under which this Republic has grown so great? I grant you there has been enormous abuses. Cor­porate wealth and individual wealth has been stacked mountain high by the fraudulent flotation of fictitious stocks and bonds. The public has been saddled with burdens without a corre­sponding benefit. Men have reaped where they never sowed. I grant you all. But the fault has not been so much with the law as with lethargic public opinion and the men whom the people delegated to execute the law. But public opinion has been awakened with a shock. With one mind we are all de­termined to correct these abuses. Much has already been ac­complished. We have rewritten the tariff laws in the interest of the people; we have enacted a graduated income tax ; we have taken the national banking system from private hands and placed it under Government control; we have broken the op­pressive monopoly of the express companies with the people's parcel-post system; and we are very shortly going to write into the statutes of this Nation a law forbidding the formation or operation of trusts and monopolies, All this and more has been done. We are marching in unbroken ranks to the realization of the people's hopes. In this state of our affairs let us not become panic-stricken or hysterical. There is both good and bad in our established laws and policies. Let us not strike with the fury of enraged blindness, smiting both good and evil with indiscriminate hand. No good reform movement was ever blasted by reactionaries. We need not fear them. They are powerless to stay the righteous hand of the people's will. But many good reforms have been destroyed by excessive zeal. There are few good things in this world that do not become evil when carried to extremes. Mr. Jefferson declared that he found it more difficult to hold back into bounds of safety the overardent friends of liberty than to bring to proper advance­ment those who doubted the wisdom of popular government.

Public men are just now running to and fro as if they had been awakened to a disaster at sea. In good truth, the old ship has struck some rocks, but she is yet sound in her vital parts. She has sprung a leak here and there, but these can be stanched by cool and statesmanlike wisdom. There are many barnacles clinging to her bottom and pirates swarm her decks. But she is a good ship, this constitutional democracy of ours. The world has never witnessed her equal. For more than a hundred years she has rolled in safety through every storm and risen triumphantly from every shock. Shall we jump overboard now and give up the ship because, forsooth, there are leaks in the hold and pirates on the deck? How will we improve our con­dition by forsaking the old ship for the frail and leaky craft of socialism? For one, I prefer to throw the pirates overboard and stay with the ship. If she needs repair, I am ready with a stout heart to begin the work; and if we have not the courage, the strength, and the patriotism to do thnt, how will it be with us when we are aboard this new vessel, into which we are in a fair way to embark the history, the hopes, and the destiny of the people of this great land? If we flee from pirates, will they not pursue? Will not these and other barnacles gather upon the new ship, and in greater abundance? Will not plun­derers be more numerous under the new sy tern than the old? No, Mr. Chairman; the fault is not with the form and sub­stance of our institutions but with abuses which it lies within our powe1· to correct. I confess that I am alarmed at the fever-

ish haste of gentlemen to increase and extend the activities o.f the Federal Government. Already Government employees mus­ter an army ten times as numerous as followed Lee or Grant. Already they are organized for more pay and shorter hours, free life and accident insurance, and a Government pension to retire upon. Already they are sufficiently numerous and strong to give the average Congressman the buck ague when their interests are involved.

What will it be when the Government enters upon the oper­ation of coal mines, oH wells, radium mines, refineries, railroads, telephones, manufacturing plants, and other suggested Federal activities?

It is just as well that the people who do not have an oppor­tunity to view the details of ·governmental operations at close range should understand the inner workings of the great and necessary but altogether clumsy machine called government. It is well to understand that whatever the Government requires must be paid for at a much more expensiye rate than private persons are under the necessity of paying. For instance, the Government requires many horses in the service, and to shoe these horses costs the Government anywhere from two to ten times as much as the ordinary individual has to pay. I re­member some years ago to have served upon a committee in this House called the Committee on Expenditures in the State Department. Among other things that came out I remember that the expense of keeping one horse in that department properly shod cost the Government something like $50 a year. It costs the Government $25 and sometimes more per month to board its horses. It is generally understood that the Govern­ment will pay the top price for all it buys, and be content with the bOttom price for all it sells.

Nearly the entire army of Government employees are now covered into the civil service. What does that mean? Nothing short of a job for life. What will we do with these employees when they grow old and are no longer able to do the work required of them by the Government? That question can be answered by a visit to the departments here in Washington. There you will find men and women tottering with age, scarcely able to stand alone, drawing their salaries and doing nothing to earn them. But why is this? you inquire. Because many of · these old men and women have neglected to provide for old age, and now that they are old the heads of the departments have not the heart to kick them out into the street. This is the meat of the argument for civil pensions.

And what will it be when we pension this army of Government employees? Here again we do not have to look about tis long for examples of the way the pension system grows. The Civil War is 50 years behind us, but there are three times as many names <>n the pension rolls as there were 20 years after the war. They first put on the pension rolls the soldiers who needed a pension, then all the soldiers, then their wives, then their par­ents, and finally their children. Civil War pensions have already amounted to more than forty hundred million dollars, and we pass private pension bills every tw<> weeks. A more recent example can be found in the case of Spanish War pen­sions. Only a few hundred were killed on our side in that war, and the wounded was quite a short list, and yet the annual pension roll on account of that war now amounts to something over forty-two millions. The war of 1812 is a century behind us, but we are still paying pensions on account of that war.

Will not the employees of the Government soon be strong enough to make Congress give them pensions'? And once they secure their demand will not the history of war-pension legis­lation repeat itself in the matter of the civil list? What, then, would be the fate of a Congressman who dared to stand between the countless horde of pensioners and the Public Treasury'? He would be drawn, quartered, und cremated. Yea, he would be decapitated without the benefit of clergy.

And who is to pay for all these radium mines, railways, and telephones, anyway, and how is the payment to be made? The Government of the United States never has a dollar except as it taxes it out of the pockets of the people. In fact, the Gov­ernment is the people in organized form. "But bonds will be issued," say our cheerful doctors. What is a Government bond, pray tell me, except a mortgage give]} by the people upon all that the people own? How is money to be raised to meet the interest on these bonds twice a year? By taxing the people, of course, for the Government has no way of raising money excep~ by taxing the people, unless oonds were issued to pay the in­terest; but in that case it would not be long until no one could be found who would buy a Government bond.

Mr. Chairman, socialism is the folly and the fad of the hour, and I am sad of heart to see it, not only because I know that it will convert those who come to lean upon the Government into a race of hopeless and spineless dwarfs but because I know

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE .. 2957: that it will sh-ain every muscle and every nerve in the bodies of energetic and independent men to pay the taxes to keep a great army of Government boarders ~t the public table .. '!he greater part of the parasites that will breed under. ~cialis~ like insects in the sun will come from the crowded cities. Our manly and independent laborers and our sturdy . and frugal farmers will have to feed this hungry horde, and, hke the cask of Danaides it will be imposs-ible to fill them, for their mouths will be eve~ stretched forth in open supplication, and their clamor will sound like the rush of many waters;

Mr. Chairman, I shall not vote for these nostrums of social­ism ; believing as I do, I would be worse than a public enemy if I did so.

I love the people of my district. I cherish sacredly the land in which they dwell. I have lived among them since my boy­hood and I shall be buried there. 1\Iany of them are my de­voted personal friends, and a great majority of them have given me proof that neither the bitter tongue of the slanderer nor the honeyed lips of the demagogue c~n drive them from me.. These people, 1\Ir. Chairman, have a nght to expect that I will .~ve the courage to consult the public good rather than my political safety. They have a right to expect that I will give studious application to these great public questions and that I will do my duty as. that duty appears to me. I can n_ot hope. that they will always ag1·ee with me upon all great p_nbllc questions. The will of the people is the all-powerful equation, and I am thank­ful for it. If the time should come when I am out of tune with my people, they will no doubt b~stow ~eir. commission upon another more nearly in accord with thell' views. But in the meantime I pray for courage to sustain me in the discharge of my duty as God gives me the light to see it, for if my strength holds out I shall speak my sentiments and vote my convictions though they slay me. [Applause.]

Mr. 1t!ANN. Mr. Chairman, if the distinguished gentleman who has just spoken [Mr. DIEs] had lived in Massachusetts in the forties of the last century and represented a constituency 'from that State in this body at that tinle, he would have raised his eloquent voice to prove how impossible it would be for a civilized people to live on the arid plains of Texas. [Applause.] And do the two distinguished gentlemen from Oklahoma who bave led the fight against this bill need to be reminded that 100 years ago the United States entered into a solemn treaty pro­viding .that it never would incorp01'ate the region they now represent, either into a State or a Territory of the United States, but turning it over to the Indians, and considering it valueless for white men? [Applause and laughter.]

Such has been the history of our country. At every step which has been made we have been told that the Constitu­tion was strained, that self-government was at stake, and that the legislation we were about to enact would prove destructive of the principles of our Government. Even in the short space of half a generation, during which I have had the honor to occupy a place in this body, I can recall numerous instances when I have beard the same speeches in opposition to other measures that I have heard ·in opposition to this measure.

Mr. FERRIS. Will the gentleman yield right there? Mr. MANN. Yes. Mr. FERRIS. The gentleman never has heard any speeches

in opposition to such a bill as this, because we have never had such a bill as this before.

Mr. MANN. Well, let us see. When Col. William P. Hep­burn, a great statesman, first proposed that the Government of the United States construct the Panama Canal as a Govern­ment venture, the same dire prophecies were exploited here and elsewhere which the distinguished gentleman from Okla­homa now exploits in reference to another governmental un­dertaking of somewhat similar character. [Applause.] We provided in the end for the construction of the Panama Canal by the Government, for the reason that we belie'Ved it would not be safe to trust it to construction by private enterprise, which could not afford to undertake it unless guaranteed great profits; and we believed it wiser for the Govertunent to do this. Who would change it now? Where now can you find the men who then den01~ced it as an act of socialism?

When some years ago we proposed to provide for a new Department of Commerce and Labor, the same dire prophecies occurred about the extravagant results to the Government. When we proposed here to pass the pure-food law, gentlemen said we were destroying the Constitution, that we were ruin­ing the principles of our Government.

When we passed the white-slave law, gentlemen said it was destn1ctive of every principle of government. When we have extended the work of the Agricultural Department, gentlemen have said, '1 This is pure socialism, the Government entering

into private affairs and giving private help to the citizens of the United States.'~

~'he same dire prophecies have been made every time. They will continue to be made as long as government exists.

It is well that the opposition side is presented to these propo­sitions, because we ought to hear botb. sides, upon the principle that a legislative body which has not the ability to determine what to do in a specific case, but is fearful of what it may want to do in some other case, and decides not on the question before it but on the fears it has for the future, that legislative body is unworthy to exist. [Applause.] Now, what are the facts? I am not unduly impressed even with the possibilities of Alaska. I am not unduly impressed with the fertility of the soil or the value of the coal, or the amount of gold which is procured from there, or the other industries which may exist or which may be developed in the future. That is something we may, argue about. No one can tell. No one knows. When I was a. boy going to the public school, on the map there was the great American Desert, and I was taught to believe, as other children of my age were taught to believe at that time, that out in the West there laid a region where it was impossible for men to live, comparable only with the Desert of Sahara. And yet in my short life-and I am still a young man [applause]-! have lived to see this desert bloom ai,ld blossom. I recall that when we had before us the bill to provide for Government construc­tion in aid of the irrigation of arid lands the same dire prophe­cies were made that are made now.

.Mr. FERRLS. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. MANN. Yes. Mr. FERRIS. Does the gentleman from Illinois think that

if he bad plenty of time he could give any justification for the expenditure of sixty millions of money within the last year?

Mr. MANN. I could. 1\fr. FERRIS. What part of it? Mr. MANN. Oh, the gentleman has had three or four hours

~n this question and I have only a few minutes, and yet he expects me to go into a matter of that kind. I recall that when a distinguished gentleman of great ability in this House made a speech against the irrigation bill because he believed that the farmers of his district were so narrow minded that they wanted to keep out new lands and occupancy by settlers raising new products, I went to the gentleman, who was a friend of mine, and suggested to him that he leave that speech out of the RECORD, because it would live to plague him. He left it out of the RECOJID, and the next time he was a candidate for Congress a newspaper, which had opposed him theretofore, came out one day with a.. broadside favoring his reelection because he had helped to pass the irrigation bill, and appealing to the farmers to stand by him, and they did. [Laughter and applause.]

Now, what is the situation? We own Alaska; it is unde­•eloped and its resources are unknown. If one of us owned Alaska and had the power, what would the owner do? If I owned .Alaska, what would I do? Give it awD_:y? No. Sell it? No. No one would k~ow what is its value. Handle it and develop it yourself. What would be the first step of develop­ment? What has been the first step in development anywhere in the United States within the last 50 years? To build a rail­road. [Applause.] And as the owner of Alaska we propose to build a railroad as the first step of development. We must also learn the value of Alaska. We would not give it away. We would not sell it; we could not afford to do that, and if we keep it we must find out the resources which are there, and, as men of common sense, we should develop our own property by making it possible to Jearn the resources, and the first atep is to build a railroad. [Applause.]

Gentlemen decry Government ownership of property. That question is not before us. The Government owns a great deal of property. The Government owns a great many facilities, and the Government is engaged in charge of work. When it was proposed to pass the parcel-post bill, why, gentlemen had all sorts of fits over the subject. Who is there now so braye on the floor of this House as to propose to do away with the parcel post? I yield to him to rise and show his face.

.Mr. KINDEL. I do. .

.M:r. MANN. I am glad to know that the gentleman from Colorado [1\.fr. KINDEL] is opposed to the parcel-post law.

Mr. KINDEL. As it stands, it is a subterfuge and a :frnud. Mr. M.Al\TN. The gentleman says he is opposed to the pa rcel­

post law, but the gentleman is really in favor of making .it stronger. No; we hear these prophecies. We a re engaged m more or less Government activities, but because we are engaged in one does not bind us to do all. Because we adopt one propo­sition does not bind us to adopt all propositions. We should consider each one on its merits, and a legislative body that can not do that is not able to worthily legislate for the peopl~. I

2958 OONGRESSION AL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY £5;

believe that we ought to do fairly not only by Alaska but we ought to do fairly by our own constituencies and our own country in developing the resources which belong to them and to us. I believe that we ought to pass this bill authorizing the President to construct this railroad within the narrow limits prescribed. [Applause.] .

ir. RAINEY. 1\Ir. Chairman, for nearly half a century we have owned and controlled the great Territory of Alaska. Pur­chased for an insignificant sum of money, it has already added t o the wealth of the Nation $470,000,000 worth of products. W e haT"e barely touched the surface . . We do not )mow yet what treasures that great Territory, one-fifth as large as conti­nental United States, still conceals from the world. But we do know in this progressive part of the opening of this new cen­tury that our duty to ourselves, our duty to the rest of the world, demands that we now unlock the treasures of this great section of the earth's surface. [Applause.]

We have the best of reasons for believing that the coal fields there are greater than the coal fields of Pennsylvania; that the marble possibilities are greater than those of Ver;nont, and we are beginning to understand from investigations made by our Agricultural Department that there ar.} agricultural possibilities in that great Territory of ours.

Between the sixtieth and se..ventieth parallels of latitude in Europe lie the countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Provinces of northern Russia, and there are 11,000,000 peo­ple living there who are self-supporting. When we exported foodstuffs-when we produced more than enough for ourselves­we did not send any of it to that part of the world. Corn from the Argentine Republic is not going there now. Chilled beef from Australia is not going to this section of Europe. They are producing there all the foodstuffs that the 11,000,000 people who live there consume. They have established stable governments; they have built great cities, splendid public buildings, while from the ports of Norway sail the great fleets of black merchant ships that carry so much of the commer.ce of our own country. We have not been making agricultural experiments in Alaska, as stated by the gentleman from ·Texas [Mr. DIEs], for nearly 50 years.

Qnly a little over six years ago in a small way our Agricul­tural Department commenced to make experiments there. When I want to find out something about the po sibilities of Alaskan farming I do not intend to depend too much upon the advice of the gentleman from Texas [Mr. DIEs], who admits that even down there in Texas, in that fertile section of the world, where the sunshine is abundant, he is a failure as a farmer. [Laughter and applause.] The gentleman from Texas reminds me of Daniel Webster. Daniel Webster was a great orator. He was a brilliant statesman, but he often made mis­takes. The gentleman from Texas is not a great orator nor a brilliant statesman-he will admit that himself-but he makes mistakes oftener than Daniel Webster eT"er did or ever could. [Laughter.] Why, when we were talking about adding to our territory fore>er the great agricultural section of the North­west, the Oregon country, that section out of which we ha>e now carved three great States, when from the interior of the Oregon country there carne from the few settlers who lived there the demand that we take care of our own,-when Daniel Webster and the other statesmen of that time were intent upon pro­tecting just a few hundreds of acres of woodland upon the Maine border-when these demands came from settlers in the Oregon country Daniel Webster made a speech with reference to tha t section of the country, its worthless character for agri­cul tural purposes, its ice and its snows _and its undesirability fron: every s tandpoint, that reminds me very much of the speech made this afternoon by the gentleman from Texas [1\fr. Dms]. and I want to read now what Daniel Webster had to say a bou t Oregon a little over three-quarters of a century ago. Daniel Webster said:

What do we want with thls vast worthless area, this region of sav­ages a nd wild beasts, of deserts of shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust. of cact us a nd prairie dogs? To what use could we ever hope to put t hese great deserts or these endless mountain ranges, impenetrable and covered to their base with eternal snow? What can we ever hope to do with t he western coast, a coast of 3,000 miles, rock-bound, cheer­less, and uninvit ing, and not a harbor on it? What usc have we for such a country? lUr. President, I will never vote one cent from the Public Treasury to place the Pacific coast one inch nearer to Boston t han it is now.

Daniel Webster's claim to statesmanship does not, of course, rest upon tllat speech, and in the future the claims of tile gen­tleman from Texas [Mr. DIEs] to statesmanship will not rest t'a the speech he made here this afternoon. But, Mr. Chairman, the demand for the Oregon country continued, and finally re­sulted in establi~hlng forever our claims to that great section of the world. The years passed; the British attempted settle­ments in Oregon. Whitman and Lovejoy undertook in tile dead of winter their journey to the Capitol through the snows

and the ice of the Northwest, and when they arrived here, de­scribing the possibilities there, opinion had not changed much. apparently, because the Senators from South Carolina and other States were making just the same kind of speeches that we hear to-day against the development of Alaska. Senator 1\lcDuffie, following Senator Calhoun, of South Carolina, made a speech which reads very much like the minority report of the committee in this case, and 20 years from now the speeches made against Alaska here will sound just as amusing as the extracts from the speech of Senator McDuffie, which I propose now to read. The Senator, replying to Senator Benton, and speaking of the Oregon country, said:

Has the Senator-He demanded of Senator Benton-

examined the character of the country? As I understand it, about 700 miles this side of the Rocky Mountains is unhabitable, where ruin scarcely ever falls, a barren, sandy soil. There are three successive ridges of mountains extending toward the Pacific and running nearly parallel, which mountains are totally impassable except in certain parts, where there are gaps or depressions to be reached only by going some hundreds of miles out of the direct course. Well, nowi what are we to do in such a case as this? How are you going to app 1. steam? nave you made anything like an estimate of the cost of a railroad from here to the mouth of the Columbia? Why, the wealth of the Indies would be insufficient! You would have to tunnel through mountains 500 or 600 miles in extent.

It is true they have constructed a tunnel beneath the Thames, but at a vast expenditure of capital. With a bankrupt Treasury and a de­pressed and suffering people, to talk about constructing a rnllroad to the western shore of the continent manifests a wild spirit of adventu1·e which I never expected to hear broached in the Senate of the United States. And is the Senate of the United States to be the last intrench­ment where we arc to find this wild spirit or adventure which has involved the country in ruin? I believe that the farmers, the honest cultivators of the soil, look now only to God in His mercy and their own labor to relieve them from the wretchedness in which the wild and visionary schemes of adventure have involved them. * * * Why, sir, of what use will thls be for agricultural purposes? I would not, for that purpose, give a pinch of snutr for the whole territory. I wish to God we did not own it! I wish it was an impassable barrier to secure us against the intn:sion of others. This is the character of the country. Whom are we to send there? Do you think your honest farmers in Pennsylvania, New York, or even Ohio or Missouri will aband<!n their farms to go upon any such enterprise as this? God forbid ! To any man who is to go to that country, under the temptation of this bill, \t be was my child, if he was an honest, industrious man, I would say to him, " For God's sake, do not go there! You wlll not better your condl-

~~~fJz~d0Yif:'~~r et1c~~~~s t~;;_d c~~r;·~f ~f p~~~~io~~d e:rs'fe};~P.lntf~t ~~ I had a son whose conduct was such as made him a fit subject for Botany Bay, I would say, " In the name of God, go! " This is my esti­mate of the importance of the settlement.

Senator McDuffie's study of the Oregon question extended o>er some years. He gave to the matter much more attention and study than the gentleman from Texas [Mr. DIEs] has given to Alaska, and if his investigations led him to such conclusions as this, great God! what sort of conclusions would the gentleman from Texas have reached if be had studied the Alaskan ques­tion as long its Senator McDuffie studied the Oregon question? He continues:

If the British had no claim to this territory, and there was nothing which impelled us to go with our military establishments and agricul­tural settlements, I would not consent, if there was an embankment of even 5 feet to be removed, to enable any population to go there. I do not wish to tempt the people to settlements there. I wish this to be a great empire, grown up by the natural course of civilization, and the natural extension of population. I thank God, in His mercy, for placing the Rocky Mountains there. I believe if it had not been for those mountains we would have been already in the Pacific. You can not civilize men if they have an indefinite extent of territory over which to spread their numbers ; fot· so long as they spread their numbers, instead of becoming civilized they become semisavage. All agree that civilization can be best effected where the country is hedged in by narrow boundaries.

Now, all that we ask permission to do is to build there a pioneer railroad-a railroad connecting the open harbors of the ~outh with the waters of the great navigable rivers of the interior of Alaska, connecting its valleys with all their J10ssi­bilities, and who will say that between the sixtieth and seT"en­tieth parallels of latitude in Alaska you can not rai e ju t as much as you can between the sixtieth and seventieth parallels of latitude in Europe, where these millions of people live in comfort and prosperity and happiness?

This bill contemplates a bond issue in order to pro1ide the money with which to build these trunk-line railroads. We devel­oped the great West by giving away land. We gave to the North­ern Pacific Railroad at one time 43,000,000 acres of land, and in spite of the dire prophecies of Webster, and of Calhoun, and of McDuffie, the railroads were built. Great bands of steel reached the western sea. and the population in its westward mo>ement across the continent followed them and developed those great States and brought them, in spite of Webster, very near, indeed, to Boston. [Apphuse.]

Canada is doing the very thing we are trying to accomplish in this bill. She is building railroads up there herself, some of them extending in the direction of the Territory of Alaska, with Government aid, Government bonds, for over 2,000 miles of rail~ way. We are told in the daily press she has just completed a

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE .. 2959

lease for nearly 1,800 miles of railroad which she now has under construction, by the terms of which the rental to be paid for the use of that railroad will pay the interest on her entire railroad-aid bond issue. It is not too much to expect that the building of these pioneer railroads up there in .Alaska will never be a charge on the people of the United States ot upon the Treasury of the United States.

Webster and Calhoun and McDuffie can perhaps be pardoned for the position they took with reference to the Oregon country. Their opportunities for information as to the possibilities of that country depended merely upon reports of the few settlers who lived there. I am unable to reach the conclusion that those gentlemen who on this floor so vigorously opposed this proposition are entitled to the same consideration. Opportuni­ties for information as to Alaska and its possibilities are ample. There are frozen rivers and long nights and high mountains covered with snow and cold winters in those sections of Europe ljetween the sixtieth and seventieth parallels of latitude, just as there are in Alaska, and yet people live there, millions of peo­ple, happy, prosperous, contented. We have taken $470,000,000 worth of products in less than 50 years from Alaska, and to-day less than 40,000 white people live there. Without a proper sys­tem of railroads we can not expect a larger population.

Roads are a necessity for the development of every land. Roman generals at the head of Roman legions carried the Roman rule to remote sections of the known world, but back of the> great crushing armies of Rome came her , road builders, building hundi·eds of miles of good roads-the best roads the world had ever seen. Some of them exist to this day. Gov­ernment aid for railroads is not an unknown thing in the UnitP.d States. The pioneer western roads-the Union Pacific and the Northern Pacific-were built on account of Government aid. Enormous land grants made possible the completion of those roads and the speedy development of the western part of our continent in spite of the predictions of the legislators of that period. It is estimated by competent writers, excellent authorities on the subject, that in lands and in moneys, the States and the National Government have given in aid of rail­road building in continental United States over $1,000,000,000. Competent authorities writing on the subject estimate that the donations of lands and moneys to railroads in continental United States amount, in the aggregate, to two-fifths of all the value of railroad properties in the United States to-day. We have built over 16,000 miles of railroad with Government aid.

There are only th-ree things to do with .Alaska. and the time has come when we must do something. We must deliver over the Territory to the Guggenheims and tlle other interests who clamor for it; we must give it back to Russia, which, in my judgment, would be preferable to giving it to these interests~ or the National Government must provide for its development. This is the method of developing .Alaska which I stand for and which I believe the majority of the people of the United States stand for to-day. We can only develop a country by building roads, by building the best roads, roads which transport persons and property quickly, and in this age of the world railroads are the only kind of roads that answer this requirement. We aided by land grants only the Northern Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads, but the other railroads followed without national aid and now a network of railroads covers the entire western part of this continent. Canada is building railroads and is issuing bonds in aid of railroads. Under the direction of the Canadian Government a railroad is being built now toward the great Northwest, penetrating the colder regions of the North-a railroad that will reach, when it is completed, almost to the Arctic Circle. When, under the direction of the President of the United States, the roads we are providing for in this bill are completed but a comparatively small gap will remain be­tween the Alaskan system of railroads and the Canadian system of railroads, and it is not too much to expect that in the not too distant future an entire-rail route will exist from the great cities of our Atlantic coast to the interior of the Territory of Alaska.

Acting under · the direction of the great departments of this Government, "investigations have been conducted in .Alaska.. We know from the reports of these investigations that there is, in this great Territory, of water power as much as there is in all the Pacific Coast States. .Alaska produces as much gold per annum as California, our greatest gold State. There is contained within the boundaries of this Territory more arable lund than there is within the entire State of Oregon. Ten years ago we started in .Alaska with a small herd of reindeer ; now there are 47 great herds numbering in all 38,000 of these animals-food animals, all of them. In time, if these great herds increase in numbers as rapidly as they have increased in the last few years, much can be accomplished in .Alaska toward overcoming the cattle shortage in this country~ The

area of .Alaska is equal to the area of Norway, Sweden, Fin­land, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Within its boundaries there are 100,000 square miles of rich valley lands available as arable and grazing lands. It has been demonstrated that oats, barley, rye, potatoes, and all the vegetables can be successfully grown in .Alaska. All the vegetables that can be raised in the Temperate Zone in America will grow as far north as the Arctic Circle and even beyond that, according to the investigations made by this Government.

It will cost the Government less to build this railroad than it would to subsidize with land grants a company to build it. Does anyone doubt the fact that if we gave away these coal fields-even a comparatively small part of them-to the Gug­genheims or to other great combinations of capital in this coun­try they would build this road and be glad to build it? The time has passed when any portion of our public domain or any part of the mineral wealth under the soil can be given away to great combinations.

This bill contemplates Government operation of the railroads to be built under it during the period of construction. The roads may then be leased, just as Canada. has leased the roads she has built; and is it too much to expect that we can lease them as successfully as C~ada leases her railroad properties? Is it too much to expect that we also can obtain enough renta1s for these properties to pay the interest on the entire bond issue contemplated in this bill, just as Canada has done? We have in Alaska the largest and most productive fisheries in the world. That section of Europe to which I have called attention, and which supports in comfort 11,000,000 people, and which exports its products to other sections of the world, in area is only a little over one-third larger than the Territory of Alaska, but b:.king into consideration the possibilities of the Alaskan fisheries it is not too much to expect that in Alaska as many people can live and prosper as do live within the same parallels of latitude in Norway and Sweden and Finland and the Russian Provinces.

This is an administration measure, and the measures advo­cated by this administration are popular. In compliance with the suggestions of a Democratic President, carrying out pro­gressive Democratic policies, in this bill we are taking the first steps toward unlocking the great storehouses of Alaska. [Ap­plause.]

The CHAIRl\IAN. The time of the gentleman has expired. The gentleman from Virginia [Mr. SAUNDERS] is recognized.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Mr. Chairman, this Alaskan proposition is not an appeal to reason, and rests on no solid foundation of· assured fact. We are blithely going forth, like the boy in the fable, in quest of the pot ot gold at the end of the rainbow. In the minds of many, this project is invested with all the glamour that attaches to the far distant, the mysterious, the problemat­ical, or the unknown. So far as the merits of this enterprise are concerned, the essential features are easy of ascertainment, and if this House would pause for a moment, to apply to the matter in hand, the facts that may be readily derived, not from glowing prospectuses, or rhapsodical descriptions of dreamers who are dreaming dreams of an El-Dorado in .Alaska, but from the ac­counts of dispassionate travelers, and the reports of Government officials charged with the duty of investigating, and malrtng re­port on the resources of this country, it would have no difficulty in arriving at a conclusion adverse to the recommendations of the committee.

Mankind is curiously constituted, and eternally verifying the maxim, quot homines, tot sententire.

Bring forward a scheme of governmental construction in some far corner of the earth, in Hawaii, in the Philippines, at Guam, and millions of dollars are voted with a lavish hand. Then submit a commonplace proposition of homely, domestic interest, ' one that involves no speculative, or problematical elements, but is to :)e prosecuted under such conditions of assured success, that the results to agricu1ture, commerce, and industry in every form, may be stated in terms of positive and impressive import, and at once the same people who are ready to construct a railroad into Utopia, or to run a tunnel under Bering Strait, begin to talk in a sti·ain of unfamiliar and un­wonted economy. They question whether the party platform covers such a scheme, or perchance hint that it is not within the purview, or contemplation of the Federal Constitution.

I remember that a year or two ago an ingenious gentleman presented to the public a great project, namely, one to cause a deposit upon the Grand Banks, of the sand and other sediment carried by the Labrador current, so as to create in time a great submarine embankment across the banks, thereby deflecting the cold polar current, inducing the most wonderful climatic changes fu the Northern Hemisphere, cutting off the icebergs in their ·stately procession to the south, and dissipating the fogs on the coasts of the United States, Canada, and the British Isles. This 'project was referred to, if I am not mistaken, bYJ

2960·· CONGRESS! ON AL· RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

the Scientific American, and it was even stated . that a bill to make the same effective, would be introduced by a Member of Congress. I have often wondered why this has not been done.

Mr. MADDEN. It has been so introduced. 1\lr. SAUNDERS. Has it? Well, I am not surprised. I

felt assured that a scheme so full of fascinating possibilities, as outlined by its friends, would find supporters in Congress. 'Vho knows what may yet be accomplished, when this enterprise is put on its feet by a liberal appropriation from the Federal Treasury. The flowers that bloom in the spring, may cover the sunny fields of Labrador, and the orange groves of Florida may find formidable rivals in the one-time cheerless wastes of Newfoundland. Before we expend too great a sum in Alaska, we ought to reserve a nest egg for the development of this hopeful enterprise in the turbulent waters that cover the Grand Banks. What is Alaska? The answer may be briefly giT"en: "Alaska is a land of immense distances, great natural obstacles, sparse population. It is 1,500 miles from Ketchi Ran to Bering Straits. The great fjords, arms of the sea; the im­mense glaciers, Malaspina, 80 miles across; the high mountains, Mount St. Elias, 18,000 feet; Mount Denali, 20,000 feet; the vol­canoes, Katmai, whose ashes tinted Algerian sunsets; the wide and turbulent rivers, Copper, Kuskokwin, Yukon; the extreme cold in the interior, 70° below zero; the rainfall and snowfall, 110 inches at Juneau, all sufficiently exemplify the natural features of this great Territory. The population is about 1 to 20 square miles."

There is so much misconception about this entire situation, and so much misapprehension as to the real facts about climatic and other conditions in Alaska, that I do not deem it amiss in this connection, to refer to conditions in other countries in the older world that are found along the parallels of latitude that run through this portion of the United States. Upon a sur­vey of these conditions, and the achievements of the people in­habiting these areas, we will be able to forecast the likely 1·eturns ·from our expenditure of thirty-five millions in this country. Alaska is practically between the sixtieth and seven­tieth parallels of latitude. A friend of mine, talking to me a day, or two ago, about this bill, said: "Do you not know that the center of Alaska is in the same latitude as Scotland, and other countries of continental Europe where a great agriculture is successfully prosecuted?" This statement, though made in good faith, is wide of the mark. Examine the globe now in the Hall, and you will .find that Mount St. Elias which is in the southern part of Alaska proper, is in the same latitude as north­ern Labrador. I eliminate, of course, from consideration, the narrow strip which forms the panhandle constituting southeast­ern Alaska. Mount St. Elias is far above Scotland. The paral­lel running through Mount St. Elias, which is above Sitka, runs through the southern portions of Sweden and Norway, and above Stockholm. Below this parallel are the main agricultural portions of the Scandinavian peninsula.

Now look to central Alaska, Fairbanks, and the Tanana region, and see how they are situated with reference to Greenland, Iceland, and the corresponding countries of the Old World? Bear in mind that this is the region where it is supposed that the gr-eat agricultural development will take place. This portion of Alaska is clear above the northern extremity of Labrador. The sixty-fourth parallel of latitude is not a great distance above Fairbanks. This i)arallel runs through lower Greenland, Iceland, well above Scotland, and thence through Norway and Sweden below the Lofodens, and far above Christiania and Stockholm. Following the same parallel further, we find that it runs across the White Sea, thence by Archangel, and through the fi·ozen por­tions of Siberia where the Samoyeds and other miserable and abject h·ibes are found.

Assuredly agriculture has never been pursued with any de­gree of success, or of profit, or to any considerable extent, in these subpolar areas. It is true that in all of Norway, and Sweden, and Finland, there are many people-millions of peo­ple, but comparatively few of them are pursuing lucrative agri­culture, above the sixtieth parallel, much less in the latitude of Fairbanks. The inhabitants of these countries h·ace their history to the very beginning of recorded time, and by untold ages of painful, and protracted toil, have brought their soil to its present measure of cultivation. The existing state of agriculture in those countries is not due to any favoring cc.nditions of soil, or climate, but to str.enuous application, prosecuted through count­le s centuries.

These then are the facts with regard to farming in those lati­tudes of the Old World which correspond to the Fairbanks section of Alaska. Go to Sweden, and you will find that the chief ~gricultural operations of that country are in the lower portion nf the peninsula. The same is true of Norway. Go to Russia, in the area about Archangel, and there is no agricul­ture worthy of note. Moreover "this agriculture such as it is,

finds its roots in prehistoric times. There is no present move­ment of population into these countries, but on the contrarv a steady outward flow, largely into the United States. As 'tar back as history goes, we find the pressure of local conditions inducing emigration from Scandinavia. Knowing nothing of fairer climes, fancying that all the world was as forbidding as their native land, ignorant of life under other conditions of greater opportunity than prevailed at home, their first colonies were established in the northern latitudes.

Iceland was settled from Norway. Later, as the sagas of Ice­land inform us, emigrants from that country establi hed them­selves in Greenland, and maintained a flourishing colony in that forbidding environment during a long p-eriod of time. But these migrations have ceased. The colony in Greenland is only a memory. The glories of Iceland have vani bed. With in­creasing knowledge, the flow of emigration has turned in other directions. No mileage of railroads in Greenland, or Icelnnd, or northern Scandinavia would attract colonists and settlers to those countiies. The world is wiser now than it was in the days of the Vikings, and there is no movement of population toward Greenland, though lower Greenland is in the latitude of Fair­banks. And yet the advocates of this Alaskan proposition, with full knowledge that even an emigrant from Iceland, or Nor­way, or Finland, or Sweden, leaving as he would, a settled country, with homes and schools and civilization, could not hope to better his condition as an agricultural pioneer in the bleak interior of Alaska, insist that if we build railroads into that country, a great flow of emigration would set thitherward. Whence would it come? Surely there is no farmer in any State of this Union, living under conditions so untoward, or unhappy, that he would be attracted to a country where the soil is frozen everywhere to bedrock, and land selected for agriculture must be cleared for such limited crops as may be raised, at an expense of from $125 to $200 an acre.

This Alaskan project stands on two legs, coal and agri­culture. How about the coal? I think it is but just to the com­mittee to say, that if it had been able to forecast the reports that would be sub~itted on the coal of Alaska, the present report would not have been made. I find in the committee's report the statement that there are "quantities- of naval coal on the route between San Francisco and Yokohama." What are the facts as to this coal? What are the repoYts from the Navy Department?

The Secretary of the Navy, speaking of coal from the Bering River field, and Dr. Brooks says that there is little to choose between the .Matanuska and Bering River coal, states in a recent letter, that "the run of the mine is not fit for naval use." But this coal was submitted to an additional test. It was screened and washed, and then burned. Even under these conditions, the coal used yielded only about 75 per cent of the power secured from Pocahontas coal. Concluding his letter to Mr. Daven­port, relating to this test, the Acting Secretary of the Navy wrote as follows: "The department therefore notes with regret, that the Bering River coal sample, has thus far proved unsuit­able for naval use." Speaking of this same coal, Dr. Brooks, of the Geological Survey, makes the following statement: "In the physical composition it leaves much to be desired, so far as we know." He further stated that for naval purposes, it might contain too large a percentage of slack. This forecast was \eli­fled by the naval tests.

Mr. HOUSTON. 1\Ir. Chairman, will the gentleman yield there? The CHAIRl\lAl"'f. Does the gentleman from Virginia yield to

the gentleman from Tennessee? 1\Ir. SAUNDERS. Certainly, I will yield to my friend. Mr. HOUSTON. I want to call the gentleman's attention to

the statement of the Secretary of the Navy in regard to this Bering River coal.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Which Secretary is that? 1\fr. HOUSTON. Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy.

His letter is dated January 31, 1914. He says: In reference to my previous letter to you in regard to the tests or

Bering River coal I desire to invite particular attention to the fact that these tests only relate to the coal actually tested.

1\Ir. SAU:J\TJ)ERS. Of course. No one would think otherwise. l\fr. HOUSTON. The Secretary proceeds: As stated in my letter, there is nothing to show in the tests just com­

pleted what may be expected of coal taken from greater depths on other veins.

1\fr. SAUJ\TDERS. Of course the tests can only relate to coal that is actually tested. But a test is made from a sample, and this sample is supposed to be representative of the thing sam­pled, otherwise what is the value of a test?

Mr. MADDEN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleU?-an yield there? The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman yield? Mr. SAUNDERS. This coal was selected for the deliberate

purpose of showing that Alaska coal was suitable for naval pur-

1914. CONGRESSIONAL -RECORD-· HOUSE: 2961 poses. But the result was disappointing, deeply disappointing to the advocates of this measure.

1\Ir. TAGGART. 1\Ir. Chairman, will the gentleman yield for a question?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Certainly. Mr. TAGGART. There is an abundance of coi:tl in Alaska, is

there not? Mr. SAUNDERS. There is no doubt about that. Mr. TAGGART. In case it is necessary for the fleet to oper­

ate in the Pacific Ocean, there is no coal there with which to operate, and the eastern coal is hauled there. In case of an emergency the coal in Alaska is exactly what the fleet would have to have and would have to use.

Mr. SAUNDERS. To what emergency does the gentleman refer? Is the gentleman Jugging the old Japanese war scare into this depate, in order to justify an expenditure of untold millions in Alaska?

Mr. 'l'AGGA.llT. No. But the gentleman has not' answered my question.

l\fr. SAUNDERS. What is the gentleman's question? Mr. TAGGART. Why is a fleet operating in the Pacific or

in any other ocean? · 1\lr. SAUNDERS. The gentleman has not propounded a ques­

tion that I can answer. Mr. MADDEN. Is not the latest report of the Navy Depart­

ment to the effect that the coal brought down from Alaska and tested showed only 43 per cent of the efficiency of the Poca­hontas coal?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes; and having reference to efficiency, it will be far better to bring suitable coal from the coal fields of the eastern seaboard, tl::m to send our fleet against a hostile fleet in the Pacific with a supply of inferior and inadequate coal in its bunkers. Of course this is upon the theory that our coun­try is to fight for the control of the Pacific, and that a great naval war in that ocean is inevitable. For one, I scout the suggestion of such a war, and regard it as too improbable for serious consideration.

Now, as to the facts about Alaskan coal and its alleged value for naval use. Mr. Secretary Daniels, with reference to the Bering River coal, has stated that a large sample of this coal was mined for the purpose of testing its value for naval pur­poses. The results of these tests both as to the run-of-mine coal, and the same coal after being washed and screened, have been furnished. If these tests had been satisfactory, if the coal had met the anticipations of the gentlemen who have spoken in. si1ch glowing terms of the possibilities of Alaska, the opponents of this measure would have been confronted at every turn of this debate with · the official reports establishing the efficiency of Alaskan coal for naval use. But the unexpected results of these experiments hr.ve confounded the advocates of the bill, and they are now seeking to minimize the value to be attached to the official tests.

Mr. BOOHER. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman yield? Mr. SAUNDERS. Certainly. 1\Ir. BOOHER. Is the gentleman familiar "'ith the test

made three years ago at Bremerton? Mr. SAUNDERS. No. I prefer to take the latest test, for

the obvious reason that this test was devised for the, very pur­pose of ascertaining the value of :Matanuska and Bering River coal for naval purposes, and to afford support for this scheme of railway construction in Alaska.

Mr. BOOHER. Was not the Bremerton test made for that purpose also?

Mr. SAUNDERS. I do not know. I am not acquainted with the resnl ts of that test.

1\Ir. BOOHER. Does not the gentleman know that this coal that was tested last was not mined coal at all? Does he not know that it was just coal taken off the mountain side?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Well, if that is so, such a fact is certainly a reflection upon the people who conducted this test.

Mr. BOOHER. But that is true. Mr. SAUNDERS. Let us see if it is true. The purpose of

the inquiry was to ascertain the value of Alaskan coal for naval purposes. Presumably it was conducted under such condi­tions that its results would be valuable either in the way of proof, or disproof, of the claims preferred for this coal.

Now you tell me that these tests are valueless, and yet we are expected to rely in other directions upon tl1e representations of a department that is apparently incapable of making an effi­cient test of bituminous coal. But as a matter of fact 1\fr. Sec­retary Daniels states in his letter to 1\Ir. Davenport that a large sample of Bering River coal was mined.

1\lr. DIES. That test cost $75,000, did it not? 1\Ir. SAUNDERS: I do not k:p.ow the figures; but surely a

department which conducts an inquiry at such an expense,

should not be discredited by its friends. There is no evidence ' to show that these tests have not b~en properly made under adequate conditions. I can not agree with the friends of the bill that the conclusions of this expensive inquiry are to be re­garded as inconclusive and insufficient.

Mr. FERRIS. Is it not the solemn duty of a gentleman in­terrupting another gentleman here to present an authority more recent than the December letter from the Navy Department.

Mr. SAlThTDEJRS. Of ·course it is. I am calling attention to the fact that the tests which have been recently made, are ad­verse to the claim that .Alaskan coal is suitable for naval use. If there is any reliable evidence in its favor, it is certainly the duty of the friends of this measure to present it. We have had too much speculation, too much theory, too much loose talk about the possibilities of .Alaska. Above all things, we desire facts, facts, and then more facts. We are more concerned with proba­bilities, than possibilities, with facts, than with fancies, or highly colored dreams. A test is intended to be an ascertain­ment of value, and this particular test was ordered for the. very purpose of affording material support for this scheme of Alaskan development. The result has been disconcerting. It is a case of being hoisted with one's own petard, and the friends of the bill having recovered from their first astonishment, are seeking to discredit the credibility of their witness. Vain endeavor. Like the fisherman in the .Arabian Nights who opened the bot~ tie, and released the malignant genie, they are the authors of their own misfortune. Having invoked this test, they must abide by its issue, and will not be aided by their eager efforts to discredit an ascertainment of their own seeking.

The Secretary of the Navy writes that the experiment shows that the run~of-the-mine from the Bering River field is unsuit­able for the use of the Navy. Coal taken from the surface would hardly be styled run-of-mine. There are two horns to this dilemma. Either the test discredits the claims preferred for this coal, or the ability of the . Navy Department to make an efficient test, is discredited. Take either horn you choose.

Mr. HAMLIN. Does the gentleman insist that it makes no difference with the value of coal if it is allowed to lie on the ground exposed to tbe elements for years? Does the gentleman claim that makes no difference?

l\Ir. SAUNDERS. Oh, no. Of .course I do not claim that. . Mr. HAMLIN. The gentleman has just stated that. Mr. SAUNDERS. I do not claim that it makes no difference;

but coal of proper value, does not lose that value by lying on the ground for a while.

Mr. HAMLIN. Does it not ever deteriorate? Mr. S.A.UJI."'DERS. Oh, to some extent. But I wish to ask

you this question. What value do you attach to a test de1iber­ately inaugurated, and conducted at a considerable expenditure by that particular department of the Government which is most vitally interested in the inquiry? When we invoke the results of this test as an argument against the value of Alaskan coal for naval purposes, you gentlemen who favor this bill, wave us airily aside, and in substance declare that the test is valueless, or at least inconclusive. What value is to be attached to any informa­tion afforded by a department of the Government if the result of a $75,000 experiment is to be whistled down the wind in this fashion?

If the test had stopped with the run-of-mine coal, you would have said: "Wait until we screen this coal and wash it. That is the test which will ascertain its real value." Then if the coal had responded to the screen test, you would have been jubi­lant, and insisted that at last the truth had been revealed. But the last test afforded no better results than the first. What does the Secretary say in relation to this coal, after both testr had been completed?

The department therefore notes with regret, that the Bering Rivet coal sample bas thus far proved unsuitable for naval use.

Are there any more recent tests? If so produce them. Is there any more recent information, or is there any more recent scientific ascertainment reversing the former tests and showing that the Bering coal, or the Matanuska coal is suitable for naval purposes? If not, we must abide by the report of Secretary Daniels.

I wish to call the attention of the committee to another state­ment in the report which serves to illustrate the character of the arguments that are used to bolster up this Alaskan proposi­tion. First we are told that we need a supply of naval coal in the Pacific. Then in order to justify the construction of rail­roads to haul this coal to the coast, the report proceeds to afford an estimate of the coal that may be needed in the future, to supply the fighting ships. In addition the report .gives the pres­ent cost· of transportation from Pocahontas to San Francisco. This cost is fixed at from $5 to $8 a ton. Proceeding to multiply the amount of coal required, by the cost of transport.'l,tion, the

2962 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE.

committee does not take the· average of cost, but uses the maxi- . preparation, the total cost per acre of first-class farm land near mum of $8, as a multiplier. , a good market in an old country, before he will begin to raise

In their attempt to estimate the coal needed, they predicate a anything to sell in this dayless night, and nightie s day region." great war in the Pacific. with some unnamed enemy, presumably Mr. WICKERSHAM. Will the gentleman yield? Japan. This war is to last 12 months. Now this last hypothesis Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. is absurd. There is no possibility of war in the Pacific with Mr. WICKERSHAM. Will the gentleman read from Mr. Mann's any power, save Japan, and conceding that war with the latter, , statement where he has to remove a foot of moss and tlmdra 1 is a possibility, the United States can not afford to build rail- ' Mr. SAUNDERS. I will. roads into Alaska, upon the theory of· a 12 months' war with Mr. WICKERSHAM. If he so states, that is not the fact. that country. The era. of protl·acted naval wars has passed. Mr. SAU:l.'t~ERS. This r·epart of Mr. Mann was mailed to us

Mr. WICKERSHAM. I will say to the gentleman from Vir- in- order to influence our votes in favor of this bill. My friend ginia that that is .an exact quotation from Secretary .Myer. ought not to seek to discredit this witness. He is a witne s for

.1\lr. SAUNDERS. I have no doubt that what yon say is true. the plaintiff, and a friend of this project, though he damns it The Secretary was making an argument for a big Navy. His esti- with faint praise. The following extract is taken from page 12 mate provided for 200,000 tons of coal a month, for 12 months,. of 1\.!r. Mann's report: or a total of 2,400,000 tons of coal. Multiplied by $8 a ton, this Great. level stretches are visible from the boat as one•steams down made the handsome total of $19 000,000 in round numbers, the Yukon .and the Tan~na. The land ~ covered with a thick growth

. ' t . th · d ~ H .. ~ S of small timber consisting of spruce, brrch, poplar, cottonwood, and nnd furnished a conclusive argumen ,. m e nnn v~ ~ ec- aspen. Owing to the freezing of the soil in the winter season the retary, for the development of Alaskan coal. This IS a sam- . trees in this section have very shallow roots, reaching down only about ple big Navy argument and is apparently cited with approbation a foot or so below the surface of the soil. The trees ru·e small and

• '.;...,.:.H~... h b · tt~~ f valueless,. except for fuel. They are easily uprooted, and when the by the committee, as JUO'-.I.LJll.lg t e measure su mi ,;u~ rum clearJ ng is completed the covering of moss and tundra about a foot a military standpoint I reproduce this feature of the report. in thickness, must be' removed and the soil exposed to the summer sun. merely to show that in this, as in other directions, the sugges- There is a popular impression that the railroads projected tions of military necessity are used to afford an excuse for ex- under this bill will open up considerable areas of valuable tim­travagant appropriations. Surely the limit ot absurdity bas ber. But there is no support of fact for this impression. There been reached, when the. excuse for developin~ .A.l~ska at ~n is no timber in the interior of Alaska, and comparatively little enormo~s expens~ rests m large part upon a chime~Ic-al war .m along the coast. Hence there will be no forest products to fur­the Pacific, that IS to last for 12 months, an~ reqmre. 2,400,000 nisb tonnage for the railroads. t?ns .of coal for naval purposes. The a~sur~ty of this sugges- :Mr. WICKERSHAM. The Forestry Bureau believes it. tion Is made more apparent, when attentiOn IS c~ed to the fact 1\fr. SAUNDERS. Where are these forests? I concede that that the battle fleets of the future are· to burn oil, and not coa.L there is a little timl)er on the coast line, but the railroads in

l\Ir. HARDY. Is it not the duty of the Government to se~ if contemplation are to run from the coast into the interior. Get by the de~elopment of the Alaskan fields they can: not obVIate . away from the coast, and the timber dwindles into insignificant the necessity-- and worthless growths. While great possibilities have been

Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. claimed for mining and agriculture in the interior, these pos-Mr. HARDY. Let me tinisb the question. Is it not the duty sibilities have not been extended to include timber.

of the Government to see if it can obviate the necessity of haul- ' Now Mr. Mann may be mistaken, but at least his report ing Pocahontas or Pennsylvania coal clear around the Horn to· very clearly states that a foot of moss and tundra must be get it over into the Pacific? removed to expose the surface soil to the mellowing influences

Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. I am ready to vote for a reasonable of the summer sun. This is the land that is presented as the appropriation of a few millions to try out the coal fields' in future home of miilions, happy in the enjoyment of mills and Alaska. But the plan submitted contemplates a system of rail- schools, and factories, and well-tilled farms. Whence, I ask, roads to develop the agricultural possibilities of that country. will these people come? Our party platform calls for the one, it does not contemplate Having in mind that in any State of the Union good farms the other. There are no agricultural possibilities in Alaska. with improvements thereon, may be purchased at a price per

Mr. HARDY. I am rather inclined to agree with the gentle- acre far below the sum required to prepare an acre of this man, that we can not afford to build that road just for agricul- Alaskan land for cultivation, pray tell me why anyone should put tural purposes. behind him a country of civilization, of schools, of churches, ot

Mr. SAUNDERS. Then. why do you support a proposition abundant opportunity, and lea.ving the sweet preclnctc:; of home, that provides for roads to develop agricultural possibilities be- betake himself to the wilderness of the Tanana and the Yukon, low the Arctic Circle. to shiver through six months of winter and darkness, and begin

Mr. HARDY. Because there is an undeveloped wealth ot life anew under the grim and forbidding conditions of this miner::U. resom·ces there. cheerless land? [Applause.] Mr. W. D. Joyce of the Saturday

J\lr. SAUl\TDERS. Let us see as to the mineral resources. Blade, accompanied the Seattle excm·sion ·through Alaska in There is of course gold in .A.laaka .. but there is no reliable infor- 1913, and gives the following descriptian of the land to be mation as to the amount. It is stated that $18,000,000 of gold farmed in that country by homesteaders and settlers: "No came out of Alaska last year.. How much of that gold came warmth comes from the soil, or beneath the surface. As far from Nome, bow much from Treadwell, and how much came down as a shaft bas ever been sunk, over 2,000 feet, you find from that interior to which your railroads are heading? A rail- ice. This ice was not made by freezing from the top down. For road into interior Alaska to enable miners to prospect for gold millions of years the country bas been built up from the bottom, that may, or may not be there in paying quantities, does not ice on ice that never thawed out in the summer. The moss that appeal to our business sense. The road to Fairbanks is designed grows everywhere is a complete protection from the sun, n.nd to develop an agricultural country. It will be an expensive rou.d when you sink: a pick through it, you think you have struck to construct, a.nd an expensive road to operate. From Chitina to rock. Cleu.r off this moss, other vegetation, and scrub timber, Fairbanks the road will pass through a country that will afford and you have the frozen earth. The sun will draw out the ice practically no tonnage. Is the outlook for tonnage f.rom the and frost about 1 foot the first year. Break this up, and the country surrounding Fairbanks any better? Apparently in next year it thaws out deeper. After a number of years, by t1L judgment of the committee it is. The Fairbanks-Tanana June 1, the frost will disappear down 2 or 3 feet." a rea. is described in the report as the garden spot of Alaska. Mr. WILLIS. Will the gentleman yield? Bnt this garden spot is not a translated Florida, or California, a Mr. SAUNDERS. I will yield to the gentleman from Ohio. hmd of balmy zephyrs, and perennial bloom. It is farther north Mr. WILLIS. I understood the gentleman to be quoting a tll :1n Labrador. It is in the same latitude as Iceland, Green- few moments ago from the report of Seth Mann. land, northern Scandinavia, Archangel and the White Sea. The Mr. SAUNDERS. I did. soil is frozen to an unknown depth. I bold in my hand a report Mr. WILLIS. Will the gentleman state upon what page be by 1\fr. Seth Mann, who describes himself as the representative was reading? of President Wilson on a tour through Alaska, nnder the auspices Mr. SAUNDERS. Page 12. of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. 1\fr. WILLIS. Will the gentleman object to reading from

D€ cribing the agricultural lands of interior A.la.ska, be says pages 13 and 14 what Mr. Mann actually said? that they are covered with a tllick growth of birch, spruce,. .Mr. SAUNDERS. Does the gentleman from Ohio suggest poplar, aspen and other small timber. As a preliminary step to that I have read what be did not say? farming in that country, the homesteader must cut down the 1\Ir. WILLIS. Oh, no; but he says a lot more. small growth, get rid of the roots, and then remove- a foot of Mr. SAUl\T])ERS. But I am not undertaking to read the moss and tundra in order to give the soil that is intended to be entire report. cultivated. the first glimpse that it has had of the sun for the Mr. WILLIS. What the gentleman did read gives an incor-aues of ages. This initial expense of preparing the ground runs rect idea of the conclusions of Seth Mann. from $125 to $200 an acre.. "A pioneer will have invested in .Mr. SAUNDERS. In what way?

1914.- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2963 Mr. WILLIS. If the gentleman will ~ead pages 13 and 14 he

will see. Mr. SAUNDERS. I have not undertaken to quote this report

in full, though I would be more than willing to do so, if time permitted. This document emanates from a friend of this enter­prise, but taken as a whole it presents a most discouraging pic­ture of so-called agricultural Alaska.

Mr. FERRIS. Will the gentleman yield? l\fr. SAUNDERS. Yes. l\Ir. FERRIS. I do not want to take up the gentleman's time,

for I am interested in every word that he says. But he made a statement with reference to the ability and power of the people of the United States to purchase land in the United States. I hope that he will add that there are more than 300,000,000 acres of public lands that they can have for tlle asking and tak­ing it and residing upon it here in the United States.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes; my friend is undoubtedly correct and, as I have said, if we will look at this matter in a common-sense way, we will be quick to realize tllat nowhere in the United States proper is there a section so barren, cheerless, and uninvit­ing that its inhabitants with a knowledge of conditions in Alaska, as depicted by Mr. Mann, would be willing to exchange the meagre opportunities at home, for the chances of agricul­tural betterment in that far distant land.

The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Virginia has expired.

Mr. DAVENPORT. 1\fr. Chairman, I ask that the gentleman's time be extended 20 minutes.

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Virginia has an hour, but he was to be notified when he had used 30 minutes.

Mr. DAVENPORT. I want to say to the Chair that there will not be as many gentlemen who desire to speak in opposition to the bill as there are of those who favor the bill, and for that reason a proportionate division of the time would give those in opposition to the bill longer than those in favor of the bill.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair is trying to equalize the time in that respect.

There are many applications for time, and there are only about four more Members who are to speak against the bill. The Chair is giving them more time than he is assigning to those who are to speak in favor of the bill. Under the rules of the House, the gentleman from Virginia has one hour.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Mr. Chairman, I will proceed a little fur­ther. For the benefit of my friend -from Ohio, I will read from Mann's report:

The growing of various grains is as yet largely in the experimental stage. But crops of wheat, oats barley and rye are matured on the Government farms. The summer season is short for the maturing of wheat, but ·there is much less difficulty with the other grains mentioned. Some hay is cut by individual farmers.

Great possibilities in the matter of hay have been claimed for Alaska, but Mr. Mann dismisses these possibilities with the curt statement: Some hay is cut by individual farmers. To con­tinue:

'I'he interior of Alaska is more favorable for agricultural purposes than the regions along the coast.

I now call the attention of my friend particularly to this sentence:

It does not appear that Alaska will ever export the products of agri­culture.

Think of the undeveloped areas of the United States proper that we are asked to disregard in favor of a region that will never under the most favorable conditions, export the products of agriculture! Why go to Alaska to expend thirty-five mil­lions, when greater possibilities lie at our door requiring but little expenditure for their development? In this connection, I will reproduce the cautious, not to say discouraging remarks of Dr. Piper of the Agricultural Department who has been conducting some experiments in Alaska :

Prof. PIPER. I may state briefly, in conclusion, that my own view­point, and I think that is the viewpoint Prof. Chubbuck has taken­and I am sure it is the one Prof. Georgeson takes in all his reports­is conservative as to the future agricultural development of the interior of Alaska. I have no doubt that with the building of the railways there will be plenty of literature of the boom-type published, but I think it would be something of a calamity to induce any large number of homesteadet·s to go there to-moiTOW with tile idea that it could be developed rapidly, like much of our prairie country was in the West. In the development of a new agricultural region usually the first development is live stock, and the second is grain raising-usually wheat raising. Now, in the development of the live-stock industry in A.laska somewhat different methods will have to be used to those which farmers have been familiar with in the States, and in a way they will have to feel their way along toward the most profitable methods.

In the matter of extensive grain culture, while that may be possible, !.feel that the farmer himself will have many problems to solve before the ordinary man can be advised to go into farming. That is, in other words, I fear that the greatest danger to the proper development of the interior of Alaska would be of holding out too roseate hopes of what can be done in the way of its agricultural development.

Prof. Chubbuck, another representative cf the Agricultural Department in Alaska, give~ ap equally gloomy picture ,of pro-

spective agriculture in that country. I quote from page 27 of Prof. Chubbuck's report:

DIFFICULTIES THAT CONFRONT THE HOMESTEADERS.

Over against the optimistic facts pertaining to this great northwestern portion of the North American Continent, are others that should be remembered by those who contemplate going to Alaska for the purpose of home making, particularly farm home making.

On the south coast, where the climate is mild, tillable land is scarce, because of the proximity or the mountains to the shore line; elsewhere in Alaska the winters are long and very cold, and frost-proof buildings must be provided for the shelter of family and stock.

The ground freezes to a gt·eat depth, and there Is but a short period during which this can thaw, and the surface is covered with an accu­mulation of undecayed moss and other vegetable material serving as a protection to the frost, and a reservoir for moisture.

The frost line under natural conditions sinks but a few feet durin"' a season, and the thawed layer is usually a morass of muck in all por': tions of Alaska where tillage is possible.

Are these mucky morasses, so vividly described by Prof. Chub­buck, likely to tempt homesteaders and agrkultural pioneers from the United States to take up life anew under the dis­com·aging conditions of central Alaska? Bear in mind in con-. nection with. this talk about promoting agriculture in this sub­Arctic area that only about 27 per cent of the tillable lanu of this country, excluding Alaska, is now under cultivation. Ac­cording to the recent figures put out by the Department of Agri­culture, there are 823,000,000 acres of tillable land in the tlnited States which have never been turned by a plow. The "back­to-the-soil" advocates can find land nearer home, under fairer skies, and more attractive surroundings than even the most enthusiastic boomers of this visionary project can claim for this land of tundra, reindeer, and frozen wastes.

I will now reply to some of the arguments of the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. RAINEY.

Mr. RAINEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? 1\fr. SAUNDERS. Certainly. Mr. RAINEY. Will the gentleman inform us what the value

of agricultural products is that the United States itself is ex­porting at this time?

MI~. SAUNDERS. Oh, the gentleman is a member of the Ways and 1\feans Committee and ought to be more familiar with the figures than I am. He must know how much wheat for instance we are exporting. The figures are not at hand, but I know that we export a vast amount of agricultural products.

Mr. RAINEY. We did not raise last year enough for home consumption.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Of agricultural products? Mr. RAINEY. No. We are bringing in corn from Argentina

and oats from Canada. 1\lr. SAUNDERS. What are the figures of our agricultural

exports for last year? Mr. RAINEY. I do not know how much we exported last

year. We did not produce enough for home consumption. Mr. SAUNDERS. We may have imported some food products,

bananas for instance, but we exported quantities of others. The Department of Commerce gave out the following figures of agri­cultural exports fd'r the month of December, 1!n3. It is easy to sea from these figures that the aggregate value of our agricul­tural eX})orts dming the past 12 months has been enormous:

December, 1913. Animals--------------------------------------------Breadstuffs----------------------------------------­Unmanufactured cotton-------------------------------Eggs-------~---------------------------------------Fruits and nuts--------------------------------------HaY---------------------------~--------------------Meat and dairy products------------------------------Seeds----------------------------------~-----------Unmanufactured tobaccO------------------------------Vegetables------------------------------------------

$541,204 11,786,026 81,945,936

286,212 3,423,91G

87,237 13,053,224

326,939 4,837,936

390,927

Total----------------------------------------- 116,679,557 I believe we are importing some beef, but we are also exporting

a great deal. In this connection I wish to say that the reports show that Alaska will never become a stock country. The winters there are too long, and too hard, making the cost of feeding too great, even if the necessary forage could be raised in the summer. With our knowledge of . cattle raising in Iceland, and northern Scandinavia, not to speak of Greenland and other countries in the same latitude as interior Alaska, we hazard nothing when we say that the high, cost of living will never be reduced by cheap meat from Alaska. In one respect, however, meat from that counh·y would enjoy an advantage over its New Zealand or .Argentina competitor-it would not require artificial congelation. The processes of nature would be sufficjent. Build these rail­roads, and the mining and all cognate industries will import their foodstuffs. Business men will always do what it is the cheapest for them to do. They will buy in the cheapest market, and ·the cheapest market for foodstuffs will always be outside of Alaska.

l\Ir. Chairman, we are continually reminded that our fore­fathers were mistaken, about the possibilities of the great West.

\

2964 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

The men of that day knew nothing of the West To them it was Mr. DIES. This bill has grown to $40,000,000 since the last as much terra incognita, as the vast stretches about the South time we had it under consideration. Pole, are to the men of to-day. Hence they were not in a posi- Mr. WICKERSHAM. Oh, the gentleman is mistaken_ about tion to make a forecast, or form an intelligent judgment. But that. we know the facts about Alaska, and the history of countries Mr. DIES. But the Rules Committee brought in a rn1e pro· where conditions are similar. We are not groping in the dark viding that we should consider the Senate bill. for facts, but are full handed with authentic information, eli- Mr. SAUNDERS. Well, if that be true, we ought to hurry matic, agricultural, and geographical. along. If debate lasts much longer the bill will doubtless carry

The committee informs us that during six months of the year :fifty millions. Perhaps it would be economy to pass the Senate there is a great deal of sunshine in interior Alaska. We know bill to-day, lest by another Calendar Wednesday this measure that, and we also 1mow that for six months there are long may carry an even more staggering amount than :fifty millions. nights, and intense cold. Follow the Fairbanks parallel around Mr. WICKERSHA..l\1. Oh, both gentlemen are incorrect in the world, and at every point on that parallel will be found the their statements. same amount of sunshine. There is much sunshine· in Green- Mr. D..i. VE~"'PORT. Mr. Chairm~ will the gentleman yield! land. in Arctic Lapland, even at the North Pole, but those conn- 1\fr. SAUNDERS. Yes. tries have never become agricultural countries by reason of that Mr. DAVENPORT. If we are not operating under the rule fact. Our friend from Alaska [Mr. WICKERSHAM] speaks with that was adopted that made it in order that general debate pro­apparent pride of the legions of mosquitoes in Alaska. 'Ihere ceed to-day on Senate bill 48, in lieu of the House bill, then the are mosquitoes in Greenland, mosquitoes at the North Pole, mos- rule is improperly worded. quitoes throughout the Arctic regions, but something more than Mr. SAUNDERS. Of course we are operating under the rule. mosquitoes are needed to attract immigrants into a new coun- Mr. DA VEl~RT. The trouble about that is--try. Some years ago I read a lively account of a trip across Mr. SA Ul-."'DERS. I can br.ing this matter to a head in a Arctic Lapland. we are accustomed to think of that country moment, by a simple question addressed to the gentleman from as a land of frozen, wind-swept wastes, inhabited by wandering Alaska. ·Lapps eking out a precarious existence by raising reindeer. M:r. DA VEi~RT. If the chairman will permit me. it may The Lapps and the reindeer are there, but in the summer the have been intended, as suggested by the gentleman from Ten­country is more like Central America, than the conventional idea nessee [Mr. G.AJ.m:ETTj, that this morning under that rule the of the Arctic. The travelers made their way through bogs, and chai.J.·man of the committee would suggest that that rule be con· morasses, across lakes, and clear flowing streams, harassed at strued to say that it was a substitute for an amended bill re-

f f b'tin · t An t ported back. but the rule does not so state. every step by clouds 0 erocions 1 g msec s. d ye' Mr. SAUNDERS. Does the Senate bill ca1'1"V $4.0,000,000 or not? though Arctic Lapland is at the edge of a great population in ~" Europe, it has never attracted immigrants, and has never Mr. WICKERSHAM..~ It doos. become an agricultural country. It is as waste, cMerless, and lr. HOUSTON. Will the gentleman allow me to state what

•t 5 000 D it .. ,... the proposition is? It is to take up the Senate bill and con-uninhabited to-day as 1 was • years ago. esp e w..Le con- sider that in Jieu of the Honse bill. The Senate bill was re· tinuons movement of peoples throughout Europe during its ferred to the -committee on the Territories, and. that committee entire history, no tide of emigration · has ever set toward Lap- has reported it back to the House and recommended its passage land. li) many respects Lapland corresponds to the descrip- after striking out all attet· the en-ae-ting cia use and substituting tions that have been given of Alaska. Indeed reindeer have the Honse bill which carries $35,000,000 only. been imported from Lapland into Alaska. on account of the .Mr. SAUNDERS. Even cur Hou-se committee could not stom-simllarity of conditions in the two countries. ach the Senate bill.

The gentleman fi·om illinois [Mr. R.AIN.EY] has cited the atti- Mr. STAFFORD. On the point that is engaging the atten-tude of certain distinguished men in the early days of the tion of the committee I :find, on page 15 of the Senate bill, the Republic toward the possibilities of what was then the unknown following: West. Those gentlemen were groping their way. They were not Possessed Of the facts. Is it a fair conclusion that because our Prov ided, howe~e~l That the total amount authorized by this act to

- be appxopnated Bllilll not exceed the sum of $35.000.000, ln.cluding a.ny forefathers erred in respect of a matter of which they were sum in or by this act appropriated. • confessedly ignorant, therefore every scheme of modern ex- It is the Senate bill. ploitation is to be justi:fied? Does it follow that every scheme Mr. SAUNDERS. How could the House bill strike out :five with "millions in it," is to be commended by tl;le men of millions from the Senate bill. and leave a residue of thirty to-day, because men of another generation fell into palpable millions, unless the bill carried forty millions? From what is error, from lack of familial-ity with the actual conditions of the . the gentleman from Wisconsin reading? territory west of the Mississippi, vaguely supposed to be a land Mr. HOUSTON. That is the Senate bill as reported back by of trackless wastes, and barren mountains, ;inhabited by fierce the House Committee on the Territories? · tribes of savage Indians? Mr. DAVENPORT. The Senate bill carried $40,000~000 as it

But if we sin in this matter we will sin with knowledg~ came to the House. We know the actual conditions in Alaska through :first-hand Mr. SAUNDERS. I understood the gentleman :from Wiscon-tnformation, and if these reports are in anywise challeng.~ then sin [Mr. SUFFORD] to say that it did not carry $40,000,000. the voice of wisdom suggests d-elay until the facts can be ascer- Mr. STAFFORD. I read the bill as it passed the Senate. tained in the most de:finite and authoritative fashion. It is Mr. SAUNDERS. This is an illustration of the confusion said that .Alaska is a treasure house, a land of unbounded pos- that prevails as to every stage and every feature of this Alaskan sibilities. Are there no treasure h{)uses, no possibilities nearer proposition. home? We are told that we owe a duty to the 15,000 sojourners Mr. WICKERSHAl\1. The gentleman is mistaken. in the inhospitable interior of that country. Do we owe no 1\fr. SAUNDERS. Who is mistaken, the gentleman from Wis-duty to the people at holllB whose money will be expended with consin [Mr. STAFFOBD], or the gentleman from Vuginia? I said lavish hand to build these trial railroads, with which to feel the Senate bill carried $40,000,000 as it came to the House. out this land, and ascertain what of value is contained within Now, who is mistaken? its forbidding portals? Mr. WICKERSHAl\L The gentleman. is wrong,

Upon what does the committee seek to rest this report? Upon Mr. SAUNDERS. Who is wrong? the last Democratic platform? There is not a line in that plat- 1\Ir. WICKERSHAM. You are. form that justifies the scheme submitted in this bill. The Balti- Mr. HOUSTON. The Senate bill ol'iginallycarried$40,000,000. more platform declares that we should open up the coal lands Mr. SAUNDERS. That is all that I ha•e said. of Alaska under sueh conditions as will keep them out of the Mr. HOUSTON. It was sent to the House and referred to the hands of monopolizing corporations. This can be done with an Committee on the Territories. and reported back here carrying expenditure of a few millions. I would gladly support a com- only $35,000,000. mon-sense proposition for building a line, or lines into these coal Mr. SAUNDERS. When I made the statement that th.e Senate :fields. This done, and th.e roads {)pened, we could try out the bill carried $40,000,000, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. value of the coal and the cost of mining .tnd transportati{)n to STAFFORD] rose to correct me. and read from printed matter the coast. Incidentally prospectors could ascertain the presence before him. which he said showed that I was in error as to this and possibilities of other minerals. If on trial it is found that statement. Who was right, the gentleman from Wisconsin. [Mr. Alaskan coal can be mined and sold on the Pacific coast at a STAFFORD] or the gentleman from Virginia? I said that the cost to meet free co::tl from British Colmnbia, then the mines Senate bill carried $40,000,000, and the gentleman from Ten­may be worked to their utmost capacity. But thirty-:flve mil- nessee said that his committee reduced it by $5,000,000. lions will not be needed to :finance such an experiment. .A very 1\Ir. HARDY. The whole error grew out of the statement of moderate appropriation will suffice for a very thorough inquiry another gentleman, that you are now considering the Senate bill into t.he value of the .Alaskan coal fields. of $45,000,000.

j . I -· J l ~ •. l I -I ! • I ' : . ' - ) f • l

1914 .. CONGRESSIONAL_ RECORD-HOUSE. 2965. Mr. SLAYDEN. wm the gentleman allow a suggestion, which

is that he go on with his argument and let that quibble alone? Mr. SAUNDERS. I will proceed, then, to refer to some other

statements contained in the report, ·and in the arguments ad­vanced by the friends of this measure. .MY friend from Ohio, Mr. BRUMBAUGH, in his speech of a day or two ago, undertook to establish the possibilities of agricultural development in Alaska, by the analogy of conditions in countries presumably similarly situated. He cited Denmark in that connection. I wish to say that Denmark is many a long mile south of the garden spot of Alaska. The sixtieth parallel of latitude runs above the peninsula of Denmark, and a long way south of the Tanana and Yukon Valleys. The descriptions of s.o-called: agri­cultural Alaska continually remind the reader of northern Siberia. While Alaska is often compared with SiberiA~ the com­parison only holds good with the northern portion of that im­mense country. A recent writer on Siberia describes it as naturally falling into three zones, running east-west.

First there Is the northern zone, which is in the same latitude as Fairbanks, and is a region of eternally frozen soil, a mere veneer of which thaws enough to allow a growth of moss and lichen, in the summer. Below this zone is a belt of poplar, lat'Cb, willow. and other tree growths. Still further south. is. th.e black-soil belt, the seat ot Siberian agricultural wealth, and the bom~ of the bulk of the popula­tion. This zone comprises the mid valle-ys of the great rivers, but is only ~e-fourteenth ot. the entirety of Siberia.

The third zone is hundreds of miles south of Fairbanks. Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. Will the gentleman yield for one

,question? Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. Is it not true that Greenland and

~Labrador present no pc.rallel to this, because the Arctic current, carrying cold water and yielding off cold air, passes Greenland and Labrador, whereas this is influenced IJ.y a warm current from Japan?

Mr. SAU:r-.'DERS. I ask my friend whether there are any countries in the world, civilized, or uncivilized where agricul­ture is being suceessfully, muc-h less extensively, conducted in a soil that is frozen to an unknown depth, to bedrock wherever it is found. Yet this is what is pro1Josed to I>e done in the Tanana ,Valley. The cold facts about this region, and cold is the appro­priate adjective, are that "the country is a frozen wilderness :for the greater part of the year, a fly-plagued sweat bath for the balance of the time, and is otherwise just as it came from the hands of the Creator."

Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. I think that 19 a clear evasion of my question, but the question can be answered.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes, the question is easy to answer, and my question in a measure answers it.

Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. I would like to have it :mswered. Mr. SAUNDERS. The fact that· this. soil in Alaska is frozen

to an unknown 4epth, shows that agriculture on any large scale will be as impossible in that country, as in Labrador, or Green­land, whatever may be the conditions in the latter countries.

Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. WiU the gentleman permit me to answer that in his time?

1\Ir. SAUNDERS. No. Has not the gentleman time? Mr. GRAHAM (}f Illinois. Not nearly as much as you have. Mr. SAUNDERS. I will have to proceed. It will be your

task, in your time, to satisfy your colleagues wh(} represent great States, with far-flung jelds under a genial sun, States where there is social life and comforts, and opportunity, and where rich farms with complete improvements may be bought for $100 an acre, and in many cases for a less amount, that such are the possibilities of agriculture in Alaska that the men and the women of these States will turn their faces toward the aurora borealis, and under its flickering lights painfully cut down trees, grub out roots, and remove moss and tundra until at last the sun may shine upon the thin and sour soil from which thenceforward they will wring a reluctant livelihood. It is agreed that this initial expense will run from $125 to $200 an acre. At this rate the cost of preparing a farm of 300 acres for the plow. will run from $37,500,. to $60,000. · Great are the possibilities, likewise the disappointments that await the agri­cultural pioneer in Alaska!

Why the majority report quotes approvingly the statement of one gentleman to the effect that if we pass this bill, and open up Alaska there will be eventually four or five hundred million people in that country in 10 or 15 years. [Laughter.]

Mr. SLAYDEN. Five hundred what? l\Ir. SAUNDERS. Five hundred thousand, I meant to say. I

am so used to dealing with the figures of the Alaskan boomers that I .become a little confused at times. [Laughter.]

Ur. SLAYDEN. Yes; but one is as good as the other. [La ugllter. J

1\fr. SAUJ\'DERS. Yes, that is true. It is just as likely that 500,000,000 people< wi11. be in Alaska in 10 years. as 500,000.

Either statement is equally wide of the mark. Let me read you this, from Mr. Joslin, one of the Alaskan boomers. He says:

r think it is not u~asonable to say that it this approximately 1,000 miles of raHroad was built and put In operation and the country opened up so that it could be used its entire trade would go to at least five times its present extent, and Its annual production would be five times what it Is to-day. If the Territory were opened up its population, if it were to grow to five times the present population, would be about 175,000.. That is scarcely a handful. There is no doubt in the world that 400.000 or 500,000 pe-ople could be readily attraeted to Alaska in the next 10 or 15 years, and that its annual trade, which Is now about $60,000,000, would go to $300,000,000 or $400,000,000 per year. Its gold output, which is now about $17,000,000, would increase to three or tour times its present value. I believe that increase is entir·ely pos­sible. Not only that, but I believe that within 10 or 15 years, assuming that the country is to be properly developed with railroads, the gold out· put of Alaska would equal $100,000,000 a year.

Now what would constitute this $400,000,000 a year in the way (}f trade? What form would it take? Of course we know that a great value of furs has come from Alaska since we bought it. But these furs would not afford any tonnage to the railroads that will be built under this bill. A !ew box cars will hofd all the furs that will ever come out of interior Aln.skn. We know too that the value of the fish annually caught in Alaskan waters is very great. But these fish are caught on the coast. They will not be transported by the railroads, but will come to the States b-y steamships. Last year, I believe, $18)000,000 of gold came from Alaska. I do not know how much of this came from Nome, or Treadwell, but concede that all of it came from Fair­banks, and how much tonnage would it afford for the new rail­road? About 12,000 pounds. The supplies needed for the men who wn.sh this gold would be a negligible item for a great rail­road. Of course it is argued that quartz mines may be opened, and placers worked on a much larger scale. All of this m~y be true, and doubtless to some extent will be true, but the evidence on this point is unsatisfactory.

The line from Chitina to Fairbanks will be 313 miles. It will certainly cost not less than $48,000 a mile. Some of the AL.<tskan roads have cost $100,000 a mile. From Chitina to Fairbanks the road will pass through a country that will a.trord no tonnage, a dreary,. barren, unattractive waste. The initial cost of con­struction under such conditions, will be immense. Is there any­one wfth: knowledge of the facts who fancies that the tonnage of machinery and supplies on this road, and the passenger fares, will ever render it self-sustaining, mnch less make it a dividend? If in the result it will not be self-sustaining, how long is it pro­posed for this road to be operated by the Government at a loss 'l

Dr. Brooks makes some interesting statements bearing on this Chitina-Fairbanks route. In part he says:

When we leave Chitina along this proposed route into Fairbanks, we traverse a broad upland. a gravel filled area where the rock has been buried to a depth ot 300, and possibly 1,000 feet. Here there is no pos­sibility of any mineral resources being developed. There may ~ some lignitic coal, unde-r a part of this gravel, but not worthy of ronsldcra­tlon. To the east, the g()ld and copper prospects seem promising, th&ugh there have been no extensive developments. To tbe northwest are some: auriferous lodes, .which might be of value, if they had transportation. Thes-e deposits are not on the main line to Fairbanks, but could be reached by a branch line.

In this connection Dr. Brooks sugge.sted various possible branch lines or feeders.

But when you get to the mountains you strike a region somewhat mineralized, and not far fronr the route is the Slate Creek district, where some gold p-lacers are found. These are about 30 miles from the main line. There is also the Valdez Creek placer district, perhaps 100 miles

· to the west. There are also some indications of mineralization along the I!lllln line, as soon as you reach the mountains, so that there is at least promise of some mineral development.

This is a very conservative statement of Dr. Brooks, and is in striking contrast with the glowing representations of the spokes­men for the Seattle boomers. Indications of mineralization, and a promise of some mineral development, afford but little ground of support for expensive railway projects. In this mat­ter, we ought to have some regard at least for returns, and the considerations that are usually potent with prudent business men. The credit of the United States will not be strained to the breaking point, should it spend $35,000,000, or even $135,000,000 in railway construction in Alaska. We are rich enough to com­mit almost any folly. But why select Alaska as a field in which extravagance shall run riot? There are many States in the West that hold out a promise of "some mineral development," and are entitled to greater consideration than Alaska, if this House is anxious to make a record for chasing rainbows.

The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman yield to the gentle· man from Washington?

:Ur. SAUNDERS. Yes. Mr. LAFFERTY. What does the gentleman suppose the ton­

nage of provisions would amount to, going into the miners' camps, mining this $18,000,000 of gold?

1\fr. SAUNDERS. Not very great. According to the friends of the bill, the farmer'S of Alaska will feed the miners. Alaska under the new conditions is to be self-sustaining. But the gentle-

2966 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

man seems to think that the miners will be fed from the outside, and by implication he discredits the agricultural possibilities of the garden spot. In that I think that he is right. But should the United States build an expensive railroad into Alaska, in order to give miners a chance to prospect for hidden wealth? Is the Gov­ernment going into the prospecting business? If the proposition is at last reduced to this basis, it would be well to equip a number of expeditions, and at a cost of half a million, if necessary, secure some authentic figures as to the gold deposits, the extent of their probable development, the number of people that they would be likely to attract, and upon the most favorable estimate, the amount of tonnage that these operations, and the industries incidental thereto, and in connection therewith, would afford to the Fairbanks Railroad. These figures, and some further figures as to the probable cost of constructing and operating the road, would give us a working basis. As it is we are making a leap in the dark. Look at this matter in a homely, common­sense way. The time is coming when we must report to our constituents, and give an account of our stewardship. They will ask us what we have done for the general uplift, for domestic development, for roads, and canals, and rural routes; and levees, and reclamation projects, and when we recite the long list of measures of popular interest that failed of passage, measures of domestic interest that have been awaited with eager expectancy, will we be able to justify ourselves by saying, Oh yes, we omitted to do these things, but as an offset, we appropriated $35,000,000 for the development of Alaska. Will our constitu­ents be satisfied when we tell them that the imperious demands o : Alaska absorbed the funds that otherwise might have been expended on domestic enterprises of transcendent interest?

Mr. BOOHER. .l\fr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield there? The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman yield? Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. Mr. BOOHER. What domestic enterprises does the gentle­

man refer to? Mr. SAUNDERS. Well, for one, I think the development of

good roads at home is of far greater importance to the people of this country than the building of railroads in Alaska.

Mr. BOOHER. Then the gentleman's idea is that it is a good idea to build railroads here, in order to uplift the people rather than let them help themselves?

.Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. I think we ought to build roads for our 90,000,000 people at home, rather than construct railroads for 15,000, or 20,000 people in interior Alaska. The rest of the 35,000 people of that Territory are on the coast, and will not be affected by these projected railroads.

Mr. SLAYDEN. Could not the gentleman find another avenue for the use of public funds in the drainage of swamp lands?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes; I could suggest many other and more hopeful projects for the expenditure of public funds.

1\Ir. SLAYDEN. You could recover the swamp lands in Vir­ginia, for instance?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes; the Dismal Swamp if drained at an expenditure of a few millions, would afford homes for, and sup­port more people, than will be found in Alaska in 100 years. Ap­ply this thirty-five millions to relieve the rich lands of the lower Mississippi from overflow and you will open up to permanent settlement and cultivation, an area of inexhaustible fertility, equal to the aggregate of several present populous States of the Union. Such a work will contribute more to the sum total of human output, happiness, and national prosperity in the United States, than the utmost achievements in Alaska during a thou­sand years to come. [Applause.] The outcome of these domes­tic improvements will be positively beneficial, ·and capable of definite forecast. The other scheme is a chimerical quest of prosperity under positively adverse and impossible conditions.

Mr. LAFFERTY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? The OHAIRMA.l~. Does the gentleman yield? Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. Mr. LAFFERTY. Is it not a. fact that we have expended over

$100,000,000 on the Mississippi River? Mr. SAUNDERS. Possibly, though I do not know the figures.

That expenditure has been fully justified. Continued expendi­tures in that direction may be expected, as well as for rivers generally, harbors, and roads.

Mr. LAFFER'.rY. The gentleman mentioned the coal as not being fit for the Navy. Would the gentleman withhold the development of the Alaska coal· fields simply because the coal wns not fit for one particular purpose?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Oh, no, Mr. Chairman. I have already stated that I would gladly vote a reasonable amount for the development of the Alaskan coal fields. Such an appropria­tion would be in conformity with our Democratic platform, adopted at Baltimore.

Mr. LAFFERTY. We need the coal in Oregon, for instance, because it is fit for domestic use.

Mr. S4-UNDERS . . Should we build a railroad into the Ber­ing River region, and one into the Matanuska coal field, we could try out the value of that coal, and determine the cost of mining, and the cost of transportation, in a word ascertain what of value is there, and whether this coal could compete on the Pacific coast with free coal from British Columbia. This would be the common-sense way to deal with this proposition, and I would vote for it.

Mr. LAF.Ii'ERTY. Does not this bill lea-ve it to the discretion of the President to build one railroad or two?

Mr. SAUNDERS. No_ This bili provides for an ambitious scheme of railroads, and for prospective agricultural develop­ment, in the garden spot of Alaska.

Mr. LAFFERTY. But the discretion is left with the Presi­dent.

Mr. SAUNDERS. In a measure it is left with hiru, but by passing this bill in its present form, we do not confine oursel -res, as outlined in the Democratic platform, to opening up the coal fields. We commit ourselves to a much more comprehensive project, and indorse the report of the committee that there is a great field for agricultural development in that country. I maintain that we ·owe a greater duty-because it is a. more obvious, and a more ·easily ascertainable duty, in its terms and extent-to our people at home.

Mr. LAFFERTY. Does not that aglicultnral de-relopment mean the incidental encouragement of agriculture?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Surely my friends on the committee are not willing for you to tone down their glowing report by the suggestion that the prosecution of agriculture in Alaska will be a mere side issue, so to say, to the development of Alaska? Will the development of the garden spot of Alaska be an inci- · dental feature of this wonderful enterprise? Oh, assuredly not.

Mr. WILLIS. The gentleman has just referred to the opP..n­ing of the coal lands. Does the gentleman think that if the coal lands of Alaska were opened, according to the plans to which he has referred, there would be a sufficient inducement in that to secure the construction of a railroad by private parties?

Mr. SAUNDERS. Where to? Mr. WILLIS. Of course I mean the roads that would tap the

coal fields. Mr. SAUNDERS. We are to build those roads. Mr. WILLIS. What I am asking the gentleman is this:

Without any governmental action save and except the opening of the coal fields, does the gentleman think that would be a sufficient incentive to private capital to build these roads, with­out any action on the part of the Government?

Mr. SAUNDERS. If there is nothing in Alaska worth going after, of course private capital will not be attracted, but the construction of railroads into the coal fields will be the means of ascertaining what is there, and its value. That is what I wish to see done. Children first crawl, then walk. Let us crawl first on this proposition, and by spending three, or four, or five million dollars, afford the means of developing the coal areas. As an incident to this· development, we will be able to ascertain what else of value may be found in Alaska.

l\fr. WILLIS. The gentleman did not quite apprehend the point I have been trying to make. It bas been said a number or times ~n this debate-perhaps by the gentleman; I am not . sure-that if we merely open up Alaska private capital will go in there and build these roads.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Well that may be so. Build railroads to the coal fields, afford liberal leasing laws, and land laws, and wait on development by private capital. There is no need of reckless haste about this matter-Alaska will keep.

l\Ir. SLAYDEN. Will the gentleman allow an interruption? Mr. SAUNDERS. Yes. Mr. SLAYDEN. Does not the gentleman believe that if there

is any great mineral wealth in the Alaskan coal fields, of a kind which would offer a remunerative return to a raHway corpora­tion, if the Government opened it up, capital would go there?

l\Ir. SAUNDERS. Of course if there is anything of value in Alaska, and that value is once reasonably ascertained, and laws are enacted that will admit of adequate development-and such laws should be passed-private enterprise will develop Alaska as rapidly as it is necessary that it should be developed.

l\Ir. SLAYDEN. That is what the gentleman from Ohio wanted to know.

1\Ir. SAUNDERS. I object to the pursuit of the speculative, the problematical, and the possible, in preference to the definite projects of sober domestic development that are clamorously calling for our attention.

The report of the committee is very insistent that apart from other considerations, Alaskan coal must be developed for naval purposes. Of course the military element must be injected into this enterprise. Wheneyer .argum'ents are lackihg for an extrava-

' 1914~ CONGRESSIONAL RECOR.D-HOUSE: 2967 gant expenditure, there is always a- final appeal to be made in its behalf, that it is necessary as a vital feature of a proper condi­tion of military preparedness. Unfortunately for the committee their argument in this re!!lpect has been completely refuted by the results of the naval tests. But even if this coal was -suitable for naval use, why develop it at a prodigious expense for an oil-burning Navy? The Secretary of the Navy recently made the following official announcement:

The Government bas definitely abandoned the use of coal in future fighting ship designs, a.nd all destroyers, submarines and battleships are being designed for oil burners.

Plans for Government oil wells, and refineries to insure an adequate snpply of fuel oil for the Navy, are rapidly taking shape. The special commission announced yesterday that hearings would begin to-day at the department. Later they will visit the Oklahoma oil centers, and make personal examinatloi!s of the fields.

So that long ere coal will be a vail able from Alaska, the opportunity for its naval use will have disappeared. In this view, the ridiculous figures of a former Secretary of Navy, that Alaska should be opened up, because our fleet in the Pacific, might need 200,000 tons of coal a month for a war lasting 12 months, become, if possible, even more ridiculous. Another ob­jection to this Alaskan project, if it is put on military grounds, is that it will later call for a great expenditure for troops, guns, and fortifications, duplicating our Panama experience in that respect No estimate whatever was made in the initial esti­mates of the cost of the Panama Canal for fortifications and garrisons, at the terminals. The comitry was informed that its construction would be an economy, since it would tend to reduce the size of the Navy, by making the fleet more effective, and providing for an expeditious transfer from one ocean to another. As soon as the project was well under way, the country was advised that additional ships would be needed to protect the canal. To the same end, a demand was made for elaborate forti­ficatiolls, great guns, and permanent garrisons at the Atlantic and Pacific terminals. It is perfectly obvious that if we are to have great coal depots in Alaska to supply our ships in the evenf of that war with Japan which looms with such portentous pro­portions in the mind's eye, of our jingo friends, we must protect these depots against attack. Otherwise we will provide a source of supply for our hypothetical enemy.

Already in Alaska we have wasted $800,000 or $1,000,000 on a perfectly useless fort The friends of this measure need not think that $35,000,000 will be the limit of expenditure under this bill. The demand for fortifications, garrisons, and guns will in­clude many additional millions.

Mr. LAFFERTY. Has the gentleman read the report of that commission that went ·up on the Marylandf

Mr. SAUNDERS. I have read the reports that have been submitted. They are authentic and convincing.

Mr. LAFFERTY. I mean, in the preparation for this presen­tation to the House, did the gentleman read the report of that commission?

:M:r. SAUNDERS. I have not seen that particular report. I prefer to read the results of actual tests, .and attach more value to them than to the speculations of wandering commissions.

Mr. LAFFERTY. Is the gentleman aware that the oil fields of Alaska are more valuable for naval purposes than the Cali­fornia fields?

Mr. SAUNDERS. I am not aware of it. Such a suggestion is not made in the report. Two of the pillars on which this project ds supposed to rest, to wit; naval coal, and agriculture, having been overthrown. ·Is the gentleman seeking to erect another?

Mr. LAFFERTY. Does the g~ntleman know that the Alaska oil is better than the California oil for naval purposes?

Mr. SAUNDERS. I do not admit that there is any commer­Cial oil in Alaska, but I would be willing to equip an expedition at considerable expense to try out the possibilities of oil fields in that country. No subject has been more thoroughly exploited or caused more acute disappointments, than alleged oil fields. '

Mr. LAFFERTY. They reported on the oil. Mr. SLAYDEN. They do not transport oil by rail, anyhow. Mr. SAUNDERS. No, the efficient modern method is by

pipes, but I am afraid that this method might not be practicable ·in Alaska. The pipes might be frozen at the very time that ~ar was raging, the Japs at our door, and the oil most needed.

Mr. WICKERSHAM. The gentleman is mistaken about that. r.rhat oil is in a warm country.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Does it neve1· freeze there? 1\Ir. WICKERSHAM. No.

. Mr: SAUNDERS. This is a warm country, but we have freezmg weather, all the same.

1\Ir. LAFFERTY. You could not freeze up that oiL Mr. SAUNDERS. Why not~ oil freezes at a low temperature.

But as showing that the Navy is not looking to .Alaska for oil, permit me to call your attention to the fact that at this very ;time, the Secretary of the Navy is making arrangements to' secure a sufficient supply of oil in Oklahoma, and pipe the same

to tidewater, in order to provide fuel for the future oil-burning ships.

:Mr. WICKERSHAM. That might explain the objections of the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Mr. DA YENPORT. The gentleman from Oklahoma lays aside his personal and past record when he is adYocating a matter of principle.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Mr. Chairman, I dQ not challenge the au­thority of the Government to build and operate these roads, nor do I anticipate any engineering difficulties, that will not be readily overcome. I have full confidence in the ability and resourceful­ness of American engineers, and an even greater confidence in the length of Uncle Sam's purse. Indeed there are no engineering problems relating to railroad construction in Alaska. With the Government footing the bills, mountains may be moved, rivers bridged or tunneled, glaciers deflected, nature in her wildest forms subdued, but a successful engineering proposition, is not of neces­sity a successful commercial proposition. If we are trustees o·t the public purse, we must give an account of our stewardship. The figures cited in support of tl;lis project are misleading. Neither the .fish nor the furs of Alaska will afford tonnage for the railroads. Much of the gold oomes from Nome and ~read­well, which are at the water's edge. A comparatively small expediture will develop the coal, and private capital, under reasonable leasing laws will wor~ the mines to the utmost limit of profitable operation. If they prove to be unprofit­able as a commercial proposition, the Government should not undertake to operate them at a loss . . The agricultural possi­bilities of this country are too remote to be taken into serious considerati-On, as a foundation for this enterprise. These possi­bilities are stated so cautiously, and with so much reservation by the Government agents who have conducted experiments in that region, that the statements of these agents are really warning signals, and should serve to discourage rather than encourage. emigration to Alaska. Whatever may be the hopes that this country holds out to adventurous prospectors who are ready to take a gambler's chance, it affords no attractions to the agricultural pioneer. In time perchance, far down the cen­turies, the inexorable law of increase may :fill to overflowing the countries that are blessed with a genial sun, and a generous soil. This will be Alaska's opportunity.

When the door of agricultural opportunity is closed else­where, reluctant pilgrims may take up the trail that leads to the frozen North. For the present, these doors are wide open. I do not question that there are brave and hardy men in Alaska. The conditions require men of that type, and to the extent of our duty, I am ready to aid them. But I submit that the ex­penditure proposed is in excess of that duty, and the results promised are speculative and problematical in their character. There are other obligations nearer home, where the population is greater, and the prospect of return from Government enter­prises, more assured. The expenditure of this vast sum for the handful of people in interior Alaska, when a like expenditure in the United States will effect a far greater good, for a far greater number, will be ·a crime against humanity. This is a case of grotesque disproportion between cause and effect, between the amount . to be expended, and the result that will be secured. When the mountain labors, and the product of parturition is a ridiculous mouse, it is an occasion for laughter. A lavish expend­iture of millions to secure the pitiful returns likely to be afforded by the railroads in contemplation, will serve to discredit any political party that is associated with the enterprise. This enterprise calls for a thorough and painstaking inquiry, before we commit ourselves irrevocably to its prosecution. There is no occasion for haste. If Alaska is a treasure ·house, we may be assured .that our treasure is secure. Thieves will not break through and steal. We hold the key, to be used in our own good time. The full development of Alaska will require 10,000 miles of railroad.

If limited to a cost of $48,000 a mile, this would make a-n aggregate of $480,000,000. I am unwilling to commit myself even partially to so gigantic a proposition. I am unwilling to go further than the requirements of our Baltimore platform, which merely requires us to open up the coal lands, so that they will not fall into the hands of monopolizing corporations. EYen this plank does not commit us to the construction of rail­roads. The end sought may be effected by private capital under a reasonable leasing system. We are going headlong into a ven­ture that holds out dazzling possibilities of unlimited expenditure by the Government. The same arguments that suffice to justify the present scheme, will be equally potent to induce further .con­struction on a larger scale. If the United States owes a duty to the Tanana, and the Kuskokwim, the same obligations of duty will apply t.o other and more remote sections of that country.

This is said to be a new policy, calling for large expenditures. I am not afraid of a new. p_olicy~ I am not afraid to expend'

2968 CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

money. The public interests often require that money shall be freely expended. But the policy must be sound, and the ex­penditure judicious, to secure my support.

With the passage of this bill, I see the finish of many far more meritorious projects of domestic interest, projects to which we are committed by every consideration of duty, interest, and good faith.

Mr. Chairman, this -proposition is fundamentally and radi­cally unsound. It is not justified by our Democratic platform. It is not justified by the figures and arguments submitted in its behalf. Holding out no hopeful prospect of definite returns, within any time to which as practical legislators we should limit our contemplation, this measure is not entitled to our support. For one, I shall vote against it.

Mr. GRAH.A.M of illinois. Mr. Chairman, I think it is very fortunate that this . great question comes before Congress un­affected by any shade of partisan feeling, and that it has been discussed entirely on its merits. It is in no sense partisan. President Taft favored the policy of the bill when he was in the White House, and so did Secretary of the Interior Fisher. President Wilson has strongly recommended it, and no clearer or more forceful words have been spoken in favor of it than by the present able and clear-seeing head of the Interior De­partment, Secretary Lane. While there seems to have been entire unanimity in executive circles as to the proper course

-to pursue, there is a difference of opinion in the Congress, and advocates and opponents are found on both sides of the main aisle at both ends of the Capitol. The friends of the measure have nothing to fear from the fullest and freest dis­cussion of it, for it is a wise, patriotic, and: truly progressive measure.

Tile differences of opinion in the House as shown by the dis­cussion of the bill are very sharp. In the heat of debate there may have been some unconscious exaggeration on both sides. The climate and agricultural prospects of the 'rerritory have been made the subject of mirth and ridicule and sarcasm by gentlemen opposed to the measure, and they have frequently relieved the tedium of the debate by brilliant sallies of wit at the expense of Alaska; but while wit often amuEes it rarely convinces, and the friends of the bill are so conscious of the strength and justice of their cause that they are quite ready to enjoy these jokes of the opposition, well knowing that the good sense of the House will decide the question on its merits, not for to-day or to-morrow alone, but for the future. · Gentlemen opposing the bill, and notably my clever and genial friend fro~ Virginia [Mr. SAUNDERS], took advantage of some highly colored statements for the purpose of his argument, erected a man of straw, and then proceeded to demolish him. I think . that the truth lies between the extremes in this case, as in most other cases. But in my opinion no one, however bitterly opposed to the bill, will deny that Alaska has tremen­dous, or, as one report puts it, prodigious possibilities. If some of the opponents of the bill are correct, Alaska is a

continuous frost-a sort of . false pretense, a gold brick that Russia cunningly worked off on us-and that money spent in building railroads there would be virtually wasted. They say the white population there has not increased appreciably in a decade; hence, what use to build railroads? They urge that enterprises conducted by the Government cost more than private enterprises; therefore the bill should not pass.

They say we should wait till the sturdy pioneers go there with their mule teams and ox teams and convert Alaska into a state of happy homes, and they predict that if the Govern­ment builds railroads there· it will have to also go into the log­ging and coal-mining and gold-mining business.

I do not contend that the Valley of the Tanana rivals the Mis­sissippi Valley or the Valley of the Nile in fertility. · It is not at all necess,uy that it should in order to justify the vote I expect to cast for this bill. I do not claim that agriculture will follow the building of railroads in Alaska as it did in Illinois and many other States of the Union, nor do I think that Chicago will be duplicated on the Yukon or on the Tanana. It is not necessary that any of these things should happen to justify the passage of this bill. But I do contend that Alaska is a very wonderful country, full of tremendous possibilities, possessed of very great mineral wealth, and that it has agri­cultural land enough to furnish food for a population of many millions of people; and I see no reason why, in the course of time, the Territory would not have a population of at least 10,000,000 of brave, hardy, intelligent; freedom-loving American citizens. I do not expect that to happen right away, but I do think that in legislating for Alaska at this time we have a right to look forward to a time when it will be as populous and as prosperous as the corresponding territory in northern ·Europe, and that it is right and wise to make la~s for it on that theory.

I do not expect that population to be wholly, or even mainly, agricultural. I do not expect many of the pioneers there to be farmers; indeed, I think agriculture will follow rather than lead; that it will be mainly incidental to the development of that country's wonderful mineral resources.

I doubt very much if many people would go to Alaska to farm for a living if that were the only attraction, but gold and silver and copper and coal and other minerals abound there ; men will go · there to develop this mineral wealth, and some will in due course take to agriculture to raise food products for the others.

Thus agriculture will follow mining and other industries until most of Alaska's 64,000,000 acres of agricultural land is brought into use. In the development of the Territory the min~ eral wealth will be the primary attraction; the development of the mineral wealth will take precedence, but the development of agriculture will follow closely on its trail.

That raises the question, What are the mineral possibilities in Alaska? I am not going to speak of the oil, although it is there. It may not cut much of a figure in railroad transporta­tion. I will not speak of tin, because we do not know how mucll exists there, and it is a very scarce and valuable mineral. But as to the three leading ones-gold, copper, and coal-1 say, and it seems to me too clear to be denied, that these are of tremen­dous, of prodigious value, and the development of them requires absolutely the building of some railroads, not so much for the gold, because gold, especially that obtained by placer mining, is of comparatively small bulk and may be carried on the person or by inferior means of transportation.

l\fr. HARDY. How about the machinery to develop the gold? Mr. GRAH..Al\1 of Illinois. I was coming to that. Many of

the placer mines in the Fairbanks region are being practically abandoned, scarcely half worked ·out, because of the lack of machinery. Quartz mining also exists there.

But much of this mineral wealth, indeed most of it, is far inland, behind high and almost impassable mountain ranges, and little progress can be made in developing it without the means of transportation; that is, without railroads. A great storehouse of wealth lies back in the interior beyond the coastal mountain range, and, as the President has well said, railroads are the key to it. There is, and there can be, no other key to develop the mineral wealth .lying in this great storehouse. Railroads are absolutely and indispensably necessary for that purpose. All agree about that.

But who will furnish the key? Who will build these rail­roads?

If they are built at all, they must be built either by some very rich and powerful syndicate, able to invest many millions of dollars and wait a long time for returns on the investment, or they must be built by the United States Government. Which is the safer and better course to take? [Applause.]

l\Ir. FERRIS. Can the gentleman conceive of any way that the Guggenheims or the Alaska Syndicate or anybody else could derive any monopoly from the leasing system?

Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. If they can not get a monopoly there they will not build the railroads.

1\Ir. FERRIS. Let me answer that. Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. I can not allow the gentleman to

answer that in my time. The gentleman would not ask that on second thought, would he?

Mr. FERRIS. I would not. Go ahead. [Laughter.] l\Ir. GRAHAM of Illinois. No combination of rich men, no

syndicate, will undertake the work of building raill;oads in Alaska under all the circumstances, unless it has an a surance amounting to a guaranty that it will control the great natural wealth of the Territory. No concern would undertake so enor­mous an expenditure on any other condition, for the develop­ment of the Territory will, under the most favorable circum­stances, be rather slow. If such a course is pursued, if we turn the wealth of the Territory over to exploiting syndicates, Alaska will inevitably fall into a far worse than medieval feudalism. ·

To permit the development of Alaska along monopolistic lines means an abandonment of our present national policy with ref­erence to conservation. It would mean an abandonment of · the theory that the mineral wealth in public lands shall remain the property of the American people, and adoption of the theory that such mineral wealth shall be turned o-rer to the private syndicates and that they will then build railroads to that wealth. For I think it entirely safe to assume that no set of men with money enough or credit enough to build even the necessary trunk lines in Alaska would use tlieir money or their credit for such a. purpose without an assurance that they could control the mineral wealth of the Territory. The railroads now in existence there probably would not have been built if those who built them did not believe that they would get virtual control of the

1914. - CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2969. mineral opportunities which these roads tapped. The Alaska Syndicate built its road from Cordov-a to the copper mines on this theory. Later, the syndicate surveyed and arranged to build a spur road from a point on this line to the Bering coal tJ.eld, and thi~ was doubtless done on the theory that they would obtain title in fee to the Cunningham coal claims and several other groups of claims constituting the cream of the Bering coal field. Under a change of administrative policy, these coal claims slipped from their grasp, and then the syndi­cate promptly abandoned the building of the spur road.

In this they acted wisely, for while it would doubtless be good business to build the spur if they owned the coal field~ it would be a different proposition to build it when the Government owned the coal and merely leased the right to mine it.

Assuming, then, that if Alaska is to be developed at all it must have railroads, and assuming that private capital will not build them unless it is given a free band in the exploitation of the ';rerriVtry's mineral wealth, we are confronted by two alter­natives-either the Government must build them, or we must abandon our present policy as to t~e conservation of our natural resources and band all these vast opportunities over to private monopolies that will build them. There is no middle ground, and whether they so intend or not those who oppose the bill inevitably place themselves iL opposition to the policy of true conservation.

In my opinion the American people want to give Alaska a chance, and they will not consent to abandon the policy of conservation, nor will they consent to turn over to any syndi­cate or to any monopoly the great stores of mineral wealth it contains.

POPULATION DECREASING.

It is contended by those opposing the bill that the population of Alaska is not increasing; that there are only 35,000 white people there; that there were as many or more people there three years ago; therefore we should not build these railronds.

It seems to me there is a lack of frankness and fairness in this objection when urged by persons familiar with the absurd laws now in force in Alaska. Under these laws the coal mines are sealed, homesteading is made practically impossible, cutting timber is a crime, and railroads struggling to live under im­possible laws are taxed $100 a mile and denied the use of Alaskan coal.

Up to 1911 there was a prospect that the coal mines would be worked. But it developed that most of the coal entries were fraudulent, having been made with a view to consolida­tion into one huge monopolistic interest when the entrymen got title, and as a consequence nearly all of them have been can­celed. The cancellation of the coal entries killed all hope of opening coal mines, and that in turn killed the railroad busi­ness and general development. ·Three thousand men left the Territory in 1911 and 1912 on that account alone. In addition to this many of the accessible streams which gave opportunity for placer mining are becoming exhausted, so far as the mining methods now in vogue are concerned.

Better machinery would make it profitable to work them over, but without railroads that machinery can not be had.

Valuable gold prospects in various places can not be devel­oped for a similar reason.

l\fr. FERRIS. Does ·not the gentleman think a lease law would remedy all of the ills of which he complains?

.Mr. GRAHAl\f of Illinois. No; I think a leasing law is neces­sary, but I think one step in the right direction is not enough. We must have leasing laws that are liberal, but before we can avail ourselves of them we must get the key, as the President said, which will open up these very valuable mineral assets.

The great cost of making surveys and the great expense of neces­sary traveling back and forth to Juneau prevent homesteading; and so it goes through the whole ridiculous round. Indeed, it seems as if the Territorial laws could not be made more effectual if the purpose was to prevent the development of the country. The laws in force are well calculated to drive out those who are there and offer no inducement to others to take their places. Is it candid under these weB-known conditions to charge the diminishing population to a lack of natural advantages in the country? Is it frank or fair to argue that because under these wretched and disheartening conditions the population does not increase it is useless to give .Alaska a chance?

It would be as logical to say that because swamp lands do not produce crops therefore they should not be drained, or to say that because few people have gone from the .Atlantic to the Pacific by way of Panama, what is the use of digging a canal.

Alaska is starving for the want of railroads and for necessary legislation. Because it is starved it is not growing, and because it is not growing they say what is the use of helping it.

LI--188

Does that kind of logic appeal to you? If it does, you should vote against this bill.

Such logic reminds me of a certain Oklahoma farmer. The corn crop was very short, but this gentleman had a lot of old corn in his cribs. He also had a large herd of stock hogs on hand. He was very closefisted and he grudged the hogs that 75-cent corn. He fed them very sparingly, so sparingly that they didn't get fat enough to market. They didn't even grow. He kept doling out the corn in this fashion till it was all gone, and the hogs looked as if they were being trained for a Marathon race:

Had he fed them properly-rushed them, as our farmers say__,. he could have soltl them at a good price and had corn left.

The opponents of this bill seem to approve of his method. Like the farmer's hogs, Alaska is wasting from inanition while surrounded by marvelous opportunities for growth and develop­ment which it can not use, but they point to its emaciated condition, poke fun at it, and tell us it is growing leaner. They would have advised the farmer that his hogs were doing no good, and he should save his corn. Why throw it away by feed­ing it to them? The friends of this bill would have advised him to feed his hogs enough corn, to rush them, to develop them, and realize on them. Where do you stand?

Put Alaska on its feet, give its people a chance to develop its great resources, and a healthy increase in its population will. soon follow, but do not cramp and harass it with bad laws and then condemn it because it does not grow. 'l'o do that is to add insult to injury.

R.AILRO.ADS PRI.M.ARY NEED.

It is contended that even though the Government should adopt the policy of building railroads in Alaska, it sho·uld wait until the Territory is settled up, until it has a considerable population. This position is altogether untenable. In Alaska the conditions are such that the building of railroads, coupled with the enactment of liberal leasing and homestead laws, must precede any real development.

If the mines of Alaska are to be developed in any degree commensurate with the mineral resources of the Territory, efficient !J.nd proper machinery is a prerequisite. But how can such machinery be gotten to the mines without railroads? Would you transport heavy boilers and engines across the mountains and over the plains for hundreds of miles on dog sleds?

You can not get the necessary machinery to the mines nor can you get large quantities of ores from them without rail­roads, nor can you hope for the employment of large numbers of men in the mines without such machinery, and unless large numbers of men are employed in developing its mineral re­sources there will be little need for developing its agricultural resources, and the great storehouse will remain locked. ·what they tell us should come last must come first. Railroads in Alaska will be a cause, not a consequence. They must preced~. not follow, a great growth in population. The ox team and the mule team do not and ~an not constitute a key to unlock that Alaskan door. There is only one key that will fit that lock, namely, railroads.

But how will the building of railroads through the Territory effect such a change? By making its great wealth easier of ac­cess. That has been the experience of the whole world. Ancient Rome did not confine its efforts in road building to the Appian Way. It made roads through the forests of Germany, it rnade roads in Gaul and in Britain. It could neither have utilized nor retained its hold upon· these countries otherwise.

Great Britain did not wait until her possessions in Africa were populated before building the Cape to Cairo railroad. Russia built her trans-Siberian line through regions practically uninhabited. We built, at the people's expense, several trans­continental lines through territory practically uninhabited. In none of these instances were the industrial reasons for building as strong as they are in this case.

Coal, copper, and gold in great abundance lie in places now practically inaccessible, so far as economical production is con­cerned. He~rtbreaking journeys by the most primitive methods prohibit immigration, and isolation from the outside world also tends to discourage it. ·

A. few trunk-line railroads properly located would very largely overcome these difficulties. With such lines in operation mod­ern machinery could be carried at reasonable cost to where it is so much needed. The journey inland, now so difficult, could then be made quickly, safely, and cheaply by rail. Mail could be delivered with reasonable frequency and regularity. The people in the interior would be connected with the outside world; they would become a part of civilization.

2970 CONGRESSIONAL-RECO.RD-HOUSE~ FEBRUARY 5,

Under present conditions the miners at work in. the moun­tains far away from cities have to quit the season's work in time t0 get back to ctvilization be;fore the winter storms set in, but with railroads available they could remain at work longer in the .autumn and return earlier in the spring, besides avoiding the dangers and discomforts of long journeys afoot or on dog sleds. Under these new conditions men who work in. the mines and on. the railroads would bring their wi-ves and families to Alaska and establish homes. These would have to be fed and clothed and housed. The demand for food supplies would increase so that it would pay to raise such supplies there; and thus the agricultural land would be brought into actual u~e. All these res1r1ts may be reasonably expected to follow the lruilding of railroads and the enactment of liberal and practical laws for the utilization of both mineral and agricultural land1 but they can not be expected to precede them.

This seems so plain and so clear that it is not easy to under­stand how there can be serious differen.ce of opinion about it. This is the conclusion reached by almost every Government official and e-very disinterested person who has been face to face with the problem. President Roosevelt and President Taft, when in the White House, offi-cially recommended the building of railroads in Alaska by the Government. Secretary of the Interior Fisher, after a trip to Alaska, said:

What Alaska needs more than all else is a trunk-line railroad from the ocean to the great interior valleys ot the Yukon and the Tanana, opening the country so that its future development may really be possible.

It was his judgment that the Government should build such a line.

President Wilson, in his message to Congress on December 2, well and wisely said:

A duty faces m; with regard to Alaska which seems to me vury pressing and very imperative. • • • Alaska, as a storehouse. should be unlocked. One key to it is a system of railways. These the Gov­ernment should itself bulld and administer, and the parts and termi· na1s it shouJd itself control in the interest of all who wJsh. to use them for the service and development of the country and its. people.

Secretary of the Interior Lane says that a system of Govern­ment-built railroads in Alaska is the one way to make that country a real part of the world. It is the policy which will develop the Territory most safely and speedily, making its re­sources available to the whole people.

The Alaska Railroad Commission, consisting of Jay J. :Mor­row major Corps of Engineers, of the United States Army; Alf1!ed H. 'Brooks, ()f the United States Geological Survey; ·Leona1·d M. Cox, civil engineer, of the United States Navy; and Colin M. Ingersoll, consulting engineer, after a very thorough, careful, and scientific survey of . the whole field, unanimously recommended that the work of building the railroads called for by this bill should be undertaken at once and prosecuted with vigor; that the development of the Territory can not be accom­plished without providing the raih·oads they recommend under some system which will insure low transportation charges and the consequent rapid settlement of this new land and the utiliza­tion of its great resources.

They also Eay : The data presented. shows that the United States pos:;esses in

Alaska a frontier territory of great size and of wonderful Industrial possibilities. The commission believes that its climate i.s favorable to per.manent settlement and to agriculture; that its mineral resources are vast and as yet but ltttle expfoited; that its population is sparse, but only by reason of lts inadequate transportation facilities; and that its p~ople are of the same type of hard~ pioneers that have carried the United States frontier to its present limits.

In a recent report on mining in Alaska in 1913 by the Geo­logical Survey, the director, 1\Ir. George Otis Smith, says that no marked progress <'an be expected in mining in the inland region until a system of transportation is provided.

Mr. Seth Mann, as the personal representative of President Wilson, made a tour through Alaska last June and July and re­ported the results of his investigation direct to the President. The information which he furnishes is so full and so recent, and his views are so sound and conservative, that I take the liberty to quote at some length from his report. He says:

There are two primary requirements fur the opening up and develop. ment of Alaska : First, the construction of railroads, roads, and trails ; and, second, the opening up of the coal fields. These two projects should go forward with equal steps, since each is dependent upon ~be other.

I am convinced that this work of the building of railroads, as well as the construction of roads and trails, should be carried forward by the Government directly. There is nothing definite or certain in regard t.> the buildjng of railroads by private enterprise, eithet: unaided or with Gevet·nmcnt aSSIStance. The tratll.c to support Alaska railroads must be in large part developed by the road itself throu~h the settle­ment ot the conn try, induced by increased trans porta tlon facilities. ""ben the Bering River and Matannska coal fields are opened by appro­pria te legislation, railroads to these fields would no doubt be constructed by private enterprise. The opening of these coal fields is, however, a separate problem, and until that problem is satisfactorily solved there will not be sufficient coal traffic to induce the building of railroads

to· the· fields.. It may take some considerable time to enact legislation that will result in tbe satisfactory working of these great deposits, In the meanwhile, it must be assum.ed that railroad development by private enterprise to the coal fields would be delayed until it became apparent that the iegislation would result in the immediate opening of the coal measures. ·

Alaska needs at once one and probably two railroads. One should run from the coast to the Tanana and the Yukon, and the other from the coast in a northwesterly direction at least as tar as the valley or the Kuskokwim River. I can not believe that any rallroads of this length will be constructed by private enterprise for many years to come. If this be true, such development of that portion of Alaska. beyond the Chugach Mountains and as far as the Yukon and the Kus­kokwim Rivers must be indefinitely delayed. From the Chugach Moun­tai:n& to the Yukon River is about 300 miles, and the dis· ta.nce to the Kuskokwim River in a general westerly direction is about the· same. Tbe country is rich in precious metals and other mineral wealth. which up to the present time have been but slightly developed. The construction of railroads through this country would ut once Jdve a sharp impetus to prospectors. The miners and prospectors ot Alaska lay ~reat stress upon the difficulties which sur­round prospecting in this Territory at any distance beyond 100 miles from the coast or from navigable rivers. With railroad transportation into this country the prospector could remain in the field, if not twice as long, at least two months longer than be can at the present time. He must enter the field under present conditions late in the year and return again f't·om a month to two months eadler than would be neces­sary if these railroads were built, since he can not risk the severities of the Alaslmn winter, which may prove fatal if he starts out too early and returru; too late. The principal resources of the interior of Alaska are its mineral wealth. It is the universal opinion of all Alaskans and of the Goyernment scientists that this wealth is prodi.dous. It is also evident that it can not and will not be developed until railroad trans­portation through the country is afforded. It is also the general opinion that the building of the road will cause this development to proceed at once. In other wordS, the building of a railroad must 'pre· cede the mine1·a1 development of interior Alaska. ·

The evidence is uniform, complete, and overwhelming. No other nation would hesitate a moment, but we have been so accustomed to the very best of conditions as to · soil, climate, and all that that we look with suspicion- on anything not in the very first rank in all these respects. But common prudence, ordinary business foresight, and true patriotism all urge that we begin' now, and begin right, to Jay the foundations foJ: a great empire State in this far northern land.

COST Oil' BUILDING.

It is als.o contended that the (i()vernment can not build theBe railroads as cheaply as private concerns could. and therefore the Government should not build them at all.

Even if this contention were true, it would not be anything.. like a sufiicient reason for not building them.

But is it true? In answering this question we should con­sider not alone the cash outlay or first cost of building these roads; we should consider also the final or ultimate result to the American people.

Any other test would not be sound, and when this reasonable test is applied I do not hesitate to say that it will be a wise investment. The Government can build these railroads, and own them when they are built, for far. less than it has hereto­fore given away to other roads constructed unde:r private man­agement and ownership. I believe the Pacific roadB would have been built at less cost to the people had the (i()vernment done the work itself.

The Government has carried on many enterprises with satis­factory economy. I am inclined to believe that in some very large enterpri.'les the Government can do the work as well,· or better, than private concerns. Who will say the Panama Canal could have been constructed more successfully by private in­terests? or~ who will say that the success achieved in that instance can. not under the same or similar supervision be duplicated in Alaska?

No doubt the Government would pay its employees better wages and treat them better than private concerns would do in far-off Alaska. And it might have to pay more in some other ways than private concerns would pay. But in the matter of financing the enterprise the Go-vernment would have a tre­mendous advantage and could make a big saving over a private concern.

Mr. Falcon Joslin, who has done some railroad building irr Alaska, and who is very familiar with conditions there, wns before the Committee on Territories in July last. He said:

One of the greatest advantages from Government ownership is thE} fact that the capital to con.struct the roads can be obtained by the Government at 3 per cent ; that is, at the present time. I doubt whether it can be obtained at that rate for a long time, because the rate of interest is steadily going up. lf a private concern attempted to promote such a ventu1-e, or it I mysel! sought to find capital for an Alaskan railroad, I should offer 6 per. cent bonds, with a premium of at least 50 per cent in stock. The bonds that I did float to build the road I now have were 6 per cent bonds, and they were sol~ at a discount--sold for 85 cents on the dollar-and there was a prenuum or 75 per cent ln.. stock.. The G<Jvernment would avoid that outlay~

There are other economies in. various directions which would accompany and follow Government construction of these. ran­roads and inure to ~e benefit of the American people.

\

1914. CDNGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2971~

Let us examine a little the matter of railroad building under private management and see whether the Government and the people baye not been pretty heavy losers through their reliance on the alleged economy of private enterprise. In his book, The Railroads, the '.fmsts, and the People, Prof. Frank Parsons de­votes a chapter to railroad graft and official abuse. Referring to the Pacific railroads be says:

'l'hese companies received enormous land grants and subsidies from the National Government and the States-mot·e than enough to bu~ld and equip the whole of the lines. Yet they bonded the roads for tw1~e what they cost, and in addition issued stock to an amount largely m excess of the actunl cost. 'l'he people really paid for the roads, but Ote pt·omcters took the ownership and possession, raised millions. of dollat·s by the issue of fictitious securities, and through constructiOn frauds and other inequitable practices put the bulk of the money into

th~~· ~h~ncE~'!v~jet~~~~~~i·al and Union. Pacific I'Oads resources amount­ing to $260,000 a mile were put into the bands of a few. men to ~o wot·k costing appat·ently- about $31,000 a mile, and the public that patd for the reads ~:everal times over got nothing but a second mortgage for part of the money they put in.

I will not attempt to quote all the facts and figures which Dr. Parsons gives concerning the building of the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific lines, as well as other lines. Indeed, the waste and grafting which he shows existed in those cases are also fotmd in lines privately owned. Speaking of an eastern road he says:

The South Pennsylvania Road, built by Commodore Vanderbilt to compete with the Pennsylvania Road, has been shown to have cost some­where between six and ten millions. A responsible contractor bad offered to build it for $6,500,000. Yet a construction company, com­posed of Vanderbilt's clet·ks and bt·okers, received $15,000,000 for building it; and the syndicate of capital ists that supplied the money to do the work got $40,000,000 in securities. $20,000.000 bonds. and $20,000,000 stock. The cost of the road was less than $~0.,000,000, so that the whole of the stock and half of the bonds were fictitious. In the same manner

1 though not in the same proportion, the thing was

worked all over tne Union. And he adds: Excessive lund grant and subsidy graft has not confined its ravages

to the Pacific roads any more than constmction frauds. In Iowa, for example, 5,000,000 acres of land wet·e given to the railways, an area almost as great as that of the whole State of Massachusetts. And besides this the contt·ibutions in taxes, rights of way, depot sites, and gifts of money to the railways of tllis one State at·e estimated by a leading railroad attorney at $25,000,000, and by William Larrabee, ex-governor of Iowa, at $50,000,000.

To those who think the Government can have the work done more cheaply by private enterprise than it could by doing it directly under its own supervision the whole chapter from which I quote will make interesting reading, and will, I think, dissipate such ill-grounded notions. Summing up the situation Dr. Parsons says:

The total gifts of the public to t•ailways by municipalities, States, and Nation can not be accurately stated. but it Is known that the na­tional land grants alone have aggregated more than 2HI,OOO.OOO acres, an area far exceeding the whole of New England and the Middle States, much of it in the finest and most fertile regions of the United States. SincP 1850 the Federal Government has granted subsidies to more than 50 railroads. Six of these companies received cash sums aggregating $6u,OOO,OOO, and the Government sustained their credit by paying in­terest on their bonds to the extent of about $75,000,000, making a cash appt·opriation of about $140,000,000 to assist six railroads already enriched by empires of land. States, cities. and towns ha>e also con­tributed large values to railroads in all sections of the country.

The railroad grants In Minnesota would make two States the size of l\Iassachusetts one of which was donated to the promoters of the Northern Paclfic Railroad Co. In Kansas the railroad grants would mal{e the two States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. In Michigan and Wisconsin also the railway pasture is nearly as large. In Montana the grants to one company would equal the whole of Mat·yland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. In Washington also the grants are about equivalent to the same three States, and three States the E;:-:e of New Hampshire could be carved out of the railway grunts in California. '!'he Union Pacific alone obtained 13,000,000 acres, the Kansas Pncific 12,100,100, the Northern Pacific 47,000,000, the Atlantic & Pacific 4::! ,000,000, and the Southern Pacific 9,520,000 acres.

The total area given by act of Congt·ess to western roads is nearly as large 11.s the whole extent of the original thirteen States. It Is larger tban the German Empire and Italy combined; larger than the Austro­Hungarlan Empire, Switzel"land, Denmark, and the Netherlands; larger than France, Great Britain, and Belgium.

These lands are worth a good deal more tban the whole cost of the rallt·oads, to say nothing of the gifts to the companies by towns, cities, and States. If the public bad kept its lands and built the railroads itself with funds raised by the issue of bonds or with money raised by progressive taxation. the rentals from the lands and the profits from the railways would long ago have cleared oli the whole railway capitali­za tion, :tnd rates would now be down about to the cost of operation.

It is estimated that every dollar spent on t•ai!way construction in a new country adds at least $5 to adjacent land values, and much more tha n that in a developed country, upon the building of needed railways. This increment of land value, due to the growth of society and the expansion of bus iness, under good means of communication, amounting in the aggregate to billions of dollars, could have been retained for the benefit of the whole people. Instead of this our Government delivered millions upon millions of land and money to private companies to build railways, not for the people, but for the pt·omoters.

The Government owns practically 99 per cent of the wealth of Alaska, mineral and agricultural, and the building of the roads provided for in this bill will increase the value of it far beyond the expense incurred. When the roads are built undoubtedly all

lines of endeavor there will be stimulated and the demand for opportunities greatly increased.

Such consequences always follow railroad development. The grant of land to the Illinois Central Railroad was made

in 1850, but the road was not completed till September, 1856. In the decade from 1850 to 1860 the population of the State more than doubled.

In 1850 land like that given the company was on sale at $1.25 an ac~~e, with no t.'lkerR Indeed, much of it was offered through soldiers' land warrants at 70 cents an acre, and could find no purchasers, but by 1852, with a railroad in prospect, it sold readily at $5 an acre.

This has invariably been the history of new countries after the introduction of railroads, and Alaska will be no exception.

RAII,ROADS WILI, NOT PAY.

It is also contended by the opp~ments of the bill that these railroads will not pay when built; therefore the Government should not build them.

I readily concede that they will not pay dividends in money at first, but I am confident they will pay dividends in the greater progress and development of Alaska from the very day they be­gin to operate, and I am also confident that they will eventually pay dividends in money, if that is desired. The Government lms

· in the past ·ery materially aided in the construction of a large number of railroads. As I have shown, it has given away hun­dreds of millions of acres of public land to aid in the building of some 16,000 miles of railroad. Did that investment pay a dividend? Did anybody expect it to pay a dividend in cash? It was expected that it would aid in the development of the country. that it would add to the general prosperity and render possible the establishment of additional homes for our people. True, much of that land was given away recklessly-almost criminally; but even nt that the country has received divi­dends-large dividends-in the more rapid growth of the coun­try and the spread of general prosperity.

Surely, the Government's activities are not to be confined to enterprises which will pay dividends in cash.

The genial and persuasive chairman of the Good Roads Com­mittee [.Mr. SHACKLEFORD] wants Congress to appropriate twenty­fiye millions to aid in building good roads tllrough the States. and unless his right ere loses its cunning he will get it. When it is expended in making better post roads, do gentlemen expect the Government to collect a cash dividend on the investment? When we appropriate money for dredging and deepening navi­gable waters, do we expect a direct return in money? When smaller governmental units, such as counties and municipalities, tax property to open up roads and streets and keep them in repair, do they expect a money dividend from the expenditure'/ Of course not. In every such case the object is the general welfare. The expenditure is never put on a dividend basis, and it never should be.

Canada will soon have completed the construction of a rail­road from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 3,600 miles long. Winni­peg is midwuy this distance. East of that city the Canadian Government undertook the work of construction itself. West of it they let the construction contract to the Grand Trunk Railroad Co .. and they guarante~ that company three-fourths of the principal sum and the interest on that much of the bonds, and in addition they agreed to pay the interest on these guaranteed bonds for seven years as a pure gift. This road, for almost its entire length from near Halifax, New Brunswick, on the Atlantic coast to Prince Rupert on the Pacific coast, runs through territory which is either sparsely settled or wholly un­inhabited. The building of this line will cost, not $35,000.000 but $300,000,000, and three-fourths of that amount, or $223,-000,000, is guaranteed by the Canadian Government, in addition to the gratuity of seyen years' interest on that amount.

What is the reason for this liberality? Is the Canadian Gov­ernment looking forward to cash dividends on this investment? Not at all. The reason for its liberality is given in a preamble to the bill which provides for the building of the road. Here it is:

Whereas, by reason of the growth in population and the rapid devel­opment in productiveness and trade of Canada, and especially of the western part thereof, and with a view to the opening up of new telTi­tory available for settlement both in eastern Provinces and In the west, and the affording of transportation facilities for such territory, and for other reg_sons the necessity has arisen for such construction of a national transcontinental railway.

The Canadians do not ask, Will this road pay dividends? They simply say it will open up new territory to settlement; that is all. They do not claim that it will tap some of the richest mineral sections to be found anywhere, for it will not do Ro. Every reason they give for this enormous expenditure applies in Alaska, and there are many other reasons in support of om; case that haye no application in theirs; yet who will say they

~972 CONGRESSION .AL RECORD-HOUSE-z FEBRUARY 5,

3.l'e not justified in what they are doing? But if they are Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. Well, this coal has been exposed ~ustified, how much more are we justified? for perhaps a million years.

A government which considers great measures and adopts or Mr. SAUNDERS. We had no evidence before us as to how rejects them on the theory that they will or will not pay divi- long it had been exposed. dends has outlived its usefulness. There are better things Mr. GRAHAl\I of Illinois. It has been on the surface of than cash dividends. The greatness of a nation can not be those coal fields for a great many years. Now, that coal was measured by the contents of its treasury alone. loaded into bags; it was lying there exposed for a long time

The Acropolis and the Parthenon put no money in the treas- before it was transported to the place where these tests were ury of Athens, but they were well worth while. The construe- made. tion of the Appian Way was a drain on the treasury of Rome, Mr. SAUNDERS. Did not they have to dig into the coal but it contributed to promote the general welfare. The Wash- bed to get 500 tons? ington Monument, so typical of the great character it com- Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. They had to dig into it somewhat, memorates, as a dividend-paying investment is a signal failure, I suppose. but where is the man who would lower its towering apex one Mr. FERRIS. Will the gentleman yield? single inch? The question with a great government should be, Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. I can not yield; my time is too not will it pay, but will it make for the general welfare; and short. !in the case before us the answer is emphatically that it wilL Mr. FERRIS. I do not want to take up the gentleman's

WEALTH OF ALASKA. time. Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. But the gentleman does. When

I have assumed that Alaska is a land of g1·eat natural oppor- one Member interrupts, and then another and another inter-tunities. Its great fisheries are conceded, but they do not rna- rupts, it takes considerable time, all together. terially affect the present questio:1. This is also meJ.surably l\1 FERRIS I · 1 t d t th t th" 1 t rue of 1"ts trade in furs. But it is of its mineral wealth and r. ~ · Simp Y wan e 0 say a IS coa was

taken out of a tunnel 100 feet below tile ground. dts agricultural possibilities I would now speak. Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. I know of no such tunnel in that

So much has been said on both these topics by those better coal field. If there is one, I have not heard of it~ But I am Wormed about them than I am that I approach the subject not going to hang my case on the matter of coal for naval use, with some hesitation. Since 1880 the Territory has produced because the Secretary of the Navy says that in the future we $248,300,000 worth of mineral wealth. Of this, $228,200,000 was will not rely on coal. We must, however, to some extent, as we gold, $16,580,000 copper, $2,060,000 silver, and only $360,000 of now have many ships that have to rely on coal. it was coal. Some of these ships will be in the Pacific and they will need

The great preponderance of gold over copper is due in part coal, and in time of pea-ce certainly this coal would b.e of value to the fact that gold can be carried on the person, .whereas to them. We might need a supply of the better quality of coal copper is bulky and must be transported by rail. only in case of war, which I hope will not occur. Then, again,

coAL. this report says that they have not tested the Matanuska field The coal situation has been the subject of so much di~ussion at all. The testimony is that out of the 40 square miles of coal

that little more need be said about it. in the Bering field and the 75 square miles of coal in the Mata-'I want, however, to call attention to an error which my nuska one-half is o.f the highest grade of anthracite. I have

genial friend from Virginia was led into by my colleague heard the sworn statements of the two men best qualified to from Illinois [l\lr.. MADDEN]. He suggested to the gentleman express an opinion upon this subject, from a theoreti<!al point :from Virginia that an experiment made on the Mm·ytand de- of view, Mr. Brooks, of the Geological Sur>ey, and Mr. Andrew .veloped the fact that Bering River coal had only 43 per cent . Kennedy, the mining expert of the Government in Alaska, and of the fuel value of Pocahontas coal for naval purposes. I both of them testified it was practically equal to the Pocahontas read from the speech of the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. coal, as shown by an analysis of it. What the event will prove 1FEBRISJ a letter from the Assistant Secretary of the Navy to to ·be I do not know. If, as opponents of the bill suggest, we the gentleman from Oklahoma. [Mr. DAVENPORT] : are to have a railroad to reach the Matanuska field, we go a Hon. J.ums s. DAVENPonT, M. c., large part 'of the way to Fairbanks. We go far toward tapping

House of Representatives. the valley of the Tanana, and having gone that far, even on the MY DEAR MR. DAVE~Po.n:r: The preliminary report of the tests of logic of my friend from Virginia [Mr. SAUNDERS], it were the

Bering River wnshed nnd screened coal at the engineering experiment height of folly there to stop and not go on to the navigable waters station, Annapolis, M.d., notes that under similar conditions Bering River coal produced only about 75 per cent of the power gotten with of the Tanana and the Yukon. He concedes that we ought to Pocahontas. go to the Uatanuska. On that concession I claim that it were

The department therefore notes with regret that the Bering River coal unwise not to go thr·ough that valley, fertile, at least, for Alaska, sample has thus far proved unsuitable for naval use. a.nd rea~h the navigable waters of the •ranana and the Yukon. Sincerely, yours, =..~.

FRANKLIN D. RoosEVELT, So that the gentleman concedes the wisdom of building at least Acting Secreta'1f of the NQ/I)v. one of these railroads.

It will be seen that that is 15 per cent and not 43 per cent. Mr. SAUNDERS. But these are entirely different roads. This is indicative of the unconscious exaggeration to which I Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. No; the Uatanuska. field is on referred. • the proposed line from Seward to Fairbanks. 'l'he gentleman is

Mr. BUCHA.l~AN of Illinois. Will the gentleman yield? rusty on the geography of the question he is discussing. l\Ir. GRAHAM of Illinois. I do not like to, but I will yield Mr. SAU~TDERS. I am looking at it here right now.

to my colleague. . .Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. And even if it should prove some-Mr. BUCHANAN of Illinois. I do not want to take up the what inferior to the best Pocahontas coa1 it would still be very

gentleman's time. valuable. It would at least serve for naval use in time of peace, Mr. GRA.H.Al\1 of Illinois. But the gentleman is taking up my and- it would be of great commercial value along the whole

time. Pacific coast, where it has no rival. Mr. BUCHANAN of Illinois. The test on the Maryland was The gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. FERRIS] says we have

43 per cent and the test at Annapolis was 75 per cent. coal enough in the States to last several thousand years. That Mr GRAHAM of Illinois. The statement of my colleague is not quite the question. The real point is to get plenty of

shows the perfect unreliability of these tests. One test shows good coal near the place wheTe it is needed, and this Alaska the Bering coal to be only 43 per cent of the fuel value of the coal is much nearer a vast number of people who need it than Pocahontas coal, and another test of the same coal shows it to any other coal of nearly equal quality. be 75 per cent, an increase of 32 per cent l\iay I not assume coPPER. that at that rate of increase the third test will show it to be l07 per cent of the Pocahontas? My friend from Virginia [Mr. Here is the situation as I see it: I do not say that we SAUNDERS] said that the exposure of coal did not materially should build these railroads merely for the purpose of de­interfere with its value as fuel. That is a mistake. When coal veloping agriculture in Alaska. I say that we ought to build is exposed to the atmosphere oxidation takes place; the oxygen them primarily to deTelop the great mineral possibilities of in the atmosphere unites with the coal, causing slow combus- that country, keeping agriculture in mind as an important in­tion, and its effectiveness is thus lowered. There is no mine cident. Let me read to you from the testimony, not a mere in the Bering coal field. statement, but the sworn testimony of the man who knows

Mr. SAUNDERS. Will the gentleman allow an interruption? more about the mineral qualities of Alaska. than any man 1\:Ir. GRAHAM of nlinois. I will; but my time is very short. living, Prof. Albert Brooks, or 1\Ir. Albert Brooks, as he prefers Mr. SAUl\"UERS. I said it did affect it to some extent, and to be called. Speaking of the Bonanza copper mine, he testified:

it would depend entirely upon. the time· which it had been ex- That is an enormously rich deposit. posed. He further saiu ~

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2973 In the Bonanza mine the ore runs from 20 to 30 per cent, and in

some cases from 40 to 50 per cent, pure metallic copper. It is very rich ore.

In answer to a question as to how far these conditions ~x­tended he said that they practically extended along the entire mountain range, a distance of about 150 miles.

Mr. SLAYDEN. Forty per cent of copper the whole way? Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. I did not intend to say that. Here

are Mr. Brooks's words: That these conditions are likely to repeat themselves iu places all

along the copper belt for lGO miles, but we do not know that they do. But as far as we can t('ll from the surface the same conditions may arise elsewhere. .:. * • I think there is a strong probability that otiler deposits will be found similar in character to the Bonanza.

And he adds that this copper has a mixture of silver running up to $5 a ton.

There are places in this mine where the copper is even 70 per cent pure, and Mr. Brooks says that where the winter and the spring eroded the mountain side, washing the lighter sub­stances away, copper has been shoveled up that was 95 per cent pure metallic copper.

1\lr. SLAYDE:N. 1\Ir. Chairman, I hope the gentleman did not think that I interrupted him for a question that was irrele­vant. I understood him to say that the Bonanza mine, which I am informed belongs to the Guggenheims, runs from ',0 to 50 per cent of pure copper, and I asked if that was through the whole mountain range.

1\Ir. GRAH.Al\1 of Illinois. Oh, no. What I read says that it does not continue all of the way, but that it repeats itself nlong the mountain range for 150 miles. Mr. Chairman, we are beginning to know the value of eopp~r. The extended use of 2lectricity makes it an exceedingly mluable product, but these deposits are hundreds of miles in the interior and can be handled only by railways. True, one railroad now taps it, and branches from that one can reach out farther, but because the coal mines are not developed the t•ailroads are handicapped, and are of little value on account of the great expense in running them.

We must get some railroads that will enable them to reach these opportunities. I do not care how liberal your homestead law is, nobody is going there to locate on a homestead if he can not get to it and from it with reasonable convenience and 3A:­

pense. Mr. FERRIS. Will the gentleman yield right there? Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. If it is important, I will yield, of

course. I do not like to be discourteous, but you know how quickly the minutes slip by in a case of this sort.

Mr. FERRIS. I do~ indeed. PRIVA.TE ENTERPRISE WILL NOT BUILD THEM.

Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. Now, then, I assume it to be true that if Alaska is to be developed we must have railroads. If we are to unlock this door w must have a key with which to unlock it. What is the key? It is a few trunk-line railroads, as the President has said. Some gentlemen say that private enter­prise will build them. I say it will not. Even syndicated weal::h will not build them. The Alaskan Syndicate, the Guggenheim~ l\forgan syndicate, or "1\Iorganheim," as some call it, would doubtless have gone on and built railroads in Alaska, but only on one condition, and that is the condition on which they built the railroad they constructed there-that they would have a free h .:tnd in Alaska, and they could for their own use exploit that Territory for all time. Turn the mineral wealth of Alaska over to them and they will build the necessary railroads for such ex­ploitation, but wi.len you do it you will develop a condition of things there for the future far worse than history can point to in the worst davs of feudalism. Do we want that? Will we reject the doctrine "of conservation? Will we turn all these resources away fron.. the American people, who now own 99 pe· cent of them? Will we turn them over to the Guggenheims and the oGler syndicates that will be created? . If we do. they will build the necessary trunk lines and develop the wealth that is there. But the American people will not consent to that; they will not give these mineral lands away.

AGRICULTURE.

I ha1e said that I think agriculture in Alaska will follow the de1elopment of its mineral resources rathe1· than precede them. This has been largely true of California, Idaho, 1\lon­ta.na, Colorado, and other States rich in mineral wealth.

But we are told the climate and soil are leagu-ed against the farmer in Alaska to such an extent as to render farming im­practicable; that the temperature is so low and the season so short, success in maturing crops is not possible.

The average length of the crop-growing season at Fairbanks for the last fi\·e years is 105 days. I mean the summer season between killing frosts. The average season at Ellensburg, \lash., in the Kittitas Valley, is only 90 days, but in spite of

its short season it is a grertt agricultural va11ey with a popula­tion of 23,000, with $6,000,000 in bunk deposits. Many other agricultural regions have a crop-growing season shorter than the season at Fairbanks, and have not tbe advantage of long days, with almost continuous sunshine during the growing period, as the Tanana Valley bas. The lowest temperature the Government has any rec>ord of at Fairbanks is 65° below zero. That temperature has been reached at Miles City, 1\lont., and in the 1\Iilk River country in ~fontana, where the Government is now spending millions on irrigation projects, and yet Montana has demonstrated that it is a great agricultural State.

The lowest; temperature recorded in Florida is 2° below zero: the thermometer has never fallen even to zero on the southern coast of Alaska. Oklahoma has a record of 25° below and: Missouri 29°, while 1 o above zero is the lowest temperature yet recorded in Cordova.

The great valleys of the Yukon, the Tanana, and the Kusko­kwim compare more than favorably in soil and climate with Norway, Sweden, and Finland, and Alaska far surpasses these countries in mineral wealth, yet Norway has a population of 2,300,000, Sweden 5,500,000, and Finland 3,000,000, or 10,800,000 in all, mainly supported by agriculture. Alaska has more terri­tory than all three and will some time in the future have as large or even a larger population. We should now give it a good start and head it in the right direction.

There is no question that root crops, vegetables, rye, barley. and oats can b~ grown very successfully there, and that wheat can also be grown, but we need not expect very extensive crops of cereals so long as the Alaskans have to thrash with flails because of the lack of transportation fur thrashing machines.

1\Ir. Seth Mann, in his report to the President, says: The agricultural possibilities of the interior of Alaska are a. revelation

to one who visits the great valleys of the Yukon and Tanana for the first time..

He says-When once the land is prepared for cultivation the long periods of

sunshine during the summer months operate like intensive cultivation and bring about rapid germination and qukk maturing of crops.

1\fr. S. Hall Young, superintendent of the Presbyterian mis­sion, who has lived in Alaska for 35 years, in a recent letter to the able chairman of the Committee on the Territories [Mr. HvusToN] says :

• I have successfully raised and ripened in my own garden and fields there wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, tomatoes, peas, radishes, lettuce, carrots, and other vegetables also. * • •

While the temperature sometimes drops very low, the winters are by no means as bad as some suppose. Mr. Young says on that subject:

My wife and I were out calling on our parishioners during the coldest weather of each year and did not suffer from cold. The children in the schools at Fairbanlts lost no time from their lessons on account of the weather. The entire absence of wind during these periods of cold weather is a striking characteristic of the climate. Indeed, I have never known a wind strong enough to drift the snow in the vicinity o! Fairbanks.

During most of the winter the temperature ranged from 10° above zero to 20° below. There were no sudden changes, and woodmen, lum­bermen, and travelers were busily at work, the mails coming in regu­larly, and the population in general living without discomfort. It is a dependable climate, ana you know to·day about what the weather to-morrow is likely to be.

Mining was being carried on all of this time without hindrance from the weather.. There was very little snow and very little cloudy weather.

And as to the people and the general conditions there, l\Ir. Young says:

The population (white) of interior Alaska will compare well in in­telligence, morals, physical strength, and character with any other population elsewhere. The people are contented and love the land of their adoption.. and it has become a proverb in central Alaska that if any one of the people who have lived there for some years goes ·• out­side " he must come back. For my part, I know of no land under the sun where I would rather live, work, and die than interior Alaska.

GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP.

It is useless to try to frighten folk with the cry of Govern­ment ownership of railroads. That question is not involved in this measure. This is an extraordinary case and needs an ex­traordinary remedy. We can not be frightened from doing the right thing in this case for fear we would be asked to do the same thing later in a different case. We must, like sensible men, cross the bridges after we reach them and not before we reach them.

If ever the question of Government ownership comes U}} in the States the Congress then in office will be amply able to deal with the question on its merits.

This question should be dealt with now on its merits and in view of our present light on the subject.

The gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. FERRIS] told us the other day about the difficulty and the expense of clearing land there.. It is not so serious as he would have us believe. He said $200 an acre was required to clear the land. I concede a man /

2974 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5

could go to Alaska anlil spend $200 in clearing an acre of land there. You can spend a great amount of money clearing an acre of timberland in Oklahoma, too, if you go there in the spring and get it ready for a crop that year. I take from the gentl eman's own· speech a quotation which fully answers his objection :

Mr. MCKENZIE. I bave bad a little experience in clearing land up in tbe interior of Alaska, and if you can get a bUI·n on tbe ground and kill those trees tbe roots will lie on tbe top of tbe frost, and in two or three years you can go along there and almost kick them out. It is very easy. Of course if you do it in one season it is a very expensive system.

There is the common sense of the situation. When men clear land ordinarily they begin by deadening the trees. After a while, when they are dead enough to burn, they burn them. If they get in a hurry, of course, they pull the stumps or blast them out. That is expensi\e, but if they wait a few years the stumps can be easily and cheaply disposed of. Then, too, the Alaska homesteader could use his own and his family's labor instead of hiring men at $8 a day.

llfliNDEER.

There is another aspect of the question which has received but little notice during the debate.

It is almost certain they can raise an ample supply of meat for home consumption and before another decade passes the people of the States may be looking Alaskaward for help in the solu­tion of the meat question. A year and a half ago I ate with much relish reindeer steak imported from Alas!4'l.

It was only 12 years ago that 1,280 head of reindeer were im­ported from Siberia. Their descendants now number 46,000, and the annual increase is 30 per cent. If this rate of increase continues, by 1920 there will be almost 300,000 head.

Experts estimate that Alaska has enough grazing ground to support from ten to twenty million head of them.

The claims of Alaska can not be answered by exhausting adjectives and epithets in a vain attempt to heap ridicule upon it. ·

It is no answer to say, or even to prove, that agricultural opportunities are not as good there as in some of the States. It is enough to show that they are too good to remain unde­veloped.

It is no answer to say that frost may sometimes injure or even destroy the crops. That has happened in Oklahoma, in illinois, in Florida, in California, and in almost every State in ' the Union. But who says we should abandon effort in those States on that account?

Nor is it an answer to say there are varieus difficulties in the way so long as they are not insuperable. It is the conquest of difficulties which makes men strong individually and racially, and the difficulti es in Alaska can · be conquered. They are not greater than they once were in Finland. But the Finns are a strong rnce mentally and physically. Their great national epic, the Kalevala, has a recognized place in literature and un­doubtedly furnished the model for Longfellow's Hiawatha.

The champion long-distance runner of the world at this time is a Finn. In the long-distance contests in Alaska the native half-breeds win the prizes. Alaska offers as great opportunit:- for human development as Finland does and is bound to eventually have a population of millions of stalwart, brave, hardy, intelli­gent, liberty-loving citizens, worthy of the best traditions of the Republic. But it must first have means of communication with the rest of the country and with the outside world. This it can not have for ages unless the Government builds some trunk lines. The building of them will assuredly inaugurate the change. Alaska will do the rest.

Gentlemen fear that if we spend $35,000,000 or $40,000,000 now it will grow to $400,000,000 later on. That objection might have been urged with as much reason against the aid given the Pacific lines. But, as matter of fact, in the territory where some 5,000 miles of railroad were built by Government aid there are now 50,000 miles. The trunk lines have been supplemented by feeders built by private enterprise. It will be so in Alaska, too. ·

The time for action is here. We must prepare to unlock this storehouse. We must adopt a wise, forward-looking policy for it. We must give enterprise and industry a chance to seize and develop the opportunities awaiting them. We must provide Alaska with liberal mineral-leasing laws, with liberal and inex­pensive homestead laws; but first of all we must provide access to it by biving it the railroads provided for in this bill. [Ap­pla usc.]

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

The. committee informally rose; and the Speaker having re­sumed the chair, a message from the Senate, by l\Ir. Tulley. one of its clerks, announced that the Senate had passed bill of the

' following title, in which the concurrence of the House of Repre­sentatives was requested:

S. 3439. An act appropriating funds for the purpose of t.he investigation, treatment, and eradication of hog cholera.

The message also announced that the Senate bad pa sed ·with­out amendment bill of the following title :

H. R. 9574. An act to authorize the l\Iis ouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. to construct a bridge aero s the Mississippi RiYer near the city of Hannibal, in the State of 1.\Iissouri.

The message also announced that the Senate had passed the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to r equest tbe House of Uep­re~entatives to return to the Senate the bill (S. 3625) to authorize the M~ss~mrl, K~sas & Texas Railway Co. to construct a bridge across t he Mississippi River near the city of Hannibal, in tbe State of Missouri.

The message also announced that the Senate had passed with­out amendment the following resolution:

House r esolution 8. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate ooncun··ing)

That there be printed for tbe use of tbe House of Representatives to be distributed through tbe folding room, 50,000 copies of Hou e Document No. 1458, Sixty-second Congress, same being "Prayers offered at the 81!~~~.7. of tbe sessions of tbe Sixty-second Congress of tbe United

The mess-age also announced that the President had, on Feb­ruary 3, 1914, approved bill of the following tjtle:

S. 541. An act granting to the Emigration Canon Railroad Co., a corporation of the State of Utah, permission, in so far as the United States is concerned, to occupy, for a right of way for its railroad track, a certain piece of land now included in the Mount Olivet Cemetery, Salt Lake County, Utah.

RAILROADS IN ALASKA.

The committee resumed its session. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Washington [1\fr. LA

FoLLETTE] is recognized. 1\Ir. LA FOLLETTE. Mr. Chairman, I am in favor of the

Federal Government building and, if necessary, operating a rnil­road in Alaska. For more than 100 years the transportation problem llas been probably more paramount than any other. It was fully recognized throughout the length and breadth of our country that the greatest handicap to advancement was the lack of ways and means for entrance into and egress from the vari­ous settlements of onr Commonwealth and lack of transportation facilities for people arrd freight. The Federal Government showed its appreciation of that condition in 1802, when it ap­propriated one-twentieth .>f the proceeds of public-land sales in the Ohio territory to the construction of highways. Later the Government authorized the construction of the Cumberland Road or National Pike, which started from the center of population in 1\faryland, extended from there into the Ohio country, eventu­ally reaching as far west as Vandalia, Ill., the Government ex­pending thereon some $10,000,000.

This movement was followed by Government aid to various canal projects and Federal aid to rivers and harbors. The coun­try deyeloped under these transportation facilities to such an extent as to awaken the public mind fully to transportation ad­\antages and to tlle immense disadvantage localities were sub­jected to which had no such blessings. This knowledge led to continuous efforts on the part of communities, Sta tes, and Ter­ritories to secure transportation facilities, and as time pnssed not only the Federal Government was importuned for aid to transportation facilities of Yarious kinds, but also States counties, and municipalities, and prior to the year 1850 by fa{. the largest amount of paternal aid came from the latter-named agencies.

The States contributing to various railroad projects, with the amounts contributed, are, in part: Alabama-------------------------------------------­Arkansas------------------------------------------­Delaware------------------------------------------­Florida------------------~-------------------------­Georgia---------------------------------------------Illinois ____________________________________________ _

Indiana--------------------------------·-----------­KentuckY------------------------------------------­Louisiana------------------------------------------­Mar~and-------------------------------------------bfassacbusetts---------------------------------------Micbigan __________________________________________ _

Minnesota------------------------------·-----------­NewYork----------------------------- --------------North Carolina --------------------------------------Ohio-----------------------------------------------Pennsylvania----------------------------------------South Carolina _____________________________________ _

Tennessee-------------------------------------------

~T::~ia~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=:::::::::::::::::::::::::

$15,800,000 7,100,000

600,000 4,000,000 4,000,000

12,000, 000 $1,800.000

:!00, 000 7, 700,000 6, 800, 000

41,000,000 3,200,000 2, 200, 000

31,700,000 11,400,000

500,000 12,700,000

5,700,000 34,100,000

4 800,000 15:400,000

A total approximating-----------------· -... ------- 228, 500, 000 This in cash.

1914.; CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE~ 2975 In addition to this, the United States made land grarits to

States for transportation purposes, which in turn regranted to railroads, the total land grants thus made for this purpose by the States and Federal · Government totaling approximately 155,000,000 acres, which if worth only an average of $2.50 per acre would amount to $387,500,000.

In addition to this, counties and municipalities bonded them­selves to an amount approximating $500,000,000, making first and last various sums of go>ernmental aid to our United States railroads approximating $1,500,000,000.

Dr. William Z. Ripley, professor of economics in Harvard Uni­versity, estimates that Federal Government and various State, county, and municipal aid to railroad construction amounts to at least two-fifths of the total value of all railroads.

Our States and municipalities have not only assisted in rail­road construction by subsidies, but have frequently built rail­roads and parts of railroads themselves. The Interstate Com­ruerce Commission furnishes data which cover in part some of the States and the milenge they hold under State control. While it does not comprise much mileage, it does illuminate the fact that those States recognize the right and, in some cases, the expediency of Government ownership of railroads. The list is as follows:

Miles. Belt Railroad of San Francisco; the Belt yard is a State property

under the jurisdiction ot the Board ot State Harbor Commis-sioners of California__________________________________ 1. 34

Cincinnati Southern RaHway, operated by the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway Co. ; built and owned by the ci t y of CincinnatL------------------------------------- 335. 46

Plattsburgh & Dannemora Railt·oad, operated by the Delaware · & Hudson Co.; property of the State of New York_________ 16.38

Oregon State Portage Railway; owned and operated by the State of Oregon ______ --------------------------------------- 8

Tnas State Railroad; property ot the State of Texas__________ 32. 56 Western & .Atlantic Railroad, operated by the Nashville Chatta-

nooga & St. Louis Railway; owned by the State of Georgia __ 136.82 The last annual report of the North Car<.~ina Railroad Co. to

the Interstate Commerce Commission shows that the company owned 223.55 miles of road in North Carolina, which was leased to the Southern Railway Co. From unofficial sources it is un­derstood that tlle State of North Carolina owns $3,000,200 of the $4,000,000 outstanding capital stock of that company.

Mr. Chairman, the States of New York and Massachusetts have each individually appropriated as much for aid of rail­roads as the Federal Government is asked to appropriate in this case, or nearly so-New York more than $31,000,000 and Massachusetts more than $41,000,000.

Mr. Chairman, in view of the fact that the people of the United States have furnished more than $1,000,000,000 for build­ing transportation lines in the past, I do not think that they will criticize or blame the American Congress for making this comparatively small appropriation for construction of a railroad through their own great country, Alaska, with more than 95 per cent of its total resources yet within the direct control of the people, the Government of the United States.

The gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. LENRooT] and the Dele­gate from Alaska [Mr. WICKERSHAM] quoted freely from the testimony of John E. Ballaine, of Seattle and Alaska, before the House and Senate Committees on the Territories, in which Mr. Ballaine told of his negotiations with the firm of J. P. Mor­gan & Co., through G. W. Perkins, in an effort to induce them to finance a narrow-gauge railroad from the southern coast of Alaska to the Tanana River, and of the refusal of the Morgans to finance the enterprise because the Guggenheim brothers ob­jected. That testimony by Mr. Ballaine entered largely also in the Senate debates on this bill, and has afforded convincing reasons why it is necessary for the United States to build a system of railroads in Alaska.

Let me call your attention particularly to the fact that strenu­ous efforts have been made to get a denial from Mr. Perkins, and that all such efforts have failed. Not only have they failed, but Senator LIPPITT in the Senate admitted the correctness of Mr. Bailaine's statements: Those of us who know Mr. Ballaine knew that his statements were correct, but it is doubly important to have an admission from the opponents of this bill that he stated the exact facts.

Mr. Chairman, I have listened with great interest to the various speeches made by gentlemen on this bill, both for and against it, and with no little amusement at some of the sug­gestions made by the speakers and nlso by gentlemen com­menting on the bill individually. I have heard men protest that they could not vote for 'this measure because it was establish­ing a precedent for paternalism and committing the Govern­ment to a policy so far-reaching in its effects that it . might in time practically bankrupt the Government. Some of these gen·­tlemen have been for years voting for river and harbor improve­ments, just as paternal in cl;laracter, aggregating millions of dollars, taken from the Federal Treasury without a thought of

any impropriety. Many of these sums have been applie>d to streams of very doubtful navigation value, and many of the appropriations made for rivers and harbors that were more local than national in character. These appropriations have been made annually for many years and at times have been criticized unmercifully, charges of fraud and scandal being freely made. But in spite of criticism and abuses, the public at large has acquiesced in the expenditures and the Government and our people have prospered. I have heard gentlemen get up here and talk against the expenditure of the people's money in the most virtuous and self-sacrificing manner who would not hesitate a minute to vote $35,000,000 or $50,000,000 for building levees along the Mississippi River, although one-half of our people have no direct benefit from it and only a negative indi­rect benefit, yet we all recognize the necessity of Federal aid in these matters and extend paternal help.

The honorable gentleman from the City of Brotherly Love, Mr. MooRE, would not hesitate to ask for $1.000,000 for the benefit of the Delaware River, and would take a suggestion that it should not be made from the Federal Treasury because, forsooth, the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific coast get no benefits from it as a very narrow viewpoint, unworthy of Rep­resentatives of a people like ours. I heard one gentleman re­mark to another that the Washington delegation was in favor of this measure because a large part of the $35,000,000 would be spent there and it was like getting an appropriation for our own State. The gentleman from Wyoming [Mr. l\JoNDELL] in his speech on this question said practically the same thing. Mr. Chairman, the State of Washington is so situated geograph­ically that it is the nearest United States point to Alaska, anu the State of Washington will attempt to compete for Alaska business, just as every other State in the Union w~uld do if favorably situated; yet I hardly think any Member here would vote against this bill simply because his State was not favorably situated to secure this business. I hope votes on this bill will be controlled by higher motives.

Mr . .Chairman, I would be pleased to think that lllY State could g~t the lion's share of the expenditures made for a rail­road in Alaska, for I am only human and wish my State well; but the assertion is so preposterous and shows so little knowl­edge of present conditions and the possibilities of my State to furnish the materials and elements necessary to use in railroad construction, that I can hardly think the remark serious. I should judge that possibly the great State of Pennsylvania would get more of the actual cost of the enterprise than any one State, because of its supremacy in the manufacture of iron and steel. also locomotives and rolling stock, although many States would be competitors, and no doubt the money used for rail­road building in Alaska would be widely distributed, going to many different States. My own State being as yet only a pioneer, is not prepared even to seriously consider supplying to the Government many of the constituent elements necessary. Our rolling mills are few and our manufacturing establishments in embryo. No; the Members from the State of Washington have no hopes of being the largest direct beneficiaries from the enterprise; but we do know that Alaska is a factor in our prosperity and that it will be a greater factor in future years, if the Territory can be properly developed.

I listened with much interest to the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. FoBDNEY]. He is always interesting and has a great fund of statistical knowledge, and no one knows better than he how to handle statistics to advantage. He gave the cost of railroad building from the census of 1910, and would have us believe that a criterion to go by in figuring railroad building in Alaska. The argument was specious and interesting, but not particu­larly illuminating to one groping for knowledge, and is in no way applicable to railroad costs in Alaska. We all know that railroad building, like any other construction work, has a definite minimum, but an indefinite maximum, only to be meas­ured by the judgment and bank roll of the builder. A railroad can be constructed in Alaska if properly and honestly managed, capable of handling the heavy traffic and developing the re­sources of that great country at a minimum of probably $30,000 the mile, adequately equipped.

In reply to a letter of inquiry regarding cost of railroad construction in Alaska directed to Mr. J. E. Ballaine, of Seattle, Wash., president of the Tanana Construction Co., who built the first 20 miles of the Alaska Central Railroad, starting at Seward, Alaska, with a prospective terminus at the Tanana River, I received the following;

Hon. W. L. LA FOLLETTE, SEATTLE, WASH., December 2-f, 1913,

House of Rez~resentati1:es, Washington, D. C. M:Y DEAR 1\lR. LA FOLLETTE : I have your inquiry as to the cost of

building and equipping the Alaska Central Railroad, now the .Alaska. Northern. and as to the difference between: the cost of railroad building

2976: CON-GRESSIONAL 'RECORD-HOUSE .. FEBRUARY 5,

ln Alaska and in th~ States. I can answer your question definitely for only the first 20 miles of the Alaska Central, which I, as president and owner of the Tanana Construction Co., built and equipped, and all of the funds for which I procured on notes of the construction company indorsed by me.

"'!'be first 20 miles of the Alaska Central starts from Seward, at the head of Re urrection Bay, and extends through a heavily timbered val­ley Iot· 7 miles. From mile 8 to mile 14, inclusive, the road is on a timbered billsirtl', with several rock cuts from 20 to 100 feet long, sevP-ral fills from 10 to 15 feet deep. and about 20 bridges mane of native timber, mostly 1 and 2 decks and 3 to 6 bents.

The road as I built H is standard gauge, of GO-pound steel, and bas 2,800 ties to the mile. The ties are 10-inch face, of native spruce and hemlock. ·

The equipment of this fit·E.t 20 miles consisted of a wharf at Seward which cost $30,000, two Baldwin locomotives. each of 60 tons, five standat·d fiat cars, a sawmill of 10,000 feet dally capacity, 15 horses and· harness, and machinery to the value of 11,000.

'l'he total cash cost of the completed railroad thus constructed and equipped was exactly $325,000, or $16,250 per mile.

Aftet· I sold the construction company, and thereby control of the .Alaska Central Railroad, to Frost & Osborne in 1904, they added $46,500 to betterments on miles 8, D, and 10, but not another dollar to any otbet· pot·tion. 'l'he total cost of the fit·st 20 miles is therefore $371,500, or slightly more than 18,000 per mile for the completed railroad and its equipment as it stands to-day. It has been in continuous use fot· eight years, with trains making 20 to 25 miles an bou1· over this portion of the track, without a single accident.

I have been told by some people who have seen the railroad that surely I must be mistaken-that it could not be built for such an amount. Neverth'=!less, that is the exact cash cost.

I should say that railroad building in the southern part of Alaska, and fr·om the southern coast northward, need not exceed the cost of like construction in the States by more than 15 per cent, the most of which is for added freip,ht char·ges by ocean from Seattle or San !J"'rancisco to the southern coast of Alaska. There is native timber in abundance for all ordinary construction matet·ial, and Jabot· in this part of Alaska is but slightly highet· than the scales paid in Washington, Oregon, and California.

It should be borne in mind that with the starting of construction on a Government railroad in Alaska prospectors and miners will go to the country by the thousands. Most of them will work on the railroad at ppriorls fot· gruhstakes to hc-lp them in their prospecting. This som·ce of labor supply, in addition to the regular station forces, will always serve to keep the cost of labor at a reasonable basis. ·

Very truly, yom·s, JOHN E. BALLAINE.

No doubt 100 years from now, when Alaska .is developed and has a population of more millions than she now bas thou­sands. and this railroad needs extensive betterments, with double trackage and including many times the equipment of the initial construction, l\Ir. FoRDNEY's figures of 76,000 the mile might apply. If the Government does build this road, and it is honestly and efficiently built, I am satisfied it will be illuminating to the people of the United States and to some of the owners of stocks and bonds of railroads who were not on the inside and ground floor when construction of their roads were under way or going on. The gentleman from Michigan [Mr. FoRDNEY] says he is willing to lend money for roads or guarantee bonds for roads, but is not willing to have the Gov­ernment build them. Oh, no; they would cost too much. We lent the Union Pacific and Central Pacific money enough to build those roads, in ad<lition to giving them land grants, nnd we gave likewise land grants to the Northern and Southern Pacific. The scandals and frauds perpetrated on the stock­holders and the bondholders of those roads, as well as the people, especially in the State of California, is still a stench and a byword. I would ask those gentlemen representing the great State of California if they think California could have fared any worse at the bands of the Government than it did at the hands of the pirates who for years throttled and de­bauched it? True, some of the unholy millions wrested from GoYernment aid and land grants was philanthropically left in your State, yet I question if it was even a moiety of your losses by their usurpations and highhanded debauching in county, State, and municipalities. Oh, yes; advance money, guarantee bonds. It does not make any difference if the Gug­g(mheims or the Weyerhausers, the .Morgans or the Rocke­fellers, or the successors to the Stanfords or the Huntingtons, or any other great manipulators of big business, do clean up a few more millions they do not need. Milk the Government first and the people afterwards; it will not do for the Govern­ment to go into the rail.road business. Why? Because it might lead to Government ownership. If this is going to be such a bad thing for the Government, why stand in the way. You can not experiment any place else so satisfactorily as in Alaska; and if 'it should prove so calamitous as suggested by some, would not it go a long way toward quieting the cry for Government ownership, and at a comparatively cheap price?

The gentleman from Michigan [l\fr. FoRDNEY]' argued that because the engineers who were advised with by the Interior Department regarding the irrigation works of the West under­estimated their cost these railroad estimates are likely to be erroneous. . In this connection I desire to say that railroad building is no new thing in this country, while large irrigation works are new. While underestimates on the latter may be ex-

' 1

cusable, there would be little excuse for mistakes as to railroads. Further than this, if the Government did have to pay more for irrigation construction, the extra cost became a charge against the Janel reclaimed, whi~h in most all cases was ample security, so no Member need allow the pessimistic "View of my friend from Michigan to cloud his perspective with a vision of loss to the Nation.

If the irrigation works cost more than anticipated, we know · that .the money was expended among many and not turned over to the enrichment of a few, as were the subsidized, bond-guar­anteed congressional enqctments for private ownership.

:Mr. Chairman, we hear a great cry made against the Govern­ment going into the railroad business and building a road through its own property, Alaska. The Government bnilt a telegraph line up there, and I have not heard any claims of graft either in its l;milding or operation. If it owns its own telegraph line in Alaska, why not its own railroads?

~om.e of the gentlemen who will vote and are talking -against th1s b1ll "Voted for the Panama Canal. They did not see any danger to the Government in that transaction, which was purely a speculative one. We paid $7,200,000 to Russia for Alaska and have had in return to the United States fiftyfold what we paid for it over and above any expense it has ever been to us.

We paid $10,000,000 to the illegitimate Republic of Panama for a canal concession, and we have put far and beyond $350 000 000 into it, for what? . I pause for reply. I suppose that :ne' ge~tle­man from Michigan was willing that the Government of the United States should pay $400,000,000 to build a ditch across the Isthmus of Panama, for what? We have no merchant ma­rine, we have no coastwise fleet, eligible to use the canal. If we ever use the canal WI) have to create the fleets to float through i~·. I want to say to you gentlemen who are making the argument against helping Alaska that unscratched Alaska is better developed proportionately to-day than is your proud United States merchant ~~ipping to use a canal costing us nearly $400,000,000. It is incon:-istent and unwise to help long­suffering Alaska by· tuilding some experimental Government railroads, but it was wise, patriotic, and expedient to build the canal on the plea that it was a military necessity. Oh, you guardians of the people's interests, they should rise up and call you blessed. Now, I am in favor of the Panama Canal. I think it is wise to ha"Ve it, even tllough it will not probably pay as an investment for a hundred years to come, but I do consider that any man who could stand for the Panama Canal and justify that position and oppose construction of this railroad in Alaska is inconsistency personified.

Mr. Chairman, Alaska was purchased from Russia by the United States in 18G7 for $7,200,000. The name is derived from the Indian word Al-ay-eska, meaning the great country, and it is well named. It contains 590,8&! square miles. It was first settled by three Rnssian priests or saints in 1784 and was in the continuous control of their country until 1867, when it was trans­ferred to the United States. Its chief productions are gold, cop­per. silver, tin, lead, coal, seals; also salmon, halibut, and other fish. It also has great agricultural and grazing possibilities. Alaska is second only to Colorado in the production of gold. In copper. iron, und coal its possibilities are only to be demon­strated by the deYelo}lment of transportation, but it is well known that all indications point to immense tonnage and gren t; value.

Alaska imported from 1879 to and including 1910: From the United States, 203,566,500 in merchandise; total from other countries, $941,358. It will be seen that less than $1,000,000 of this trade was with other countries. Our inYestment of $7,200,000 gave us a market for our products amounting, in round numbers, to $204,000,000 in tlle 31 years, starting with $317,000 in 1879 and amounting to $18,670,339 in 1!)10.

Since 1904, which was the first year for which the Census Bureau has had available statistics, Alaska has sent into the United States gold as follows: 1904, $6,347,742; HJ05, $D,Ot>n,023; 190G, $12,638,608; 1907, $18,564,228; 1908, $11,490,777; 1DOD, $17,782,493; 1910, $18,393,128; a total for the 7 years of $94,-275,999. If this were all the gold we had received from Alaska, it would be a good return on our $7,200,000 investment, but it is only for 7 years, and it is estimated that it is not more tllan 25 to 30 per cent of the total we have received from that country since we acquired it.

This is only one of the elements of wealth pouring into this country, but probably has been the largest single . product in value. I am not going to burden the committee with further figures only to say that the Statistical Abstract of the United States says that in 1908 Alaska furnished $11,536,926 worth of fish and sea-animal products, not including cod and halibut, these two items for some· cause being credited to Pacific-coast products, bu~ not segregated as to Alaska. In 1908 there was

1914. OONGRESSION AL RECORD-HOUSE. 2977 J'eceiYed $11,500,000 from this source, or $4,000,000 more that one year than we paid for the country in 1867. Alaska has been a great contributor to the wealth of the United States and bus received, indeed, but little in return. The United States has never made nny other investment that has paid proportion­ately as this one has, and I verily belieYe that if we will adopt other than a dog-in-the-manger policy with it it will continue to pny larger returns on the money we will spend there than any other JlOSSe!;sjon or asset we ba\e. [Applause.]

The CIL.<\.IR~IAN. The time of the gentleman from Wash­ington bas expired. The gentleman from Texas [Mr. SLAYDEN] is recognized.

1\lr. SLAYDEN. Mr. Chairman, I would like now, while I think of it, to ask the privilege of extending my remarks in the RECORD.

The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Texas il\fr. SLAYDEN] asks unanimous consent to reYise and extend his remarks in the REcoRD. Is there objection?

There was no objection. :Mr. SLAYDEN. 1\Ir. Chairman, I ha\e listened with a great

deal of interest to this debate to-day, as I haYe on previous days since it began, and I heartily agree with one obser,ation made by my friend from Illinois [l\Ir. GRAHAM], and that is that a great deal of what be calls "unconscious exaggeration" bas been indulged in, and, be adds in a spirit of prudence, "pos­sibly by both sides," in the discussion of this question.

It may be unconscious exaggeration; but few people, I fancy, who have taken the pains to go into the official records will doubt that it is gross exaggeration. Indeed, 1\fr. Chairman, everything that I have heard said, everything that I have read, in support of this proposition suggests to my mind in a \ery vivid way that peculiar type of publication which, out in the West, we call "boom literature."

Now, real estate dealers ·who are undertaking to sell banana plantations in Alaska, or gold mines where minerals do not exist, or town lots in an unbuilt city, may not be deliberately and maliciously falsifying, but it can not be denied by anyone who bas eYer been in one of these boom communities that when they come to painting pictures that they mean to attract set­tlers with they do indulge lavishly in high colors.

Now, that is the case, I take it, in this instance. A climate which we know to be frigid, a country which is on and so near the Arctic Cirde that one needs nothing more than a knowledge of that general geographical fact to realize it is a cold coun­try-is a place so cold that people who contemplate engaging in agriculture in it should have their sanity inYestigated-is held up to us as a sort of paradise in prospect. I. have gone over a good many of these agricultural reports and I find nothing in them, or substantially l!.othing-and I do not want to get into that "unconscious exaggeration" referred to ty my friend from Illinois [i\Ir. GRAHAM]-! can find, I say, substantially nothing in them which will encourage any man to believe that it is possible or ever wm be possible to develop agriculture in Alaska.

That Alaska has a vast amount of mineral wealth is a matter of very general common knowledge. Even those of us who have neyer had the good fortune to visit that part of the world know, as we know that Julius Cresar or Napoleon Bonaparte lived, or any other incident that eyer occurred with which we had no versona l contact, that in the mountains of that country there is mineral wealth, and because of its peculiar geological forma­tion we are :inclined to believe that still greater deposits of min­eral wealth will hereafter be found there. But, Mr. Chairman, I was strongly impressed with the reasonableness of the sugges­tion put forward by my friend from Oklahoma [l\Ir. FERRIS]­indeed, by my two friends from Oklahoma [Mr. FERRIS and l\lr. DAVENPORT], if I may be permitted to correct myself-that if we want to unlock these treasures in Alaska, all we have to do is to make reasonable laws, the making of which is in our con­trol; provide opportunities to American citizens to go in there and engage in American enterprises for the gain which will come from them.

That is the best inspiration for commercial endeavor. We go into business not for our health, not to develop the com­monwealth at all, but to develop personal, individual wealth. Now, make your reasonable leasing laws so that the American business man can have an opportunity of a fair return for in­vested energy and capital; and if the wealth is there, I have no doubt that they will go, and go fast enough, and that they will build railways-electric railways, steam railways, railways run by the oil that may be ther~. 1·un by the coa1 that probably is there-and if the values are there to the extent that my friend from Illinois [l\lr. GRAHAM:] suggests, in a rather florid flight of fancy, they will eyen establlsb, if it be necessary, lines of airships to bring that wealth out. [Laughter and applause.]

There is no obstacle in the way of business success that nlakes the American business man hesitate. All that be wants to know, all that be requires to know, in order to invest his energy and capital is that there is a reasonable pro pect of a return.

My friend from Illinois [l\fr. GRAHAM] says that the copper ·mines in Alaska-the Bonanza mine, I believe, he specifically re­ferred to-has not been doing very well because the coal is "tied up." I use his precise phrase in that instance: "The coal is tied up." Now, my answer to that sort of argument is that if the tying up of the coal bas prevented the de\elopment of other mining operations in Alaska, then untie the coal. Untie it according to the plan indicated by the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. FERRis] the other day-make a reasonable leas­ing law.

Having had a little experience-mostly disastrous-in ruin­ing, I was tremendously impressed with what the gentleman· from Illinois [Mr. GRAHAM] said about the great wealth, the almost unparalleled mineral wealth, of those mountains, and I felt for a moment, while I was nuder the influence of his elo­quence, a stir of the old fe\er which mor-e than once in my life· has taken me away from home and comfortable surroundings and carried me to the atmosphere of mining camps, where I haye undergone personal discomfort and bad associations which, to say the least of them, were not altogether attractive. I felt for a moment, I say, the old fe\er return, and I wondered if I could wait until that beautiful, balmy springtime to which be looks forward so hopefully in Alaska shall have unlocked the avenues of communication so that I may get up into Alaska. •

But I want to say to my friend that copper mines yielding 30 and 40 per cent copper to the ton are very infrequent occur­rences on this globe of ours. In the course of my life I have seen bits of gold which ran $50,000, $75,000, $100,000, and $200,000 to the ton, and occasionally they have been made very remunerati\e, but the circumstances under which they became remuneratiYe were deYeloped when the sharper who had the bit of gold ore running so high in ·mlue carne in contact with a sucker from the East who was easily taken in by such enter­prises. [Al)plause.] The yiel<l of a gold mine and the yield of a copper mine, permit me to say, is not indicated by these pieces of ore of exceptional Yalue, or by copper returns of 30 or 40 per cent to the ton ; and if the gentleman is investing money in cop-' per with the expectation that be is going to get 600 or 800 pounds of merchantable copper from a ton of ore, I am afraid he is heading for a disappointment.

l\Ir. GRAH..:U\1 of Illinois. I want to get into the RECORD the statement that there is not a bit of danger of that.

Mr. SL.t\.YDEN. The gentleman made anott.er statement which I found of unusual interest. I hope I can quote the gen­tleman correctly. He said that ~forgan and Guggenheim. or "l\forganheim," as the combination bad sometimes been culled, bad offered or suggested tba t they would build roads and open Alaska if given a "free hand "-now I know I am right in quoting those words "free band" in the exploitation of that country.

Mr. GR.A.HAU of Illinois. May I correct my friend? 1\fr. SLAYDEN. Yes. 1\Ir. GRAHAl\f of Illinois. I did not say, or at least certainly

did not intend to say, that they bad offered or suggested. 1\Ir. SLAYDEN. I think when the gentleman looks at the

stenographic report of his speech he will find that he said that, Mr. GRAHAM of Illinois. I believe they would be willing

to do it. Mr. SLAYDEN. I made my note at the time, and I under­

stood the gentleman to say that if they were giYen a "free hand" in the exploitation of the country they would build the railroads that were needed in Alaska. I would like to ba\e the gentleman tell us when 1\Iorgan or Guggenheim, or the ama.lgam· ".Morganheim," e\er bad the audacity to say to the people of this country that they would deYelop Alaska if they were given a "free hand " to exploit the common property for their per­sonal gain.

Mr. GRA.HAJ\f of Illinois. 1\fay I tell the gentleman where he can find much information on the subject?

Mr. SLAYDEN. Ob, I can find lots of information in all directions, but I am asking about this specific information.

l\lr. GRAHAM of Illinois. It is all ~worn testimony, some of it by the agents of that concern, in the Ballinger inquiry of 1911. These facts were brought out- there.

Mr. SLAYDEX Is the gentleman certain that that is not some of the unconscious exaggeration of statement that has characterized the debate, as he says?

Mr. GR.illAl\f of Illinois. I can not speak for the witnesses. I am only speaking for myself. •

l\Ir. SLAYDEN. Now, Mr. Chairman, I do not want to take up too much time. I had a speech prepai·ed of which I hope I

2978: 'CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE'( FEBRUARY 5,' ' ------------~------------------------,-------------------------~-----------' 1 will have time to get in a few. paragraphs; but before under­taking that I want to answer a question propounded by my friend from Virginia [Mr. SAUNDERS] as fo tonnage for this proposed railroad. When the gentleman was having that rather interesting controversy with the gentleman from Alaska [1\Ir. WICKERSHAM] and one or two other gentlemen as to the possible tonnage, I believe it was the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. ·LAFFERTY] who suggested that there might be a tonnage avail­able in hauling in the supplies for these prospectors and miners. The other day I was shown a private letter from a citizen of Seattle, which is the particular place to benefit by this wasteful expenditure of the public money. I was told that the gentleman who wrote it had spent seven years in Alaska; that be was a man of high character, a capable business man. quali­fied to observe, sufficiently well equipped in a mental way to draw a fair, proper, and reasonable eonclusion from the facts ,which he had observed, and here is w.hat h~ said. I commend this to the attention of my friend from Virginia.

Mr. BRYAN. Will it be possible to give the name of that gentleman?

Mr. SLAYDEN. I can not, because I got it in a private letter; but I have another letter, and I will give the gentleman the name of the author of that other letter. I can not give the name of the writer of the first one, because it was a private communication and I was not authorized to make it public.

Mr. BRYAN. I understand. Mr. SLAYDEN. If the writer is w.illing, I shall be glad to

do it. He says: I would suggest that if you are interested in seeing the bill go

through, you might point out the possibility of a vast industry that could be created. If the railroad system was broad enough, and horse manure in quantities could be secured, the railroad could spread it all over Alaska about 2 feet thick, which would provide an unlimited inland haul, and then a gigantic mushroom factory could be started and a back haul provided.

[Laught~r.] The fact that there is not a world's market for over 50 per cent of

this product need not be pointed out and ought not to cut any figure In an enterprise like this. I can not conceive of anything else that could be grown commercially unless it be lettuce, which would have all of the characteristics of a Virginia creeper. You might put a value on Alaska, and you might possibly induce buyers there, but outside of the fish and the mineral possibilities, practically along the coast only, I would not give 25 cents for the wnole damn Territ.>ry.

[Laughter.] Mr. TAGGART. Mr. SLAYDEN. Mr. TAGGART. Mr. SLAYDEN. Mr. TAGGART.

name?

Will the gentleman permit a question? Yes. Is the writer of that letter from Seattle? Yes. The gentleman does not wish to give his

Mr. SLAYDEN. No. Mr. TAGGART. Is not the gentleman entitled to a Carnegie

medal for saving the life of the writer of that letter? [Laugh­ter.]

Mr. SLAYDEN. I will read you the other letter that I got yesterday morning addressed to me. From that letter I will now quote:

Everybody out here is jubilant over the Senate having passed the 'Alask3. milroad bill. Also they are against Government ownership, and condemn M.r. Bryan for his famous Madison Square Garden speech and scoff at the princiP.les he then advocated. No one I have spoken to attempts to reconcile the two positions except to vaguely say "this is different." As a matter of fact, unless one is in favor of Government ownership, he must consider the Alaska bill as a step in the wrong direction. However, like the others, I am selfishly glad of its fine prospect of becoming a law.

There you are, 1\Ir. Chairman. The interest of Seattle in it is explained. The taxpayers of Texas and New York-of the whole country, in fact-foot the bill and Seattle and a few miners get the benefits.

Please nota the .inconsistency. They were pleased at the passage of the Senate bill, but they are all against Govern­ment ownership.

Mr. -BRYAN. The gentleman is going to give the name of the writer of that letter?

Mr. SLAYDEN. I do not mind giving the gentleman that name. I have known the writer from boyhood. In fact, he is a first cousin of mine and I vouch for him. If my vouching will do any good, his reputation is established.

1\fr. BRYAN. That being the case, would the gentleman--1\Ir. SLAYDEN. I have only about four minutes left and I

want to lay a predicate for the publication of my real speech. Mr. Chairman, the peculiar political position in all this matter

makes a special appeal to me. If I understand the writings and doch·ines of Thomas Jefferson, he held that governments should confine their activities to the preservation of law and order, and should not interfere with the habits or innocent ac­tions of citizens, but should leave them free to regulate their own pursuits. I might elaborate on that with many quotations

f th .. l

rom e writings of the first great Democratic President, but I am afraid, Mr. Chairman, that it will no longer make an ' appeal, and therefore I shall forbear quoting from the discarded prophet. Samuel ;r. Tilden, one of the greatest modern, and I begin to fear the last disciple of Thomas Jefferson, said-and I ' do not pretend to quote his language precisely, but substan­tially-that the cardinal animating and economic principle of the Democratic Party is that no work shall be done, no func­tion performed by the State that can be as well or better done by the individual, and that the Federal Government should en­gage in no enterprise that can be as well or better done by the State or individual.

Mr. LEWIS of Maryland. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. SLAYDEN. If the gentleman will be very quick about

it. I have only a little time left. Mr. LEWIS of Maryland. I want to suggest whether he does

not find in the writings of Thomas Jefferson that he was in favor of the public building roads and canals?

Mr. SLAYDEN. ·I think he did. I a.m not questioning the right of the United States to build things, I ~am questioning the wisdom of the policy, because I fear it is socialism, and I am a Democrat, not a Socialist.

Mr. LEWIS of Maryland. But he was in favor of building roads and canals.

Mr. SLAYDEN. That was 100 years ago. Mr. WICKERSHAM. Will the gentleman yield? Mr. SLAYDEN. Yes. Mr. WICKERSHAM. Is it not true that the Military Com­

mittee, of which the gentleman is an honored member, have ex­pended $2,000,000 in building wagon roads in Alaska with his approval?

Mr. SLAYDEN. Mr. Chairman, I will have to publish my speech, as I see that I am not going to get an opportunity to read any of it.

Mr. WICKERSHAM. The gentleman can answer that ques­tion by yes or no.

Mr. SLAYDEN. I will answer it as I please in my time. The Committee on Military Afl:'airs has recommended the con­struction and, under the appropriations which it suggested in this House, has built a good many miles of trails and roads in Alaska. Just what they have cost I do not know. I think they ought to do it. It was a military matter, a military necessity, and no one questions the right of the Government to do that. But I will say to the gentleman that honest, capable men, as familiar with the conditions in Alaska as he or anyone is, not influenced by the hope of political or personal gain, say that it is immeasurably better for the people in Alaska, immeasur­ably better for the future development of that eounh·y, that trails should be built through Alaska in order that the people may get in and out, and that they are needed infinitely more than are railroads. [Applause.]

Never in the history of business in this country has capital lacked enterprise or the disposition to engage itself, where there appeared any hope or reasonable expectation of even a moderate return for the risk as_sumed. On the contrary, it has sometimes been charged against our business men that they lacked the con­servatism of their fellows in Europe; that, in fact, they bad a little too much of the gambler's spirit. If they have refused to prosecute business· enterprises in Alaska, it may be accepted as a fact that conditions there are not promising. It may also be accepted as a fact that where men of business can not see a profit in commercial enterprises only disaster can follow the efforts of Government in that particular field.

The business organizations of the Government are never con­ducted with the same careful scrutiny of the expen e account; their wage scales are always higher, except in the more impor­tant technical and scientific places, hours shorter, and the con­trol less exacting. In fact-and this is notorious-the Govern­ment can not compete in skill and economy in business organiza­tion or business management with individuals or private corpora­tions. It is an axiom that whatever the Government does, unle::::s executed without regard to cost, is less well and more expen­sively done than when conducted by individuals or private cor­porations.

In the building of railways there is the widest possible oppor­tunity for waste and extravagance, and such opportunities are rarely, if ever, overlooked by the agents of Government.

Conditions in Alaska are such as to make it certain that the maximum of cost in every enterprise will be reached. Half of each year must be spent in comparative idleness. The climate compels it, for an act of Congress can not repeal the laws of nature. The thermometer usually goes down so far below zero

. that work can not be done from November to April. We are advised that the minimum pay of the most ordinary

labor is $3 a day, and even at that price the laborer's life is not

1914. CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-HOUSE. 2979 attractive and his savings can not possibly put him on the list of income-tax payers.

I can not think of any country where the conditions are so certain to entail the maximum cost of any undertaking.

As a business investment of the taxpayers' money the con· struction of a railway in Alaska appeals to me as the extreme of folly. If it were not so, private capital would long ago have found a way to unlock the supposed treasures of that country.

It is contended, Mr. Chairman, that this appropriation is necessary to open Alaska to the people of the United States and to de,·elop the country. Alaska is a very large part of the earth's surface, and if it is intended to develop it by building railways to the various sections of that country which will be asl::ed fQr by the few and widely scattered settlers, the American people will be in for an expenditure which will make the Panama Canal, to this time our largest investment, look like a trifle from a bargain counter. Thirty-five million dollars will not do it, nor three hundred and fifty million dollars. For years we will be sending good money after bad, and will finally wake up to the fact that we have wasted half a billion dollars from the people's contributions to the Government. .

1\Ir. Chairman, it is well to consider the advice of the people who know about conditions in Alaska and who have no interest whatm·er in coal mines, gold mines, or the mythical meadows that have been dangled before our eyes for a month or more.

The Board of Road Commissioners for Alaska, created by an net of Congress appro-,ed January 27, 1905, which consists of Army officers, whose only interest in Alaska is to do the work assigned them and submit the facts to Congress, in the report for 1913 say:

Our board specifically disavows any intent to set forth views in opposition or discoumgement to ra.ilroad construction in the Terrt­toL·y under proper limitations, but after several years of careful ob­servation and study of the land-transportation conditions and Clf the natnral inducell!ents to development and to settlement which exis t. is convinced that nc rapid or general development will follow tile construction of trunk lines of railroad to the interior unless pre­ceded or accompanied by the construction of numerous wagon roads and trails as feedeL·s, and even then the development will be slow.

In ma king this statemel!t our board may incur the suspicion of wishin g to give undue importance to its own work, but the railroad commission itself recognized this fact, and no one acquainted with the tru e situation can fail to do likewise.

Unlike the great West in another respect, Alaska has a wonderful syst em of waterways, both coastal and interior, and while the interior system is open only about five months of the year, during this open period supplies can be distributed to almost every part of the Territory by means of its various ramifications.

There are about 475 miles of railways already constructed in Alaska, of which only 356 miles are now being operated for the carriage of freight and passengers. And these, I am told, are not overprosperous. Surely the other mileage was not con· structed without the belief that tonnage would be offered in quantities to justify the cost of construction. Somebody was ruistaken. Some capitalists spent money to build railways to ruake more money and the investment has not been a good one, and I suspect that some of them want to unload on the people. Now, if business men, alert to make dividends and much more capable in the discernment of these opportunities than any mere salaried agent of the Go\ernment will ever be, make such mistakes, who can believe that this will be a profitable enter· prise for the taxpayers? Who can think that Congress will make money where keen, practical business men have failed?

The total value of Alaskan production from 1868 to 1911, as published, is $429,523,630, of which the coastal region gave $337,386,352, or more than 75 per cent. Fifty per cent of this great wealth came from the fisheries, which, of course, are on the seacoast, where railways are not really needed and would be of Httle value if built. Outside of the gold production, which has been and can be handled without a railway, the yield from the interior of Alaska is negligible and certainly does not justify this revolutionary move and enormous out1ay.

1\I uch stress bas been laid on the coal deposits of Alaska, which are, no doubt, of very great potential value and ulti­mately will become an active asset of the American people. It has been claimed that the coal is needed for the Navy. But the tests made at the engineering experiment station, Annapolis, 1\Id., show that it is unsuited for naval purposes. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy so stated in his letter to .Mr. DAVENPORT, written December 27 last.

But, Mr. Chairman, the great and at this time the only de­sirable fuel for the Navy is oil. The nature of this admittedly superior fuel is having an influence on naval construction. It is driving Governments to the purchase of oil fields and has even provoked international correspondence and ill feeling. The country which occupies a position of advantage with reference to the supply of fuel oil is envied by other Governments not so fortunate. Our country is blessed in that respect. In Califor­nia, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and other States we have ex-

tensive oil fields, the product of which can be purchased or, if need be, condemned by the Federal Goverriment.

The cry that we need Alaskan coal for the Navy is ill timed or insincere. Experiments by scientific officers of the Govern· ment have demonstrated its inefficiency. In the letter from the Assistant Secretary of the Navy to Mr. DAVENPORT, of Okla­homa, the statement is plainly made that it is unsuitable for the purposes of the Navy. It is less valuable for steaming by 25 per cent than the West Virginia coal. So that argument fails.

A STEP TOWARU SOCIALISM.

But, Mr. Chairman, I am opposed to all forms of socialism. I believe in the greatest possible liberty of action for the indi­vidual and the narrowest possible ,field of activity for the Gov­ernment.

When government provides equal opportunities under the law for all citizens and punishes transgressions on the rights of person and property of any citizen by another it has, in my humble democratic judgment, done all, or substantially all, it should do. That may be old-fashioned, but it is my faith, and I shall stand by it. I can not do otherwise and be true to the principles and traditions of my party or retain my self-respect.

This is the beginning on a large scale of Government owner­ship of railways. The situation at Panama is exceptional. That railway was bought and has been maintained as an adjunct of the canal work-a mere tool used in construction. If it is not necessary to keep it as a part of the machinery of the canal, I hope it will be sold and that the Federal Govern­ment will go entirely out of the railway business as quickly as possible.

I think it would be a serious blunder for this Government to go into the transportation business. It would mean an ultimate extension of the roll of public servants to such a degree that they would make a resistless body of compact, organized offi­cials, with an unsatisfied and unsatisfiable- appetite for larger pay, shorter hours, and pensions. If, as happened in France. they went on a strike, we would be confronted with rebellion as much more serious than the French situation as our rail­way mileage exceeds that of France. The French Government settled the strike by calling all reserves to the colors, and the habit of soldiering, persevered in for generations, caused the strikers to rally to the support of government. Could we handle such a situation in that way? I do not belie\e we could.

Our railway corporations complain now that on account of increased wages and the high cost of material they ca.n not earn enough to pay dividends to the owners of the property. Shippers protest against an increase of rates which the roads say they must ha\e to keep out of the bankruptcy court. If private corporations can not earn on the basis of existing rates, it is absolutely certain that the Government could not, and that year by year the deficit would be made up out of the Federal Treasury.

I have traveled on a good many government-owned roads, and on none of them have I seen a service equal to that we have in this country. The equipment of the trains in this country is superior and the speed greater, and, quality of service con· sidered, our ordinary passenger fare is less, as a rule, than the second-class rates on the Continent of Europe.

I think, 1\fr. Chairman, that the reports of departmental e:rperts show most conclusively that the talk of the development of agriculture in Alaska is preposterous. I will submit and print in the RECORD a few citations from these reports, as well as an excerpt or two from the Senate hearings.

On pages 548, 550, 552, and 556 Prof. Charles V. Piper says: So far as railways into the interior are concerned, any great amount

of agricultural freight in the future would have in the main to come from and on account of possible grain production-that is, the produc­tion of other things like dairy products, or even meats-would not yield any very great amount of frei~ht.

The most interesting experiment stations, so far as this problem is concerned in Alaska, are those at Rampart, which has been conduct ed since about 1900; Fairbanks, where the experiment station has been in existence since 1907, I believe; and CoppeL' Center, on the Copper River, where an experiment station was conducted from 1902 to 1906. At the first two of these interior stations-Rampart and Fairbanks­spring-sown oats and spring·sown barley have yielded good crops prac­tically every year they have been tested. Fall-sown rye and fall-sown wheat mature, but there is usually considerable winter killing, espe­cially in the wheat, due to too thin snow protection from the severe cold. At both of these stations a large amount of time has been spent in the endeavor to breed up hardier varieties of all these grains better suited to the conditions in Alaska. There can be little doubt that varieties of these cereals will be developed better adapted to the region than any we now possess. However, among the numerous varieties tested, a good many varieties of oats and barley have succeeded, as I have stated. The ryes have done very well, and some fall-sown wheats have given very good results. Spring-sown wheats, I think, in no case have matured. At Copper Center the results have not been as favor­able. During the six years that the station was conducted spring-sown grains-that is, oats and barley-matured perfectly only one season.

2980 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE.: FEBRUARY 5~

Crops that mature perfectly in only one season out of six will neither reduce the cost of living nor make the farmers opulent.

This extract from the testimony of Mr. :MacKenzie and Prof. Piper is illuminating as to conditions in Alaska. Particular attention is invited to the statement of the latter that the pio­neer is "attracted to public land that he can homestead, even if it cost $200 an acre to clear." Better land, in a good climate, on railways, and near markets are not so attractive to him as the appearance of getting public lands at a song, or for nothing.

Sena tor Jo:.Es. What is your estimate, Judge, of the cost of clear­ing land at Fairbanks?

hlr. WICKER HA M. It does not cost much. Do you know, Mr. Joslin, wha t they figure on down there?

lUr. J OSLIN. The report of the farmer for the experiment station for 1911 showed 200 an acre.

Mr. WICKERSUAlii. That was up there in that heavy timber? Mr. J osLIN. Yes; up in that heavy timber, Prof. PIPER. That was also about the cost at Kenai on lands covered

wi~r.11fi~~i!~..?::·That is heavy timber-very heavy timber at Kenai. Prof. PIPER. I would not call it very heavy. . l\Ir. l\:L\cKE.~zrE. I have had a little experience in clearmg land

up in the interior of Alaska, and if you can get a burn on the ground and kill those trees, the roots will lie on top of the frost, and in two or three years you can go along there and almost kick ·them out. It is very easy. Of course, if you do it in one season, it is a very ex-

pep~;f~ SJ:~~· At any rate, whether you put it at $100 an acre or $50 an acre you can still get good farm lands in the United States at ~50 an a~re. However, I would not give too much weight to that, because the pioneer is attracted to public land that he can homestead even if it cost $200 an acre to clear. The $200 an acre !or clear·ing it is based, I suppose, on wages to the ordinary laboring man of 5 and

6 a day and if a farmer clears the land himself be saves that $5 or $6 a day'. So that it is really the high cost of labor that makes the apparent high cost of clearing that land.

Mr Chubbuck on the basis of his reconnoissance in Alaska, has given' expression' to conservative views regarding the future possib~li­ties of grain raising in the interior of Alaska very much, I think. like the ideas I have presented.

Senator W A.LSH. Who is Mr. Chubbuck '1 Prof. PIPER. Mr. Chubbuck is a member of the Bureau ~f Plant

Industry and spent the years 1909 and 1910 malting an agncultural reconnoiSsance of Alaska. His report has not yet been published, but will be shortly. Mr. Chubbuck really should have appeared before this committee, because be personally ha;s gone over these lands in the in­terior of Alaska, and my knowledge IS secondhand.

Senator Jo. ES. Where is Mr. Chubbuck? Prof. PIPER. He is out west at the present time. In another part of his testimony Prof. Piper said that if the

railway were built plenty of " literature of the boom type,, would be published to lure the hopeful and ignorant from better conditions at home to the hardships and disappointments of Alaska.

I will quote his testimony as gtven in the Senate bearings: Prof PIPER. I may state briefly, in conclusion, that my own view­

point and I think that is the viewpoint Prof. Chubbuck has taken­and i am sure it is the one Prof. Georgeson takes in all his repo-rts­is conservative as to the future agricultural develo,r.ment of the in­terior of Alaska. I have no doubt that with the building of the rail­way there will be plenty of literature of the boom type published, but I think it would be something of a calamity to induce any iarge num­ber of homesteaders to go there to-morrow with the idea that it could be developed rapidly like much of our prairie country was in the West. In the development of a new agricultural region usually the first development is live stock and the second is grain raising-usually wheat raising. Now, in the development of the live-stock industr::v in Alaska somewhat different methods will have to be used to those which farmers have been familiar with in the States, and in a way they will have to feel their way along toward the most profitable

meit~o&e matter of extensive grain culture, while that may be possible, I feel that the farmer himself will have many problems to solve before the ordinary man can be advised to go into g1·ain farming. That is, 1n other words, I would fear that the greatest danger to the propel" development of the interior of Alaska would be of holding out t.oo roseate hopes of what can be done in the way of its agricultural de­velopment.

Here is what Mr. Boyce, of Chicago, I believe a ne-wspaper publisher, has to say about agriculture in Alaska:

FA.BMI~G IN ALASKA. TILLING THE SOIL OVER FROST.

" Gold is where it is found," is an old and true saying. Finding it does not, however, depend on climate, soil, elevation, !lr favorable natu~ ral conditions. This is not true of farming. Agncultural products require congenial surroundings, although through the development of seed and inteUig•mt handling of soil and crop we are now growing grains fruits and vegetables in many parts of the world heretofore untho~ght or.' Man can not eat gold, timber, or coaL He must have foodstuff, plenty of tt, and cbenp.

Before went to .Alaska I knew about the gold and fishing and furs and hootin"' but was ignorant as to the agricultural possibilities and products. After covering thousands of miles and seeing nearly every developed spot where anything that grows to eat is at its best, I am sntistled that it is a poor country for a farmer, and always will be. Should you succeed in ?:etting a small patch cleared up at a place where there was a " t-oom on ' you could get fancy ,prices for one or two years until the boom was over. Except for the long summers and nightless days in Alaska, it wo:Jld be impossible to grow anything. No warmth comes from the soil or beneath the surface. As far down as a shaft has ever been sunk, over 2,000 feet, you find ice. This ice was not made by freezing from t.he top down. For millions of years the country has been built up from the bottom, lee on ice that never thawed out in the sum­mer. The moss that grows nearly everywhere is a complete protection from the sun, and when you sink a pick through it you think you hava

struck rock. Clear off this moss, other vegetation, or scrub timber, and you have the frozen earth. The sun wm draw out the ice and frost about 1 foot the first year. Break this up and the next year it thaws out deeper, until after a number of years the frost~ on account of tbe long days, will disappear by •June 1 down 2 or a feet.

Whera alfalfa bas been tried it turns yellow as soon as the roots strike the ice. Of course, with the frost always coming out of the gronncl you can raise crops where you have only a few inches of rainfall in the summer. Interior and northwest Alaska is vex·y dry in the sum­mer. Only where the Japan current comes close to the southeast coast and the i&lands do you have much rain.

In Norway, Swedeni Finland, and Russian Siberia :farming bas been fairly successful in a atitude as far north as most of Alaska, and this has given hope to the wish that we might make an agricultural country out of our far-north possession. For many centuries these coun­tries have been thickly settled, and labor has been very cheap. An acre could be cleared for little cost, but that is not the case in Alaska, whe~ common labor, employed only for a few months in the year, receives from 3 to G per day of eight hours. It costs from 125 to · 150 to prepare an acre- for the plow. You have invested the total cost per acre of first-class farm lund near a good market in an old country before you begin raising anything to sell in this dayless-nfgbt and nightless~ day region.

What 1\Ir. Boyce has to say about the impossibility of serving the 32,000 people in Alaska, except at a cost so staggering that all prudent men revolt at the suggestion, is marked by such common sense and f:rnnkness that I will also qnote it:

ALASKA'S RAILROADS.

P1'£SE~T A..l'ill FUTURE POLICIES. Alaska, like all new countries, has her share of boomers and failures.

The faUures and Government employee'!! all want the Government t() spend a lot of money in Alaska building railroads, wagon roads, bridge9, and winter trails, and in dredging harbors, etc. In fact, I heard it sug­gested that tf Canada would permit, it \Vould be a good scheme to pomp the Japan Current into the source of the Yukon River, and from thence let it flow west down that stream, making a perpetual warm country out of the Valley of the Yukon.

This, of course, was objected ' to by the Alaskans living on the Pacific waters, as it would favor the Yukon Valley and Bering Sea, and leave their part ot the country frozen 8 months out of the 12. So you see how impossible it is to plea e or serve more than 3,000 or 4.000 people in Alaska at less than a cost of several billion dollars without disappointing the other 28~000.

Seriously spealdng, the 32,000 white people in Alaska are scattered over a teTI"itory one-fifth the size of the United States. The winters except for a small strip o:t country along the southeast coast-affected by the warm Japan Current--extend over eight months of the year. Nevertheless, Alaska ls a wonderful country in many ways, and I have never met with a braver, stronger lot of men-two-thirds of the population are men-any place in the world. They come from every· where, but especially from the Pacific coast and gold-producing States; some trmn Australia Canada, and the cold countries of Europe.

Keep in mind all the time. however, that it is over 1,500 miles from Ketchikan, the southeast C{)rner of Alaska, to Cape Prince of Wales, on Bering Strait, northwest or Nome. And, again, It is over 1,500 miles from Unalaska and Dutch Harbor, in the southwest corner of Alaska, to the Arctic Ocean nortb of Fort Yukon.

While Alaska is not equal to a country 1,500 miles square, it is just as difficult to serve from a transportation standpoint, and nearly all of its service must be by rail, as compared with water, except a few fishing towns and pm·ts on the south and southwest coasts, as the I'ivers. as well as tbe Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean, are frozen for eight months and sometimes more each year.

I traveled over 8,000 miles tn Alaska, and found the popt1lation of 32,000 whites pretty evenly divided between the inland and coastr nnd was impressed with the impossibility of oor Government acting fairly toward the whole of Alaska, undertaking the question of transporta­ta:tion, to say nothin~ about the enormous expense and loss if attempted. As near as I can calculate. it would cost $200,000,000 to serve 20.000 of the 32,000 Alaskans with railroads, at an annual loss of $30,000,000 a year, or equal to $1,500 a year pension for each man, woman, and child brougbt within the transportation belt.

As an alternative, the suggestion of 1\Ir. Boyce that it will be cheaper to pension all the people of Alaska at the rate of $1,500 a year offers the less expensive way of meeting the demands of these hungry folks, and if they bad that income out of the Common Treasury they could live in Seattle and spend it there- and perhaps also satisfy that city, which appears to be behind this absurd measure.

Mr. Chairman, reasons might be multiplied indefinitely to show why this bill should not pass, but they have been so fully and ably set out by the two gentle-men from Oklahoma and others that I will not consume any more time.

Mr. SIMS. Mr. Chairman, I want to address myse-lf espe­cially to the argument made against this bill based upon the idea that it commits the Government as a general proposition to the public ownership of railroads wherever located, railroads already in existence and operation, like the- Pennsylvania, the Baltimore & Ohio, and like railroads. I do not accept any such propoaition. My genial friend from North Carolina [l\fr. SMALL], in answer to a direct inquiry, said that he did regard the passage of this bill as committing the Government to the policy of general railroad ownership. I do not think so, and I want to show you why I do not think it does. We have done many such things in the past.

What is transportation? It is moving persons or property from one point to another. Is not that true? It is moving persons and property from one State to another .or from one nation to another. Every highway in the country, every dirt road, is a transportation facility; it is a means of transporta­tion of persons and property.

1914~~ OONGRESSION AL RECORD-HOUSE~ 2981' Now, we have private dirt roads operated and owned by ; by the Government owning the railroad it can prevent the evils

gentlemen on their farms, but all common highways are O)Vned ' of private monopolistic ownership of the resources of Alaska by the community, by the State, or by the country; they per- that may grow out of private ownership. I do not care whether form a public function; they are public facilities and owned the road, as an investment, pays or not. I do not care whether, by the people. Does that commit anybody irrevocably to the regarding it as an independent enterprise, the freight and pas­policy tha:t the Government should own every other means of ! senger traffic maintains it; but if opening up the whole of transportation of persons and property? Alaska, being Government-owned property, is benefited to the

Wily, it will not do to claim that the owning of a special . extent of the value of the railroad and its maintenance, then means of transportation for a special purpose will have such it is good business. to do it, is it not? ·we afford by this rail­relation to the general proposition as to commit us to Govern- road the means of developing whatever is there, and if there is ment ownership of railroads in general. not anything worth developing let us sell the Territory as

The Government owns this District. It owns this Capitol. quickly as we can. If we are going to develop it, let us treat When this Capitol was built elevators had not come into use, it like a private individual would treat his own private prop­so ·stair steps were ·built all around and in it. Afterwards ele- erty-make the best of it, and furnish the facilities necessarv to vators came into use. An elevator is a means of transporta- I make the best of it. Would a man having a forest at the back tion of persons from one portion of a building to another; it is of his farm, with a swamp in front of it, stand back and refuse a facility of transportation. The Government owned this build- to build a road to his timber that could not otherwise be ing, and was it committed to the transportation of persons and ' developed? property in general because it built an elevator in its own , The timber is worth nothing as it stands, but it would be building? The Washington Monument was built by the Gov- worth a great deal with the road constructed, although the ernment, and is 555 feet high, with circular stair steps for ascen- road itself might be merely an expense. My friends ought sion. When elevators came into use the Government, owning to remember for a moment that there is nothing new in the the Monument and the grounds upon which it stood, built an ownership of a mere plant facility, and that is all this railroad elevator for passengers to go up and down in the Monument, will be. Alaska is a great Territory. This is a mere branch thereby performing the service of traMportation in the Monu- line connecting the interior of Alaska with the ocean, like the ment. line from the navy yard up to th.e Pennsylvania Railroad. It is

Mr. HARDY. Will the gentleman yield? a mere connecting link that private enterprise will not build Mr. SIMS. Yes. without all of the benefits that accrue to p.rivate enterprise. We Mr. HARDY. I want to say to the gentleman that our State have a Government-owned railroad at Panama, and have had it

gave 16 sections, 12.000 acres, to get other people to build the for a number of years. It has not only been operated to per­roads, and in that way escaped Government ownership. Would form service· for the Government, but it is performing service the gentleman prefer that pr()(!ess to owning the road after they for the public. It has carried freight,. many millions of dollars have given that amount to build it? worth, across the Isthmus for others than the Government.

1\fr. SIMS. That is for the gentleman from 'l'exas to state That railroad has been rebuilt, e-very mile of it, at an enormous after they lost the land. I am not discussing the merits of public expense, and why? We have-just dug at the expense of approxi­ownership. I am only trying to point out that the passage of mately $400,000,000, a canal, another transportation ta~ility, this bill does not commit anyone to the policy of the Govern- and one in which the benefits of transportation will accrue more ment. owning railroads, any more than did -the building of an to the world at large than to the United States. Why have we elevator in the Capitol Building or putting one into the Wash- relocated and constructed a new railroad at an immense cost ington Monument. right along by the side of that canal? Is tt to compete with

A few yeara ago I introduced a bill, which I think was re- the canal, the Government owning both? Not at alL It is a ported to the House and passed th.e House, to build a spur land transportation facility, built right alongside of a water track from the Pennsylvania Railroad to the navy yard. My transportation facility as an aid to the water transportation lovable friend from Pennsylvania [Mr. MooRE] opposed it bit- · facility, a mere equipment for maintenance purposes, and to be terly upon the idea that it committed the Government to the used in case- of accident to the canal. policy of Government ownership of railroads. It was to be Mr. BRYAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yie-ld? about 1,000 feet in length. and to be built as a special plant Mr. SIMS. Yes. facility. The Government owned the navy yard, and it seemed Mr. BRYAN. And then there is the further fact that we own to me that it might own a track to connect with the Pennsyl- three or four large ships that sail the ocean in connection with vania Railroad, and that any other road should have the right this same proposition. . to build a connection with the tra~k and use it on the- same Mr. SillS. That is true; but that is a temporary ownership, terms. as I understand, while the railroad is permament. The point

Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield? I am making is not the Government ownership of the railroad Mr. SIMS. Yes. at Panama for general transportation purposes, but as a met·a Mr. 1\!00RE. Is it not a fact that in that matter it was facility to enable the Government to operate its waterway.

stated it would not pay the Pennsylvania Co. to build that spur, That does not commit the Government to the public ownership and it was a very expensive operation for the Government? of railroads any more than if there was no railroad there.

Mr. SIM.S. Oh, it is not the question of what the Pennsyl- What have we done in the: Philippines? I tried to see some vania Railroad bad to say about it. What I am talking about member of the Committee on II1Bular Affairs to ascertain is the fact of the gentleman having made a serious argument whether or not my information was correct, but was unable to that to do such a thing committed the United States Government do so; but I am advised that because of the difficulty of con-to the policy of the ownership of all railroads. structing railroads in the Philippines, necessary for their de-

Mr. MOORE. Yes; I did make that argument. velopment, the Government of the Philippines and the Govern-1\Ir. SI.l\IS. Yes; which was about of the force of the argn- ment of the United States guaranteed the bonds of the railroad.

ment in this case in opposition to this bill, based on the same Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, the facts are that the bonds objection, according to my honest opinion. What is Alaska? were authorized by the United States Congress, but they were It is a Government-owned piece of land. I do not care \\hether issued by the: Pbilippin~ Government, wbJch is responsible for it is good farming land or not. The question is, Are aU of its the payment of the interest only, and there is a deficiency in resources, agricultural, mineral, and everything else combined, the operation now. worth developing? Will Alaska, with a railroad be worth the Mr. SIMS. But the United States Government is responsible? price of the railroad more than it is now? If so, where is the ·Mr. 1.\IOORE. Not directly responsible; only mor.aly. principle that denies us not only the powe1· but the wisdom of Mr. COX. We guaranteed the interest. the policy of building an elevator, as it were, into Alaska? I am Mr. MOORE. No; I beg the gentleman's pardon. The Philip-leaving all questions as to the productions and resources of pine Government is responsible for the interest. Alaska and what it will be worth to the United States to the Mr. SIMS. Does the Philippine Government own the rail-committee that have investigated it. .1\fy two good friends, Mr. road? FEBRIS and Mr. DAVENPORT, have each made speeches here. I Mr. MOORE. No; Congress authorized the Philippine Gov­did not bear all of the speech of Mr. DAVENPORT, but I did hear ernment to authorize contracts for the construction of railroads. all of his colleague's [Mr. FERRIS], and I never heard a better The railroads have been built under contrad, and the con­or abler speech in this House on any subject. [Applause.} I tractors or the rru1.roads have unde-rtaken to operate and pay give to him and all others the right to exercise their own judg- the interest on the bonds. ment as they may see fit, without any thought of impugning Mr. SIMS. Are the railroads owned by private corporations? anyone's motives; but my theory is that here is a piece of land 1\fr. MOORE. Th~y are owned by corporations and tbe bonds and it is not worth to tlle people- of this country, who own it, as are guaranteed to the -extent of the payment of interest by the

. much without a railroad as it will be with a railroad, and that Philippine Go.vernment.

2982 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

Mr. SUIS. And the Government of the United States as to all of them?

1\Ir. MOORE. The Government of the United States is not responsible, except morally. ·

l\Ir. GARRE'l'T of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, will the gentle-man yield?

Mr. SIMS. Yes. The gentleman is a member of the Com-mittee on Insular Affairs.

l\Ir. G ... illHETT of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman the situation with reference to the Philippine railroad is this: Congress passed an act authorizing the Philippine Government to enter into contracts for the construction of railways and to guar­antee-that is, the Philippine Government-4 per cent on the railroad bonds.

l\Ir. SIMS. Is the Go-vernment of the United States respon-sible for those bonds? .

1\fr. GARRETT of Tennessee. The Go-vernment of the United States is not responsible for those bonds. I would not concede that under any circumstances.

Mr. SIMS. But the Philippine Go-vernment is? That is what I wanted to know.

Mr. GARRETT of Tennessee. The Philippine Government is responsible. '

l\Ir. SIMS. For both bonds and interest? 1\Ir. GARRETT of Tennessee. Four per cent for 30 years. Mr: SIMS. I was not sure that I had the facts; but if the

Philippine Government had not done what it did and the United States Government had not done what it did there would have been no railroads built in the Philippines. I am only try­ing to point out that we should not fail to develop a territory we own because some men, forsooth, may say that it binds us or commits us to the policy of general Government ownership of railroads.

So far as my section of our country is concerned, and that is all I know much about, the majority of our people are opposed to the Government ownership of railroads. They have always been and they are still opposed to it, so far as I am informed.

Now, the mere favoring of these things, the mere advoca~y of Government ownership as a matter of theory and acadennc policy, will never bring it, and the passage of a thousa.Jfd bi~s like this will not bring it, and the defeat of a thousand hke this will not prevent it.

Mr. FERRIS. Will the gentleman yield right there? Mr. SIMS. Yes.

· Mr. FERRIS. Now if we build this railroad along the lines of this bill and issue the bonds and make the appropriation in Alaska what will you be heard to ::;ay when 300,000 Indians come ~s wards of the Government, and state that their lands are ~nderlain with coal and that a railroad will develop their resources? I ask you if this is not setting a precedent that will make it extremely hard for you or .::.t!lybody else to turn them away?

Mr. SIMS. I believe the gentleman is a member of the Com-mittee on Indian .Affairs?

1\Ir. FERRIS. Not now, but I have been. Mr. 'liiMS. I thought you were. I am sorry for the com­

mittee if you are not. When it comes from the committ;ee with a favorable report, with information from the Committee on Indian Affairs I will act with refer~nce to the merits of that single proposition without reference to t11e policy of the country upon any other measure that may follow it just as I am acting on this bill.

Defeat this bill and you will keep Alaska where it has been for many years. My friend from Tennessee [Mr. McKELLAR] has a bill to cut down the period of cold storage of food products. .Alaska's products have been in cold storage for thousands of years. Is it not time to open up and let the people of the country use them?

Mr. DAVENPORT. I want to suggest to the gentleman that Alaska's products ha-ve been in cold storage since the beginning of time.

:Mr. SIMS. This bill pro>ides facilities for making accessible hundreds of millions of dollars in value of products which have existed since the beginning of time.

l\Ir. MANN. I think they ha-ve been there long enough. Mr. SIMS. So do I think. Now, my friend from Texas [1\Ir. SLAYDEN] who has just taken

his seat talked about overadvertising. I went to Texas once and stopped in his good town. I had read the advertisements of southwest Texas, and I went all the way from Tennessee to San Antonio to see for myself . .And I want to say right now that, so far as I could see, it had not been overadvertised; it, in fact, had been underadvertised. It was beautiful beyond description. Birds of paradise were flitting through the air [laughter) and flowers were everywhere. It is a beautiful and glorious land.

About 5 or 6 o'clock in the afternoon I saw 15 or 20 young gentle­men and ladies passing out of the plaza on ponies at a swift gallop. Such personal liberty in the middle of a town I never saw be­fore, and I admired those who were exercising it. The only thing I saw that had been overadvertised was the San Pedro Springs, but perhaps I am wrong e-ven about that. They had been ad>ertised as beautiful springs, and they were beautiful. I was hot, tired, and thirsty, and in the old-fashioned way I lay down and drew up a mouthful of water. It went back im­mediately. It was hot. [Laughter.] It was not boiling water, but as I expected it would be cold from the way it looked, and from the way it had been advertised, it possibly appeared much warmer than it really was.

But that part of Texas had not been overadvertised, so far as description of its beauties was concerned.

I do not know whether Alaska has been overadvertised or not. I am leaving all that to the committee.

.As a number of gentlemen who haye taken part in this debate have expressed fears that the passage of this bill will commit Congress to the policy of 9-oYernment ownership of railroads in general, I think it will not be out of place to discuss for a short time some things that may result in forcing Go-vernment ownership of railroads in some form on the country, possibly before it is prepared to undertake so great and so tremendous a responsibility upon itself.

Mr. Chairman, I haYe always advocated the regulation of railroads and have always opposed Government ownership and operation. I have for years believed that one or the other must prevail. Either the Go-vernment must fully and effectively control the railroads, so as to give the whole country and every part of it the best possible service under private ownership, or it must own and operate them in the general public interest.

With the hope that regulation was feasible and possible, I have believed that with broad, general powers conferred upon the Interstate Commerce Commission, with the -very best and ablest men that the counh·y affords as members of that com­mission, that Government ownership might be rendered un­necessary. I ha-ve hoped that the owners and operators of our railroads would prefer private ownership with public regulation and supervision rather than public ownership. But I am not so hopeful of the cooperation of the railroads as I have been here· tofore. It seems that it is the policy of the railroads to treat every act of Congress looking to regulation and control as a criminal statute-to be obeyed only after every legal test of the validity of the law has been resorted to through all the courts of the country. The lower Federal courts seem to construe such acts of Congress with great strictness, so as to narrow the remedial features of all such legislation, often holding acts and parts of acts invalid, and thus making it necessary to have every douhtful point as to the validity of a statute passed on by the Supreme Court of the United States before even a grudging obedience is had on the part of the common carriers.

Since the acts of 1906 and 1910 were passed, increasing the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission, it has per­formed the greatest possible public service, and at this time there is no branch of the Government in which the people have greater and more implicit confidence than in the Interstate Commerce Commission. To this day that commission has never in all its years of useful service made one single order · affect­ing the rates and practices of the railroads that has been held confiscatory by any court, high or low. But notwithstanding this record of the commission, nearly e-very one of its impor­tant orders is attacked in the courts by the carriers and fought to the bitter end. 1\Ir. Chairman, if the common carriers would only cooperate with the commission and give aid and advice in the almost impossible task that the commission must perform, my hope for successful and satisfactory regulation and control of the railroads would be greatly strengthened; or if the inferior Federal courts would only give the acts of Con­gress a broad and liberal construction, so as to reach the end Congress endently intended to reach in its efforts at regulation and control, that would give additional grounds for hope of success with private ownership. .

Under present conditions, Mr. Chairman, it is no longer a question of how to bring about Government ownership of rail­roads, but the real, burning question for our present considera­tion is, What can we do to prevent it?

I do not believe there are a great number of our people who really desire that the Government shall assume the ownership and operation of the railroads of our country. They have been and will continue to be patient as long as there is n peg on which to hang a hope. The people are slow to anger, but when once aroused they never quit the fight until victory perches on their banner.

1914-c CONGRESSIONAL .-RECORD- HOUSE.-: 2983 The owners of railroads have many real difficulties to face

and overcome in which they need and will have .the considerate sympathy of every fair-minded man and woman in our country, and if they will only convince the people that they will in t~ future so conduct their business as to give the best possible service for the lowest possible charge Government ownership can be avoided; but the people are in no temper to submit to further exploitation schemes on the part of railroad owners and operators. A mere promise to be good will not be sufficient.

1\fr. Chairman, we have 48 States possessed with absolute sov­ereign power over the regulation and control .of railroad rates and practices as to all business of a purely intrastate character, although done by an interstate carrier. So far as I have been able to look up the decisions of the courts, there can be no question as to th'e correctness of this statement. So Congress is without power to in any way interfere with State regulation and control of all purely intrastate business. Each of the 48 States may have differing laws and regulations as to the field in which it has jurisdiction. So one interstate railroad may do some intrastate business in 20 or more States, in each of which it must comply with the laws and regulations of these States and State commissions, regardless of the cost and ex­penses incurred, so long as the State law is not void under the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

In addition to being subject to all the valid laws and regula­tions of the 48 States, or so many of same as the raih·oad in ,question may enter, all railroads doing an interstate business are subject to all valid laws of Congress and all valid rules and regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission as to all interstate business. The value of the interstate business of our railroads is many times greater than the intrastate business; but in fixing and adjusting rates and charges both sources of revenue must necessarily be considered. So, Mr. Chairman, even if the railroads cooperate with the Interstate Commerce Commission, and in all good faith attempt to live up to and abide by all valid State laws and regulations, rate making will remain a complex and difficult thing to do so as to give a fair, full, just, nondiscriminating service to all sections of the coun­try.

The recent case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States, commonly called the Shreveport case, involving an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission as to a dis­crimination alleged to have been made by interstate carriers against Shreveport, La., and in favor of Dallas and Houston, Tex., raises a very interesting question as to the conflicting powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the powers of the several States and State commissions, which, when finally decided by the Supreme Court, may have a very great effect on the exercise of the power of Congress through the Interstate Commerce Commission to successfully prevent rate discriminations by interstate carriers, as between localities, although brought about in obedience to the order of a State commission, made within its powers as conferred by the valid laws of n sovereign State as to intrastate commerce .

.Mr. Chairman, it will be interesting and enlightening to give a few extracts from the report of the majority of the commis­sion in that case, as also the position taken by the Texas com­mission, and the legal questions arising out of the complicated and opposing interests involved.

Commissioner Lane, speaking for a majority of the Inter­state Commerce Commission, in part says :

"This proceeding places in ·issue the right of interstate car­riers to discriminate in favor of State traffic and against inter­state traffic. The gravamen of the complaint is that the carriers defendant make rates out of Dallas and other Texas points into eastern Texas which are much lower than those which they ex­tend into Texas from Shreveport, La. A rate of 60 cents carries first-class traffic to the eastward from Dallas a distance of 160 miles, while the same rate of 60 cents will carry the same class of traffic but 55 miles into Texas from Shreveport.

" The railroad commission of Louisiana has brought this pro­ceeding under direction of the legislature of that State for two purposes: (1} To secure an adjustment of rates that will be just and reasonable from Shreveport into Texas, and (2) to end, if possible, the alleged unjust discrimination practiced by these interstate railroads in favor of Texas State traffic and against similar traffic between Louisiana and Texas.

" There appears to be little question as to the policy of the Texas commission. It is frankly one of protection to its own industries and communities. We find in the early reports of that commission, which are quoted at length in the record, evi­dences that the Texas commission believed that the interstate carriers operating from the· north and the east into Texas were pursuing a policy hostile to the development of that State. The

, .Texas commission was conscious that it was within the power

of these interstate carriers to so adjust rates as to make Texas entirely or largely dependent upon other States and thus re­strict the growth of her cities and fix the nature of her indus­tries, the employments of her people, and the character of her civilization so far as these depend on economic und industrial conditions. With this thought in mind the Texas commission sought to establish a Texas policy and to make the railroads within that State contribute in the manner believed by her own people to best subserve their own interests. Accordingly we find in the fifth annual report of that commission (p. 5) the following :

"'To Texas as u whole it is of the most vital concern that there should be within her limits at proper places jobbing and manufacturing establishments. Besides adding to the citizen­ship of the State a desirable population and furnishing employ­ment to persons already in our midst and enhancing the taxable values of the State, and, as a consequence, under wisely ad­ministered government, aiding in ultimately reducing the rate of taxation, and besides the home market they afford to the tiller of the soil and other producers, including manufacturers, for their products, if men, in Texas, having the capital to en­gage in a wholesale business or in a manufacturing enterprise., for the succe s of which natural conditions are favorable, they have as much right to invest their means in such business or enterprise as a man in illinois or Missouri has to embark in such business or enterprise in his State. Some of the Texas lines of railway, constituting parts of interstate systems o.f railway interested in long hauls, appear to be hostile to a policy, which would foster Texas jobbing and manufacturing interests, while other lines manifestly favor such a policy. Outside cities bring to bear every pressure they can to coerce all Texas lines into a course favorable to their interests and adverse to the in­terests of Texas cities with respect to jobbing and manufac­turing. * * * This commission has always had in mind the securing of relatively just State and interstate rates with a view of enabling Texas merchants and manufacturers to do business in competition with outsiders.'

" Passing, then, to the question of discrimination, has this commission the power to say that whatever rates an interstate carrier makes between points in Texas shall not be exceeded for the same distance under like conditions between Shreveport and Texas points? In other words, may a carrier engaged in interstate commerce discriminate against a city beyond the border of a State by imposing upon that city's traffic rates which deny its shippers access upon equal terms to the communities of an adjoining State?

"This is an appeal to the powers lodged in this commission under the third section of the act-that provision which is aimed at the destruction of undue preference and advantage. We thus meet directly the most delicate problem arising under our dual system of government. Congress asserts its exclusive dominion over interstate commerce; the State asserts its abso­lute control over State commerce. The State for its own pur­poses establishes rates designed to protect its own communities and promote the development of its own industries. These rates are adopted by the interstate carriers upon State traffic, but are not adopted upon interstate traffic. Thus arises a discrimination in favor of communities within the State, and interstate com­merce suffers a corresponding disadvantage. May this commis­sion end such discrimination by saying to the interstate carrier, 'You may not distinguish between State and interstate traffic transported under similar conditions; if the rates prescribed for you by State authority are not compensatory upon this specific traffic as to which discrimination is found, the burden rests upon you, irrespective of your obligation to the State, to so adjust your rates that justice will be done between com­munities regardless of the invisible State line which divides them '? Tb which we are compelled to answer that the effec­tive exercise of its power regarding interstate commerce makes necessary the assertion of the supreme authority of the Na­tional Government, and that the Congress has appropriately exercised this power in the provisions of the act to regulate commerce touching discrimination.

"Congress has prohibited carriers of interstate commerce from giving undue preference or advantage to one community over another. To say that this prohibition permits such car­riers to exclude a city within the State of Louisiana from doing business upon equal terms with the cities in Texas is to distort the plain meaning of the act and make the regulation of inter­state commerce farcically ineffective. To say that interstate carriers may so discriminate because of the orders qf a State commission is to -a.dmit that a State may limit and prescribe the flow of commerce between the States.

"And if one State may exercise its power of fixing rates so as to prefer its own communities all States may do so. There

2984 CONGRESSIONAL .RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,.

would thus arise a commercial condition more absurd and un­bearable than that which obtained prior to. the Constitution when each State sought to devise methods by which its com­merce could be localized.

"An interstate carrier must respect the Federal law, and it it is also subjected to State law it must respect that in so far as it can without doing violence to its obligations under the na­tional authority. Before us are carriers which undeniably dis­criminate directly against interstate traffic. To this charge they plead that all they have done was to obey the orders of a State commission, as against which they were helpless."

In opposition to the views set forth by Mr. Commissioner Lane, speaking for the majority of the commission, Mr. Com­missioner McChord says, in part :

"To say that interstate carriers might discriminate because of such order would be an equal admission that this commission might limit and prescribe the flow of commerce between points in a State. In response to the suggestion that the Federal com· merce power extended to all the affairs of a railroad if any part of its business was interstate, Mr. Chief Justice White, in Howard v. Illinois Central Railroad Co. (207 U. S., 463), said:

"'It assumes that because one engages in interstate com-merce, he thereby endows Congress with power not delegated to it by the Constitution; in other words, with the right to legislate concerning matters of purely State concern. * ·~ * It is apparent that if the contention were well founded, it would extend the power of Congress to every conceivable subject, how· ever inherently local; would obliterate all the limitations of power imposed by the Constitution, and would destroy the authority of the States as to all conceivable matters, which from the beginning ha\e been and must continue to be under their con­trol as long as the Constitution endures.'

"It has been repeatedly held by the Supreme Court that the power of the State over intrastate commerce is as full and com­plete as is the power of Congress over interstate commerce. In Sands v. Manistee River Improvement .co. (123 U. S., 288), the court, by l\Ir. Justice Field, said:

"'Internal commerce of a State-that is, the commerce which is wholly confined within its limits-is as much under its con­trol as foreign or interstate commerce is under the control of the General Government.' · "Of course, if in this instance we fix interstate rates by the Texas yardstick, we must fix other interstate rates by other State yardsticks, and may find oursel\es encumbered with some 48 different rate meters, which will doubtless create a condi­tion 'more absurd and unbearable' than that which the majority opines would arise if the States remain unmolested in the exercise of their legitimate powers. But aside from this chaos, the Supreme Court has said that the function which the majority would delegate to the State of Texas can not by a State be constitutionally exercised, because:

"'The fact which vitiates the provision is that it compels the carrier to regulate, adjust, or fix his interstate rates with some reference at least to his rates within the State. (L. & N. R. R. Co. v. Eubank, 184 U. S., 41.)'"

The carriers against which the order of the Interstate Com­merce Commission was _made, in reply to the position taken by the commission, say :

First. If the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Com­mission be conceded, the discrimination is not yoluntary or illegal.

Second. The transportation affected is wholly within the State of Texas; constitutes no part of an interstate transit, and under the provision to section 1 of the act to regulate commerce the Interstate Commerce Commission has no jm·isdiction to regulate the same. . 'l'hird. Has Congress the unlimited power to regulate intra­state commerce because conducted by interstate carriers, as asserted by the Interstate Commission?

Ur. Chairman, I have given the position of the majority and the minority of the commission and the position of the railroad companies affected by the order, in order to show that there is great conflict between · the very highest and most eminent au­thorities in our Nation on the questions involved in the Shreve­port case, as also the position of the railroads to be affected. After having heard both sides to the contention, so as to under­stand the nature of the inevitnble conflict between National and State authority in relation to- the attempt to regulate interstate and intrastate rates and charges of the railroads, I want to ask in all candor if there is a Member of this House that would in\est a dollar in a railroad to be cqnstructed .from some point in Arkansas, Louisiana, or Oklahomn, to and into the State of Texas, with·equal mileage in both States?

What one State can do as to intrastate commerce all States can equally do, and with unlimited power in the States to · reg?late all purely intrastate commerce and with unlimited · national power to regulate all interstate commerce never­~ndiug conflict and litigation must ensue. It will be' claimed m almost every case where an order of a State commission is made against an interstate carrier that the order has so intimate a connection with its functions as an interstate carrier as to ~aterially aff~ct its re\enues and to thus in effect regulate its mterstate busmess, and resort will be had by the carriers to the Federal courts, challenging the authority of the State to D?ake the .rnte or regulat~on in almost every case of any con­.siderable Importance. W1th the tendency of the inferior If'ed­eral courts to take jurisdiction of every question in which a Fed~ral element is alleged to arise, it will bE! practically im­possible to have ready acquiescence in and obedience to the ?rders of St~te cornmis ions touching orders affecting the mtrastate busrness of interstate carriers to any considerable extent.

l\Ir. Chairman, whether or not GoT'ernrnent ownership is to be forced upon this country depends almost entirely -upon the owners and op.erators of our railroads doing interstate business. If we are to .Jud.ge the future by the past, or even by current events, t~ere IS little on which to base a hope that Government ownership can be much longer deferred.

As further evidence of the trend of public sentiment as to the future control of transportation facilities, I now read a clipping from an eastern newspaper, as follows: "TOO MUCH WASTED 0::-i RAILROADS-1\'EW ENGLAND TIRED OF MIS)IA ...... ,\.GE·

ME::-fT, SAYS .ANDERSON.

. "Full protection for the investor in public-service corpora­tions, as well ~s the rate-paying public, and wide open puplicity as t.o the busmess of the public-service commi sion was the sentiment expressed by Public Sen·ice Commissioner George W. An~erso_n in his address yesterday afternoon before Boston Unrrers1ty Law School Association at the monthly diuner in the American House.

"In the matter of railroad regulation we don't deal with a small company, one locally controlled. The entire question is one with many ramifications, covering many other fields and rllll?ing into the so-called l\Ioney Trust. Our railroad oi:gani­zatiOns to-day are absolutely different in management anu per­sonnel than the locally owned gas companies were.

"It is not a question of what is going to happen to the New Haven or the Boston & Maine. It is a question of what two or three banking houses are going to do.

"Unless some intelligent cooperation between State commis­sions and the Interstate Commission can be worked out, it is only a matter of time when our entire transportation will be controlled from Washington and owned by the Federal GoYern­ment.

"New England, without natural resources except its seacoast and east wind, must depend on transportation for its develop­ment. If the gro s mismanagement continues in the future ns in the past, the inT'esting public, as much as the rate-paying public, will be affected.. The railroads will not be able to find another generation which will put up money to see it wasted as it has been in the past, by mismanagement. In the commo~ parlance of the street, ' suckers ' won't put up any more money in railroads in the next few years.''

Mr. Chairman, I am convinced that unless the priyate owners and operators of our railroads hastily retrace their stc11s, face about, and by undoing the wrongs they have done and in the future refrain from all like practices without asking a wronged and outraged public by way of increased freight charges to assume the losses broug_ht on themselves that the demand for Go\ernment ownership and operation of our interstate carriers will become irresistible long before we have sufficient time ~J properly consider and prepare for so great an undertaking.

Mr. Chairman, I think it may be well said of our railroad' owners and operators that none are so blind as thos~ who con but will not see.

In order to show just bow private ownership of tr~nsporta­tion lines has worked in this country when in the control and management of the most noted and strongest of our banking houses, I read from an article in Harper's Weekly, January 10, 1914, by ~!lr. Louis D. Brandeis, under the title of "A curse of bigness " :

u THE NEW HAVEN MONOPOLY.

"The rise of the New Haven monopoly presents another striking example of combination as a de\eloper of financial con­centration, and it illustrates also the use to which 'large se­curity issues ' are put. ·

1914.: CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD-HOUSE. '2985

· ''In 1892 when :Mr. Morgan entered the New Haven direc­torate, it ~as a very prosperous little railroad, with capital liabilities of $25,000,000, paying 10 per cent dividends, and oper­ating 508 miles of line. By 1899 the capitalization had grown to$ 0,477,600, but the aggregate mileage had also grown (mainly through merger or leases of other lines) to 2,017. Fourteen years later, in 1913, when l\lr. l\Iorgan died and 1\Ir. Mellen resigned, the mileage was 1,997, just 20 miles less than in 1899, but the capital liabilities had increased to $425,935,000. Of course the business of the railroad had grown largely in those 14 years; the roadbed was improved, bridges built, additional tracks added, and much equipment purchased; and for all this new capital issues were needed; and additional issues were needed also because the company paid out in dividends more than it earned. But of the capital increase oyer $200,000,000 was expended in the acquisition of the stock or other securities of some 121 other railroads, steamships, street-railway, electric­light, gas, and water companies. It was these outside prop­erties which made necessary the much-discussed ~67,000,000 6 per cent bond issue, as well as other large and expensive security issues, for in these 14 years the improvements on the railroad·, including new equipment, haye cost, on the average, only $10,000,000 a year.

u THE BANKERS.

"Few, if any, of those 121 companies which the New Haven acquired had, prior to their absorption by it, been financed by J.P. Morgan & Co. The needs of the Boston & Maine and Maine Central-the largest group-had, for generations, been met mainly through their own stockholders or. through Boston bank­ing houses. No investment banker bad been a member of the board of directors of either of those companies. The New York, Ontario & Western-the next largest of the acquired railroads­had been financed in New York, but by persons apparently en­tirely independent of the Morgan alliance. The smaller Con­necticut railroads, now combined in the Central New England, had been financed mainly in Connecticut or by independent New York bankers. The financing of the street railway companies bad been done. largely by individual financiers or by small and independent bankel'S in the States or cities where companies operate. Some of the steamship companies had been financed by their owners, some through independent bankers. As the result of the absorption of these 121 companies into the New Haven system, the financing of all these railroads, steamship companies, street railways, and other corporations were made tributary to J. P . .Morgan & Co., and the independent bankers were eliminated or became satellites. And this financial con­centration was proceeded wi.th, although practically eyery one of these 121 companies was acquired by the New Haven in vio­lation either of the State or Federal law, or of both. Enforce­ment of the Sherman Act will doubtless result in dissolving this unwieldy illegal combination.

".OTHER RAILROAD COllBINATIONS.

" The cases of the Union Pacific and of the New HaYen are typical, not exceptional. Our railroad history presents numer­ous instances of large security issues made wholly or mainly to effect combinations. Some of these combinations have been proper as a means of securing natural feeders or extensions of main lines. But far more of them baye been dictated by the desire to suppress actiYe or potential competition or by personal ambition or greed or by the mistaken belief that efficiency grows with size.

" Thus the monstrous combination of the Rock Island and the St. Louis & San Francisco with about 16,000 miles of line is recognized now to have been obviously inefficient. It was sev­ered voluntarily, but had it not been, must have crumbled soon from iriherent defects if not us a result of proceedings under the Sherman law. Both systems are suffering now from the effects of this unwise ~ombination; the Frisco, itself greatly overcom­bined, has paid the penalty in receivership. The Rock Island-a name once ·expressive of railroad efficiency and stability-has, through its excessiYe recapitalization and combinations, become a football of speculators and a source of great apprehension to confiding investors. The combination of the Cincinnati, Hamil­ton & Dayton and the Pere Marquette led to several receiver-ships. ·

"There are, of course, other combinations which have not been disastrous to the owners of the railroads. But the fact that a railroad combination has not been disastrous does not nec­essarily justify it. The evil of the concentration of power is obvious; and as combination necessarily involves such concen­tration of power, the burden of justifying a combination should be placed upon those who seek to effect it." ·

LI-189

Mr. Chairman, all the populistic and socialistic arguments that have eYer been made in favor of Government ownership and management of our railroads pale into utter. insignificance in weight and force when compared with the simple, unpainted, unexaggerated statement of the facts as to how some of our greatest systems of railroads have been built up and capitalized.

As an illustration of how one o.f the greatest railway systems of the country has been financed, I now read from the report of the Interstate Commerce Commission in the advanced rates in­vestigation in official classification territory, decided February, 1911:

"The New York Central & Hudson RiYer Railroad Co. came into e;xistence in 1869 by a consolidation of the New York Cen­tral Railroad Co. and the Hudson River Railroad Co. The evi­dence before us fairly shows that the capital stock of the New York Central Co. contained $9,000,000 which had been issued without the payment of any present consideration, and that the stock of the Hudson River Co. had been increased in like man­ner by something over $3,000,000. At the time of the consoli­dation the capital stock of the two companies was further in­creased without the payment of any present consideration by the amount of substantially $45,000,000, issued in proportions agreed upon to the stockholders of the new company. Since that date all issues of the capital stock of this company ha-ve been for cash at par or above par, but the capital stock contains $57,000,-000 par value for which nothing was ever paid.

" The dividends paid upon this capital stock for the last 40 years will probably average 6 per cent. During that time there has been actually paid in dividends to the holders of this $57,-000,000 of stock at least $120,000,000. Had the New York Cen­tral & Hudson River Co., instead of paying these amounts to its stockholders, invested them in its property, the funded debt of that company might have been reduced by $120,000,000, not hav­ing reference to interest. If account be taken of interest, the amount would be much larger.

"This company has, therefore, as a result of this transac­tion a capital stock $57,000,000 in excess of what it would be and either a funded debt or a capital stock at least $120,000,000 greater than would be the case if the original issues of stock bad neyer been made."

Here was an instance of where the stockholders of two rail­road companies, in consolidating their lines, issued stock to themselves in the enormous sum of $57,000,000 for which not one cent was e-ver paid in money, property, or services-pure water, and nothing more-upon which the freight and passenger paying public have since paid in dividends more than $120,000,000. mak­ing in all, since the date of the consolidation of these two roads in 1869, the appalling sum of more than $179,000,000 which has been added to the wealth of their owners without any legal, equitable, or moral consideration of any kind. At this hour this guilty corporation is pleading before the Interstate Commerce Commission to be permitted to increase its freight rates 5 per cent in order to continue to further reward the holders of this spurious stock issue by a continuance of an unjust and unholy dividend payment on same. Such an act would put to shame all the robber barons of the Middle Ages.

This is a sample of private ownership and management of the greatest railroad property in this country. .l\fany people ask, Could Government ownership and management be worse?

Mr. Chairman, in a statement made by Charles A. Prouty, of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the members of the public service commissions of .Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, bearing on the present condition of the Boston & l\1aine Railroad Co., dated Boston, November 24, 1913~ the following appears :

"The Boston & Maine has outstanding $27,000,000 of short­time paper, which it will carry for the current year at a charge of about 7! per cent, as compared with 5-! per cent for the pre­ceding year. Of this short-time paper, $20,000,000 was used to purchase stocks which the Boston & Maine now owns."

Is not this an astonishing revelation in view of the fact that this is one of the railroad companies asking an increase in freight rates on account of an increase in wages?

While making such a plea it is actually carrying a debt of $27,000,000 borrowed money at loan-shark cutthroat rates of interest, incurred in order to purchase the stocks of another rail­road company. All this unjust and usurious rate of interest must be paid by the consumers of the country. Is it any wonder that they are beginning to sit up and take notice and ask themselves, Can public ownership be any worse?

In another place in the same report the following statement appears:

"In our opinion, the salaries paid the chief executives and frequently the other chief officials of the principal railrc<td

2986 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD..:-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

systems of the United States, ranging as they do from $50,000 to $100,000 annually in case of the chief executive, are utterly extravagant. These positions are not properly private places, to which ·the corporations may attach any compensation which its stockholders ratify; they are quasi -public in their character, and the reasonableness of the amount paid may properly be inquired into, especially where the corporation is asking to im­pose an additional transportation tax."

Such compensation of railroad officials to be paid by the public in the nature of a tax upon transportation is nothing less than plain, undisguised robbery.

The justices of the Supreme Court of the United States re­ceive only $14,000 in salary annually. The President of the United States only $75,000. The members of the Interstate Commerce Commission, a body of great transportation experts, who have supervision and control of all the interstate railroad rates tn the whole country, receive only $10,000 per annum in salary.

Is it any surprise that the people who are taxed to pay these outrageous salaries are beginning to think that there is no justification for longer submitting to the banker-controlled and banker-financed roads under private ownership, when as Gov­ernment officials the same men would perform an the legitimate and necessary functions they now perform for perhaps less than one-fourth of what they now receive?

If Government ownership of our railroads ever comes in this country, it will be brought on by the demonsb:ated failure of private ownership to give to the people the service they are en­titled to and will have.

As I have just said, the passage of a thousand Alaskan rail~ road bills like the one now pending will not bring it ·on, and th.e defeat of a thousand such bills will not prevent it.

Mr. Chairman, there is no way to prevent Government owner­ship of all the railroads in this country except through the friendly, cordial, and active cooperation of all the railroads~ and all the State railfoad commissions, with the Interstate Commerce Commission, in a sincere and honest joint effort to give the whole people the best possible service for the lowest possible charge.

1\fr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to extend my remarks in the RECORD.

Mr. SAU~'DERS. Mr. Chairman, I would like to prefer a similar request.

The CHAIRl\fAN. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. SAUNDERS] also asks unanimous consent tO' extend his remarks in the RECORD. Is there objection?

There was no objection. Mr . .MADDEN. 1\Ir. Chairman, I would like to be able to

bring myself to believe that Alaska can become an agricultural possibility, for I would like to realize that continental America has clo e to its border such a vast area of land that could be turned into utilization.

But I have not been able to convince myself of such a possi­bility, and I regret it. We have had five agricultural experilnent stations in Alaska for a long time. One of these stations has recently been abandoned, and four of them still remain. They have been endeavoring to do agricultural experimental work. In the course of their efforts to do that they have expended $298,000, and they have been able to produce as the result of their labors products valued at the sum of only $22,000 in return for that expenditure.

Information obtained from the weather statiom1 shows that frost occurs in Alaska every month in the year, and it i · said by those who know more about it than I do that all of Alaska is frozen, so far as it can freeze, to the bedrock. How we can hope to develop agriculture in such a country is more than I can understand.

Wheat, as everybody will agree, never matures there. Those who attempt to raise it have to cut it when it is green and use it for fodder, and there is not very much fodder at that. They tell me-these experts who have been th~e on the part of the Government investigating the possibilities of Alaska-that if we hope to raise any agricultural products there the land must be fertilized every year and crops attempted to be raised only every other year.

There are only 163 home teaders there. This is the tota.l num­ber of people who have patented homesteads, although our home tead laws have been in force and are still in force. If agriculture i such an easy thing in Alaska1 I would like to under tand why it is that in all the years of our ownership of this vast Territory only 163 people have patented homesteads. It does not seem to have attracted the men and women who believe in agriculture, and this indictment of the Territory as nn agricultural region forces me to the concluSion that we ought not to expend the vast sum of 351000,000 in the construc­tion o~ a railroad there.

Mr. LAFFERTY • . :Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield for a question?

The CHAIRM.AJ.'T. Does the gentleman yield? Mr. MADDEN. I regret I have only 10 minutes. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman declines to yield. Mr. MADDEN. it. is said by those who know that the cost

of cleaTing an acre of land up . there amounts to from $125 to $150 per acre-nearly as much money as it would cost to bey the best acre of land in the State of illinois. Surely there can be no comparison between the opportunities for ngriculture in a country like Alaska and in a State like Illinois, whose every acre of land is richer than any acre of land in the Valley of the Nile or in any other place on the earth; and I invite the critical consideration of what agriculture can be developed In Alaska if it costs $125- or $150 per acre to clear the land before you begin your attempt at agriculture, and when the :fact 1 taken into consideration that after the land is cleared no crops can be raised the question may well be asked, " What is the land worth?"

Mr. MOORE. Mr·. Chairman, will the gentleman yield'! The CHAffiMAN. Does the gentleman yield? Mr. MADDEN. Surely. Mr. MOORE. Will the gentleman let me observe there that

of the 178,000,000 acres of farm lands along the Atlantic coast, oast of the Appalachian chain, in the territory of the Eastern S'tates, there is still left 78,000,000 ncres of land now?

1\fr~ 1\IADDEN. Yes; and there are 300,000,000 acres of public lands in continental America, owned by the Government of the United States, onto which any person may go for the asking.

One of the arguments for the appropriation of this $35,000,000 is that $18,000,000 of gold is produced In Alaska annually. Everybody knows that $18,000,000 of gold would not tm·nlslr any freight. Any ordinary box car, hauled in an ordinary freight train, would carry ali the gold that is produced in Alaska every year, so that that would not be much of an inducement for the investment of $35,000,000 in the construction of a rail­road, would it? It does not appeal to me, at any rate.

All of the freight in and out of Alaska last year amounted to less than 35,000 tons, and most of this was by boat. It will be readily seen that 35,000 tons of freight would amount to not more than 10 ordinary trainloads.

The principal industries of Alaska at present are fish and :tors. It is not necessary to build a railroad to carry the furs. They do not furnish any tonnage. The fish are all produced from the sea and surely a railroad is not necessary to transport them. Wha:t inducement there can be for the construction of a railroad at Government expense or for granting authority to the Presi­dent to buy the railroads already there is more than I can see. The for business will not be disturbed because of lack of rail transportation. There will be no less furs than now. The fisheries industry will not be in anywise curtailed. It will move forward with the same degree of activity as at present, railroad or no railroad. Then what is the inducement for the expenditure of this vast sum of money? Why are we jumping hea.dlong into such extravagance?

I am opposed to Government ownership of railroads, but whether I were opposed to that or not I would be opposed to the expenditure of this vast sum of money under the circumstances.

The Bertng coal fields are only 25 m.iles from the coast line, and all the arguments thus far made give as an excuse for the expenditure of this $35,000,000 the development of the Bering coal fields.

If one million dollars will do the job, why spend thirty-five? But can the proposed railroad be constructed for $35,000,000? I am persuaded not. Nobody knows what the cost will be. Everyone knows for certain that Government undertakings are conclnded at a much larger outlay, as a rule, than the original estimate, and it Will not surprise me to learn, if I shall be so for­tunate as to see the consummation of this project, that $100,000,-000 has been taken from the Public Treasury for this purpose.

By all means common sense should be used, and the common sense of this situation is that if a railroad is to be constructed at all to build the road from the coast line to the Bering coal fields. If the experiment of operating such a line should prove to be successful and the Bering River coal proves to be of anything like the value suggested by other speakers, and if it turns out later that the development of the 1\Iatanuska coal fields is necessary, the road can be extended; but to authorize u. road now Without any wen-defined plan as to where it shall go, or what it will do or where the tonnage to maintain it is to come from, is a ut~pian dream which ought ~ot to be indulged in by the Congress at the expense of the Amencan people.

Many men on the floo1· of tl1e Hou e are prompted to vote for the pending bill becnu c they believe the ndministr~on wants it; not because they beli eye in it; not because they thmk

1914. OONGRESSION AL RECORD-HOUSE. 2987 it wise; not because they think the expenditure will yield re­turns or develop Alaska; but because of their desire to please the powers that be; in other words, because they believe it to be politically expedient.

Politics should not enter into the expenditure o..: such a vast sum of money. This is a business proposition. It ought to be treated as such. The same sagacity should be exercised that a wise business man would exercise in laying the foundation for a successful enterprise.

I hope this wilt be a success if the plan is carried into exe­cution, but I have my doubts. My doubts are justified by all the facts, and I shall be obliged, in the performance of what I believe to be my conscientious duty, to vote against the bill in its present form.

There are only 35,000 white people in Alaska. In response to a question asked by me of Mr. WrcKERSHAU, the Delegate from Alaska, as to what proportion of that population would be served by the construction of all the railroad mileage author­ized by this bill. he said he thought about one-half. But I have information which leads me to conclude that not more than 10 per cent of the 35,000 people there would be served by the con­struction of the seven hundred and thirty odd miles of railroad proposed by this bil1.

Now, if nobody is to be accommodated by the construction of the railroad, why build it? But it is said w:.: have coal fields in Alaska. It is true we have. But the coal fields, as I have said before, that have been exploited or partially developed, from which the coal has been tested, are close to the sea, not more than 25 miles away from the shore. These coal fields need no railroad for their development, or if they do, they can not possibly need more than 25 miles of railroad, and I would be willing to build 25 miles of railroad if perchance these coal fields could be developed for the advantage of the American people.

But why spend $35,000,000 in building seven hundred and odd miles of railroad from nowhere to nowaere if 25 miles of road at the outside, at the expense of a million dollars, will do the thing that the advocates of this bill claim they want to do? No wise business man would do what they are undertaking to do. It is putting the cart before the horse.

The Navy says that they have tested this coal, and I am told upon reliable authority that the coal which was tested was taken from a depth of 100 feet from the surface. The tests show that the coal has only 43 per cent of the value of Pocahontas coal and is unfit for naval use, and the information that I have in my possession leads me to conclude that Poca­hontas coal -is the class of coal that must be used for the Navy. But the Navy says that we are building our ships for the pur­pose of using oil as fuel in the future; and if we are, we need no coal.

There· are nine railroads in Alaska now, all bankrupt. I have heard it stated dn the floor of this House that the men who own these railroads are crooks.

The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Illinois has expired.

1\Ir. l\:1ADDEN. I wonder whether this bill is being pressed for the purpose of buying out what they have? If it is, it ought to be defeated. If they are crooks, they ought to be prosecuted by the Government of the United States instead of the Government of the United States, through the Congress, enacting laws to relieve them from the losses which they have made by the construction of those bankrupt railroads.

The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Illinois has expired.

Mr. TOWNER. Mr. Chairman, I congratulate the committee on reporting this bill. Against an almost instinctive prejudice, against an organized and powerful opposition, to have done so exhibited courage and a fine example of devotion to convictions of duty, rather than an easy yielding to pressure and a compla­cent acquiescence in existing conditions. [Applause.]

While I approve the general purpose of the bill, I do not agree that all its 1-'t'ovisions should be retained, and I shaH endeavor to convince the committee and the House that some modifica­tions of its terms should be made.

Preliminary to the consideration of the changes which I shall propose, I will briefly refer to some of the objections urged against the bill, none of which, in my judgment, are sufficient to justify its defeat, if it shall be properly amended.

OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED.

First. It is urged as an objection to the bill that building a rail­road will not solve the problems of Alaskan development; that what is needed is either a reversal of the Executive orders that have tied up her resources, or a revision of the laws affecting them, so that they may be opened to private capital and enter­prise.

I am in entire agreement with the statement of 1\fr. Secre­tary Lane that-

There is but one way to make any country a real part of the world­by the construction of railroads into it. That has been the heart of England·s policy in Africa, of Russia's policy in western Asia, and is the prompting hope of the new movement in China.

It may be added that this is the policy by which Canada has built up with such marvelous celerity the Canadian Northwest. It is not a new policy. Rome bound the Provinces to the Im­perial Government by her great system of highways. It can hardly be said that a Territory is annexed that is not made accessible.

The testimony is overwhelming that there can be no de-velop­ment of Alaskan resources without the aid of railways. This is admitted by both the friends and foes of the bill. ..... The latter seem to believe that the necessary railroads can be secured by opening the resources of Alaska to private exploitation. That is only partially true. If the coal fields were opened to private interests, railroads would unquestionably be built to them; but it is generally believed that the price to be paid by the adop­tion of this plan would be altogether too much. It is now ap­parent that the American people will not permit exploitation through private ownership. The Government has the title and will hold it. A leasing or royalty system is the only possible manner in which Alaskan coal resources can be made available. That being true, the interest which the Government must have in coal transportation is much more intimate. If ownership or leasing in commanding proportion to individual interests is to be prevented, then the primary incentive to private railway building is removed. Granted that neither private ownership nor monopolistic control will be permitted, it follows that no railroads will be built by private interests even to the coal fields.

On the other hand, it must be apparent that if the Govern­ment builds railroads to the coal fields, it must open them to the people, not to be exploited by large corporations, but to smaller, competitive companies, with equal privileges and a fair field. That this is the better -course would seem almost self­evident.

But even if it should be admitted that private enterprise might build railroads to the coal fields, that would still leave the problem unsolved of how to bring railroads into the inte­rior. The best coal fields are near the coast. Mountain ranges separate the great interior valleys from the open sea. Any de­velopment of the great interior, with its thousands of miles of river transportation and its millions of acres with undeveloped agricultural and mineral resources, is dependent on railways to the sea.

The report of the United States Geological Survey for J anu­ary, 1914, says:

While the coastal region is developing at a rate which bids fair to overshadow all mining operations in the interior, no marked progress can be expected in the inland re~on until a transportation system is provided. "' "' "' Therefore, railway construction is of first impor­tance to Alaska.

It is evident, from a careful examination of the evidence before both the House and Senate committees, that there nevel' has been any real good-faith expectation or endeavor on the part of private enterprise to build a railroad to the interior. Promises have been made as an inducement to promote special interests and particular projects, but, these purposes secured, extensions to the interior would have been abandoned. I am satisfied that the Government is not only justified but is re­quired by its obligations and its duty to secure at least one railroad from the coast to the interior. If it can not induce such enterprise, if it can not subsidize it, it should itself build and control it. -

Second. It is urged that it is unfair to grant $35,000,000 to 35,000 white people in Alaska when our own people need the money so much.

This objection is based upon a misconception-all too gen­erally indulged-that an appropriation is a specia~ favor, a gratuity to be handed around. Certainly argument is not needed against such a theory. If there were no people in Alaska, conditions might well justify building a railroad there. And if there were 10,000,000 instead of 35,000 people, the Gov­ernment should not build a foot of railroad unless conditions justified it. If we are wise and regardful of our obligations. we will not attempt to distribute gratuities or equalize special privileges.

But Alaska, from eyen the most materialistic and selfisb standpoint, is entitled to our respectful consideration.

It may be of interest to know what was thought regarding the wisdom of our course iu. spending $7,200,000 for the purchase of Alaska in 1868. It is probable the motives which induced action were political rather than economic. There was scant

2988 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

knowledge of the territory, and its acquisition occasioned sur­prise rather than approval. There was a minority report of the committee, a majority ' of which reported the bill for acquisi­tion. This minority report declared that Alaska had " no capacity as an agricultural country; that, so far as known, it has no value as a mineral country,.; that "its fur trade is of insignificant value" ; that "the fisheries are of doubtful value ~·; that "the right to govern a nation or nations of savages in a climate unfit for the habitation of civilized men was not worthy of purchase."

But merely as an investment the purchase is amply justified. Alaska cost us $7,200,000. It has already returned to us in revenue paid into the United States Treasury $~7,117,000.

The minority report objecting to its acquisition declareJ Alaska had no value as a mineral country. Since then we have taken from it in mineral products $206,813,000.

Its fur trade was reported as of "insignificant value." It has produced over $62,681,000 in furs.

" The fisheries are of doubtful value." We have derived already from the Alaska fisheries $147.953,000.

Altogether the 1,-nown value of these products exceeds $429,-523.000.

It has been estimated that Alaska has more coal than Penn­sylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio · combined ; more copper than Michigan and Arizona ; more gold than California and Colorado ; and more fish than all the other .American waters combined. For her population Alaska produces far more than any State in the Nation.

Regarding the amount of appropriation asked for I shall be able to convince the committee, I hope, that the amount carried in the bill may be greatly reduced-almost cut in two. · But gentlemen should remember that only $1,000,000 is actu­ally appropriated under the terms of this bill. The remainder to be expended will be derived from the sale of bonds for the payment of which a redemption fund is provided. Into this fund shall be paid one-half of the proceeds derived from the sale, or from rentals and royalties of all public, coal, or mineral lands in Alaska, as well as proceeds from the- sale of timber lands. The net earnings of the railroad shall also be paid into the fund to pay the interest and principal of the construc­tion bonds. It is my judgment the Government will never be called upon to make an appropriation to pay these bonds. In order to increase tlle probab-ilities of such desirable result, ::r shall introduce an amendment to make- the payments 90 per cent instead of 50 per cent, which I hope will commend itself to the committee.

Third. It is urged that if the- building of railroads in Alaska will not pay as a private investment it will not pay as a Govern­ment project.

The statement sounds logical and seems reasonable. But a careful conside-ration of existing conditions will show thnt it is neither. It is. quite evident that no railroads, merely as such, will be built in Alaska. If the- Government will surrender the coal fields to investors and exploiters, undoubtedly they will build railroads from these fields to coast harbors and markets. But no private corporation without gpectal privileges granted will build to the interior. No projector has in. mind the build­ing of a railroad to develop the country, to bring in settlers, to stimulate agriculture, to encourage stock raising.

If private corporations were ~ranted the coal fields, they would immediately and gladly build railroads to develop them. If private individuals were able to secure title to the lands they would be only too willing to build railroads to make them avail­able and salaole. That which would be good policy on the part of private interests. if they owned these resources, can not be bad policy on the part of the Government which does own them.

But the Government has a much greater and higher in­terest in Alaskan development than mere profit on an invest­ment. It is a nation builder. It is not limited to an inquiry as to how much per acre it can sell its land, or how much per bushel it can obtain as rental or royalty for its coat It realizes that it holds these- resources in trmtt for its people; ,primarily for those of its citizens who shall locate in the particular Territory, and secondarily for the people of the Nation, who must protect it and develop it as a part of the Nation's domain. Whatever shall further these larger interests is justified and a duty.

Fourth. It is strongly and repeatedly urged that to construct a railroad in Alaska commits the Government to the policy of Government ownership and operation. of railroads everywhere within our territory.

This is an old and oft-repeated obj:ection to Government action, as absurd as it is popular. Government action should! always be governed by the requirements of the oceasion which necessitates such action. The Governm-ent_ must act wit:hiD its t j J t..- J ~ ! •

constitutional limitations, and those are its only restraints. It can act in one case and refuse to act in another. It may determine arbitrarily just how far it will go in any line of action. It has no master and submits to no control except that which is self-imposed.

It certainly does not follow that because the United States owns and operates a railroad in Panama that such action means a departure from our established policy, and that the Govern­ment means to buy and operate all the railroads. It by no means follows that because the Government in the Canal Zone built churches and furnished preachers, gave dances and or­ganized clubs, built schoolhouses and hired teachers, ran hotels, barber shops, and ice-cream parlors, it thereby has adopted a socialistic policy and expects to do the same all over the land.

The Government has aided some railroads, but it has not aided all. The Government has aided railroads in cases where existing conditions warranted such action. It has refused to aid railroads where aid was not warranted. It may and will build or purchase or operate railroads where conditions war­rant or require such action, and it will refuse to do so when such action is not warranted. Having the undoubted con­stitutional right, we ought to determine each proposition as it arises on its merits and act accordingly.

I have no fear that by building a railroad in Alaska we will thereby commit ourselves to a general policy of Government ownership of railroads. There will doubtless be in the future fustances where the Government will be called upon to con­sider whether it is advantageous or necessary to ouild or pur­chase a railroad. Whenever such individual instance shall arise we shall be free as we are now to judge and pass upon it on its merits and for the best interests of the Nation.

Fifth. It is urged: that Alaska. is a }}leak and barren region where agriculture and stock raising is impossible and is not worth. developing~

With infinite delight -gentlemen have selected ali the deroga­tory statements that could be found concerning Alaska, and have asked us to accept such statements, as faithfully descrip­tive of that portion of our country.

Alaska has an area of over 590 000 square miles. It is an empire in dimensions. Over 100,000 square miles-an area nearly as large as Iowa and illinois combined-is subject to cultivation. Thirty thousand square miles, or nearly 20,000,000 acres, can be made available for tillage. All Government ex­perts, and there have been many, unite in placing the agricul­tural resources of Alaska and the possibilities of their develop­ment at a very high standard.

1 George H . Eldridge, of the Geological Survey, says of the Susitna Valley-one only of the mnny susceptible of ngricul­tural development, in itself a region 150 miles long by 125 miles wide:

It gives promise of an agricultural value little short, it is believed, of many of the most prosperous regions of the United States. • • * The soils o.f the valley are rich in loam and decayed vegetation, extend­ing to depths of from 4 to 10 feet.

Prof. Georg.eson, in charge of the agricultural experiment sta­tions in Alaska, after years of experiment and experience, says :

That Alaska has agricultural possibilities of a sufficientll high order to make it self-sui?porting is no longer open to dispute. • * ~t these various stations all the hardy vegetables have been grown suc­cessfully every year. * * * We have never failed to mature barley and oats in. the most unfavorable seasons, and in normal years we have also matured winter wheat and winter rye, spring wheat, spring rye, and buckwheat. • * • Moreover these resul ts can be bett ered. • • * We shall in the near future, by selection and breeding, be able to develop vari.etles which shall be better suited to Alaska than anything we now have, and it is therefore certain that the results will be. improved upon.

As against the violent denunciations we have heard may be set the calm and deliberate conclusions of Mr. Secretary Lane, which he gives as the result of the most careful and painstak­ing investigation:

I am convirrced tha:t we should think of Alaska as a land not only of· mines- and fisheries., but of towns, farms, mills, and factories, sup­porting millions. of people of the hardiest and most wholesome of the race.

That is a statement made from high authority both from an official and political standpoint.

But I shall quote a still higher authority. President Wilson, in. his annual message delivered to this Bouse last December, in the strongest terms recommended action such as is contem· plated in this bill. He- said:

A.N ADMINISTRATION POLICY. A. duty faces us with regard to Alaska which seems to me vm·y press­

ing and very imperative; perhaps I should say a double duty, for it concern.s. both the political and the material development of the Terri­tory. The people- oi Alaska should be given the full Territorial form of. government. and Alaska. as. a storehouse, should be unlocked. One key to it is a: system of railroads. These the Government should itse~ build and administer, and the ports and terminals it should itself con-

1914-~ ·coNGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE~ 2989 trol in the interest of :ill who wish to use them fO"r the service and de­velopment of the country and its people.

In tlle repeated assaults made by Democrats against this d>e­termined and declared policy of the administration it is said that no action if:! necessary, The President says that not only is such action a duty, but that it is a duty which is "very press­ing and very imperativ·e." These gentlemen declare that the storehouse of Alaskan resources is empty, but that, if it con­tains anything, the way is open and anybody can help them­selves. The President says the storehouse is locked and that one of the keys is a system of railroads. The opponents of this bill say that under no circumstances should th~ Government engage in railway building in Alaska. The President sayE- the Government should not only build, but should " administer," and that the Government should control the ports and terminals.

It will be found, I believe, that almost anyone coming with­out bias to an examination of existing conditions in Alaska will reach the conclusion that the Government is not only justifi~d but required to take some action such as is contemplated by this bill. ·

We, the people of tlle United States, own in Alaska a vast undeveloped, unimproved estate. 1\fore than on~-ha1f of the unsold public domain lies the-re. We should make it available. We should take steps to place these lands on the market and under cultivation. We should make it possible to develop its resour.ces-to dig the coal, to mine the gold and copper, to en­large our fisheries, to increase our revenues and strengthen our outposts. And the question has a humanitarian side as welL We would thus legislate to IlYlke homes for a great people; we would provide an extension of the fields of enterprise and op­portunity; we would enlarge the scope of human endeavor. Every such enlargement brings hope and the promise of happi­ness to American citizenship, :md a glow of exultation that these blessings are to be found under our tlag, and that our ambitious and energetic youth will not be required to expatriate them­selves, and seek fields of enterprise in foreign lands.

SOME DESIRABLE CHANGES,

But while I am in _favor of the legislation and desire to see action taken which will secure the results desired, I do not ap­prove of the bill reported by the committee in its present form. With some changes which will both improve the bill and reduce the appropriation I belie-ve it should pass.

In the fi-rst place, the bill does not carry out the first of its declared objects, which is u to connect the intelior with the open sea." ·

'Ihe bill is based on the report and recommendations of the Alaska Railroad Commission. The commission recommends building two systems with a total mileage of 733 miles and a total cost estimated at $35,611,000. One of these systems has two l1ranches which do not connect with each other-one extend­ing from Chitina to Fairbanks, a distance of 313 miles, known as the Copper River line, the estimated cost of which is $13,971,.000; the other, a branch line, leaving th~ main line of the prese-nt Copper River & Northwestern Railway at a point 38 miles north of its southern terminus, Cordova, and extend­ing eastward via Lake Charlotte to the Bering coal fields, a distance of 38 miles, the estimated cost of which is $2,054,000.

It will be noted that Chitina is the present northern terminus of the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, known in this discussion as the Guggenheim line. Chitina is 132 miles "from Cordova on the coast, and the proposed line from Fairbanks to Chitina will not extend from the interior to the coast, as is desired and proposed, but will leave the Government railway hung up at a mountain village 132 miles from a seaport. Ship­ments can not be made from the seaboard to the interior nor from the interior to an open port without accepting the rates, terms, and service of the Guggenheim line for 132 miles. The only alternative to this will be the purchase of the Guggenheim line, with their terminals, by the Government, which would involve an additional cost of $20,000,000.

It should be further noted that the Bering coal branch does not reach a market, but is to be built from the coal fields to the Guggenheim line, 38 miles from Cordova. Neither the Gov­ernment nor private parties who may develop the Bering coal fields can under this arrangement inarket their coal without accepting the terms and accommodations of the Guggenheim line for 38 miles.

To build these proposed patches and parts of lines, dependent for their efficacy on the good offices or the purchase or con­demnation of the Guggenheim line, is, in my judgment, an utterly impracticable and indefensible proposal.

The other proposed system consists of three divisions--one extending from Kern Creek to the Susitna ValleyJ a distance of 115 miles, the estimated cost of which is $5,209,500; another, :the Matanuska coal brru:teh, extending ft'Om the main line to

the coal fields, a distance of 38 miles, the estimated cost of which is $1,616,000; the third extending from the Susitna Valley to the Kuskokwim, a distance of 229 miles, the estimated cost of which is $12,760,500.

Kern Creek is the northern terminus of the Alaska N01~thern Railros.d and is 72 miles from Seward, its southern seaport ter­minus. So that this system, like the other, is hung up in the interior and must either depend on the good graces of the Alaska Northern Railway Co. or purchase the line, which its owners say cost $5,000,000. The Kuskokwim extension at this time is ab­surd. The valley of the Kuskokwim has hardly been touched by sett1ement. It is estimated that there are barely 500 people in the valley, except the gold miners. There has never been any general demand or expectation of a railroad there, and the prop­osition to expend nearly $13,000,000 now on a railroad extension into this region ought not to be sariously considered. Th~ committee -report says : The commission has recommended the construction ot two branch

lines to reach coal fields that do not lie directly on·t:he trunk lines, and these are needed at once, in order to connect the main lines with the coal fields.

It is here assumed that this means tbe trunk lines which the Government will build or acquire. Yet the branch from the Matanuska coal fields would have to connect with a railroad now owned and controlled by a private corporation, with which the Government would have to make traffic arrangements over 72 miles o:f its line or purchase the line, and no such purchase is contemplated in the bill, nor will the amotmt appropriated include such purchase.

The branch from the Bering coal fields would connect not with the Government line, but with the Guggenheim line, with whom the Government would have to go into partnership or purchase the-ir line. This would doubtless please the Guggenheims, but, unfortunately, we would have no means, under the provisions of this bill, even to do that.

But the committee says in its report the bill does not bind the President to these plans. He may use- his discretion. He may build one or more lines, as he shall determine, provided he shall carry out the general plan. The committee would not even bind the President as to the number of lines or systems. He may build a "line or lines." The report says:

One may be sufficient, and one would be of incalculable benefit, and we are entirely CQnten.t to leave this matter to the wisdom and judgment of the President.

But why the President? We ought to legislate, and not the President. We are to determine, and nt>t the President. We are guilty of an abandonment of our obligations to say to him, "We believe they need railroads in Alaska, but we do not know how many they should have or where they should be located." How shall the President knew better than we? How ridiculous it makes us appear to confess that we do not know enough to determine and to say to the President, "Now you guess."

We did not so act in building the Panama Canal. Suppose we should have said to the Preffident, "We can not determine between Panama, Nicaragua, or Tehuantepec; you decide for us."

Gentlemen who modestly profess their lack of knowledge of which route should be chosen should understand that if their lack of knowledge extends to a want of ability to determine between lines, it would of necessity be such as to prevent their determination upon any line. How shall it be possible for us to determine the necessity of any, if we can not determine be­tween one or many or the location of even one?

When we authorize a river or harbor improvement or author~ ize a bridge or build a building, we determine where it should be located. We do not "lea-ve the matter to the wisdom and judgment ot the President." We also do not shirk our duty and throw the responsibility on the .President. If we shall senu this bill to him in its present form, he would be entirely justi­fied in believing that we deffired to have him carry out the recommendation of the commission, as that is the basis on which the bill is formed. And yet, not one, even, of the com­mittee desires that to be done. How silly it would make us appear to vote this large sum of the people's money to build

. roads that begin nowhere, that run nowhere, and that end no­where.

And yet, we know what we want and what is needed. The objects of the bill are clearly and well stated. We are not ignorant of the facts, nor of the needs to be supplied, nor of the means to supply them. We have a wealth of material upon which to form a judgment. Our commission, an able and im­partial one, has gone there and reported. Are we to have an .. other? If so, let us provide for one and have its report before we act. We have had numerous official reports and extensive hearings. When the President is called upon to act, he can have no better means of arriving at a conclusion than we have. H-e can not act on his own knowledge; he must be advised. "Who

p ·~ I 'f

2990 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5; can we trust to advise him better than ourselves, upon whom rest the responsibility of legis! a tion?

All this is entirely unnecessary. We can, by providing one line, accompli sh all the purposes desired and specified in the bill. A few things are well -established and will furnish an unfailing guide to our action. We should abandon the Cordova­Chitina-Fairbanks-Bering project entirely. First, because it would be consummate folly to build Government railroads or parts of railroads which must be dependent on the good will, administration, or possible action of a private corporation. We can under no circumstances justify a partnership or traffic ar­rangement or any possible connection with the Guggenheims. That eliminates the proposed line from Chitina to Fairbanks and the branch to the Bering fiel<ls entirely.

At this time we should build one system, not two. We can by building one system carry out the declared purpose of this bill and greatly reduce the cost. We can connect an open Pacific harbor on the southern coast with the navigable waters in the interior of Alaska. We can reach coal fields, both for naval use and for fuel for the interior. We can reach the best agri­cultural and mineral regions in Alaska. We can thus aid in the development of its resources. This line will have for its northern terminus Fairbanks and the Tanana Valley, thus reaching the great interior river system of Alaska. There the resources of the great Yukon and its subsidiary tributaries can be transshipped to the sea coast and to the world's markets, and their machinery and supplies can be transported over a line which shall be Government owned and Government controlled.

The southern terminus should be Seward, on Resurrection Bay, or Portage Bay, or both. Resurrection Bay is without

·doubt the best harbor on the Alaskan coast and one of the best harbors in the world. It is spacious, its waters are deep enough t.o float our largest battleships, it is landlocked, and ice-free the year round. '.ro reach Seward on Resurrection Bay would necessitate the purchase of the Alaska Northern Railroad. The advantages which would accrue would well warrant that, and the coRt would not be excessive.

This purchase may be avoided and 63 miles of railway saved by making the southern terminus Portage Bay, which opens into Prince Williams Sound, and is, while smaller, a deep, land­locked, and ice-free harbor.

A branch from the main line, 38 miles in length, would reach the l\fatanuska coal fields, which are admittedly the largest and best in Alaska.

The main line would also pass through the Nenana coal fields, the largest a·nd best inte1ior supply in Alaska.

The total length of the line from Portage Bay to Fairbanks, with the Matanuska extension, would be 441 miles, and its probable cost $17,640,000. To Seward the line would be 493 miles long, and the cost about $20,000,000. It is thought by Government experts that the line could include both terminals for the latter amount.

This will make a complete system, entirely independent of any connection with private interests. It will reduce the cost nearly one-half. It will accomplish all we ought at this time to do. It will reach the desired termini by the best route. The Tenana and Susitna Valleys are the best and most promising agricultural regions in Alaska. If they can not be developed, none can. This line will reach the best and largest coal field for naval use and coastal traffic, the Matanuska. It will reach and pierce the Nenana coal fields, which embrace a territory of 165 square miles, or over 100,000 acres; the coal in which the Geological Survey estimates at 10,000,000,000 tons, an inex­haustible supply for fuel for interior Alaska. It will furnish a means of transportation for machinery and supplies to the interior, and for ores and furs and other products from the interior to the coast and a market.

All these desirable and necessary advantages can be secured by building this one line. No other proposed line can secure them. Why, then, should we hesitate? Let us, if we have courage enough to act at all, have courage to act definitely, and as our best judgment dictates. [Applause.]

:Mr. LONERGAN. 1\fr. Chairman, the question before us is not the Goyernment ownership of railways, nor is it altogether a question of the advisability of Government construction of railways in Alaska. It is a question as to how the resources of that treasure land shall be developed. Of course, the resources of Alaska must pay for their own development. The question is, Shall the people of the United States, who own the natural resources of Alaska, give a big portion of those res~urces to private capital for their development or shall we develop those resources ourselves and mortgage them, as it were, to pay for the facilities for their development?

The argument as to whether railway construction in Alaska will ,be profitable all merges in the admission that such railways

will be built by private capital if the Government will give a· land grant similar to that given to the Northern Pacific. We are told that private capital will gladly build a railroad from the Pacific coast of Alaska to the interior waterways if given one-half of the land for a distance of 40 miles on each side of the road. Now, if it be profitable for a private corporation to build the railways for one-half of the land in a 40-mile strip, why is it not a good business proposition for the Government to build a railway, as proposed, when it owns practically alJ of the land, not only for 40 miles along the proposed route but throughout all of Alaska?

This argument justifies railway construction in Alaska by the Government independent of the question as to whether such railroad . will be profitable immediately or for many years to come. The road will be a profitable investment if it develops the land and makes available the resources of the Territory. Railroads are necessary for that purpose. It is perhaps true that 10,000 miles of railway will be necessary for the ultimate development of the Tenitory of Alaska, but it does not follow tlmt the Government must build all of it. Our Government bas assisted in building 5,500 miles of the Union Pacific, Central Pacific, and Northern Pacific in a region where there are now 55,000 miles of railway, all the rest of which was built without any assistance of the Government whatever. The same will be true in Alaska. Within five years after a Government railway is built to the Tanana River it is said there will be UO,OOO people in the Tanana Valley. That will justify priYate capital in building railways along other routes, into the interior of Alaska, in the same way as railways were built in the region between the Great Lakes and Puget Sound, where four transcontinental railways were operating within 25 years after the first one was built, and only that first one, the Northern Pacific, received Government aid. So it will be in Alaska. I repeat, it is not a question of Government ownership of railways, not even in Alaska. It is a question of how best to provide facilities to develop the resources of that Territory. It is a question of whether we shall surrender a large portion of those resources to secure such railways, as was done in the Western States, or whether we shall build the railways ourselves to facilitnte de­velopment. Then, when such railways are built and the develop­ment of the interior of Alaska assured, we can settle the Goyern­ment railway question there on the same basis as in the States. I contend it will be immensely profitable for the Government to build the railways in Alaska just to secure the development of that Territory, just to make available the great natural re­sources of that Territory; and after we haYe done this we might, if so disposed, give the railways away and still profit immensely by the transaction in the light of our experience in the develop­ment of the great West.

THE VALUE OF .ALASKA TO TIIE UNITED STATES.

Alaska is a land whose area is equal to one-fifth of the United States, or twelve times that of the State or New York. Its production of gold fot· the year 1912 was $17,398,943; that of our gold State, California, whose population is thirty-seven times as great, was only $19,928,500.

Alaska's per capita production of copper, the mining of which is only begun, is now equal to the pel" capita production of Montana. It bas coal fields of greater area than those of Pennsylvania, and arable lands greater than the- entire State of On•gon. Tin, iron, gypsum, and oil <tre found in commercial quantities, and its marble quanies rival those of Vermont.

The reindeer industry, established in 1902 with 1,280 head, has spread until the 47 herds number 38,000 head, and promises to become a valuable source of food supply ; while the extent of its fishing grounds exceed those of all the States combined, and are excelled nowhere in the world.

Its undeveloped water power exceeds that of the entire Pacific Coast States.

Such is Alaska, a frontier land not only of vast resources, but a land also of scenic beauty and grandeur not excelled by any of those sought annually by the thousands who take their summer recreation abroad.

On an investment of $7,200,000, Alaska has given us in return, since 1867 (and by far the greater portion since 1800, or only 14 yea1·s), as shown in the reports of the United States Geological Sur·vey, Director of the Mint, and other official documents : Gold, final estimate--------------------------------- $212, 76ti, 721 Silver -------------------------------------------- 1, 841, 202

g~~pe~-=========================================== 13,R1~:~~g Other minerals ------------------------------------- 082, 554 Fisheries and furs---------------------------------- 240, 820, 168

Total----------------------------------------

Produced in 1912, as per final estimates: Gold, silver, and copper------------------------­Other minerals--------------------------------­F1sh and furs---------------------------------­Miscellaneous----------------------------------

Total----------------------------------------

Commerce of Alaska in 1912: Imports--------------------------------------­Exports----------------------------------------

Total-----------------~---------------------

470, 337, 265

22,285,821 252,000

18,120,132 394,046

41,051,99!)

22,!)17,795 42, 278, 546.

65, 196, 341 '

1914~ CONGRESSIONAL -RECORD-HOUSE. 2991 Foreign gold and silver :

Imports--------------------------------------~­Exports----------------------------------------

3,840,546 3,704,173

------Total---------------------------------------- 72,741,060

This foreign gold and silver was practically all received at Skagway and thence exported. ,

With a population in 1910 of only 64,356, about equally divided be­tween natives and whites, these figures show commerce per capita for entire population, $1,013 ; commerce per capita for white population, $2,026. No other country in the world can make such a showing.

These result s have been obtained at a cost to the GoY.ernment of about $25,000,000 over and above the revenues collected in 45 years, showing a profit to the Nation of practically $438,00(),000 .on an investment of $32 000,000. Contrast this with the money spent in the Philippines on an alien nation, and with the results which will not bear- t:omparison. If Alaska has achieved so large a measure of success under adverse conditions of every kind, what may not the results be under more favorable auspices?

The official returns are yet incomplete for the year 1913, but those already compiled aggregate $36,759,784, and this amount will be increased when complete returns are available. Alaska has already yielded conside1·ably more than $500,000,000, has contributed more than half a billion to the wealth of the United States, or a profit of at least $470,000,000 on c;mr much­neglected investment.

In March, 1867, Alaska was purchased by the United States for the sum of $7,200,000 in gold, and in October of the same year the formal transfer was made at Sitka. From 1867 to 1877 Alaska was governed by the War Department, although the customs were from the begin­ning collected by the Treasury Department, and with the latter the control rested from 1877 until the passage of the act of 1884. This act extended over Alaska the laws of the State of Oregon, so far as they were applicable

1 created a judicial district and a land district,

put in force the mimng laws of the United States, and gave the coun­try an administrative system.

The infiux of settlers after the discovery of gold in the Klond!R:e in 1896 rendered more adequate laws necessary. In 1899 and 1900 Con­gress made provisions for a code of civil and criminal law, and in 1903 passed a homestead act. In the meantime a serious boundary dispute had arisen between the United States and Canada regarding the inter­pretation of the treaty of 1825. This was settled in 1903 by an agree­ment whereby the seacoast of Canada extended no farther north than 54 o 40'.

By the· act of May 7, 1906, Alaska was given power to elect a Dele­gate to Congress. The act of August 24, 1912, provided for the creation of a Territorial legislature.

GOVERNMENT.

EXECUTIVE.

The executive power is vested in the governor, who is appointed by the President for a term of four years by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The governor may veto any bill passed by the Territorial legislature within 'three days after it is presented to him. The bill must be vetoed within three days if the legislature continues in session; otherwise it becomes law without the governor's approval. The legislature may override the veto by a two-thirds vote of all the members to which each house is entitled.

LEGISLATIVE.

The legislative power is vested in a Territorial legislature consisting of a senate and a house of representatives. The senate consists of 8 members, 2 from each of the four judicial divisions into which Alaska is now divided. The honse of representatives consists of 16 members, 4 from each of the four judicial divisions. The term of each member of the senate is four years, one member from each judicial division being elected every two years. The term of each member of the house of representatives is two years.

The first election for members of the legislature was held on Novem­ber 5, 1912 ; subsequent elections will be held biennially thereafter on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Tlle legislature will convene at Juneau, the capital, for the first session on March 3, 1913, and thereafter on the first Monday in March every two years. The length of the session is limited to 60 days, but the governor is em­powered to call a special session, which shall not continue longer than 15 days.

JUDICIAL.

District court. The judicial power of the Territory is vested in the United States

District Court for Alaska, which has the same jurisdiction as the district courts of the United States and has general jurisdi~tlon in civil, criminal, equity, and admiralty causes. This court is divided into four divisions, presided over by four judges appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the · Senate, for a term of four years.

LAND OFFICES.

Local land offices are located at Nome, Fairbanks, and Juneau, where entries for public lands should be filed. The surveyor general for the Territory is located at Juneau.

I PUBLIC LANDS.

Citizens of the United States, or those who have declared their in­tention to become such, may settle upon and enter as a homestead claim not exceeding 320 acres of nonmineral, agricultural public land

, in .Alaska. lf unsurveyed, the land must be located in rectangular : tracts, not more than 1 mile in length, with north and south, east and . west boundaries marked upon the ground by permanent monuments, an d notice of the claim filed in the recording district in which the land is situated. If at the expiration of the three-year period of resi­dence and cultivation, or if at the end of 14 months' residence and

1 cultivation the settler desires to commute a 160-acre claim, and the : public-land surveys have not been extended over the land claimed, proof I may be submitted, entry allowed, and patent obtained upon a survey

1

made at the expense of the s~ttler. 1 Corporations or citizens of the United States who are in the occupa-

)

tion of public lands in Alaska for the purposes of trade, manufacture, or other productive industry may each purchase at the price of $2.50 per acre one claim, not exceeding 80 acres in area, of nonmlneral public land needed and occupied for the purposes of trade, manufacture, -~~~ . . .

Deposits of mineral in the public lands and national forests in Alaska other than -<!oal, oil, and natural gas are subject to location and purcbn.se under the general mining laws of the United States by citizens, or those who have declared their intention to become citizens, at $2.50 per acre for placer-mining claims and at $5 per aero for lode­mining claims. Each lode-mining claim is limited in area to . a tract not exceeding 1,500 feet in length by 600 feet in width, but the law imposes no limit as to the number of locations which may be made by a single individual or corporation. A placer-mining location in Alaska may not exceed 20 acres in · area~for an individual location or 40 acres for an association of two or more persons, and no person is permitted to - locate~ or to'wprocure to be located, for himself more than two placer­mining c1.aims in any one calendar month.

Timber upon the unreserved public lands in Alaska is subject to sale under regulations io;sued pursuant to section 11 of the act of May 14, 1898 (30 Stat., 409).

The law provides for reservations of blocks of public lands 80 rods in width, between sold or e.'ltered tracts, along the shores of waters in Alaska, and various reservations of public lands or natural resources thereof have been made within that district.

Less than 1 per cent of the lands of Alaska are in private ownership. The people of the United States still own more than 99 per cent of the entire area of that vast Territory. It is a great national asset of the people, and it is evident to any, student of the times that the people propose this _asset shall be well administered. At least we must profit by the mistakes of the past. Land grants have proven to be both inadequate and insufficient methods of aiding railway construction. Inade­quate because the lands have no practical value prior to the railway construction. They are not an asset of the railway until the road is actually in . operation, and hence the bonds of the Northern Pacific, even with its tremendous land grants, sold at a deplorable discount. Land grants are "Unsatisfactory be­cause in the end unreasonable pmfit is given to the railwayt some years after its completion and when that aid is not neces­sary. This profit should be retained to the people. The finan­cial condition of our country at the end of the Civil War was such that the Government was perhaps not justified in building the Pacific railroads. This may or may not be so, but it is not necessary now to determine that question. History has demon­strated that land grants are unwise, and we have had this experience in practically every State in the Union since rail­ways became the accepted means of transportation. Nor do the people propose to turn over the resources of Alaska for ex­ploitation by private capital. The Government can exploit these lands itsel! for the benefit of all the people. The proposed bond issue to build Government railways in Alaska is not for the benefit of the 35,000 people who are now in Alaska. The money will not go to them, but will go to the people of the United States--to Pennsylvania for locomotives, to Minnesota and Colorado for steel rails, to the copper refineries on the At­lantic coast for copper wire, to the cotton :fields of the South and the woolen mills of New England for clothing, and to the farmers throughout the entire United States for much of the food of the people who go there to build the railroads and to develop the resources and to establish homes in that great Ter­ritory. Our trade with Alaska is already greater than our trade with the Philippines or with China. What will it be when the population of Alaska is mllltiplied tenfold by our own people, for Alaska. in the future as in the past, will be peopled by the sons and daughters of every State in the Union. This land is the people's heritage. Its mines should fill their coffers and its fields supply their larders. It is simply a business proposition for the people of the United States to pledge their credit in the deTelopment of the resources of this Territory, instead of sur­rendering one-half or one-quarter of those resources to any pri­vate corporation for exploitation and profit.

RAILROADS.

The principal railroads in Alaska are the Alaska Northern, extending about 70 miles in a northerly direction from Seward, on Resurrection Bay, to Kern Creek; the Seward Peninsula, about 75 miles lon~, with its terminus at Nome; the Tanana Valley, extending from Faubanks and Chena, about 50 miles among the principal placer-mining camps of the neighborhood ; the White Pass & Yukon, extending in a northerly direction from Skagway a distance of 20 miles in American territory, and thence in Canadian territory to White Horse, a distance of about 90 miles; and the Cop\)er River & Northwest ern, extending 197 miles from Cordova to Kenmcott. The first and last named are standard gauge.

The act approved August .24, 1912 (public 334), provides for the appointment by the President of a railroad commission consisting of an officer of the Engineer Corps of the Army, a geologist in charge of Alaskan surveys, an officer of the Engineer "Corps of the Navy, and 1

a civil engineer . who has had practical experience in railroad con- 1

struction. The members of this commission are as follows : Maj. Jay J. Morrow, chairman; Alfred H. Brooks, vice chairman; Civil Engineer Leonard M. Cox, and Collin Macrae Ingersoll.

This body was authorized and iruotructed to conduct an examination into the transportation question in the Territ ory of Alaska; to exam­ine railroad routes from the seaboard to the coal fields and to the interior and navigable waterways; to secure surveys and other in­formation with respect to railroads, including cost of construction and operation ; to obtain information in respect to the coal fields and I their proximity to railroad routes ; and to make report to Congress, together with their conclusions and recommendations, in respect to the best and most available routes fo~ rallroads in Alaska which will

. '

CONGRESSIONAL · RECORD-HOUSE~ FEBHUARY 5,

develop the country and the resources .thereof- for the use of the people of the United States. , ,

'.fhe report of this commission is a splendid · argumen~ for the con truction of railways in Alaska by the Government. 'rhe report .recommends the construction of two trunk lines from the coast to the interior, one following the Copper River Valley nnd the other the Susitna Valley. We are not interested now in the consideration of these routes, for the pending bill leaves the selection of the route entirely to the President. We are interested, however, · in the advice and information given in that report. One member of the commission, the beloved Dr. Brooks, has personal knowledge of Alaska, acquired through his long experience in the United States Geological Survey and his intimate personal examination of the resources of the Territory. The other members of the commission visited Alaska. The commission availed themselves of the mass of information colle.cted by the Government through its various departments. They not only found that the resources of Alaska justified rail­way construction, but also that such lines can be made profitable. The commission did not feel called upon to recommend how the railroad should be built, but the report recognizes that the Government can build such roads on 3 per cent money, while pri1ate capital must pay a much higher interest rate, unless the bonds fo1· private construction be guaranteed by the Goyern­ment. The report shows that on an estimated tonnage on a given route a passenger rate of 7.7 cents per mile and a freight rate of 9.4 cents per ton-mile would be necessary on private construction with 6 per cent money, as against a passenger rate of 6.6 cents per mile and a freight rate of 6.25 cents per ton­mile under Government construction with 3 per cent money. This means that a private company, even if fortunate enough to sell its 6 per cent bonds at par, would be obliged to charge a passenger rate of $32,90 for the haul between Seward and Fairbanks, as against $28.20 on a Government-constructed line, and a freight rate over the same route of $40.20 per ton would be necessary, as against $26.71 on a Government-constructed line. I have selected this route merely to illustrate the point that the Government has great advantages in the construction of rail­roads in Alaska, by reason of its ability to do so on 3 per cent money while if private construction be at all possible traffic charge~ would be much greater. These rates seem high, but we have it on the authority of Dr. Brooks, of the United States Geological Survey, that a freight rate of 10 cents per ton-mile would saye perhaps one-half of the annual freight bill of from seven to eight million dollars paid by the people of interior Alaska on the present estimated total of 30,000 tons per annum. At this rate, the value to the people of Alaska, on the present tonnage alone, would . be sufficient to retire in 11 years the entire bond issue proposed in the pending bill. Hence it follows that we can not only open up the vast resources of the "''erritory by the construction of the railways, but we can save the people of Alaska enough on the present freight traffic alone to more than justify the investment. .

That, however, is a small item. The real purpose is to make nvailable the great resources of the interior of Alaska. Acres of. placer gravels, rich but not rich enough to pay ·to work under the present high transportation charges and the inci­dental cost of high labor and supplies, mines of native copper of such fabulous wealth as to rival the great Treadwell, which produces $4,000,000 each year, and the Kennicott, from whi~h th.e. Morgan-Guggenheims have already extracted several mil­lions of dollars, though their railroad to it has been in opera­tion but three years. These rich mines might as well be in the chasms of the moon until railway transportation is pro­vided. I am told that a paying mine has never been found at tidewater anywhere on this old mother earth except in Alaska, yet practically all of the more than $240,000,000 which Alaska has produced ih minerals came from places within sight of the smoke of a steamboat. This will give us but a faint idea of what the mineral production of Alaska will be when railway transportation makes available the mineral wealth of the great interior.

The mineral wealth is very generally ad.mitted; indeed, it can . not be denied by anyone who has given the subject any study. We are disposed to question the agricultural value of Alaska, however, because of its northern latitude. This is be­cause we do not realize that there are 15,000,000 people in Em:ope living in the same latitude on substantially the same area, in Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lapland, and northern Russia. Those countries produce no gold, their copper production, after centuries of development, is but a fraction of what ..Alaska already produces from the little rim along the southe ... "!l coast. Their fisheries produce less than those of Alaska, although the Alaskan fisheries are far from being fully developed. The agricultural lands of Alaska are just as favor-

ably situated as those of northern Europe, and in time will produce just · as bountifully and sustain just as large a popu­lation.

These .statements are .not made upon . the authority of en­thusiastic boomers. We have it from our Government reports. We . have it from the figures compiled by .the Department of Agriculture, and based on data collected by and through the investigations of the agricultural lands of the Territory: by competent men. There are four agricultural experiment sta­tions in Alaska conducted by the United States Govemment under the directions of Prof. C. C. Georgeson. These are located at Sitka, the ancient Russian capital of Alaska, situated in the southern archipelago; at Kodiak, on the southwestern coast of Alaska, the oldest town on the Pacific coast of Amer­ica. nt>rth of Mexico, which was settled by the Russians the year George Washington became President of the United States, and occupied ever since then by the Russians and their descendants, who till the soil and raise their herds upon this pastoral island, where the Government is now developing a breed of cattle suitable for domestic use in Alaska. Another station is at Rampart, on the Yukon, and another at Fairbanks, in the heart of the Tanana Valley, our great northern agricultural empire. This lies within 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It is true that the cold is severe, but no more so than in many of the most prolific agricultural regions in the northern portion of the United States. Sixty-fi1e degrees below zero is the lowest temperature of which the nited States Weather Bu're:l.U has any record in Fairbanks, Alaska . It is interesting to note that the same temperature has been recorded in Miles City, Mont., in the heart of the great agricultural section of eastern Mon­tana. I append the following tables prepared upon data fur­nished by the United States Weather Bureau. The information given is official, and can be verified at the Weather Bureau in the United States Department of Agriculture. The lotcest tempcmture below zero of wh·ich tlle United States Weatliel'

But·eau lias any official t·ecord in the follou:ing places. Degrees.

Cordova, Alaska (above zero)--------------------------------- 1 AVERAGE DATE OF THE LAST KILLING FROST IN THE SPRING, ACCOP.DIXO TO

CHART NO. 1, BULLETIN NO. 5, OF THE U::\'ITED STATES WEATHER llUREAU FOR 1912.

l\Iay 15. Fairbanks, Alaska; western Nebraska. southern !3outh Da· kota, northern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota, central Wisconsm, central l\Iichlgan, northern l">ennsylvania, central New York, central Yermont, southern New Hampshire, and ·southern Maine. '

May 20. Eastem Wyoming, central South Dakota, southeastern North: Dakota central Minnesota, north central Wisconsin, southern New York, northet:n Vermont, central Jew Hampshire, and central Maine.

M:ay 25. Eastem Montana, central Wyoming, western North Dakota, northern South Dakota, · northern Minnesota; and northetn Wisconsin.

June 1. Northern North Dakota. northern Minnesota, the highet· por­tions of central and northern Wisconsin, central Colorado, western Montana, central Idaho, eastern Oregon, cenh·al Nevada, and northern Arizona.

June 5 to June 15. The higher agricultural valleys and fruit-growing sections. including the Okanogan irrigation project in not·thern Was~: ington ·eastern Oregon, southern Idaho, eastem Nevada, northem An­zona, ilorthern New Mexico, cenh·al Colorado, and southern Wyoming. · LATEST DATE OF LAST KILLIXG FROST IN THE SPRING OF WHICH TiiE

UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU HAS ANY OFFICIAL RECORD, AS SHOWN IN CHART NO. 3, BULLETIN NO. 5, REPORT FOR 1912.

May 23. Fairbanks, Alaska. , June 1. Central Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota, southern ~in­

n.esota northern Iowa, northern Illinois, cenh·al 1.Iichiooan, eastern Indian'a western Ohlo. northem Penns~lvania, and central New York.

June '10. Eastern Wyoming, central ~outh Dakota, central MiQnesota, and central Wisconsin .

. June 20. Central Wyoming, southeastern M~mtana, northern South Dakota eastern North Dakota, northern Minnesota.

June' 25. Central Wyomin~, central Montana, !J.nd higher ~~ricn-1-tural valleys in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and A:nzona. AVERAGE LE "GTH OF CROP·OP.OWING SEASON (WITHOUT KILLING FROS'l'),

SHOWING ALSO HOURS OF SU:oi'SHINE DURING SiME PERIOD. .

Fairbanks, Alaska, 105.6 days, 2.076 hours. Ellensburg, Wash., 90 days, 1,380 hours. (Kittitas Valley; 20,000

people $6,000,000 bank deposits.) . Northern Wisconsin and practically all of the agricultural valleys of

the Rocky Mountain region, 100 days. 1,464 homs. Northern Montana, all of North Dakota, and northern Minnesota,

110 days, 1,607 hours. , · · Central Wisconsin, n'orthern South Dakota. and practically all of

eastern Montana and Wyoming, 120 days, 1,706 hom·s. Thus it will be seen that the coldest weather in ·the 'l'annnu

Valley is no 1pore se1ere than in portions of the United Stat~~

1914·. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- HOUSE. 2993 where agriculture and stock raising has long been profitably pursued. It must be noted that this is in the Tanana Valley, the most northerly territory which will probably be reached by any Government railway authorized by this bill. The tem­perature along the southern coast of Alaska is · as warm as that along the southern boundary of the United States, and it is to be noted that colder weather has been recorded in the capital of Florida than at Cordova, Alaska, ·the terminus of one of the proposed routes recommended by the Alaska Railway Commis­sion. This is because of the influence of the Japan current in the Pacific Ocean, which produces the same effect upon the climate of Alaska as the Gulf Stream produces upon the climate of the British Isles and the Scandinavian countries. This warming influence is supplemented by the long days during ·the growing season in Alaska. In the Tanana Valley the growing season of 105.6 days, by which we mean the seo.son between killing frosts, has more hours of sunlight than during the grow­ing season in Iowa, New York, or New England. Then, too, the interior of Alaska is semiarid, and is a land of almost per­petual sunshine during the growing season. These climatic con­ditions, combined with the wonderful fertility of the soil, have already produced bountiful crops, in proof of which I quote literally from the Annual Report of the Alaska Experiment Sta­tion for 1912 :

FAIRBANKS STATION,

This station has attracted much attention during the summer of 1912. Travelers from many parts of the globe registered at Fairbanks during the present calendar year, many of whom, after visiting the station, ex­pressed their amazement upon seeing the fields .of ripened grains, alfalfa, clover, vegetables, and flowers. The majority of people still think of Alaska as one great field of ice, and those who see the possi­bilities of agriculture unfolded before their eyes in one grand pano­rama, as displayed on the southern slope during the season of 1912, may well be surprised.

The latest visitors for the season were the honorable United States railroad commissioners, accompanied by tbe Ron. JAMES WrcKERSHA!II, Delegate to Congress from Alaska; Mr. Falcon Joslin, president of the Tanana Valley Railroad ; also a number of prominent Alaska citizens. At this late date-October 12-the crops were already harvested and stored for the winter. There had been no snow at that date, nor was the ground frozen. The yard was still a profusion of flowers, and the clover lawns were green as in midsummer. The crops were exhibited us well as possible, and the visitors were shown several tons of ripened grain in the sheaf and stack, as well as 3,000 pounds which had already been flailed out. They were shown through the large cellar, where more than 1,000 bushels of potatoes of 16 varieties were stored.

It bas been stated that upon their return to Fairbanks the railroad commissioners announced that they would not dare to tell what they had seen in Alaska when they returned home, for the people would not believe them.

The season of 1912 has been the banner year thus far, and like reports are coming from all over the Tanana Valley.

Two church Sunday-school picnics were held at the station in the birch grove on the hill above the cottage during the summer, which afforded some 300 of the Fairbanks citizens the pleasure of visiting ·the station. On both occasions the general theme of expression was, What a beautiful place ! What wonderfu~ crops!

CLU.IA'.riC CONDITIONS.

rt bas been said that the climatic condition of a country is one o~ the first attributes to J:>e considered when a change in habitation is con­templated, but perhaps opportunity is even more important to the man in very moderate circumstances, who can not live on climate alone. Every countt·y bas some drawbacks, among them undesirable weather conditions; it is usually too cold, too hot. too wet, too sickly, or even all of these conditions exist in one locality . . Interior Alaska has its cold winters, but the summers 3re riot too warm, nor seldom too wet, and, with proper cultLvation, seldom too dry. There are few, if, indeed, any other, localities on the globe which can boast of a more healthful climate.

The last winter here was the mildest known to white man. The t~mperature ranged al.ong about -10° to -20° F., with a great deal of the time at or above zero. The temperature fell to -34° F. one day in November, -45° F. one day in December, -42° F. one day in January, and -32° F. one day in February. The snowfall was rn.ther light, and very little f~ll during the early part of the winter. Freighters were compelled to use wagons ~ntil December.

GRAIN CROP.

Red Fife wheat seeded May 1 began heading July 3. It had suffi­ciently ripened to cut on September 10. It made a thick, even growth 4 feet tall and yielded about 55 bushels per acre.

Romanow wbeat seeded May 1 began heading July 4. It ripened with Red Fife. The grain stood 4~ feet tall, very even and · thick throughout the plat. This variety gave a yield of 60 bushels per acre.

Wild Goose wheat seeded May 2 began heading July 4 . It ripened a few days later than the nbove varieties, stood 5 feet tall, very even and thick throughout the plat, and indicated a yield equally as heavy as Romanow.

'!.'he fall proved so cool and damp that these three varieties were cut nnd hung up in n shed to dry out and harden. The grain is well filled with plump kernels. .

Sixty Day oats seeded May 2 began beading June 28. They made a thick, even gt·owth about 3 feet tall, were ripe enough to cut August 10 and yielded about 85 bushels per acre. ·

Finnish oats seeded May 10 ·began heading July 4, and were ripe ror cutting August 15. Tb.e crop was very heavy, standing 4 to 5?! feet tall. This variety yielded at the rate of about 90 bushels per ncre.

Banner oats seeded May 2 began heading July 4, made a very thick growth 3~ feet tall, and were ready to cut August 15. Th1s variety

~~ai'J~aarJi~~}~ b0frl~~O (~;~~~S~~L) as~ed May 3 began heading .Tune 26. J t made a heavy growth 4 feet tall, was ready to cut August 10, and 1. !t::en thrashed yielded 50 bushels to the a cre.

Hull-less barley (No. · 19851) seeded 1\fay 3 began heading ·J'une 25, made a thickt- even growth 3! feet tall, was ready to cut August 10, and yielded 4~ bushels of 60 pounds each per acre.

The above grains were seeded with a No. 4 Planet Jr. drill on a south hillside which had been cropped to potatoes the two years previ­ous. The tract is birch timberland cleared three years ,ago. No ferti ­lizers were used on thls tract, neithet· on the potatoes not· on the grain, but it probably represents the best soil and exposure.

LEGUl\IES. Plats of alfalfa, red, white, and alsike clover were seeded about the

yard fronting the cottage during the first week in June after the main crops were all in the ground and the yard laid out. These plats were fertilized with stable manure and sodium nitrate. The alfalfa covered a plat 24 by 48 feet. It came up very quickly and made more than a 2-foot growth1 standing very thick on the ground. It began blos­soming about the middle of August and doubtless would have niade a light second crop if cut then. Visitors coming in quite frequently, the alfalfa was left standing until late in September. After it was cut for feed, the stubble had made some new growth when the snow fell .

The red clover covered a pia t 36 by 48 feet, making a very thick stand. The summer g1·owth was a little over 2 feet high . and this plat w.as red with blossoms from the middle of August until cut for f eed late in September. This plat was also left standing all fall, being much admired by the visitors.

The alsike clover covered a plat 15 by 20 feet and made a very thick growth 2 feet high. It was also cut for feed with the red clover. Both plats were turning quite green before the ground froze.

The white dover occupied two small plats fringed with pansies. China asters, and Chlna pinks. The white clover covered the ground thickly with about 8 inches of growth, which was ·almost hidden under its blossoms.

Field peas were grown this year by some of the settlers, and they report that they are well pleased with results. They have not been tried at the station.

Other green n:.anuring crops, such as buckwheat and rye, promise to be more suitable here, as either of these will afford a fair crop to turn under by August 1. ·

POTATOES.

The potato crop of 1912 has by far excelled that of previous years all throughout the Tanana Valley as far as reported. The yield in Fairbanks and the immediate vicinity, it is estimated, will total upward of 300 tons. '£he tubers in nearly every instance are superior in quality to those of other years. The . prejudice against the native potatoes is being gradually broken down, and it is probable that in two or three yearl:! the native potatoes will control the market, if, indeed, -imported potatoes are not excluded entit·ely. As the farmer her·e extends his clearings he is enabled to enlurge his crops, and not only produce more but also cheapen the cost of production so that he can sell potatoes for 3 cents a pound .and still make a handsome profit. The dealers can no longeL' aJrord the risk of disposing of tbeir Imported stock, which will cost them at least 5 cents, to say nothing about the loss by shrinknge, which is much greater than on the native product. The station crop for 1912 amounted to about 1,000 bushels of marketable size, and pt·obabl:V 5 tons of small rotatoes and culls from a little over 5 acres. (l'l. VIII, fig. 1.) The small tubers found a ready market at H cents to 2 cents per pound before the recent hog epidemic struck the camp. ·

Sixteen varieties of potatoes were planted from May 14 to 22. (Pl. VIII, fig. 2.) The greater _part of the crop, bowevet·, was of tile varieties Eureka and Gold Coin.

The experimental plat was on ground cultivated for the third year, being· in potatoes the two previous years. The ground was fertilized for the first time with ol~ stable manure for this crop. Each variety was planted on May 14 in rows 40 feet long, the seed dropped and cov­ered by hand 1 foot apart in the row, making 40 hills of each val'iety. As the rows were a trifle under 3 feet apart, each variety occupied 120 square feet of space, or 363 such rows per acre. The potatoes were dug on September 18. The murketable tubers only were gathered and weighed as follows:

(1) Butkee, a local pl'oduct ; white skin, rather large. oblong and quite regular in shape, deep eyes, and cooks quite dry. The yield was at the rate of 478 bushels per acre.

(2) Irish Cobbler; white skin, rather large, oblong and quite regu­lar in shape, medium deep eyes, and cooks quite dry. The yield was at the rate of 423 bushels per acre. .

(3) Gold Coin: white skin, medium size, round and somewhat flat­tened, quite regular in shape, small eyes, and cooks quite dry. The yield was at the rate of 375 bushels per acre.

(4) Eureka; white skin, medium to large size, round and slightly flattened, quite regular in shape, small eyes, and cooks quite dry. '!.'he yield was at the rate of 345 bushels per acre.

(5) Vornhem; white skin, medium large, oblong, irregular in shape, deep eyes, and cooks medium dry. The yield was at the rate of 314 bushels ner ncre.

(6) Garfield; white skin medium size and oblong in shape, some what irregular with many knotty or little side tuberR, deep eyes, and cooks quite dry. The yield was at the rate of 308 bushels per acre.

(7) Burpee Early; red skin, medium in size, oblong and quite regular in shape, small eyes, and cooks quite dry. The yield was at the rate of 302 bushels per acre.

(8) Early Ohio; red skin, medium in size and round, a little rough with deep eyes, cooks very dry. The yield was at the rate of 302 bushels per acre.

(9) Freem:m; white skin, medium large in size, oblong and 11-regular in shape with many knotty or little s ide tubers, rather deep eyes. cooks only fair to medium dry. The yield was at the rate of 302 bushels per acre.

(10) Extra Early Pioneer; white skin, medium l:!.rge, round and quite regular in shape, rather deep eyes, cooks quite dt·y. The yield was at the rate of 278 bushels per ncre.

(11) Snowflake; white skin, medium large. oblong and irre!!:ula r in shape, deep eyes, and cooks medium dry. The yield was at the rate of 272 bushels per acre.

(12) White Mammoth; large round and oblon.g tubet·s with qnite deep eyes and regular in shnpe, cooks only fair to medium dry. 'fbe yield was at the rate of 254 bushels per acre.

(13) Extra Early Ohio ; pale red skin, medium size, round. medium deep eyes, cooks quite dry. The yield . was at the rate of 242 bushels per acre.

(14) Early Market; light pink skin, medium small, round. n little rough wltb deep eyes, cooks quite dry. The yield was at the rate of 242 bushels per acre.

2994 CONGRESSIONAL -RECORD---=IIOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

(15) Bovee-; pink skin, medium in size and round in shape. with small eyes, and cooks quite dry. The yield was at the rate of 206 bushels per acre.

(16) White Beauty; rather large round tubers With small eyes, cooks medium dry. The yield was at the rate of 194-bushels per acre.

Considering the market values of the above varieties, or rather such a clas!:l of potatoes as those which find preference in the market, the smoothest white-skinned varieties which are good cookers would be selected. Alaska-grown potatoes are not as dry and mealy as outside potatoes, and oftentimes some varieties become watery when cooked. On some soils the whole crop is wat~ry and unfit for table use. This accounts for the strong prejudice against the native product.

In cooking samples of the 16 varieties grown at this station for the season of 1912 not a single watery potato was found, although those classed ·as " medium dry " were not far from it.

Some of the red-skinned varieties are the best cookers, but these do not sell readily because of the color of the skin.

The quality and the yield of potatoes dilrer materially with the season, so that several years of comparison are necessary to arrive with any degree of exactness at the relative values of different varieties.

This is the first season the many little side tubers on the Freeman and Garfield varieties have been noticed. Some very large tubers have prongs, and sometimes clusters of small side tubers firmly con­nected to the large tuber, rendering them unsalable.

For market purposes, Gold Coin, Elureka, Irish Cobbler, and But­kee varieties are preferred to the other 12 varieties, and these, by the way, were the heaviest yielders in 1912. The Gold Coin and Eureka t ake preference in the order as named because of their shape and smoothness, and also because of their cooking as well as any white potato on the list. .

Based on cooking qualities only, departing from color preference, selections would be made as follows :

Early Ohio, Burpee Early, Extra Early Ohio, and Bovee, of the red or pink skinned varieties. Next, the Gold Coin Eureka, Irish Cobbler, and the Butkee. Some of the others are ciose seconds to the last four named, especially the Extra Early Pioneer.

Two and one-half acres were planted to Gold Coin and Eureka on the south slope in ground that was .cleared and . cropped to potatoes in 1911, but the soil was never fertilized. The yteld averaged 7 tons of potato.est or about 235 bushels per acre for the entire field in 1912.

As stat:ea elsewhere in this report, an acre of light land slopin"' to the north was planted to five varieties of potatoes after an appllca­tion of 200 pounds of sodium nitrate, and the yield was slightly more than double that of last year. This ground has been in potatoes three successive years.

For the system of potato culture followed, see the report of these stations for 1911, page 47.

THE VEGETABLE GAI:DEN.

Turnips, carrots~. beets, peas,. parsnips, celery; rhubarb, string beans, cabbage, and caullnower were all grown successrully for honie consump­tion.

Horse-radish made enormous top growth ; it is. now 3 years old. The main roots are from 1 to 1} inches thick.

Strawberries wintered with very little loss, hut because of the necessity of moving them they did not bear much fruit.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. The China pinks, asters, and pansies which fringe the clover beds,

together with the masses of sweet peas, morning-glories, stocks, pop­pies, daisies candy tuft, nemophila, sweet alyssum, and other pinks, pansies, and asters which fringed the borders of the cottage green­house and other portions of the yard made one profusion of ftowers all summer and until the middle of October.

Prof. Georgeson is so well satisfied with potato culture about Fairbanks that little attention will be given that tuber hereafter at that station. The agricultural experiment station is not intended to compete with farmers, and the farms about Fairbanks are now successful. Indeed, they are producing at less cost than at the Government station, where very properly the cultivation is experimental and hence more expensive in many cases. The local market at Fairbanks now consumes about 400 tons, and the farms produce about 300 tons. They will soon supply the entire local demand. When transportation is provided, the Fairbanks farms will have a market in the newer mining camps, and farming in the Tanana Valley will assume that permanency which is essential to any agricultural community. The success attained is indeed remarkable. Fair­banks already produces more potatoes per capita than many potato-growing States. What other pioneer district ean show sueh a record in advance of railway transportation or other assurance of perman~cy?

Reference has been made in these debates to the cost of $200 per acu for clearing lands for the agricultural experimental station ·...t Fairbanks. The same report recites that this was done with labor costing $7.50 per day for eight hours' work. That w.as the prevailing rate of wages then paid at Fai.rbnnks during the busy summer season. I am reliably informed that the tract selected contained a fine body of growing timber, and wns cho::;en because of its close proximity to the town of Fair­banlrs. It ivas not cleaTed as agricultural lands are universally cleared. The Government wished to establish an experiment station. It wished to do so immediately. It wished that sta­tion located near the town of Fairbanks for obvious reasons. It was not then demonstrating how cheaply the land could be cleared, but the director was -very properly hastening to place the station in operation. It is not fair to illustrate the cost o! land clearing in the Tanana Valley by this single insta.nce. We all know that no farmer in the United States would think of hiring labor to clear his land during the luu·vest season, when labor is scarce and commanding the highest wage. Yet

that was done fn this case, with the added circumstance that the Go;ernment employees are limited to· eight hours' work a day. Then, too, I am reliably informed that growing timber was removed and the green stumps grubb.ed and burned, roots were chopped out, and the ground plowed immediately.

This is not the usual method of land clearing. We all know that it costs a railway many times as much to clear· its right of way as it costs the farmer to clear the land through which the railroad passes. Then, too, it is seldom that timberlands are first cleared in any agricultural district. There is always plenty of a;ailable ground which is more cheaply cleared, and that is always selected by the pioneer farmer. I am told by those who have lived in those regions of Alaska that the greater part of the land is covered -by a so-called tundra of moss, leaves, and vegetation, which decays less rapidly in this northern semiarid climate. This tundra is several inches deep. It dries during the summer months, and the drying can be facilitated by digging trenches through it, which is often done with a plow, and that later in the season this tundra burns readily, thus removing prac­tically all of the surface d~bris, destroying the brush and small trees, and making the ground practically ready for the plow, while the ash improves the soil and places it in better shape for cultivation than if the d~bris were plowed under. A few years are required to tame such soils, and the best crops can not be expected until the ground has been tilled a few years. The result is that the farms around Fairbanks are yielding better erops and a better quality of produce each succeeding year. Agricultural permanency in that valley will be assured when we have railroad transportation. No doubt the fanners in the Tanana Valley will share many of the trials common to all pioneer farmers, and no doubt they will also ultimately triumph, as did the pioneer farmers of New England, of Ohio, of the Mississippi Valley, and of the far West. Our duty to these pio­neers is to afford them every encouragement by liberal laws and adequate transportation facilities. Well has Secretary Lane said in his last annual report, " I do not believe we sufficiently reward the pioneer." Certainly the pioneer has not been re­warded in Alaska. He has not even been encouraged. The pas­sage of this bill will be one move in the direction of substantial encouragement.

The fisheries of Alaska have yielded more than $167,000,000, including the output of 1912, and to this must be added the out­put of approximately $18,000,000 in 1913. The bulk of this is canned salmon. The halibut industry is quite well developed, while cod fishing has only begun. The waters of Alaska doubt­less contain more fulh than all other American waters combined; and some idea of the future value of the fisheries may be ob­tained from the statement that of over 250 varieties of food fish in Alaskan waters we are utilizing only 7.

The seal rookeries of Alaska have yielded more than $52,-000,000 worth of sealskins. Furs have been exported from Alaska of a value exceeding $22,000,000, and the whaling indus­try is important, the value thus taken n.mounting in 1912 alone to $1,444,084.

Alaska is the hunters' paradise, abounding in all kinds of wild gnme indigenous to the northland. The bird life is espe­cially interesting, as .Alaska is the breeding place for millions of geese, brant, duck, and waterfowl of innumerable variety, as well as grouse, ptarmigan, and other game birds. The bear, mountain sheep, and mountain goat are numerous, and it is the northern home of the moose, while the caribou is seen in thou­sands in. their annual trek across the northern plains.

The domestic caribou--called the reindeer-now number over 38,000 in Alaska. These hardy and useful animals thrive upon the moss-covered mountains and waste lands of western and northern Alaska, which it is estimated will support 20,000,000 head of reindeer. Already several hundred reindeer carcasses are exported each year, and reindeer meat is not only the prin­cipal winter supply of meat at Nome, but reindeer steaks are quite commonly served in the restaurants of Seattle and other Pacific coast cities. In time the reindeer will provide a great meat supply, as they thrive best in the winter upon the native mosses, but at present there is no means of practical trans­portation to get these animals to the market. The reindeer is also valuable for its milk and hide. In Lapland, on an area of 14,000 square miles, over 26,000 people are sust.."l.ined in com­fort by their reindeer, amounting to about 400,000. The so­called waste lands of Alaska might sustain 50 times that number. and at that rate provide sustenance for a population of 5,000,000 people. Can any other region in all the world indicate such vast possibilities in the use of its waste lands as this region of 'Yest­ern and northernmost Alaska?

.After all, however, .Alaska is chiefly. important to us for its marveloJIS wealth of mineral. Well has it been named the " treasure land." The so-called Seward ice chest of 40 years ago

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2995 now proves to be Uncle Sam's golden coffer. Development work now in actual operation at Juneau alone will provide an annual yield of more than $30,000,000 from that one mining district, with an insured ore supply in sight sufficient to main­tain that production for 150 years. Improved transportation facilities with cheaper cost of labor and supplies will make pos­sible tte development of immense areas of placer ground in the interior which can not now possibly be worked. Forty dredges are in operation at Nome on Bering Sea, where water trans­portation is available five months in each year. But better railway facilities are necessary, and any reasonable estimate of future productions would seem extravagant, even when based on statements made by those so conservative as the Geo­logical Survey.

Copper mining is at present limited to the islands along the southern and southeastern coast of Alaska. Only one copper mine in the interior of Alaska is provided with railway trans­portation, and that mine has actually paid over $3,000,000 in dividends in its less than three years of operation. This great production along the coast is but a slight indication of the pos­sible production when railway transportation is provided. But an important factor is the necessity for coke for smelting. At present foreign coke, even from Australia, is used largely in smelting Alaska copper ore, while the coal fields of Alaska contain countless tons of the most suitable coal for coke manu­facturing. An assured supply of Alaska coke at a reasonable cost would insure the construction of numerous copper smelt­ing and matting plants along the Alaskan coast, where there is an infinite variety of ores which are suitable for blending in a proper smelter. Then, too, flux: will ·not be necessary, as it is in most smelters throughout the United States, owing to the character of the ores. This, however, will not be possible until railroads are provided and the coal fields are opened to de­velopment.

The surveyed coal fields of Alaska cover an area estimated by the United States Geological Survey at 12,667 square miles, but only one-fifth of .Alaska has been inspected. Very little of this has even been prospected. The two best-known fields of high-grade coal are the Bering River and Matanuska fields, in both of which considerable development work has been done and some coal extracted. The chemical tests as reported by the United States Geological Survey show the coal from those two fields to be equal in quality to that of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, each field containing deposits of anthracite and very high grades of bituminous steaming coal and areas of the most desirable coals for the manufacture of coke. The with­drawal of these coal fields from entry has prevented their de­velopment. I am not now discussing the wisdom of these with­drawals, but the statement is necessary to explain why Alaska has been compelled to buy its coal in foreign countries and that even the Government is purchasing Australian coal for its use in Alaska and is having the same delivered into Govern­ment bunkers on the Alaskan coast in Norwegian steamers. The great value of Alaska coal is not only for its use in Alaska, but elsewhere. About this there is no question. Another great demand for this coal is in the manufacture of coke for copper smelters and steel J;nanufacturing. There is no other coking coal of such quality on the Pacific coast of North America, and this coal must be made available before the copper industry of Alaska can be properly developed.

The value of this steaming coal for naval use is, however, questioned in these debates. It appears that no naval test has ever been made of the :Matanuska fields, and no satisfactory test has been made of the Bering River coal, although Con­gress provided for such a test more than a year ago. About 1,000 tons of coal from the 1\fatanuska field has been mined and will be brought out by sleds during the present winter. Some coal was obtained last year from the Bering River fields. It was the test of this coal about which the opponents to this bill made so much argument on the floor of this House a few days ago. The naval report of this coal test admits that it was not a fair test, that the coal was not properly selected, and contained much dirt and slate. The fact is that the citi­zens of Katana, Alaska, publicly protested when this coal was brought out. Their statements were then published in the ne"spapers of Alaska and the Pacific coast to the effect that the coal had been carelessly selected and that much dirt and slate had been included with it. I refer especially to the statement of Thomas G. White, as published in the Seattle newspapers many months before the naval test was made. Mr. White then gave warning that this test would not prove satisfactory be­cause of the improper and careless selection of the coal. His charge is that the coal was taken from the face of several cuts made by coal locators several years previous. Naturally the ;ai? ~and .we~~he1: had lar_gely destroy~ the expos-qre. 1;n ord~eF

to obtain a fair sample other and further development work should have been done so as to obtain coal which had. not been exposed to the weather, as this was for several years. This does not appear to have been done, and the results of the tests are far superior to what would have been expected by those who read Mr. White's statement made at the time the coal was taken out and months before the test was made. How­ever, this was not the first test of the Alaskan coal. Com­mander Boyd, of the United States Navy, in his testimony before the Senate Committee on Territories on May 19, 1913, makes this statement on page 141.

Mr. BOYD. We have had just one test of that coal some years ago . .About 35 tons were brought from Mr. McDonald's mine in the same field, was brought to Puget Sound and put on board the Neb1·aska. The Nebt·aska then went to sea and made 24-hour tests, steaming four boilers, two boilers using Pocahontas coal and the other two using Bering River coaL The result of that test, so far as figures go, indi­cates the Bering River coal is superior to the Pocahontas coal as 18 to 15, so far as value is concerned, but that is a very misleading sort of test. Two of those boilers may have been providing most of the steam, just as two horses in a four-horse team may do most of the work; so the test shows nothing. It did show that the coal can not be worked very readily on the grate. For instance, it was so slack that if the fireman, following his usual practice in leveling the top of the fire with a hoe, strikes the slice bar in breaking up clinkers, if be follows that same practice, be is likely to lose a lot of the coal through the grate. We have a commander of the ManJland, who is well in­formed on Alaska affairs, and is very much interested in the expetiment and knows fully the result of that test, and lre will make an effort to have his engineer nnd his fireman so trained by the time they get the coal on board at Controller Bay that they will know best by what system this coal should be fired to make the best test.

Now, I contend that neither of these tests are fair or depend­able. Naturally surface tests are not reliable. Coal for na>al use must meet the most exacting demand and must be care­fully selected. The chemical tests of the Alaska coal show it to be all that could be desired, and it ought not to be con­demned upon a sample of coal selected from one place, which had been exposed for several years to the action of the rain and weather, especially as the naval officers themselves admit this test to be unfair.

Tin occurs in Alaska on the Seward Peninsula and in the Hot Springs region of the Tanana Valley, both as placer or stream tin and in lodes or veins.

In view of the enormous amount of tin plate used by the cannery establishments on the Pacific coast, the success Of these mines is of deep interest. The officinl report of the commerce of Alaska gives the value of tin ore exported in 1912 as $90,831.

Iron is abundant at several points in the Territory, but not in localities where it can be made valuable under present con­ditions. The quantity is said to be large and the quality excel­lent. If opened, the field might offer return cargo for the ves­sels now returning light from Nome.

Small pebbles of cinnabar occur in the sluice boxes in the north portion of the Copper River Valley and elsewhere in Alaska, and they may ultimately be a source of profit.

Lead is found in the Ketchikan district. High-grade antimony is reported from several localities. but

in the absence of smelting facilities the ores have but little present value. Bismuth and tungsten are also recorded, and platinum is found in small quantities in the sluice boxes of many placer camps. It is interesting to note that a belt of rock of the same age geologically as those which yield the platinum placers of Russia is indicated on a late map of .the Geological Survey as crossing the edge of the Tulsak, suggesting that the presence of the platinum in the sluice boxes may prove to be a fact of commercial value, especially as the metal now commands about $40 an ounce, or double the value of gold.

Silver also is found in nearly all the different quartz regions of Alaska and often is of sufficient value to pay for the reduc­tion of the ore for the more valuable minerals which are being treated.

The number of fur-bearing animals in Alaska is undoubtedly much smaller than in the days of Russian occupation. The an­nual output of skins is still an important industry, the total value to 1912 being $22,216,872 and the value for 1913, $370,519.

While the marble industry is still in its infancy, those who aTe familiar with the quality and quantity of marble of Alaska are now preparing to supply the market, not only for iuteriors of buildings on the Pacific coast, but also to export it to Asia and even as far as Australia.

Gypsum is also found in large quantities. That stock can be raised from the Yukon Valley southward

during the summer is well known to all old Alaskans, who have seen cattle, sheep, and horses living on the native product. Cows for dairy purposes are kept near all the principal towns.

On Raspberry Island there is a band of 500 sheep. Horses are in universal use iu all parts of the Territory,

their more extensive use being limited principally by the absence of good. ro~d~,

.

2996 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD--HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,,

That oats, ·barley, nnd rye can be grown 'Successfully ·has b-een demonstrated at the f'.xperimental stations in the Yukon and Tanana Valleys, il.S well as in that of the Copper River, and also ·by the farmers around Fairbanks and in the Susitna Valley, who have cut barley for hay giving 3 tons to the acre. There are al£o splendid samples of wheat. These crops are also largely grown in northern Russia. The successful growth is governed by the date at which the grormd obtains a certain warmth to cause the seed to germinate-42° for wheat-and a sufficient time thereafter to rna ture.

It is possible to grow -vegetables in all -parts of Alaska except upon the tundra and the high mormtains. An examination of the Government experimental station reports shows conclu· siveiy that all the ordinary garden vegetables can be raised with entire success. ·

Fruits and flowers abound in southeastern .Alaska, while cranberries, raspberries, blueberries, and many other -varieties of wild berries and flowers are to be found all through the Yukon and 'Tanana Valleys.

FORESTS.

The followins statements are condensed from the official report of R. S. Kellogg, assistant forester in 1910, the report ef the governor ot Alaska for the 'fiscal year ending June 31, 1912, and from loeal sources where they relate to the Fairbanks mining indnstrie.s.

AREA..

The total area of the forests and woodlands In the Territory is estimated ai; about 1:00,000,000 acres, or 156,250 square .miles, or 27 per cent of the total area. Of thi.s about 201000,000 acres, or 31,250 square miles, ai"e estimated as containing timoer suitable for manufacturing purposes, which is more than the area of South Carolina and nearly that of Maine or Indiana. Of the remaining 80 per cent, or 125,000 square miles, one-half is classed as woodland, carrying Aome saw timber, but on which the forest trees are of a small size, more scattereil, and valuable chiefly for fuel; the tree growth on the remainder being stunted, scrubby, and valueless for any pur-pose except the camp fires of the prospector. The .region north of the Endicott Mountains, all of the shores of .Bering Sea, and the Alaska Penirurula south of llliamna Lake are pract1caTiy destitute of timber, producing nothing larger than willows of very small growth, and those only in a few localities.

The matter of the construction of the railroad is ta be left in the hands of the President. He is authorized under the provi­sions of the bill to do all lawful acts necessary to accomnlish the purposes and objects of the measure. He is authorizea to withdraw, locate, and dispose of, under such -rules and regula­tions as he may prescribe, such nrea or areas -of the public domain along the line or lines of proposed railroads for town· site purposes as he may from time .to time designate.

In that a bond issue for $35,000;000 is authorized by the act, no appropriation is required. The act provides for a Tedemp· tion fund, into which shall be paid 50 per cent of all moneys deri \ed from the sale or disposal of any of the public lands, including town sites in Alaska, or the coal or mineral therein contained or the timber thereon ; into this fund shall be paid the net earnmgs of the said railroads above maintenance charges and operating expenses; the said redemption fund, or any part thereof, shall be used from time to time, upon the ·order of the President, to pay the interest on the bonds authorized and issued under the provisions of the pending bill,- and to redeem, cancel, and Tetire said bonds, under such rules and regulations as the President may establish in accordance with the proYi­sions of this act.

The officers or agents placed in charge of th-e work by the President shall make to the President annually, or at such other periods as may be required, full and complete reports of their acts and of all moneys received and expended ln the con, struction of the work, and the annual' reports shall be trans· mitted by the President to Congress.

The railroad rates will be under the supervision of the Inter· state Commerce Commission.

The bll1 provides for the construction, maintenance, and opera· tion of telegraph and telephone lines as far as they may be necessary and convenient in the construction and operation of the railroad authorized under the act, and they shall perform generally all the usual duties of telegraph and telephone lines for hire.

Alaska is owned by the United States Government. Right· fully it should be preserved for all the people. The day of special interests is rapidly coming to a close, and it becomes more apparent than ever that the resources of the great, rich Alaskan Territory should not be subservient to private interests, tbut of right should be conserved and developed for the welfare of the whole people.

It is because I believe that the proposed legislation will surely be a benefit to this Government and its people that I favor this bill. No clearer or more forceful statement of the whole situa­tion has been made than was given in the words of our Presi· 'dent in a recent message to this House, when he said:

A duty faces ~s with regard to Alaska which seems to me very press. lng and very imperative; perhaps I should say a double duty, for it con-

ce.rns both the political and the material development ot the Terrftory. The peol)le of Alaska should be given the full Territorial form of govern­ment, and Alaska, as a -storehouse, should be unlocked. One key to it is a system uf railways. These the Government should itself build and administer, and the ports and terminals it should itself control in the interest of all who wlsh to use 1:hem for the ser·vice and development or the country and its people.

[Applause.] Mr. BOOHER. Mr. Chairman, I am led to support this bill

after giving the subject of Alaska and its resources \ery care­ful study and consideration for two years.

In the Sixty-second Congress I was permitted to serye on the Committee on Territories, and was placed upon the subcom· rnittee having in charge legislation touching Alaska. I may say that when I commenced the investigation of the subject I was opposed to conser-vation in Alaska as it was then and is now carried on, and opposed to railroad building in .Alaska, beca u e I had the idea that if we opened the coal mines of AJaska the people would at once flock into that country and it wonid be settled ·up as rapidly as the Territories of the West were settled.

After studying the matter very thor~mghly I have come to the conclusion that the only way in which to develop Alaska is for the Government to build railroads there. [Applause.] I know no other way to secure those railroads than to support the "bill that the Committee on Territories have brought into this House and now ask us to support.

Gentlemen say, "If you will open up the coal mines alone and build no 1·ailroads you will develop Alaska"; and my iTiend from Oklahoma [Mr. FERRIS] wound up a l<mg speech by say. ing that the way to develop Alaska ·was to open the coal mines ; that once open, the coal mines and the people would flock into the Territory. :aut for three hours he had been mainta.lning that there was ndt anything in the Territory to support a man after he got there. He labored long to prove conclusively that they could not even eat the potatoes that they raised there, that they had to ship potatoes ill. Down in my friend's own home they are eating potatoes to-day grown up in Minnesota and Idaho and Colorado. -Tha.t is no sign that y()U can not raise potatoes in Oklahoma good enough for the people of Oklahoma to eat. It is merely a case where they did not raise enoqgh and have to send somewhere else to get them.

The gentleman from Oklahoma read from the statement of some gentleman named Chubbock, or some such name, a disser· tation on the potato. If the gentleman had taken the pains to read the report of the experiment station, by Prof. Georgeson, who has spent four or five years in Alaska, he could have learned that they raise as good potatoes and as many of them per acre as they do in any country in the world.

Now, J: do not b.elieve that Alaska will ever be the agricul· tur.al country that Oklahoma, or Kansas, or Nebraska, or Mis­souri, or llli.nois is, but I do believe that they can produce suffi­cient to support a population of 5,000,000. I know there are great mineral resources there, and, from my standpoint, I believe it is -the duty of .congress to develop Alaska in some way in order that we may get the ad-vantage of those resources. [Applause.]

As the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Snrs] said, Alaska belongs to the United States. It belongs to the people. We are not pledging ourselves to any doctrine of government owner· ship of public utilities, railroads, or anything else by building this railroad. We are doing with our property what any good business man would do with his own property. [Applause.] Suppose a farmer has 160 acres of timberland. Does it do him any good until he improves it? If he lets the timber stand and does not cut it off and put the land into cultivation, if he keeps it in his family long enough, it will break the whole family, be­cause it is not improved and he gets no return for the outlay and taxes on the land. But when he begins improving it, it costs him something to improve it. The gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. DAVENPORT] said in his speech that it costs $200 an acre to im­prove land in Alaska. Then his colleague [Mr. FERRis] in his speech dropped $75 an acre and got it down to $12{) an acre.

I have seen a statement from a gentleman as inte1ligent as anybody who ever visited Alaska, who, after having inspected it, says it can be improved for $4.0 an acre. I do not know which one of these gentlemen is right, and I do not care wbjch one is right. I believe it is the duty of this country to build railroads in Alaska, and especially do I believe it is the duty of the Members on this side of the Chamber to vote for this bill, and I will tell you why. We are responsible for the President of the United States. We ought to carry out his views. We ought to aid him in every way we can. We ought to carry out the pledges of our platform to develop Alaska. The President, in the first message he delivered to this Congress, told us how we ought to do it. Now, let us see just what he says:

A duty faces us with regard to Alaska which seems to me very press­ing and very imperative; perhaps I should say a ~ouble duty, for 1t

1914 .. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 2997 concerns both the political and the material development of t11~ Terri­tory. '.rhe people of Alaska should be given the full territorial form of government, and Alaska, as a storehouse, should be unlocked.

My friend the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. SAUNDERS] says there are a good many old storehous es all over the country that are not worth unlocking. President Wilson continues:

One key to it is a system of railways. These the· Government should itself build and administer, and the ports and terminals it should itself control, in the interest of aJl who wish to use them for the service and development of the country and its people.

Now, my Democratic friends, that is the language of our President, and he is supported by the report of Mr. Lane, the Secretary of the Interior. who recommends the passage of this bill without any ifs or ands about it.

Now, what are we to do aoout it? Are we to keep our pledges solemnly made to the American people and aid our President in carrying out his views on this subject or are we to abandon the pledges we made to the people? Are we to disregard the recommendations of the President and excuse ourselves by saying it pledges us to Government ownership of railroads? What is the difference between digging a canal for tra nsportation and owning it and making it free of tolls and building a railroad for transportation purposes? My good friend from Pennsylvania [Mr. MooRE] wants this Government to dig an intercoastal canal, as it is called, all the way from Boston to Galveston, digging it three-fourths of the way in sight of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of .Mexico, and making it free of tolls to the commerce of the country. Everyone who favors that idea ought to be more than willing to vote for this bill to permit the Government to build a railroad in Alaska when we propose to charge everybody who rides on it or takes a ponnd of freight over it enough for the use of it to pay the expenses of maintaining the property. [Applause.]

.And then the bill provides for a sinking fund in order to pay for the road. How? Out of Government property there, out of the gold and the copper and everything else that is there, be­cause it belongs to the American people; and out of the very things that my friend from Oklahoma. said would furnish, if the road was built by private parties, an immense tonnage to the railroad if it would only open the coal mines.

A good deal has been said about the coal not being good for naval purposes. The gentlemen when they discuss this propo­sition ought to go to the bottom of it. They ought to get at the bottom of the coal proposition; they ought to know exactly what there is in it. There has been a strife between the Bu­reau of Mines, the Geological Survey, and the Navy Department over the coal in Alaska ever since it was known that there was coal up there.

The Bureau of Mines, some years ago, tested the coal from Alaska taken from Bering River coal fields, and it tested better than any eastern coal for naval purposes. Somehow· or other that did not suit the Navy. For some reason they wanted to find out what the ·eastern owners of coal mines wanted. I do not know why, but there was some inducement somewhere that led the people interested to hirve another test, and so the naval appropriation bill in the last Congress, when it came to the House, carried $50,000 to enable the Navy to get coal out of Bering River coal fields in order that another test might be made. That appropriation was stricken out in the House for a good reason, but it went to the other end of the Capitol and they added $25,000 to it, making $75,000; and I am informed that when it got into conference there was no objection to it on the part of the House conferees, notwithstanding the House bad stricken it out. I say there is as good coal in Alaska for naval purposes as there is in West Virginia or Pennsylvania. and I say that the coal taken for the test at Annapolis, and made on the MarylancZ, was taken for tbe express purpose of defeat­ing the Bremmerton test before mentioned.

Mr. FERRIS. Does the gentleman want to indict the Navy Department?

:Mr. BOOHER. The gentleman heard what I said.

Mr. FERRIS. I do not think the gentleman ought to make that statement

Mr. BOOHER. Now, :r am going to read a letter and show you how tbe coal was obtained to make this test, and you can judge whether you believe it was a fair test. I tried to get my friend from Virginia [Mr. SAUNDERS] to say that coal clid not deteriorate by lying on top of the ground and that surface coal was not so good as that taken from the mine, but, of course, he would not admit such to be the fact. I want you to hear this letter read, and you will want to know where my friend, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. MADDEN], got the information that the coal was taken out of a tunnel 100 feet deep. Here is the letter:

Hon. JAMES WICKERSHAM,

TER"RITORY OF ALASKA, GOVERNOR'S OFFICE,

Junea11, January 1i, 19~.

Delegate tram Alaska, Washington, D. a. MY DEAR JUDGE : I note by the newspaper dispatches that the oppo­

sition in Congress to the Alaska railroad bill are endeavoring to make capital out of a statement alleged to have been made by Rear Admiral Griffin, of the United States Navy, to the effect that the tests made of Bet·ing River coal had not been satisfactory.

No one who lives in Alaska, having a definite knowledge o"t the way in which the coal was mined and the quality obtained1 expected that the test would be otherwise than unsatisfactory. To dtg out of an open eut and transport to tidewater 800 tons or less of this cQal cost the Government, I am informed. approximately $100,000. The expedition tn charge of the work was a rank failure in nearly e ery particular, according to the information at my command. There was a constant friction between the Bureau of Mines rept·esentatives and the Navy oflictals, who jointly made up the expeditiorr. or who were in charge of it, and the mismanagement and inefficiency were everywhere apparent. In February of last year Thomas G. White, an old resident of Katalla, who assisted the Government party in getting out the coal, wrote me in effect as follows :

" If we ever succeed in getting out this coal, and it is given a test, it will be prononnced no good, and that will not be a lie either. It is no good for the reason that the coal-mining party, instead ot" taking coal from the .tunnf'l on the Cunningham daim, where a vein has been devel­oped, took it from an open cut. It is surface coal, and full of rocks and dirt and shale and other debris. No att~mpt has been made to secure a. guod quality of coal. Wait for the howl that will come up against it when the test bas been made."

White was in Juneau a few days ago, and he repeated the statements made _ nearly a ye-a.r before as to th-e quality of the coal mined by the expedition, adding that he e-ould take a bunch of Indians and get 1,000 tons of first-elass coal in the Bering River coal field with one-eighth of the amount it cost the Government party, who got dirt and roell:s and an inferior quality of surface coal.

I am writing you this for your personal information. I believe the statements made by White are true, as they have been corroborated, directly and indirectlyi by otbers. I dv not believe that the Bering River coal fiel<l should oe condemned because of the incompetence, negli­gence, or indifl'erenee--call it what you will-of the expedition that seems to have been content with tonnage instead of real coal ; and when the opponents of Alaska use an unfavorable report as to the quality ot t~s coal, made by the Navy Department, it is like adding insult to inJUry,

Sincerely, yours, J. F. A. STamm, Govemor.

Now. you have heard the howl, aud it seems thnt an old set­tler, a laborer, who was helping get the coal out, judged it ex­actly and told the country what would be the result of that test. As you will see, this letter is signed by the governor of the Ter­ritory of Alaska, and ought to be good autho1ity. [Applause.]

Mr. FERRIS. Will tbe gentleman yield? Mr. BOOHER. Certainly. Mr. FERRIS. Does the gentleman think that even the gov­

ernor's testimony ought to be superior to the Secretary of the Navy in a questi-on of this sort?

Mr. BOOHER. If the Secretary of the Navy had known these facts, I have no doubt that he would have understood the test that was made and would not have said what he wd.

Mr. FERRIS. Has tbe gentleman from I\lissomi called the attention of the Secretary of tbe Navy to these facts?

Mr. BOOHER. No. Mr. FERRIS. Why not? Mr. BOOHER. Now, I am going to read you a letter from the

Secretary of the Navy which will throw light on the subject and which I invite my friend from Oklahoma to read carefully:

NAVY DEPaB.TME~T, Washington,. January 31, 1914. Mr. FERRIS. That shows the character of this debate. Hon. WM. c. HousTON, M. c.,

Every time an authority is quoted there is a disposition to de- House of Representatives, Washington, D. a. tract from that authority. Mx DEAn Mn. HousTON: In reference to my previous letter to you

l\1r. BRYAN. The gentleman from Oklahoma ought to be the in regard to the tests of Bering River coal. I desire to invite par-ln. t one in the House to say that. ticnlar attention to the fact that these tests only relate to the coal

actually tested. · 1\Ir. BOOHER. I have said nothing to which tbe gentleman As stated in that letter, there is nothing to show in the tests just

can object. I suy that the test made by the Navy Department ~~~~l~ii~s~hat may be expected of coal taken from greater depths on was not a true test; that the coal obtained was obtained for the The coal as mined was apparently mixed with foreign matter to a

· express purpose of destroying the test made at Bremmerton. considerable ertent, either due to the presence of "bone " in the veins Otherwise, how would you get two tests so far apart as those or to the conditions due to mining and transporting the sample tested. two tests were? The analysis of the coal showed it to have very excellent charac­

teristics. but its· ultimate behavior in the furnace could only be told by Mr. FERRIS rose. actual test. This test showed that in spite of the analysis the s:unple Mr. BOOHER. Oh, the present Navy Department had noth- tested for some reason not yet clear did not give a high efficiency. The

· t do ith •t I 1 d t 'th did th = presence of clinker usually denotes foreign substances, but this is a matter 1ng o w ) • am very g a o say; ne1 er e O.LUCers upon which but little is known, and it might well be that coal from deepe~ who made t~~ .t;~~·. ·

1 •

1 • ~hafts, ?~ even from ne!ghboring veins, would behave very dif!erentl~:

j

2998 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- · HOUSEl\ FEBRUARY 5 '

The absence of smoke is a favorable feature of this coal, and the department hopes that future experience may yet show that Alaskan coal is suitable for naval use.

. Sincerely, yours, JOSEPHUS DANIELS, Secretary of the Navv.

Now, the Bremmerton test was made from coal taken from the Copper River coal fields, about 2 miles from the place this coal was taken, and, as I haYe said, it tested better than any east­ern coal for the Navy. I say that such a wide yariance between these two tests indicates that something is wrong somewhere in the testing of this coal, because they would not vary that much if there was not. [Applause.]

In order to furnish the best evidence in support of the propo­sition that there was a close combination between the Poca­hontas Coal Co. and the Navy Department I insert a colloquy that took place in the House in the third session of the Sixty­first Congress, when the naval appropriation bill was under discussion. By the way, let us not forget that the Pocahontas Coal Co. has very extensiye dealings with the Government in supplying coal for the Navy.

The colloquy referred to is as follows: Mr. PEARRE. 'Ihen I understand that the gentleman's charge is that

there is collusion between the Navy Department and the eastern coal operato:s.

Mr. HuMPHREY of Washington. I do not say who is responsible, but I am just giving the facts. I say there is no excuse for the action of the Navy in spending from $900,000 to $1,000,000 a year in bringing coal around from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast for the use of the Navy in time of peace. I assert that it is worse than a ·waste of public funds, for, in addition to wasting it, it does incalculable harm to American shipoirg.

1\Ir. KITCHI~. The gentleman means to imply that in time of war they would have use for western coal?

Mr. HUMPHREY of Washington. Yes; in case of war on the Paclfic. So if this coal is to be used in war it seems to me of highest impor­tance that they bec<>me accustomed to its use in time of pe.uce.

Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I agree thoroughly with the propo­sition advanced by the ge.atleman from Washington. The closest corpo­ration in this country is the combination between the Pocahontas coal people and the Navy Department, and it has been so for 20 years. I know that during the Spanish-American War, when Alabama coals that were perfectly good for steaming purposes Wf!re offered to the Nllvy De­partment for $3.25 a ton over the ship's rail at Mobile, only a night's sail from Tampa, the Navy Department bou.,.ht Pocahontas coal and shipped it by rail to Tampa at an e.xpense of $9.60, and that proposition has been kept up ever since.

Now, what control these particular people have over the Navy Depart­ment I do not know. But I do know this, that there is no other coal field in Ametica that can sell coal to the Navy Department. The supply of the Navy is confined to this one field only.

Further along during the de~ate this colloquy took place: Mr. STANLEY. Dces the gentleman know whether or not the Navy

Department has made any tests of the Alaskan coal? Mr. HOBSON. I am just about to bring up that point and various other

points. I wish to register here a complaint that the Navy Department Is not encouraging the development of appliances so that it can use other coals. When it found, for instance, that the coal in Alabama approximated to the needs of the Navy, it would have been in line of economy and the best interests of the Government to have undertaken to develop smoke-consuming devices and other devices so that the depart­ment could then use Alabama coal.

The same applies to the Pacific coast coal, not only that mined on the mainland but that in .\laska, and the Navy Department has not shown great interest in developing additional sources of supply that would prove of great, if not vital, importance in time of war, and we are put to millions of dollars of expense, perhaps, unnecessarily. I will not say unnecessarily, but perhaps.

The gentleman from Oklahoma certainly will not require further proof to satisfy him that such a combination did exist_

The gentlemen who oppose this bill have labored long and hard to convince themselves, and incidentally to convince the House, that-Alaska is a cold, bleak, and desolate country; that it has no future and is not worth developing for any purpose. In answer to their argument I will read an extract from the report of one of the ablest men in the Interior Department, .who made a careful, painstaking investigation and study of Alaska and its possibilities from personal observations. I refer to Hon. James W. Witten, who for many years has been con­nected with the Department of the Interior and whose ability and integrity are unquestioned.

In 1903 1\fr. Witten was detailed by the Secretary of the In­terior as a special inspector to make a general investigation into the conditions in Alaska. His report embraces agricul­tural conditions and prospects, native population, fish and fish­erie , minerals, coal, and timber. In his report on agricultural possibilities he said: ·

Much of .Alaska is not situated farther north than are parts of Scot­land, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, where agricultural pur­suits give employment and sustenance to more than 10,000,000 people. The main portion of Alaska is situated between the parallels which bound Finland, yet 34 per cent of Fiuland is being used for agri­cultural purposes. and supports a population of more than 2,500,000 people. Large quantities of butter, cheese, and oats are exported. Much of .Alaska lies in the same zone with · Iceland ; and while the ocean currents may make some difference in temperature, yet Iceland,

with only 10,000 square miles ~f land suitable for cultivation and pasture, and with a population of only 76,300 in 1898 bad 21 98? cattle, 44,134 horses, 735,442 sheep, and her farmers 'furnished i~ 1890 64 per cent of all her exports and maintained four agricultural colle~es. The soils of Alaska are generally of an alluvial character, particularly those .in the Yukon and other river valleys, and the rank growth of vegetation everywhere to be found testifies to the fact that they are very fertile.

In summing up this part of his report 1\fr. Witten says: Not only do the natural conditions have a tendency to embarrass

and p~event agricultural developments, but the lack of means of trans­portation amounts to almost prohibition.

That farming can be successfully carried on, by permission of th~ Delegate from Alaska, Judge WICKERSHAM, I shall in­sert m the RECORD two letters that need no comment. The letters referred to follow :

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, November 8, 1909. Ron. JAMES WICKli:RSHAM,

Delegate to Congress, Fairbanks, Alaska. MY DEAR JUDGE: ~n answer to your suggestion that I write you a

letter about my farmmg operR;tions I take pleasure in doing so. When you and Mr. Joslin and Mr. Birch and Mr. White were at my place last fall I had not begun to take in my crops, but since then I have done so. I J;lad 3 acres of potatoes, and they yielded me 18 tons, and the market pnce was $120 a ton, for which I sold most of them. I had 1 acre of beets, on which I .ilad a crop of 8 tons ; 2 acres of carrots which yielded me n tons, with a market price of $140 per ton. 1 acre of turnips from which 200 sacks of 80 pounds to the sack, o~ 8 tons at $80 per ton. I had 2! tons of rutabagas upon one-fourth of an acre of ground for which the market price was $100 per ton. I had 1 ton of red beets on one-quarte~ of an acre of ground, at $140 per ton. I had 15 acres of barley, wh1ch I cut and sold for hay. I had 3~ tons which I sold for $75 per ton, and still have enough left to fill my barn chock-full for my own use for. the winter. I raised 2 tons of cabbage, which I put. away for the wmter, besides which I sold between 3~ and 4 tons durmg .the summer a.t an average selling price of $140 per ton.

I rmsed 29 suckling oigs, also 13 pigs which weighed about 100 pounds each, and 23 big -pigs. I sold 5 of my hogs to the butcher for ~60 each.

This fall I put _in 6 acres of winter wheat, Bluestem, which I sowed the second week m August, and before the snow came in October the wheat was up 2 or 3 inches high, and I never saw a better stand of wheat anywhere. I ha>e raised good w~ter wheat, barley, and oats, and all kinds of garden vegetables, and m my judgment. as a farmer of more than 30 years' experience, the' Tanana Valley is a first-class agricultural country.

My farm is near the river and is perfectly level. The soil is sandy loam and is very rich, made up of sediment and silt and sand brought down by the !iver in ages gone by. The Tanana Valley opposite my farm is 60 mlles wide, and there are probably 5 000 000 acres of as good ground as mine in this vicinity. I know from' six years' experience on this farm that farming can be made entirely successful and that this valley can be made to produce everything which can be raised in Minnesota and the Dakotas, and that there is no valley in the North so wide and rich and variable for agricultural purposes as the Tanana Valley.

I have several neighbors immediately around the town of Fairbanks wJ:o are engaged in successful farming, and we have in the last year raised almost enough to supply the local market, and there is no question hereafter that the whole local market in the Tanana mines can be supplied from our farms and gardens.

Respectfully, WM. YOUNG.

F.A.IRBA.NKS, AL~SKA, November 8, 190!). Ron. JAMES WICKERSHAM,

Delegate to Congress, l'airbank8, Alaska. DEA.R Sm: I was born. and raised in northern Germany, on the

Weser, and my parents bemg landowners, farmers and stock raisers I learned the farming and stock-raising business thoroughly. .At the age or 18 I left Germany for the United States, and landed at New York. From there I went to Ohio, then to Illinois, and from Illinois I went to Nebraska, in which State I farmed and raised stock for ·18 years principally in the southern part of the State. From Nebraska I went to the State of Washington, where I engaged exclusively in the stock business-buying, selling, and shipping stock.

In 1897, at the time of the rush to the Klondike, I started for Daw­son ~th 135 steers, but did not reach Dawson until 1898. I have been shippmg stock to different parts of Alaska ever since. In 1900 I shipped stock to Nome and also to other parts of Alaska, and have traveled overland with cattle from Valdez to Fairbanks for the past seven years. I have visited the .Aleutian Islands and have been on almost every one of the islands of that group, and I find that Alaska is a great country for its climate, grasses, and different kinds of small grain, such as oats, barley, and all kinds of vegetables.

I contended when I first landed at Haines mission, in 18!>7 that Alaska would be a farming and stock-raising country and I am' more and more convinced of that fact as I travel through the different parts of the country.

Owing to the big fire at Fairbanks, I have not been in and around Fairbanks for four years, and I was very much surprised when I came here last September that the country sunounding Fairbanks bad been turned into a farming and gardening community.

I came here this last time with cattle and bogs, and found that they raise as fine barley as I ever saw in any of the States where I have farmed heretofore. I bought barley, oats, and hay here from l\f1·. William Young, which he raised on his farm just north of the town, to feed my cattle, and found it to be well filled with good-matured and well-ripened grain. I saw as fine potatoes here this fall as I ever have seen anywhere in the States. Cabbage, rutaba~as, turnips, and carrots can not be beat in any of the States, and I believe that sweet potatoes will be raised here in the near future. 'l'he raising or hay has proven to be a success. I also find a lot of chickens are being raised in and about Fairbanks for the local market.

Respectfully, WM. WAECHTER.

Let us take into consideration the volume of business between Alaska and continental UnitE:1 States for the year 1912, the last year for which we have the official figures. It is a wonderful

I J I 1 j ,; II

1914.: ·CONGRESSIO.N AL RE.OORD-HOUSE .. '2999. showing from a country tbat we have heard so vo1ubly de­nounced: In 1912 the value of merchandise imported into Alaska

from the United States was---------------------- $21, 992, 761. 00 In 1908 --------------------------------------- 15, 862, l.i71. 00 Showing a gain in four years of-------------------- 6, 130, 090. 00 .Average increase per year oL_____________________ 1, 032, G22. 00 In 1912 there was sent out of Alaska to the United

States domestic export 'of the value oL ___ ....:________ 40, 825, 590. 00 .Showing a total trade with the United States for the

yea1· 1912 of---------------------------------~ 62, 818, 352. 00 While the total commerce of Alaska with the world for

1912 was-------------------------------------- 72,741,060.00

The value of fisheries in 1878, the first year of the in-dustry after. the purchase, was __________________ _

Value of fisheries, 1912--------------------------Incr·ease ______________________________ _: __ _

20,416.00 18,818,480.00

18,789,064.00

The total cash receipts from .Alaska from 1867 to 1911, both inclusive---------------------------------- 446,640,984.79

Total cash disbursed, including the original purchase price----------------------------------------- 35,816,674.54

Balance in favor qf Alaska---------------- 410, 824, 310. 25

From this showing alone we would be justified in passing this bill.

The greatest enterprise of any age was tbe building of the Pacific Railroad, and it had to remain inactive and slumber for :rears for the lack of faith of its practicability and usefulness as a means of transportation and as an inducement to the hardy pioneer to settle up public lands of the :Middle West and Pacific coast. No one now doubts its success and benefits. But it was not built without Government aid. The fact is that the money and land given the company more than constructed the road; in othet' words, the Government built the road and has nothing to show for it. If we build this railroad in Alaska we will at least ·have the road to ·show for it.

Let us pass this bill and follow 1t with a bill providing for the leasing of mineral lands in Alaska and we will have done our full duty to the people of Alaska and kept faith with the people we represent.

1\fr. McKENZIE. Mr. Chairman, in the consideration of the pending bill I can not refrain :trom calling attention to the contradictory position in which we find ourselves if the conten­tions of the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. LENROOT] and others are correct.

It is the expressed opinion of those in a position to know that in a short time we shall witness the completion, at a cost of approximately $400,000,000, of a great public enterprise in the Tropics, the Panama Canal, a wonderful exhibition of the possibilities of engineering genius. In the completion of this canal ~ shall witness the consummation of a project for cen­turies the dream of men of other lands, but it remained for the American, to whom no task seems impossible, to cease dreaming and grapple in a practical way with this great work.

The proposal to construct this great commercial highway was heartily approved by the masses of the American people, and notwithstanding the fact that it has cost many millions in ex­·cess of estimates made by the engineers, no complaint has been heard, all feeling it was a great national enterprise worthy of a great people and which would inure to the benefit of all as a commercial highway and also tend to reduce the burden of naval construction by enabling us to assemble our :fleet of war vessels on either of our coasts in time of danger, escaping the long voyage around the Horn.

Having these things in · mind, the American people, with pa­triotic impulse, rejoice as the great work approaches comple­tion~ In due time it devolved upon Congress to enact legisla­tion for the government of the Canal Zone and to provide regu­lations for the levying and collection of tolls to be paid by own­ers of vessels who saw fit to use this highway, constructed by and supposed to be an enterprise in the interest of all the people.

Strange credulity, indeed, as viewed in the light of what has transpired. He who spoke with patriotic pride of this public undertaking as « our canal" must now feel that the extent of " our " interest was principally in paying for the construction of the canal. In the enactment of the law for the government of the Canal Zone Congress, by tbe insertion of a clause in tbe law, practically declared that the vast expenditure of the peo­ple's money in the construction of this canal was not made for the general benefit of all the people, but for the special use and benefit of a part of the people, and that part of the people being those engaged in the coastwise trade, an admitted mo­nopoly. This was done in the face of a solemn compact or treaty 'With a friendly nation -and ov-er the respectful protest of that and other nations. But so strong was the appeal of this special interest or monopoly, made in the name of patriotism, that a

-- --- -·-

sufficient number of the 1\Iembe~s in both branches of Congress were beguiled into voting the free use of this highway, which had cost so much money and was supposed to be for the benefit of all the people, to those engaged in the monopoly of the coast­wise trade in our country. ·

Thus we spend tbe people's money in the Tropics for the spe­cial benefit of a monopoly. But you say, what has all this to do with the pending bill for the construction of railroads in Alaska? Nothing at all, except to make plain the apparently absurd and contradictory position in which Congress is placed. In tbe one case we have constructed a canal for the benefit of monopolists ; in the other we are asked to construct a railroad to overthrow another set of monopolists.

We are told that in this far-away frozen region of our domain an organization of capitalists has so manipulated affairs that it is impossible for other men who would undertake to promote and build railroads to obtain the necessary money to do so. In other words, certain monopolists and money kings have the game blocked, and we are advised that the only way to unlock the treasure house of Alaska is for the Government to construct the necessary rail:toads. Strange predicament, indeed. In the Tropics we spend the people's money to aid a monopoly or trust; in the Arctic we are asked to spend it to "bust" a trust. At this point I am constrained to say, without arrogating any particular virtue to myself and having a due regard for the opinions of others, I am opposed to both of these monopolistic combinations.

I have been a consistent opponent of Government ownership and operation of the great public service corporations of our country, believing that it is the function of the Government to regulate and control such corporations, but tba t the ownership and operation of the same are a privilege of the citizen. I am aware tbat the proposed legislatio.n marks a departure from the policy scrupulously observed from the beginning of our Govern­ment, and the reasons for abandoning that policy at this time should be clear and conclusive. To my mind no conclusive argu­ment has tbus far been presented that, from a financial stand­point alone, the Government would be justified in constructing this railroad. ·

First, what of the Territory itself? Alaska is an empire in territorial extent-590,000 squs.re miles--equal to the combined area of Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Spain. Approxi­mately one-third of this vast Territory lies north of the Arctic Circle and is bounded on the north by tbe Arctic Ocean. We are told that the northern portion of Alaska consists of broken, mountainous lands, interspersed with numerous lakes and rivers, with a great expanse of swamp land, and, owing to the high latitude of this section of the country, the winters are excessively severe, while the sUllliner season is rendered unen­durable from the vast clouds of insects. We are also informed that the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula are moun­tainous and volcanic; also that the southeastern portion of the country, comprising many islands and a narrow strip of main­land, has a very mild climate, considering the high latitude, due to warm ocean currents, but here the rainfall is excessive. Portions of the Territory are heavily timbered and the waters abound in fish. The soil is generally poor, and the prospects of any agricultural development are meager indeed.

With the exception of small areas along tbe coast it is the natural home of Jack Frost. The population is sparse, consist­ing mainly of Eskimos and Indians. It is claimed that the coun­u·y is rich in minerals. This is true, no doubt. Surely there must be something locked up in this great Territory, otherwise it would not be necessary to unlock the so-called ~asure house. And inasmuch as nature hides securely her richest mineral treasures, often in the most inaccessible portions of her dominion, I am ready to believe that in this frigid and uninviting land there IQ.ay be stored beneath its frozen surface great mineral wealth, and which in large measure will neV"er be obtained un­less transportation facilities for carrying food into the country and the ore out arc established, either by private or govern­mental agencies, and in my judgment it is only on the ground of developing the mines of the country and procuring the avail­able timber that there is the least justification at all for rail­road construction.

It is perfectly apparent to any student of commerce and industry that Alaska can never be developed into a manufac­turing country: First, because the population of the country will never be large, for it is idle to argue that mankind will locate permanently in such a country so long as there is ample room in more-favored climes; second, it is too far removed from the centers of population, and, with its other disadvantages, can never successfully compete.

3000 .CONGRESSION ~L RECORD-_ HOUSE. .FEBRUARY 5,

To think of developing agriculture in Alaska · to any appre­ciable extent or put it upon a paying basis is folly. Especially is this true when we know that in the great State of Texas, With its 167,024,720 acres of land, only one-seventh of which at this time is said to be under culti>ation, and from the further fact that all the people of the United States could be located in Texas and not be more crowded than in New IiJngland at the present time. And when we realize the further fact that in the year 1912-13 the output of cotton in .Texas was 4,880,210 bales, or more than one-third of the total crop of the United States, and we are told that not more than one-tenth of the lal).d suitable for the growing of cotton is now under cultivation in that great Commonwealth, which would indicate a possible pro­duction of more than double the amount of the present cotton crop of the world. Placing a value on cotton of from $50 to $60 a bale, and the production under reasonable conditions being one bale to the acre, which, taken into consideration with the mild and healthful climate of Texas, makes it apparent to the most casual thinker that the road to success of the real-estate dealer in farm lands in .Alaska will, at least, be a cold and dreary one for perhaps a number of centuries yet to come.

I have simply cited this one illustration of the State of Texas, which without further argument ought to be convincing proof that no matter how many railroads are constructed in .Alaska it will have but little effect in inducing agriculturists to migrate into that country. It seems to me that some of the glowing statements relative to agriculture contained in the report of the committee should have been left out.

It is also argued that the Government should construct rail­roads from the coast to the coal mines in the interior for the purpose of obtaining coal with which to supply our war vessels in the Pacific. There is some force in this argument, but un­doubtM.ly the day is not far distant when our fleets of war

· vessels will be using largely, if not exclusively, oil instead of coal for fuel.

Notwithstanding the fact there is apparently no good com­mercial reason that ci.m be given in justification of the govern­mental construction of railroads based on the theory that it will bring ultimate and lasting prosperity to ·the Territory, there are, to my mind, some reasons why the Government should assume this burden at this particular time.

It is quite apparent that certain individuals have endeavored to control for their particular pecuniary gain whatever there is of wealth in Alaska, and it is perfectly evident to every student'

·of railroad construction that no man or set of men are going to invest their money in the construction of a railroad into a wilderness unless they can clearly see that by so doing they will afterwards reap their reward from the people who flock into tlle country to make homes for themselves, open up farms, build cities, and establish industries, the transportation of the prod­ucts of which would bring returns to the men w:Qo constructed the road. Heretofore it has been the policy of our Government to aid in one way and another the promoters and builders of railroads into the wild and unsettled portions of our country. And I presume that if the same policy were ]Jilrsued relative to Alaska men could be induced to undertake the task. · But the policy of our Government has changed, and we are now follow­ing the idea that the natural resources of the country belong to the people and should not be given to any person or corpo­ration for any purpose.

Therefore the matter resolves itself into this one proposition. The citizen must construct the railroads in Alaska without aid from the Government and take his chances of revenue in the futtU·e. This we are convinced no man will do; consequently, the only possible way, apparently, to get railroads into this far northern clime is for the Government to build them. And in view of the gold and minerals that ha\e been found in .Alaska, together with the coal and timber possibilities, it may be wis­dom to expend this money in the hope that this vast territory may prove to be of g~·eater value than we are at present willing to concede. At any rate, the transportation of merchandise into the country and the products Qf the co-untry out, during the time the ore is !Jeing excaT"a,ted from the mines and the timber cut from the mountain sides and valleys, may, in a large measure, recoup the Government fo~· its trouble .and expenditure. But I am inclined to think that, after the ore is extracted and the timber cut and marketed, . .Alaska will continue to be, in a large measure, a barren waste and will relapse into a condi­tion of llllbroken solitude, the natural condition of all countries not agricultural in their nature.

A·gnin, there has for a number of years been considerable agi­tation over the railroads of our country and the best way of regulating and controlling them, and it has been argued by some that Government ownership is the only true solution of the problem. It is true we have made some progress. We now

.. have the Interstate Commerce Commission vested with great power in the matter· of the regulation of rates, and this com­mission will be soon, no doubt, clothed with power to regulate the issue of stocks and bonds by railroad companies, which undoubtedly, if judiciously exercised, would be a very ~ise grant of authority and one which appeals to · my judgment, and when the time comes for us to pass upon that question it seems to me that the Government ought to enact such legisla­tion as will protect interstate railroad companies from sand­bagging legislation by State legislatures. In short, national gov­ernmental control, and not National and State conh·ol; a definite, clearly defined policy guaranteeing justice and protection to the owners of railroad stocks and bonds and the public alike.

Thus can the fallacy of Government ownership of all the railroads of our country be forestalled, for such a policy in a country like ours under existing political conditions would, in

. my humble judgment, result in national calamity. But jnns­much as the germ of Government ownership seems to h.<tYe infected quite a large number of our people, I am not so sure but that a practical demonstration at this time will be the part of wisdom, and we will all await with much interest the outcome of this test about to be made in Alaska, and let us hope that the lesson we shall learn will be well worth the price.

In consideration of the foregoing reasons and with no little sympathy for the hardy pioneers who .have the courage to . dare the storms and chilling blasts of far-away Alaska, and in the hope this bill may result in aid and comfort for them I lay aside for the time my well-grolillded conviction on legislation of this character. I shall support the measure. [Applause.] ,

Mr. KAHN. Mr. Chairman, Alaska · has been in controversy ever since the proposition for her purchase from Russia was presented to Congress in 1867. The Territory was then referred to as ." Seward's Folly" and "Seward's Polar-Bear Garden." Many of the arguments we have listened to on this floor against this legislation are similar in character to the arguments that were uttered against the purchase of .Alaska : but there were some far-sighted statesmen in those days, and among them was Charles Sumner, who made a notable speech in the Senate upon the subject of the purchase of Alaska. I may say that Mr. Sumner undoubtedly obtained his data from the then Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, who was being severely criticized because he.foresaw the advantages that would result to our Government by the purchase of that great extent of Yaluable territory for the relatively paltry sum of $7,200,000. Mr. Sumner, in sum­marizing his argument, said :

Mr. President, I now conclude this examination. From a review of the origin of the treaty and the general consideration with regard to it we have passed to an examination of these possessions under different heads, in order to arrive at a lmowledge of their character and value.

.And here we have noticed the existing government, which was found to be nothing but a fur company, whose only object is trade ; then the population, where a very few Russians and Creoles are a scanty fringe to the aboriginal races; then the climate, a ruling influence, with its thermal cunent of ocean and its eccentric isothermal line, by which the rigors of the coast are tempered to a mildness unknown in the same latitude on the Atlantic side; then the vegetable products, chief among which are forests of pine and fir, waiting for the ax; then the mineral products, amon~ which are coal and copper, if not iron, silver, lead, and gold, besides tne two great products of New England, "granite and ice" ; then the furs, including precious skins of the black fox and sea otter, which originally tempted the settlement, and remain to tWs dny the exclusive object of pursuit; and, lastly, the fisheries, which, in waters superabundant with animal life beyond any of the globe, seem to promise a new commerce. All these I have presented plainly and im­partially, exhibiting my authorities as I proceeded. I have done little more than bold the scales. If these incline on either side, it is because reason or testimony on that side is the weightier.

It was said that that speech by Mr. Sumner, which occupied some hocrs in its delivery, turned the . scales in favor of the purchase of Alaska. Since its acquisition our citizens have t&ken out over $400,000,000 worth of gold, furs, fish, and cop­per. And we have only scratched the surface. Wt:: have had no transportation facilities to the interior of .Alaska "\\Orthy of the name. Thus far all that has been done has been done near the coast. The interior of Alaska is practically a T"irgin field. The construction of railroads is absolutely necessary for its develop­ment. Personally I am -opposed to ownership by the Govern­ment of the railroads, the telephone and telegraph systems, and, as has been recently suggested, the coal mines of our country. I believe that if we ever embark upon the systerp of Govern· ment ownership of public utilities the Prretorian Guard that used to sell the emperorship in the declining days of Rome would lo-ok like " thirty cents " as cqmpared with the great army of Government employees in these United States, which could con­trol the elections for President, Vice President, Members of the Senate and the House, and governors and legislators in the vari­ous States. They would undoubtedly be the balance of power in such great States as New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Missouri, and could absolutely control State and Federal legislation. But our policy

1914. .CONGRESSION .A.L. RECORD-HOUSE. 3001 of conservation as applied to the natural resources of Alaska leaves us no other alternative than to have the Federal Govern­ment build the railroads in that vast Territory. Wisely or un­wisely, we have bottled up the natural resources of that great area. It is remarkable how our so-called conservation policy has been expanded beyond its true purpose. No man wants to see willful waste of any of the great natural resources of our coun­try; but bottling them up entirely, so that present generations can obtain no benefit from the timber, the coal, minerals, and resources of that character, seems to me to be absolute folly. By a parity of reasonir..g the men who would have entertained ultraconservationist views of that kind a century ago might ha\e exclaimed with just as good grace, "We must not kill any mo:·3 sperm whales, because if we do our children's chil­dren will have no oil for illuminatin6 purposes."

l\Ir. Chairman, the ultraconservationist discounts the inventive genius of the Ame1ican citizen. Such a plea for the conserva­tion of sperm oil for illuminating purposes would not have taken into consideration the discovery of illuminating kerosene, of illuminating gas, of incandescent and of arc lights. And it is e\en so with coal. In some thousands of years from now, when the coal supply of the world shall have been greatly diminished, we will be compelled to develop our heat and our power from other sources entirely. It has been well said · that necessity is the mother of invention, and whenever we begin to run short on our supply of coal or timber there will be some Yankee in­ventor who will discover some device that will most adequately supply their places. If coal and timber are a blessing to man­kind, we should use them as we require them, and not tremble about what will happen in 4,000 years from now. It would have been the part of wisdom to uncork the bottle containing all the natural resources of Alaska, so that private capital and pri­vate enterprise, under proper Government supervision, might have developed them. But having failed to do that, in my judgment it becomes the duty of the Government to undertake their development. That is the logical result of our conserva­tion policy in Alaska.

Some of the gentlemen who have spoken on this bill have said that to bring out the gold that will be mined in the interior of Alaska will not require even a single box car. That is probably true; but the gentlemen who expressed those views have no conception of life in a mining region. The moment gold is dis­CO\ered anywhere there is a rush of population to the new fields. Cities spring up over night and thousands of adventurous people enter the new area. All kinds of supplies must be car­ried to the camps. See what happened at the time of the Yukon excitement. Thousands of hardy pioneers went into the new mining region. A railroad was rapidly constructed over the White Pass for the purpose of accommodating them and bring­ing their supplies from the seaboard. Cities and towns sprang up like mushrooms. The White Pass Railroad was on a pay­ing basis from the very beginning. And when the road provided for in this bill shall have been constructed new cities and towns will be laid out along· the line, just as new cities and towns were laid out on the Canadian Pacific line in Canada, where the prospect for development seemed just as remote as for the development of the interior of Alaska.

The transcontinental railroads that were constructed in the sixties and even at a later period in our own country went through a barren country-a country that then had no cities, a country that then had no towns. But the coming of the rail­roads developed the cities and the towns. True, the transcon­tinental railroads were constructed and operated by private corporations. However, these private corporations received large Government subsidies in the nature of land grants, and large sums . of money were advanced for every mile of road constructed. The scandals that arose as a result of that legis­lation stirred the Nation to its very center. Small wonder that we do not want to embark upon a similar sea of trouble at this time. To-day, taking a retrospective glance at the legis­lation for the construction of the transcontinental railroads, I feel satisfied we all believe it would have been a much wiser course to have had the Government build the lines itself and then have leased them to such railroad corporations as would haYe been willing to pay for the privilege of using the tracks and the necessary depots, roundhouses, freight sheds, water tanks, and similar appurtenances.

That, in effect, is what the pending bill proposes shall be done. Under its terms the President is authorized to lease the road, together with the telegraph and telephone lines necessary for its operation, to responsible corporations upon such terms as he may deem acceptable under the provisions of the bill. And if the legislation can be carried out along those lines, the engineers and firemen, the conductors and brakemen, the switch·

LI-190

men and track laborers, the telegraph and telephone operators, and all the other employees that may be required to run the trains will not be Government employees, but employees of the private corporation that secures the lease, even though the physical property of the road which the Government may con­struct is· owned by the Government itself.

Mr. Chairman, I saw a statement in one of our newspapers a year or two ago to the effect that the residents of Alaska were compelled to pay $26 a ton for coal which was brought to them in ships from the world's coal fields, while at their very doors there were great deposits of coal which they dared not touch on account of our Government's attitude in having bottled up the coal supply of that Territory. To my mind such a condi· tion is disgraceful to our country and its legislators. With the construction of this railroad all the resources of that mighty empire in the north will be developed, not alone for the benefit of the people of Alaska, but for the benefit of all mankind.

Mr. KENT. I believe that this proposition of the · develop­ment of Alaska by the Government construction and operation of a railroad is a piece of ordinary common business sense. The Territory of Alaska represents the greatest real estate specula­tion that this country has indulged in. The purchase was criti­cized as being unwise, but it has eminently justified the wisdom of those who made the purchase. In ordinary business, if an individual owns land, the question always comes up as to what he should do with it. Is the land worth developing, or is it not? This is the crux of the Alaskan situation. The testimony, to my mind, is conclusive to the effect that Alaska is worth develop­ing. There is no doubt but that the mineral resources are worthy of the attention of the country; that the fisheries are marvelous; that the timber resources are valuable; and that in that vast Territory there. is an amount of agricultural land equal to the land that supports the highest civilization of northern Europe. What are. we going to do about it? In the development of our western country, knowing little about eco­nomics or the theory of risk, believing in the sufficiency of indi­vidual initiative and that everything would take care of itself if let alone, that we should grant subsidy to private enter­prise, we gave away an immense amount of the public domain for the purpose of furnishing railroad transportation. The western railroads at first did not seem very profitable. The old question of the unearned increment of the land took time to work out, but the railroad grants, the grants of land along the lines and of lieu lands, when the land could not be obtained along the lines, have furnished the greatest abuse of land tenure in the United States.

We have given away a vast amount of our public domain to private intere:Jts for developing transportation systems which we could have better developed as a people. There is always the old question of the community and the individual. The community is everlasting. It does not perish with the genera­tion. The community can assume risks that the individual can not assume. Are we statesmen or are we simply gauging all our questions by the individual human life here and now? Are we looking to the future or do we merely consider the present and what a man is justified in undertaking in his own short life?

I can no better state this question of the community versus the indi-vidual than by considering the very simple question of private ownership of timber. In the case of individual owner­ship the individual finds his interest in reaping his crop as soon as possible, regardless of the welfare of the community. He must make his dividend out of that land in his own short life and must waste or destroy in order to secure that dividend. Exactly the same question comes up in this matter of transporta­tion and development in Alaska. If I, as an individual, who could lend all the money I could secure at 5 per cent without risk and without taxation, which it is possible to do under pres­ent conditions, were asked whether or not I would go into the business of putting a railroad into Alaska, I should surely refuse unless I could control the resources of Alaska, unless in the event of the risk being determined in my favor I could obtain 30 or 40 per cent on the investment.

Every step we take in the development of society is taken to­ward the elimination of this element of risk, is taken toward placing that burden upon society which the individual can not afford to bear. This is the meaning of life insurance and fire insurance, and of every other step we are taking in social ad­vancement. The idea of corporate organization is primarily a device for dispensing with the risk of the individual life, is a plain effort to establish a narrow form of communism wherein the single life and its inevitable extinction shall not be the foundation of an enterprise. To revert to this ·specific case, we have first of all the question, Is this great region worth develop-

'3002 .CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUBE .. F EBRUARY 5',

ing? The testimony is overwhelmingly univer sal that it is. Next,. we have the -question, Shall it be done by private enter­prise or by the public! There is no question about what the fr.llSwer should be. If we think we can hold out from de-velo-p­ing this vast teuito-ry we are badly mistaken. In a crowded world we have no right to cold-storage a continent. If we re­f-use as a peo-ple to do what business sense demands; if we say to private individuals, " Go ahead an::l develop it at your own risk," there will be a charge that the community can ill afford to p ay, bec-ause what is a risk to the individual, to be highly com­pen sated, is something that is not a serious charge upon the community and will probably produce great nationnl profit.

As to the question of Government ownership of railroads, and as to whether tha.t is a bad precedent, tbat question is simple, absolute absurdity. In. the beginni.ng, the railroad was a high­w ay upon which the people could haul their own cars. We have had publicly owned ruilr o ds and privately owned railroads, ~mel there is no more precedent for privately owned rnHroads th:m for publicly o""Tied railroncls. It is always a QIJestion of wha t is tlle best and th~ wisest thing to do in every given cas~. l n Alaska. where we are empire building, is a case where th-2 element of risk l:aid· on the individual is more than he can bear unless rrn extortionate pnyrnent be made in terms of pnblie concession. whereas if all of us take upon ourselves this develop­ment of our national resources we can well assume a l>urden that will cease to be harzurdons as soon as rmdertaken.

I am not a bit afraid! of talk of socialism It may or may not he that I am a Socialist. I think an ortllodo:x: Socialist ··would quickly deny my right to the epithet. President Hadley, ·of ~ale, defined socialism as "·the ~elief o-:f those persons who desire to extend the sphere of government." I believe in ex­tending fue sphere of government whercyer it may be extended to • uJ)serve the general welfare. I would let the individual do as much as he can do. using all his initiative and efficiency, but whenever there comes a time when the individual can not or wHl not render a necessary service without e:s:a.cting an ex­tortionate pyiee, then and there is a place where we ought to extend tile sphere- of government. [Applause.} Government ·by which we mean restraint is not only found in what is reeog­ni~ed as law. There is just as much restraint and therefore as much government in the exercise of priva,te privilege as there is in the repression of the individual under the law. It be­comes a question as to wheri and where- we under the law sl:ould interfere with the interference that people by reason of cnpital, by reason of strength, impose upon us. When and where we as a community in municipality, State, or natiO!l should collecti-vely act for our own welfare instead of granting · licf'.nses to perform public functions.

The CH AIRMA N. The gentleman from Kansns [l\Ir. TAG­GART] i recognized_

.Mr. TAGGA..llT. ~r. Chairman, we are now confronted with the- question, What is oul!' duty toward om . .: own property? We have in .Alus.Jm 590,000 square miles, practically an of it the property of the United States. .According to all the reports, it contains inexhaustible resources of coal and copper and great quantities o:f gold. According to the reports of the Department of Agriculture, a great share of it can be converted into homes for the people.

Now, what is our duty toward that domain? We c-an take eithffi" one o:t two courses. We can let it lie idle and remain unopened as an investment for the future or we can take steps to have its great resources developed. Nature fenced it in with . monnt:lin ranges and gave it rough and stern climate. The Gove-rnment of the United States, as if it could add to the re­strictions that nature placed: upon it, has forbidden the Ameri­can citizen to lay his hands upon the resources of Alaska.

We have all agreed that tllose resources can not be developed without transportation. How can that transportation be pro· -vided? Who will build railroads there? We can have rrul.roads built there, as the State of Texas has had railroads built and as the United States has had railroads built in other days, by giving to those who bui1d the railroads a great share of the land . But if you and I were to vote for any such measure as tha t , it would . not meet with the app1·oval of the American people and we would be retired from Congress.

.1.\I r. Chairman, every rru1ro"Ud west of the M"issourl River was paid for by the people of the United States by giving their land for the building of it, and yet they do not own any one of those r ailroads. Of two rni:Froads in Texas, I am told, one w as given 20 square miles of' State land for every mile of rail­road built and' the other 16 square miles of land for every mile of rfrilroad constructed, and yet the people of Texas do not own those railroads. We have- now d.etermined that we are going to build o:ne. railroad in .A.laskn and O"wn that railroad. [Applause.]

Alaska has, a s I said, 590,()()() square miles o.f land. It is in the same latitude as the Scandinavian P eninsula. Why. the capital of Norway is near 58° north latitude. Tbree of the great capitals of Em(}pe are at or near 60° north latitude. In the Kingdom of Nor ay alone there are only 144,000 square miTe!:: and 392,628 of the ablest and most thrifty people in this world make a living in that country. In Sweden there are but 177,.875 square miles, and five and one-half million of indus­trious a:nd intelligent people make their living there, although their land is far away from the influence of the Gulf Stre:im and has a climate like the interior of Alaska, ancl there is no coal in the Scandinavian Peninsula. We have with us in these United States some· of those people- and their descendants who are able and W111ing to develop the agricultural resources o:f .Alaska and make their homes there.

But I must hurry along, because I wish to say a word about coal in Alaska. Is it strange that gentlemen of the Pocahontas coal region are the first and most strenuous in tll:eir protest against developing the eoal fields of Alaska? Along that line I wish to read what a former Secretary of the Navy, .Mr. Meyer, said in a hearing before the Sena te which was held in February, two years ago. before this matter was' agitated. Mr. Meyer stated that we are now taking to the Pacific coast for the use of the Navy 150,000 tons of coal annually from the .Atlantic coast, which costs $3 a ton in Norfolk, Va., and paying from $5 to. $8 a ton to- carry it around Cape Horn. He further stated that just as soon as the Panama Canal opens we shall have to take twice as mueh coal to the Pacific coast as we do now; and he further stated that if there shoUld be a wnr and it were necessary for the fleet to operate in the Pacific Ocean 200,000 tons of coal a month would be necessary to be taken there.

Bnt gentlemen say that the Navy Department has examined this Alaskan coal and that it is not of the quality required for steaming pm·poses. Why, 1\f:r. Chairman, we fail to realize what an emergency war is. We fail to realize that war is an occasion when every advantage is grasped at once, when inferior coal will be used, if it is inferior, if we can not procure the superior. There are ca..ses on record in the Navy Department where they actually used bacon for fuel on board our warships in the Civil War-anything to make a fire. Yet these gentlemen practically admit that we wonld be perfectly helpless with our 150,000 tons of coal and the necessity of bringing 200.000 tons a month more to the Pacific Ocean in case of war. We would be per­fectly helpless in the face of the enemy, even if we utiliz:ed eve-ry ship that could move coal from the Atlantic sea.board to the Pacific Ocean, it we had to u.se none but the eastern coal'. But Jet us read what the Secretary of the Navy said with refer­ence to .Alaskan coaL

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman allow me to ask him a question?

The CHAIRMAN. Does the gentleman yield? 1\fr. TAGGART~ Yes. Mr. SHERWOOD. We will be perfectly helpless a.s against

what power? Mr. TAGGART. Any power that would attac~ the United

States. We could not operate our battleships; we could not haul coal enough to the Pacific.

Mr. SHERWOOD_ What power did the gentleJLan mean? Mr. TAGGART_ Any power that mjght attack us. I am L.ot

mentioning any particular power now. Mr. SHERWOOD. How near are the Pacific powers to us?

About 8,000 miles? 1\Ir. TAGGART. I will say to the distinguished gentleman

from Ohio that I understand--The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Kansas

has expired. Mr. TAGGART. Mr. Chair.Illll.n, I ask unanimous consent to

continue for three minutes. The CHAIRMAN. The ge:r:tleman from Kansas [Mr. T.A.G­

GART] asks unanimous consent to proceed for three minutes. Is there objection?

There was no objection. Mr. TAGGART. Now I yield to the gentleman from Ollio. Mr_ SHERWOOD. Does the gentleman refer to Japan? Mr. TAGGART. I do not wish to make any reference now

to any country, but we would be helpless against any power in the Pacific Ocean that might attack us, if we were limited to eastern coal for any great length of time.

.Mr. SHERWOOD. Where would they, on their ];Jart, get thei:r coal?

Mr. TAGGART. They have it, and we are buying 80,000 tons of coal a year in Asia now to supply our ships in the Pacific, and leaving our coal fields in Alaska untoucbctl. 'J.'lie Gug...,en­heirns aTe getting out millions of dollars' worth of copper from

1914~ . CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD- HOUSE; 3003 Alaska now, and some· gentlemen here will vote in favor of let­ting the Guggenheims go ahead and stopping everybody else.

1\Ir. Chairman, I wish to read what the Secretary of the Navy said with respect to .Alaskan coal. He said:

We have tested the Pacific coal-all the coal we could get-and we could not find anything that was unsatisfactory to the Navy. We had samples of this Matanuska coal, as it is called, and, so fnr as we could see, it was absolutely satisfactory. I understand the Mn.tanuska coal field lies north of Prince Willi'nm Sound, and from 150 to 200 miles from Seward on Resurrection Bay. It is known to contain extensive bodies of coal of the same or slightly superior quality to that of the Bering River field.

There is at present a railroad extenHing from Seward toward Mata­nuska for about 70 mlles, which railroad was abandoned for lack of funds as well for various other reasons. It is believed that the exten­sion of this road to the Matanuska mines would make possible the bringing of this coal to tidewater .. on Resurrection Bay, which has a magnifi cent and extensive harbor landlocked and free from ice.

I took thL~ matter up with Secretary Fisher, and urged upon him the advisability of having a certain area reserved for the use of the Navy. He was fully in sympathy with the proposition, and made the recom­mendation in his report to the President, which was forwarded to Con­gress. I also know that the coal is of that special kind of coal which equals in quality and is of thP. same character as the Pocahontas coal, and is acceptable to the Government for naval purposes.

It was the Secretary of the Navy who made this statement before the Naval Committee of the House. Yet we come now with one experiment and denounce the judgment of that Secre­tary of the Navy because they went up and got some coal out of one mine and it llid not give satisfactory results.

1\Ir. Chairman, any kind of statement may be made about the climate of Alaska and the statement can be true. The Territory is so vast and extends over so many degrees of latitude and is so affected by ocean currents and mountain ranges that it has every conceivable variety of climate. At the town of Fairbanks, near the parallel of 64 o, an experiment station is conducted by the Department of Agriculture, and I will insert as a part of my remarks what is said in the report to the department for 1912, pages 50 and 51, about the grain crop, without mention­ing the vegetables or the hay, which, of course, will grow where grain can be raised successfully :

Red Fife wheat seeded 1\Iay 1 began heading July 3. It had suffi­ciently ripened to cut on September 10. It made a thick, even growth 4 feet tall and yielded about 55 bushels per acre.

Romanow wheat seeded May 1 began heading July 4. It ripened with Red Fife. The grain stood 4 ~ feet tall, very even and thick throughout th·~ plat. ~'his variety gave a yield of 60 bushels per acre.

Wild Goose wheat seeded May 2 began heading July 4. It ripened a few days later than the above varieties, stood 5 feet tall, very even and thick throughout the plat, and indicated a yield equally as heavy as Romanow. ·

The fall proved so cool and damp that these three varieties were cut and hung up in a shed to dry out and harden. The grain is wen · filled with plump kernels.

Sixty Day oats seeded May 2 began heading June 28. They made a thick, even growth about 3 feet tall, were ripe enough to cut August 10, and yielded about 85 bushels per acre.

Finnish oats seeded May 10 began heading July 4, and were ripe for cutting August 15. The crop was very heavy, standing 4 to 5~ feet tall . '.rhis variety yielded at the rate of about 90 bushels per ·acre.

Banner oats seeded May 2 began heading July 4, made a very thick growth 3! feet tall, and were ready to cut August 15. This variety gave a yield of 100 bushels per acre.

Beardless barley (No. 19852) seeded May 3 began heading June 26. It made a heavy growth 4 feet tall, was ready to cut August 10, and when thrashed yielded 50 bushels to the acre.

Hull-less barley (No. 19851) seeded May 3 be"'an heading June 25, made a thick, even growth 3 ~ feet tall, was rea'ay to cut August 10, and vielded 42 bushels of 60 pounds each per acre. ·

The above grains were seeded with a No. 4 Planet Jr. drill on a south hillside which had been cropped to potatoes the two years pre­vious. The tract is birch timberland cleared three years ago. No fer­tilizers were used on this tract, neither on the potatoes nor on the grain, but it probably represents the best soil and exposure.

Buckwheat seeded May 10 was injured by frost June 8. The first blossoms appeared July 5. It made a heavy growth 4~ to 5 feet tall. The weather was so cool and cloudy all fall that only about 25 per cent of the grains ripened. Some of this was stripped off by hand for seed, and the crop plowed under as a fertiUzer. This was the heaviest growth of buckwheat the writer bas ever seen, and other easterners who saw it -were of the same opinion.

Fall rye and Kbarkof winter wheat were seeded on a north slope of light soil the first week in August, 1911. It made a fair fall growth. About 75 per cent of the rye survived the winter, but not ·more than 5 per cent of the wheat lived. Both grains matured, but much rater than usual. Fall grains generally ripen about "August 10. The same varieties were seeded August 1 of this year on newly cleared birch land sloping to the south and west.

The Trans-Siberian Railroad in Siberia follows a line ranging from 50° to 60° north latitude, and although the climate in the interior is p~rhaps colder than the climate of interior Alaska, agriculture flourishes along this railroad in Siberia, so much so that Siberian agricultural products are now found in all the great markets of the world. A study of the latitude and longi­tude of Alaska and its position with reference to other places is very astonishing. At latitude 60° north and 140° west, or near that point, are excellent harbors on the coast. At longitude 93° or 94 o west and 60° north is approximately the location of Port Nelson, on Hudson Bay. Degrees of longitude at latitude 60° north are half the distance apart that they are at the Equator, so that it is iess than 1,800 miles from the Pacific to

the Atlantic tidewater at that latitude. Port Nelson is exactly the same distance from Liverpool as New York is from Liver­pool, and is nearer the Pacific Ocean than Kansas City. In the course of time .Alaskan railroads will connect with the tide­water of Hudson Bay. Alaska will then be only ·10 days from London. It is actually nearer Europe than the center of tho United States.

The Panama Canal will revolutionize transportation between the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts. The canal is less than 2,000 miles from New York; it is 3,277 miles from San Francisco and 5,079 miles from Sitka. Ships going around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco travel nearly 13,000 miles. The same ships can now reach Alaska by traveling slightly more than half that distance. The freight rates from the Atlantic seaboard ·to Alaska will be much less than the present freight rates from the Atlantic coast to the interior of the United .States.

Who will say that the Government of the United States should not take steps to develop a region that comprises more than one­seventh of its whole territory? It does not menu that we are committed to the policy of Government ownership of railroads any more than the construction of the Pttnama Canal means that we are committed to the policy of Government ownership of canals. Alaska is an exception. In its present status no person or corporation without enormous wealth could do any­thing toward developing its resources. The man of small means is absolutely prevented from making a success at any kind of enterprise in Alaska. He would have no means of transporta­tion. Railroads have been built there, not for the profits that might be derived from carrying freight or passengers, but simply as a means of reaching the mineral wealth of the inte­rior. Then the people were prohibited from taking ancl develop­ing mineral claims, and some of the railroads necessarily failed. Notwithstanding all this, Alaska has an output of the value of $40,000,000 annually, nearly all from the coast, and has up to date produced more than $500,000,000 in wealth. When means of transportation are provided for the use of the people, who can estimate what will then be the value of the output of Alaska? Will not the additional revenue derived from the income tax easily pay the interest on the bonds for $35,000,000 that it is proposed to issue, and will not the sale of lands pay the prin­cipal? I believe that the development of Alaska by building these railroads will not ultimately cost the people of the United States a single dollar. If Alaska is allowed to remain in its present condition, it will never be of any value to anyone. It belongs to the American people, and let us open it and help to develop its resources for the benefit of the American people.

The CHAIRMA.J.'f. The time of the gentleman has expired. l\Ir. FERGUSSON. Mr. Chairman, in the short time that is

allotted to me I shall simply give some reasons why, from my standpoint, it is my duty to vote for this bill.

I was trained in the school of the strictest construction of the power that governs; but I believe that we have reached an era in the development of our country, with its enormous popu­lation, with its great evolution of business and the methods of business, with its great combinations of capital and their law­less disposition if uncontrolled, where we must face this propo­sition: Are we, under the Constitution under which we have grown so great, able to meet the problems of the present day? This bill proposes a radical innovation; but we can not hesi­tate at change only because it is change. Evolution of business was and is inevitable; and if we can not adjust the methods of government to the changing conditions as they occur and still be loyal to our system of government then our system of govern­ment is a failure. We are confronted with the proposition of a great, unexplored section of country ; and this bill proposes the inaguration of a system of governmental control over the de­velopment of a country of enormous extent and of claimed natural resources of great value. As to the extent of the re­sources, that can only be shown by actual development. Three possible courses are open to us in handling the problems pre­sented by Alaska :

Shall we leave Alaska locked up? Shall we turn Alaska over to the Morgan-Guggenheim syndi­

cate or some such vast combination of wealth~ or shall we-­the Government having withdrawn from private exploration practically the whole of that country-provide the means, under goverrn:i:lental auspices, for ·developing its resources and trans­porting them to market?

No one will advocate seriously that we shall leave .Alaska untouched and absolutely closed to private enterprise. With 90,000,000 of people, with the vast industrial centers over­crowded, with the great tide of emigration westward still clamoring for homes and for opportunity, it is our duty to see to it that Alaska is opened up.

I

I

.3004 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

It is also certain that no one will advocate the turning over of Alaska to be exploited by great combinations of tyrannical, overpowering, and selfish combinations of wealth. The history of the operations of such in our own country for the last 40 years absolutely forbids any such course. Nor can we allow such combinations of wealth to own the means of transporta­tion to and from that vast country. The evidence ·so far, as abundantly brought forth in this debate, of the operations of the l\1organ-Guggenheim syndicate, and especially of the abso­lute a lmost criminal outrages perpetrated upon the people of t ha t country, shows .what the future would hold in store for a nything like private enterprise while the transportation sys­t em was priy-a tely controlled.

But some fear that to pa ss this bill is but the entering wedge to aoy-ernmental ownership of all the railroads of the country. Th: t does not follow by any means. What is proposed is partly from the necessity of the case, and it may be looked at as partly an e..~periment in Government ownership and operation of rail roads · but under the most adverse circumstances the owner­ship and 'operation of a railroad in a remote country like that, remote f rom all other avenues of transportation, in a cold, h a rd climate, with .... a meager population, certainly is putting the proposition to a most severe test, and, moreover, it will be an experiment under conditions that do not at all exist in the r est of our areat country. The building of this railroad is but the beginning of a general system of dealing with Alaska and i ts enormous resources. The great body of the coal is still in the ownership of the Government; the oil , most of the mineral lands, and, in fact, practically all of the. peninsula is still owned by the Go-vernment and at present withdrawn from any private ex11loitation. The situation awaits this first step in the neces­sity to-d ay of reclaiming Alaska for the uses of ci-v iliza tion. It will have to be followed, of course, by provisions-under some system of leasing, in all probability-providing and carefully guarding the equality of opportunity for every enterprising citizen who goes there to reap the full rewards of his time, money, and enterpri e by insuring at the least possible cost consistent with good service uniform and equitable freight rates for what must go into the country from the outside as well as for the transportation of the products of the country from within to the markets of the world.

Is this bill forbidden by considerations of the Constitution and the limitation of government under it? We can not tak~ that stand, no matter if Jeffer£on did say, "The country that is governed least is governed best." We can not say that our reverence for the Constitution forbids us to live in the present day of wonderful evolution of business and business methods. It is .a species of disloyalty to the Constitution of our great country to say that under it we can not meet the present con­ditions resulting from the wonderful creation of wealth that h as already taken place under it. There must be evolution in Go\ernment methods under our Constitution that will be equal to the business methods of modern times. Our forefathers themselves contemplated the perpetuity of their work by provid­ing a method of amending the Constitution so as to make it fit, consistent with the individual freedom of initiative in­tended to be promoted by it, to govern whatever civilization might result under the free institution of a great people.

'Ve are to-day legislating for practically 100,000,000 peopl'e, and I for one will not consent that w~ are in a strait-jacket, unable under 001· free institutions to cope with any question that may arise to preserve the initiative, opportunity, and free­dom in every citizen to pursue his life, preserve his liberty, and enjoy happiness s.s his own will indicates. We have the power under the Constitution to control these great combinations of wealth. We are encouraged by the success of our present Demo­cratic administration so far. It is engaged, in advocating this bill, as well as in ad\ocating the bills already passed and those contemplated for the immediate future, in demonstrating again to the world that this is a Go-vernment truly devoted to pro­moting the happiness of the great mass of common people and protecting them from the rapacity of others under this form of government, whether from the individual tyrant or from the corpora te tyrant. For that purpose we Democrats have at the head a President who suggests Jefferson himself in his wonder­ful grasp of the fundamental principles of a free government, who suggests Old Hickory in his firmness and indomitable will, and who is a worthy successor of Lincoln in his broad hillnanity and sympathy with the individual, however humble. For these reasons I think it is the duty of this Democratic House to pass this bill.

[Mr. LINDBERGH addressed the committee. See Appendix.] Mr. COX. Mr. Chairman, at first I was disposed to favor this

proposition. Like many able and conscientious Memb~rs of 1;!1e

House, it looked to me as though this was the only remedy to solve the perplexing and vexatious problem in Alaska that has affected the Nation for the past eight years. I am not prepared to discuss this question now as I would like to be. I have listened attentively to all the debates, pro and con, on the propo­sition; have read all the hearings before the Committee on the Territories; and have arrived at the conclusion that I can not conscientiously support the measure, although I would appreciate it if I could bring my mind to the conclusion that it would be my duty to support it. In a sense, I regret that I am unable to meet the views of my great leaders who stand sponsor for the bill, but when questions of fundamental policy confront me, I must solve them by the best light that is given me to solve them.

1\ly party platform has been injected into this debate, and the inference left that we were directed by it to support this meas­ure, but I am unable to read it into the pla tform, because no such language can be found there. If it had been in the plat­form, I would have done one of two things-either informed my people who voted for me last fall in my dist1ict before they cast their ballots that I would not support the measure or I would stand on the pla tform and support it.

To my mind the question invol\ed here is fundamental, a step in the direction of driving at the very foundation of this Republic, as I view it. It involves the question of Government ownership of railroads. You can not twist and distort the Eng­lish language to mean other than straight Government owner­ship of rrulroads in Alaska. Instance after instance has been cited in support of this bill that the Government in the past has in some way aided in building railroads. The report of the committee favoring this bill says we have· given approxi­mately 155,000,000 acres of land for the building of railroads in the West and Southwest. I am not here to criticize the able men in Congress who voted to give these empires of land to aid in the construction of railroads. No doubt they acted conscien­tiously and for what they thought to be for the very best interest of the country. That it is now universally condemned by all I think is conceded, yet the giving of land to aid in the construc­tion of railroads and the proposition for the Government to build, own, and operate them is quite a different proposition. While it is true that empires of real estate were given away to aid in the construction of railroads, yet no proposition was advanced at the time, much less enacted into law, giving to the Government the right to own, run, and operate the railroads after completion.

This bill, shortly to come before the House, not only pro­poses Government ownership of railroads, but gives to the Presi­dent of the United States the power to operate it. The Philip­pine railroad has been cited as an illustration and as a reason why this bill should become a law, because our Government gave its moral support to the Philippine Legislature to issue $30,-000,000 worth of bonds for the building of railroads in these islands. The Panama &:'l.ilway has been cited as another illus­tration why this bill should become a law. Three reasons as­signed in support of the pending measure. Whether any one of these are soupd in logic and in economics I will not stop to argue. This measure is but another milestone in the direction of the ultimate ownership of railroads in this country. In my judgment, in less _than 10 years Members serving in this House will be met with the argument that as the Government built the railroads in Alaska why not the Government own and op­erate the railroads in this country? He who stands for the proposition of the GoYernment spending $40,000,000 to-day to build not more than 1,000 miles of railroad in Alaska let him not stagger or pause when presented with the question of issu­ing from fifteen to twenty billion dollars' worth of bonds in order to buy, own, and operate the railroads of the Nation. Tremendous and mighty forces are at work in the country to-day, ever moving forward with cunning and ingenious argu· ment toward favoring Government ownership of railroads. It remains to be seen whether there will be enough conservatism left in America to meet the mad onrush of Government ownership of railroads. Believing that this is a step in the direction of ultimate ownership of rrulroads in this country, I refuse to com­mit myself to such a policy. [Applause.] I do it because I am unalterably opposed to it. Under no conditions whate-.;-er could I bring my mind to the point of supporting Government ownership of railroads in this Nation. Rather than do H I would gladly sacrifice my seat in thjs House and retum to my constituency and to private life. It would fasten u debt npon us as long as our Nation endures. The time would never come when our offspring would be free of this mighty and gigantic debt, a debt on which hibute would be paid to the end of eternity by the toiling masses of the Nation.

The Senate bill carries $40,000,000 for the building of rail­.r.oads in. Alaska and p1:oposes to issue bonds to this amount

I ~914- CONGRESSIONAL REOORD-HOUSE .. 3005 beating 3 per cent interest, thereby entailing an interest debt I go to that frozen country for the purpose of making their homes upon us of $1.200,000 per year, and to this must be added the and settling it? History is against it. Judging the future by annnal cost and upkeep of the road, which will amount to not the past, for a thousand years to come it will not be an agri­less than 10 per cent per year of the original cost of construe- cultural country. So the only thing left to ship ov-er the roads tion, .making a sum of $4,000,000 for this purpose-a total of not when completed are minerals in .Alaska. I concede these are :Jess than $5,200,000 annually as the interest charge upon the abundant; probably nothing like it to~day in the bosom of the American people as a result of rthe building of these roads. I earth in the way of coal, copper, gold, and so forth; yet wllen .can not justify my conscience and my cbuv.ictions upon the sub- you have taxed the people, imposed this tremendous burden ;ject by voting a mortgage upon eyery infant born 'to-day .as upon them, and built your railroads -you .have still got to wrestle .long us it lives, if that be "three score and ten," or, if "bY with the problem of opening up these mines. Will the pro­reason of "Strength it reach four score," yet the child born to-day ponents of "this bill advocate the Government going in a.nd op­will not live long enough to see this debt of $40.,000,000 paid, erating the coal, copper, and gold mines in Alash.~? Surely not. and everyone knows that this is but the beginning-a mere So we will be confronted with the proposition of d.isposing of the speck-a drop in the bucket as it were; once the system of lands containing these valnable ores; and after the roads are building railronds is started upon, the Lord only knows where built we are no nearer a solution of the question than we are it will end. I retrain .from prophecy. to-day. The wise, sane, and -sensible thing to do is to pass a.

The proof before the Territories Committee shows ;that to de- ·leasing law and lease out the mineral resources of that Terri­velop Alaska as .it .should be developed by the construction of tory. Let the private capital go in, lease, and work them. By railroads it will reqllire the building of ~O,OOC miles of this .means the Gov-ernment ut all times would have its hands railroad, and the estimated cost of the construction of rail- upon the resources .and would prevent monopoly, combinations, ..road in that country is not less than $48,000 per mile, and and ·trnsts, and in this way would hold down prices to the con­if it be developed as the people of Alaska and Seattle desire ·sumers of ·these commoditi.es. The railroads built by private "it developed it will entail the expenditure of $480,.000,000 before capital wonld be under the control of the Interstate Commerce d.t is .finally completed. This stupendous sum is appalling and ·Commission, which would ha \e the same power to fix: rntes staggering to the human mind; is inconceivable by the mathe- there as it has to fix the rates over railroads in continental matician much less to the layman who by the sweat of his 'United :States. ,brow must earn. the .money ultjmately to pay this enormous bill. In my juugment, the thing to do is for Congress to pass these .A.h, but we are told that Canada is building railroads. Suppose lensing Jaws, let private capital go in tmd build the railroads, d.t is; is that a valid 1·eason and justification for us rto embark and then let them be amenable to the ·Interstate Commerce Com­upon the same ente.q>rise? Must we ta:x our people in order mission the same a-s other railroads are in the United States. to .keep abreast of what some othm· nation is doing? And the ; 1\fr. Chairman, 1 may be wrong, I may not be following out ,friends of the measure .go further, and point to the fact that the will and wishes of my peop1e, may be doing my country an every Gove.riL.nent in Europe owns its own railroads except .Eng- injustice and a wrong, but, viewing it as I do, ·I can not net land; using this as an argument aml a justification for us to otherwise than to oppose this measure. I think it is unwise, build, :naintain, and operate railroads in Alaska. There is .no 'ill founded; a -step in the wrong direction ; another and J)owerful .comparison between the great Republic of the United States argument to be used in 'less than another aecade, when we and every nation in Europe; those are monarchial govern- meet, as we will meet, the supreme question of Government .ments, where the voice of the people is but lightly l:..eard in leg- ownership of .railroads in .this eountry ; and viewing it as I do, :i.sla.tive bodies. Ours is a republican form of government, .where ~ can not give it my -support, and intend .to vote against it. the voice o.f tile people is supposed to be supreme Jn legislative [Applause.] .bodies. Mr. STEBlli.~ERSON. Mr. Chairman, I am in fn.TUr of this

Time and time again during my · short career in Congress I bill, because I believe it is our duty to develop Alaska. lAp­have heard .the argument .used on this and on that proposition, _plause.] I -believe that in the end the ha:ppiness nnd the pros-

. " They are doing it this way in Europe; why not do it the same perity and the strength of the people of the United States and :way ·in our country?" So ..far as I am concerned, 1 care ·not the Nation will .be promoted by th1s Government enterprise . .if every Governinent in the world owned and o_perated its own ![.Applause.] -railroads; I am opposed to our ·Government owning and oper- r.rhe argument brought against this bill by neacly every s_peaker ating railroads in this country. .I am opposed to it because it is based upon the assertion that this means that Government .is contrary to our policies, our institutions, and our form of ownershi_p of railroads throughout the United States would be .goyernment. 1 am opposed to it because it is -socialism of the socialistic and destructi\e to free institutions. ~hat is at lea-st rankest, .wildest, maddest sort. ! am ·o_ppos.ed to it for economi- · the impliCLiti.on we can fa.i:rcy draw from what has been said in .cal reasons. 1 am op_posed to it .. because when that time comes · opposition. ,we will ha\e the strongest centralized power upon the globe; 1 Now, in the first place, the answer .to that is that the condl· all power reserved to the States under the Constitution will .be , tions in the case of Alaska .are enfu:ely different from conditions .brushed aside -and set a.t naught. I agree that .Alaska shDuld .here; that unless 'Government ~terprtse takes hold of the mat­be developed-that the door should be unlocked ; and I ag1·ee .ter then the great empire of Alaska will r.emain undev-eloped iurther that the key with which to unlock it 1s railroads, but ct:or an indefinite time in the futur~ and there will be no oppm'­.I can not agree that the people of this country should be tunity whatev-er for individual enterprise to ·exert itself the1>e . • bonded .to the sum of .$40,000,000 _for ·the _purpose of buying the What -was· the purpose of this Government acquirin_g Alaska? key to unlock the storehouses of Alaska. The thing to do is to What was the purpo-se of the Government ncgniring any terri­pass some wise and sane legislation and let private capital go .tory~ .Those w.ho have argued that Alaska was a great coal bin, in and develop it. You can build a railroad on every .square ·woodpile, gold or copper mine, and that it belonged to the llnile in Alaska at the people's expense and if you do not have people of the ·United States to enrich them are far nfield "from .the commodities to ship over it it will never pay operating the true reason .for developing Alaska. When the United States expenses, much less interest upon bonds and the .cost and acquiTes dominion over any extensive tracts of .territory, -the upkeep of the road. duty devolves upon it .not so much to exploit th.e nntural re-

With all due deference to ·the able gentleman who portrayed sources .fur the benefit of tile poople of the States as to build ;such beautiful and glowing _pictures about .Alaska being a .great there a civilization, to induce immigration and settlement of the agricultural ,country, J can not believe it; I can not agree with people to that territory, ·n order that homes ma_y spring up . .him on this subject. God Alm!ghty in his ;inscrutable wisdom [applause] ,and that that territory -may contribut-e to the general neYer intended .Alaska to be n great agricultural countl~; for strength and ha:ppine.ss of the wh-ole Union. Let us take this His own reu.sons He set the bounds of a.griculture by proper .argument of Government ownership of railroads that is ad­!latitudes, and man, with all hi-s cunningJ science, and genius, \anced here. What does it .amount to .? Has anybody yet l1I'O\en down to this day has never overcome it and I _prophesy never that the ownership and operation of railroads by Gon~rnrnent is .wlll. That it c.ould be made to grow a few .of the .hardy vege- in all cases wrong or a destruction of free institutions? I submit tables I haYe no doubt; but ..how are you going to induce men not. The.gentleman who is -at the head of the State Department and women to settle any country where the earth is frozen to-day, .some years ago after traveling in Europe and seeing State­countless thousands of :feet deep and where the J.ndisputa.ble operated raih'Oads, made the remark that .if Government regulu­etidence shows it costs from $.125 to $200 per acre .to clear ,it, j tion of railroads in the United States pro\ed a failure, tile only .and then compelled "to let it .:remain exposed to the sun two .or alternative was ·Government ownership and operation. Mani-three year-s beforejt will grow anything? , festly that is true.

reo1Jle seek homes for purposes .of remuneration, :for the pur- I do not ·believe .in GoveTilillent ownership and operation of ·pose of li"dng .upon them, for the pnrpo.se of raising families 1 railroads, 1but Jhat .the -Govern..ment :Should -regulate ,them in and educating them. With countless hundreds and millions of ·order that they mny ;SerVe all the ·pe.Qple equitably, fairly, and .acrn-s of nnoccupied .land ln .this rcunntry, ;will !they migrat-e :.and efficiently-if that can not be done, if it pe ·impossible to do

·aoo6 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

that, if our regulation prove a failure, ·then I submit that we must adopt the other alternative. The suggestion that Govern­ment ownership and operation of railroads is more adapted to monarchical or autocratic governments rather than to govern­ments based on the rule of the people is without real founda­tion. Australia, for instance, is ruled by the people just as much as we are, and they have Government-operated railroads, so that it is not correct to say that Government railroads are characte~istic of monarchical or autocratic governments. The monarchical governments referred to by the last speaker in the last analysis will be found to be of the constitutional or limited variety, so that the voice of the people expressed at the ballot box to a very great extent rules. It is practically con­coded everywhere to-day that the people ought to and do control; that democracy is everywhere triumphant in the great­est governments of the civilized world.

.Mr. BRYAN. 1\fr. Chairman, if the gentleman will permit, the Republic of Switzerland--

Mr. STEENERSON. Oh, I do not care anything about Switz­erland. It is a little bit of a spot and is always brought up as an example, and there is no comparison between Switzerland and this country. [Laughter.] My position is that this is an exception to the general rule against government entering the field of private enterprise. Here the GoYernment owns substan­tially all tl1e land with all its natural resources. We are not "villing to repeat the mistakes of the old land-grant policy, and unless we do, private enterprise will not build railroads there. In constructing and operating this railroad we are not pursuing a socialistic, but an individualistic tendency.

I favor this bill because by extending this enterprise into the interior of this great domain we will make it possible for people there to build homes for themselves and to earn a living by their own exertions.

1t seems to me that during this debate and discussion the real reason for this measure has not been emphasized. On page 13 of the report I find one reference to that:

Unrestricted monopoly might develop immense values there for pri­vate interests, but the development to be fostered is such as would utilize these great values for the American people and furnish homes for the rearing of noble and hardy men and women.

That is the real reason for supporting this bill. The CHAIRM.AN (Mr. DAVENPORT). The time of the gentle­

man from Minnesota has expired. Mr. STEENERSON. Mr. Chairman, I thought I was entitled

to 15 minutes, and I think I have used only 5. The CHAIRMA.l~. The only thing the present occupant of

the chair knows is that the former occupant of the chair called his attention to the fact that at this time the time of the gen­tleman would expire.

Mr. STEENERSON. Mr. Chairman, I think I am entitled to a little more time.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the gentleman from Minnesota having more time?

There was no objection. Mr. STEENERSON. The question comes up in every de­

bate, How far may the Government extend its sphere of activ­itY or its functions without being charged with having a tend­ency towarq. socialism? As I have explained in this case, this proposed Government activity, instead of tending toward so­cialism, tends directly the other way. It is a strange thing, but it is true, that, although you may hear everywhere men advo­cating socialism and others advocating the let-alone policy, the theory of laissez faire, that we should be governed as little as possible, yet ih all the tides of time, we have never yet had a Government that followed in practice either doctrine.

To say that the Government might not interfere with the ownership and operations of railroads, where it was necessary, where not to do so would involve the destruction of individual rights and homes, I deem to be untenable. It is only analogous to the argument that you must not interfere with nature any­where. Does anyone contend that it is wrong to put an iron shoe upon the hoof of a horse? That is interfering with nature, and yet to do so enables the horse to travel faster and better. And if we can so interfere in the affairs of the people, by fur­nishing public utilities, if you please, that thereby it becomes possible for individuals to establish homes and flourish and maintain themselves as independent, free citizens of the com­munity, then it is the duty and it is wise for the State to under­take that activity. There is no State, and there never was, built upon the theory that you could not interfere with the in­dustries and activities of the people, nor has anyone ever been successful in establishing a society or a state upon the other theory, that there should be common property in all means of production, and that the Government should be the only em­ployer and the payer of wages. We fear that. We rightly fear socialism. But .why?

· Not because we believe that the coming of the ideal State, pictured in the writings of the Socialists, would be undesirable, but it is impossible, and while pursuing this Utopian dream we would so overload and magnify the work of the Government that we now have as to destroy the independence and liberty of the individual citizens. The tendency to increase the functions of government is world-w~de, and is not due to any conscious de­sign or plan but to changes incident to the development of our industrial lite. The world has grown smaller, and the people in it are gradually becoming more and more dependent upon each other for their very existence. Stop the exchange of commodi­ties even for a brief moment and it would cause suffering and hardship unspeakable.

While these revolutionary changes have taken place in the economic and industrial field, civilized man has not improved very much, either socially or morally, and hence the necessity for greater and greater compulsion, which is government, to force him not to overreach, cheat, or injure his neighbor. This necessity explains the need for Government regulation ot public utilities and interference with monopoly in trade and business. Where regulation fails there Government ownership has been resorted to. Monopoly in private hands, left unregulated, has proved intolerable, because human greed is too strong to be re­strained either by the sense of justice or regard for others, and hence we say it must be regulated by the Government, and, fail­ing that. Government or municipal trading is the last alter­native. This course, however, can not in any true sense be said to be "socialistic," because the ultimate object aimed at is not socialism but indindualism. If private monopoly were allowed unrestrained sway, the individual would to that extent be economically enslaved. Generally speaking, therefore, Govern­ment trading is entered upon and justified only where on ac­count of the tendency toward monopoly private enterprise under­taking the work can not be successfully regulated in the inter­est of the individual. It may also be entered upon where pri­yate enterprise is inadequate like, for instance, the Panama Canal. The proposed Government railroad in Alaska can also be justified on similar grounds, and its construction by making accessible the vast treasures of soil, mine, and forest of that imperial domain will furnish opportunities for the individual home builder which would be denied l.lim under development dominated by private monopoly.

The Socialist denounces competition and advocates monopoly, because it will, in his view, ha ten the revolution that is to overturn capitalism and substitute therefor })is ideal system. The social reformer encourages competition and the regulation and restraint of monopoly in the interest of the individual and his economic freedom and development under the existing oi·der. He believes that civilization in the future, as in the past, will be a gradual progress to greater freedom and better things economically, socially, and morally. The extreme conservative who so fears Government expansion that he will not curb monopoly by strict regulation or, failing that, by Government ownership of a public utility is really aiding the revolutionist who seeks to overturn our social system and our form of gov­ernment, for unrestrained monopoly in private hands will eventually become intolerable and result in revolution. While ordinarily, therefore, it is wise to confine the Government to its primary functions, it is not only permissible but obligatory to expand them whenever necessary to curb monopoly in order that the individual may have enlarged opportunity to become economically independent and the founder of a home, for, after all, the family is the unit upon which our whole political and social structure rests. Such expansion tends to progress and not to revolution and is the logical political development of the age in which we live. [Applause.]

1\Ir. LAFFERTY. Ur. Chairman, the largest qnestion that has arisen during the discussion of this very important bill is that of Government ownership and operation of railroads. There is no question but that this bill is going to pass the House of Representatives. [Applause.] There is no doubt but that it will pass by a large majority. I think there is no ques­tion but that it would puss by a larger majority except for this element of opposition that has arisen through the belief thnt the building of a Government railroad in Alaska might lead ulti­mately to Government ownership of railroads in the United States.

Personally, I believe in the highest degree of personal liberty so long as the action of the individual· is in consonance with justice and decency. I would gladly go out to-morrow and fight against the establishment of any monarchy where the American flag now floats. I do not believe that the people of the United States will ever consent to have any single foot of territory over which the Republic has once exercised its jurisdiction after­wards pass i~to the ha~ds or under the control of a monarchy.

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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-- ROUSE ..

But r have no fear from the viewpoint of· those wlio are opposed to this bill because it might lead to Government owne1~ship. There is no question but that i'f" this railroad to be constructed in Alaska proves· to be a great success-and I ha..ve no doubt but that it will-if it establishes and demonstrates that freights and passengers can be carried cheaper by a Government rail-' road than they can be carried or are being carried by privately owned carriers, there will be a general demand for GOYernment owned and operated railroads, and under those circumstances there ought· to be such a demand.

'There is. no other great power in· the world, as has been said, except the British Isles, but. that owns and operates to-day a substantial part of its railroads. New Z'ealand, Austrn..lia, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Italy, ·Denmark, and all the great powers of. Europe, and the colonies of Great Britain, are operating their own railroads. and at great benefit to those nations. We have the richest country in the world. We have the largest in point of population outside of China and India. We have the greatest natural opportunities, but we have as many poor people as any enlightened country in the world. W~ have as mn.ny veople under the Stars and Stripes who have a hard time. getting three meals a day as any country in the world that is civilized. We have one hundred and twenty billions of wealth, it is true, but 50 men through interlocking directorates, control 40 per cent, or nearly h-alf of it. Two hundred thousand men own outright 70 per cent of the wealth of this Republic. I am in favor of the individual. I am a Republican and ha.ve been from the time I was boru. 1\Iy father and three of his brothers served in the Union Army. But I come down here to Washington and' I vote with the Demo· crats or with the Progressives, or with the "what-nots," when· ever they propose a bill that I believe is right.

I be:Veve that the building of this railroad in Alaska will be a great benefit to those people outside of this collateral question. 1\In.ny settlers have gone to that Territory ..

The Executive of this Republic, backed up by a conservation sentiment, has withdl·awn from enh·y the mineral lands. of that great Territory, a.s. large as one-fifth of the United States: It is impossible, practically, for a citizen to acquire. a homestead in Alaska, because it is necessary for him to prove, in order to get the title to a homestead, that the lands embraced in his claim are nonmineral, which has always been a provision of the homestead law; and, besides, he is harassed by the special agents who are sent to Alaska.

It is no wonder that only 126 citizens have perfected titles to homesteads in Alaska under those conditions.

Now, a sh·anger dropping into this Chamber during certain stages of this discussion might have thought the sole issue in· volved in thi8 bill was whether or not the coal in Alaska was fit for the Navy, and whether or not that fact alone would justify the building of this railroad by the United States. That Alaska has enormous amounts of coal fit for all domestic uses, cooking and heating, there is no dispute. But the issue has been raised that it is not fit for the Navy; that it is not as efficient as Poca­hontas coal; that is, a ton of it, some say, will produce only 4.3 per cent as much heat as the Pocahontas coal, while others say it will produce 75 per cent as much heat.

Now, it does not matter, if you start a battleship across the Pacific Ocean, whether you have Alaska coal of the kind tested by the Navy or whether you have Pocahontas coal; that ship will go just as fast it you keep the fuTnace full of coal. [Applause.]

The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Oregon has expired. The gentleman from Colorado [Mr. SELDOMRIDGE] is recognized.

Mr. SELDO~IRIDGEl Mr. Chairman, the time allotted to me in the discussion of this important measure is entirely too short to permit of a comprehensive presentation of the subject in all of its various aspects.

I believe that this question should be considered entirely with reference to the future needs of the great Territory of Alaska, ,whlch embraces within its area a territory as large as one­.fifth of the United States, or about 590,000 square miles.

The report of the Director of the Census for 1910 makes the following statement concerning the production of gold in the Territory of Alaska :

The total value of the products of all mining industries in Alaska in 1909 was $16,033,427. Of this amount gold and silver mining con­tributed $16,327,752, or. 96.4 per cent. This product came principally from the flacer gold mines, the gold produced at these mines having a value o:t 12,762,032, which represented 55.5 per cent ot all placer gold produced n the United States in 1909. The value of the gold and silver produced in deep mines was $3,565,720. T}le industry next in· im­portance was the production of copper, the total value ot which was reported as $464,22o.

By reference to Senate Document 882, of the wealth pro­duced in Alaska from 1867 to 1911, we find that the total P.ro-

dnction of the Territory hn:s amounted to over $429,000,000; divided as follows.: Minerius:

G?ld...--------------------------------- $1D5,. 916, 520 SiJv~r---------------------------------- 1 500 441 Copper----------,------------------~~- s' 237' 504

~E~~~~~~~==~~~~~~~=~-=-=~~~~~ . ~~i m Sea and fur products : '

Fur-seal skins----------------------- 51, 835, 14.3 Aquatic furs, except seals------------------- 12, 49G, 06&

~f~il~~~~~~::~~=~~~=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14;~!~~~ii Total--------------------------------------- 429,523,030

From an original investment of $7,500,000 made by Secretary Seward in 1867, which has resulted in a return to the Nation since that date of over $500,000,000, who is there to contend that the Nation should not enter into a more definite under­taking to develop the hidden wealth of the country?

The product of the Alaskan fisheries is practically assured for generations to come with proper Government oversight and reguJation. We may also secure a continuance of fur products both from land and aquatic animals if we have proper laws to prevent waste and depredation, but we can never secure de­Yelopment of the hicl'den mineral resources of the interior with­out furnishing our citizens. with proper means ot transportation necessary for such development.

It is a striking fact that the most productive gold-mining propositions are those- in which there are large bodies of low­gra_de ore. The Treadwell mines are treating ore at n: profit which does not run over $2.50 per ton. We have made wonder­ful progress during the past 10 years in the discovery of treat­ment methods for low-grade ores, and there is abundant evidence that the interior of AL.'l.ska has an unlimited supply of ores of this character. Private capital can not and will not undertake 3-?Y developp::Lent of these mining areas under present condi­tions. Transportation charges on mining machinery, together with the . high cost of living made necessary by these pro­hibitive charges, does not justify the construction of expensive milling r>l:mts for the treatment of low-grade ores. These can only be successfully operated and constructed when the Gov­ernment will take hold of the transportation problem and pro­vide the means for putting machinery on the grotmd and giving the comf9rts and conveniences of civilization to those who will be willing to go to Alaska and become interested in. her mineral development.

Each new strike during the last 16 years has made known large deposits of low-grade gravels that would not pay to work under the primitive and costly methods of the individual. In later years areas of sufficient extent have been obtained to war­rant the installation of costly hydraulic and dredging machinery: n.nd t1.1e richer portions have been operated; but even with the most improved methods of handling there remain great areas that, owing to the excessive cost of labor and supplies, do not ~usti!Y development. These areas of low-grade ground, which It will take years to work out, will have to await improved transportation facilities as the only means of reducing the pro­Wbitive costs.

In the Shushana district the present quoted price of such commodities as beans, bacon, sugar, and so forth, is $1 per pound, the price of one sack of flour being $50. Thus it has been during all of the stampedes, with costs greater or less, gov­erned by the distance from rail or steamboat terminals. As soon as trails and roads are cut out and streams bridged these costs are reduced, but never have they reached the basis where it is possible to work the gravels of lower value, except in a few favored sections close to water transportation, where large hydraulic or dredging plants could be installed. The result has been the "creaming" of the richer deposits and leaving the others until the country is generally- opened up and it will pay to build railroads.

The opponents of this measure lay great stress u~on the fact that the income derived from the operation of a Government­owned railroad, will not justify the expenditures. I am per­fectly willing to admit, Mr. Chairman, that this railroad is not to be built for the purpose of securing a profit to the Govern­ment from its direct operation, bnt I justify its construction on account of the fact that it will be a Government highway over which sJlall flow into Alaska the necess:;try tools and ap­pliances to develop the interior and over which shall flow out the stream of wealth which we have every reason to believe is· only waiting for a proper and easy ou:tlet. The income of ~his- enterprlse is not to be figured out in the amount of freight

3008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

receipts or passengers hauled, but is to be estimated ,in the aggregate increase of the wealth produced from the Territory.

It seems strange that LOme of tho:::e who ru·e opposing this measure on the ground that it is a Government project should f:A.il to remember just what has been done by -our Government in the development .of the great West. In a letter addressed to the chairman of the Committee on Territories, under date of January 19 last, the Secr·etary of the Interior, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, has clearly · stated the amount of land that this Govern­ment bestowed upon private railroad corporations in the form of railroad land grants. The Secretary writes:

The records of the General Land Office show that land grants made by Congress in aid of private railway construction tn this country aver­a.,.ed about 7,500 acres of land for each mile of railroad built. Railroad land grants made by Congress' have aggregated 158,139,000 acres, or 247,093 square miles. These land grants equal in area a territory as large as the combined area of the New England States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia. and West Virginia.

How much other public aid has been given to private railroad build­ing in the !orin of land grants by States and subdivisions of States and in the form of cash bounties or subsidies or guaranteed interest and principal on bond Issues can not even be approximated with any degree

of Ji:ft:~~tyauthorities have stated that the actual cost of construction of the Union Pacific Railroad wa.s approximately $50,000,000. The cost to the rallroad company of this construction was $93,500,000, nearly $43,-000,000 being taken in profit by the contractors and the Credit Mobllier. Land grants to the Union Pacific alone were made to the extent of 11,309,844 acres in addition to the Government' s guaranty of bond issues and interest. Previous to the settlement of the Government with the Pacific roads it was estimated by the inspecting engineer of the United States Pacific Railway Commission that the entire property of the Union Pacific system could have been reproduced for $37,280 a mile, whereas at 1.he time the average per mile of subsidized mortgage debt and interest on the road to the credit of the Government was $47,465 a mile.

Land Office records show that land grants by Congress tn aid of the construction of private wagon roads were made at the rate of 1iDOO acres of land for each mile of road, while early canal building was a ded by congressional land grants averaging 63,700 acres of land for each mile of canal.

But the United States is not alone in having deeded millions of acres of land in order to aid railroad construction. Canada has followed our example, and frcm the Jetter above referred to the Secretary makes mention of the fol1owing facts in con­nection with railroad consh·uction in Canada :

From 1876 to 1912 there had been buUt tn Canada something less than 10 000 miles of raHway under private ownership. In Government aid these roads had received cash subsidies aggregating $208,072,073 and land grants to the extent of 56,052,055 acres from tbe public domain.

In other words, it . has cost the Government in Canada $20,000 fn cash and 5,600 acres in land for every mile of road built under private ownership in that country. Some part of these cash subsidies are in the form of loans which the railroads are nnder agreement to repay. · The attention of the civilized world has been directed to the great work performed by the Russian Government in construct­ing the Siberian Railroad, a project of daring conception and enterprise. This railroad was built entirely by the Russian Government. It is 4,272 miles long. Its construction involved the cost of $180,000,000, or at a rate of a little Jess than $28,000 per mile. Not only did the Russian Government expend this vast sum in the construction of the railroad, but it expended an additional amount of over $11,000,000 to encourage settlement of the country and to develop its trade. The Russian Government has constructed over 7,000 miles of railroad in Asia alone.

I have no fear whatever that the undertaking of Alaskan railroad construction by the Government will encourage the growth of socialism. Socialism is encouraged and developed more by the inactivity and helplessness of the Government to meet its responsibilities and correct public evils than it is by the operation of governmental fuuctions. It is as clear as the noonday sun that private enterprise and private capital can not undertake this work and responsibility. There would be such a heavy tribute and charge made upon the population and produc­tion of Alaska as to greatly retard and prevent its development. Our knowledge of the wealth of Alaska, which -is no longer founded upon conjecture, but has for its basis the returns of the past 25 years, calls upon us to undertake this work.

We have recently expended $375,000,000 in a great enterprise of international worth. We have no facts before us to confirm the opinion that the Panama Canal will be self-supporting as far as the tolls received are concerned. We believe that we will receive adequate returns in the great impetus given to our com­merce and manufactures and that we will bring our cotmtry iuto closer communication with the teeming multitudes of the Orient and the countries on the west coast of South America, with whom we expect to find a large and most profitable market for our manufactured goods. . I am but little concerned about the possibilities of agricul­tural development in that Territory, and I do not care very much about the immediate development of the coal areas and their productive capacity. But I do believe that the develop­ment of Alask11 will result in a vast increase in .$-e world's

supply of precious minerals that will be brought out from the interior of that country.

In emphasizing as I do the possibility of great mineral devel­opment of Alaska, I am not unmindful of the fact that it will create a larger market for agricultural and manufactured prod­ucts on the Pacific coast. A great population in Alaska en­gaged in mining operations will be obliged to secure its food sup­ply in large measure from our Pacific coast territory. While there is some reason for the claims of those who favor the bill that there are agricultural possibilities in Alaska, yet I prefer to support the measure solely on the benefit to be ·derived from the mineral product rather than from agricultural devel­opment. I know, from experience that an active and increasing mining population gives the farmer one of the best markets pos­sible, and if it should happen that we are to make Alaska the great gold-producing territory of the world, there is no limit to the market which may be opened there for the p.roducts of the farm and factory that can be supplied by our western terri­tory.

A study of the mineral production of Alaska reveals the fact that gold constitutes its chief element, and of the gold produc­tion the greatest percentage is that derived from placer mining. This placer mining has been largely developed along the water courses during the summer months when it is possible for min­ing of that character to be carried on. It inevitably follows where there is a great supply of placer gold that this gold must come from the fissure veins in the mountain regious; and for that reason I believe that the opening of the country to settle­ment, and the prospecting of the mining areas will be followed by a great increase in the production of gold.

The construction of a publicly owned railroad, making the conditions of life in the interior comfortable and less expensive, providing cheap transportation rates for the introduction .of min­ing machinery, the cutting of timber for mining purposes, and all other supplies needed for deep mining, will contribute greatly to the interest and activity that will be aroused in this feature of mining.

Alaska must be developed through American enterprise and by American interests and through American industry. It offers no field of opportnnity to those who live in warm climates, where living is achie\ed with little energy or effort. Those who have gone there under conditions which charm and fascinate us as we read the story of their hardship and endurance certainly deserve the gratit_ude and the appreciation o.f all American citizens.

And so, 1\.fr. Chairman, I believe that as an incident to the development of that great region . the construction of this rail­road is a necessity. I understand it will take only a compara­tively short time after this railroad has been built into the interior, connecting the great watercourses of the Yukon and the other large ri...-ers with the seacoast, before communication will be as easy with our cities on the Pacific coast as it is now between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and people. will then be able to travel from San Francisco or Seattle into the interior of Alaska with the same degree of comfort, :md possibly with the same amount of cost, as they now tra\el from one end o! this country to the other. And as we cheapen living, and as we bring the convenience::: of civilization into that region, we shall inevitably increase the population there. [Applause.]

I look with great eagerness to the completion of this enter­prise, believing that it will greatly hasten the settlement o! Alaska; that it will develop a population who will be satisfied with the conditions under which they can live; that it will bring the comforts and the conveniences of our life here in the United States to all who are willing to go to Alaska and cast in their fortunes with the development of that country.

There is great wealth to be found by the strong and ad,·en­turous. There is every attraction to our enterprising American youth to leave the comforts of life here and plunge into the life yonder. That which contributed most to the development of our western country in the early sixties was the ,belief that at the end of the journey there was gold for those who were willing to embark upon the road and face the dangers that confront1~d them. It was the thirst for gold in the late forties that took t.he hardy pioneers across the continent to California, and it was that thir.st for gold that made them tread ·through the hot morasses of the IHthmus in order to reach that region, aml thus brought California to the attention of the world. In my own State of Colorado it was the discoveries of gold, in connection with the finding of the precious metal in streams adjacent to Denver and Pikes Peak, thnt brought the pioneers across the prairies and induced them to settle that region. And just as they found gold in tlle sands and in the banks of the streams. so they followed those watercourses into the mountains, a.nd by

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 3009 energy and perseverance brought to light the mines which have I and escape them in Alaska. Why, only last week the Interstate added so much to the growth and development of our country. Commerce Commission delivered an opinion in which it was

I assert and predict that we have not touched the hem of the stated that millions of dollars have been lost to the railroads, garment of wealth that is in Alaska, but tha(we have simply especially the industrial railroads of this country, in special extracted from the placer washings of the creeks and rivers services granted to indushial corporations without charge. what might be called the cream of the gold. I believe we shall Every railroad in Alaska to-day, with one possible exception, is only find the key to the great treasure house there when the an industrial railroad. We know that if private capital fur-11rospectors have fought their way up the mountains and into nishes, develops, and operates these raih·oads, it will develop the hHls from which this placer gold has come; and in order them and operate them with a view to private profit. Private that they may find this treasure and reveal it to the world it capital is 3elfish. It looks to immediate returns, and immediate is necessary that this Government shall stand behind them by returns in Alaska mean the fastening upon the people of that contril>uting to their enterprise and affording to them the con- Territory, at the time when they can least bear them, of a Yast veniences and tools with which to prosecute that development. charge which will be projected into the future. There is no in-

I belieYe- that this great public work is justified and de- herent right in private capital to make a profit out of the public manded. We are face to face with this condition, that unless utilities of a country. Public utilities, to be real, must be devel­we act in this way private capital will not undert~ke this work; oped and operated with an eye single to the public welfare. The that there can not be the investment of private capital without moment that you begin the construction and operation of rail­an adequate return for the money invested; and I therefore roads in Alaska with a view to profit, just that moment the rail­contend that this Government can well afford to put into this roads of that country become, not the utilities of the public, but investment $35,000,000 or $50,000,000 without expecting any re- the instruments of profit of a few men. turn of interest upon the capital invested, deriving, as it will, 1\Ir. WILLIS. Will the gentleman yield? large and ample income from the development and growth of Mr . .AJ\TDERSON. I yield. the country. [Applause.] 1\Ir. WILLIS. I know the gentleman has given a great deal

The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Colorado of attention to this general subject, and I want to invite hia bas expired. attention to the provision of the bill which authorizes, em-

1\Ir. SELD01fRIDGE. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimons con- powers, and directs the President to lease the road after it is sent to extend my remarks in the RECORD. constructed, and authorizes him to operate it only on condition

The CH.A.IRJ\IAN. The gentleman from Colorado [Mr. SEL- that he can not lease it. What is the opinion of the gentleman ooMRIDGE] asks unanimous consent to extend his remarks in the as to that leasing clause? RECORD. Is there objection? Mr. Al.'IT)ERSON. Personally, I should be very much opposed

There was no objection. to the leasing of this railroad, for it seems to me that to do so The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. AN- would deprive the Territory of the yery thing which we intend

DERSON] is recognized. to give it-a maximum of service at a minimum of charge. Mr. ANDERSON. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the com- In other words, we propose Government construction in order

mittee, I . should not trespass upon the patience of the committee that we may have the advantage of the Government's credit and at this closing hour of this long debate were it not for the fact its low rate of interest. We expect that this vast credit and that since I have been a Member of the House and before I have low rate of interest wi.ll be reflected in lower costs of operation ; had a peculiar and a very considerable interest in Alaska ~nd its in brief, we hope to eliminate the element of private profit and problems; were it not for the fact that I was perhaps the piOneer, private risk from the costs of both construction and operation. at least one of the first, to propose the construction and opera- We can not do this and lease the railroad. tion of a railroad in AJaska ~Y the Government as a means .of at Again, underlying the purpose of public service in construction once developing and conservmg the resources of that Terr1tory. and operation of the road and the elimination of private profit

This discussion bas covered a very wide range. Some of it and risk is the desire to avoid the ills which have attended pri­seems to me likely, if indeed it is not calculated, to detract from vate con~truction and operation of railroads, both in this country the fundamental issue involved in the proposition itself. We and in Alaska-to prevent the monopoly of its natural resources. arc prone to consider the Government ~OD;Struction and opera- The history of construction and operation of railroads, more tion of railroads in Alaska ~s an end m Itself rather than as especially of industrial railroads, shows that they have been an a means to an end. We did not purchase and operate the incident in the development of private industrial enterprises for Panama Railroad because the Government desired to go into the profit. It shows-and this is a matter of judicial determina­railroad business. We did not establish on the Canal Zone a tion-that it has been practically impossible to prevent the great mercantile enterprise, with more than a million dollars' industrial enterprise from obtaining from the railroad special worth of stock, doing an annu.al business of $~,000,0~, because privileges, advantages, and services, as well as arrangements of the Government desired to go mto the mercantile busrness. We freight charges, which had the effect of giving the industry a did not establish there an ice-making plant, a laundry, a coffee- monopoly and destroying independent competition. This is the roasting plant, and beef-corning plant because the Government inevitable result of private operation, especially in a new conn­·dcsired to enter into those enterprises. We concluded to op- try. We can avoid it only by providing for the construction and .ernte the Panama Railroad because the operation of that rail- operation of the railroad by the Government, because the Gov­roacl was a necessary incident to the construction of the Panama ernment is the only instrument with a real public-service motive Canal. We entered upon those other mercantile enterprises be- and that has no private motive or interest of profit to serve. cause they were necessary to the convenience, the health, and The whole proposition is concerned with the question of whether the well-being of the employees of the canal. We are going railroads are to be constructed for the public use and benefit to build this railroad in Alaska, not because the Governm~nt or for private use and benefit. It is the same old proposition desires to go into the railroad business in .AJ.aska, but because that no man can serve two masters. The railroads of Alaska "·e desire to conserve and at the same time develop the resources must either serve the public welfare or private profit. They of that Territory [applause], because we want to develop not can not both serve public welfare. and private profit. alone its mines but its agriculture and its factories, and give to In this bill we are offered an opportunity for real construe­it a civilization that will be both symmetrical and self-sustain- tive statesmanship. If we fail to take advantage of it we shall ing. We want to make it not only a good place in which to not only commit an error of judgment, but we shall be derelict make money but a good place in which to live. In short, we in our duty to the public and to the people of Alaska; for in wish to de--;-elop its resources for the benefit of all the people. the last analysis the proposition resolves itself into the ques­What can be more appropriate than that the master facilities tion whether railroads in Alaska are to exist for the industries of development, without which development is impossible, shall and the people of Alaska or the i_ndustries and people of Alaska be furnished and operated by that instrumentality which is de- are to be exploited for the benefit of the railroads. slgned to promote and foster the welfare of all the people, the I Mr. CRAMTON. 1\Ir. Chairman, in my discussion of the bill United States Government. I now before the committee I shall not give much time to the

We own Alaska, own it absolutely and without condition. We question of the resourc'es of Alaska. I am thoroughly satisfied are free to do with Alaska what good business judgment die- that we have in that Territory ~ wonderful country, rich in tatcs we ought to do. We need not shut our eyes to the human minerals and fisheries, and capable of great development. The experience of the past hundred years in our own country. We question of agricultui·al resources which has been so largely know, and it is a matter both of public record and of judicial discussed does not seem to me of great importance, further than determination, that in the train of private ownership of railroads it may have a bearing on the general question of development. in thls country there came monopoly of our coal, our natural gas, It is not necessary or desirable that we should build railroads our oil, and our timber. Certainly we are not foolish enough to in Alaska in order to develop its agricultural possibilities. In belieYe tbat we can establish and carry out the same policy in the great project, however, of opening up that great region for Alaska that has brought upon us these evils in our own country the devolpment of its mineral and fishery resources, the possi-

.30~0 CONGRESSION .AL· RECORD-HOUSE; FEBRUARY 5,

bility -Gf some agricultural de-velopn1ent for the maintenance, or at least a partial maintenance, of its own population is of importance. Conflicting statements as to agricultural possibili­ties have been made in this debate. I have· never visited Alaska, and I have no personal knowledge of the subject. I will, how­ever, present for the infarlllntion ot the committee testimDny ()f one witness· whom I know personally and whose testimony I know is reliable and disinterested. The following is from an address mad-e several months ago in Lapeer, Mich., by Mrs. !Lucy White Williams with reference to · an extended trip through Alaska. 1\lrs. Williams, who is the treasurer ot the National Federation of Women's Clubs, is an experienced trav­elel' and ::t keen observer. In that address she said in part:

To-day I believe, with Edison, that poverty is no longer ne-ces­sary in the world. The great problem for humanity is to eq~lize the opportunities of liie so far as possible and to per­nut even the humblest of the poor tb share in its wonderful a.d-

Agriculture in Alaska. is in its infancy, but it is a healthy and prom­ising infn.nt At the present day every part of Alaska which baB emci·ged from the first state of plone.er life grows vegetables. Wherever gardens have been planted the yield bas been abundant and the quality of the vegetables superior. To us it appeared only necessary to turn the soil in order to have seeds grow. Vegetation has an almost tropical ran1..'"1less. We visited the Government experimental station at Sitka -and found most of the fruits, vegetabl~s, and flowers to be found on a similar farm in Michigan. Strawberries were reaUy delicious and of immense size. Many of the flowers I am trying to cultlvate in my garden are indigenous to Alaska. Some seasons the excessive cold rains and lack of sunshine prevent them fTom maturing. In the interior o! Alaska the climatic- ("Onditions are different. Since 1902 the United States Government has bad agricultural experiment stations in Alaska. !!'hey are all under the Immediate supervision of Mr. Georgeson, who lives in Sitka, at the old &ranof Ca-stle. Besides this experimental farm in Sitka., others have been established at Kodiak, Kenai, Copper Center, Rampart, and Fairbanks. The work in all of these stations is progressing satisfactorily. The interior is better adapted to agriculture than the <:oast line. .

The bill before us is, in my judgment, the most important pi~e of legislation so far as its ultimate effect is concerned of any proposition that has come or will come before this session of Congress. · I feel this because of the tact that it brings the attention of th€ country to a focus upon the immense railroad question-the question ot what are we going to do with our railroads and what are ou:r railroads going to do with us.

Our railroads are the great highways of cDmmerce, the great arteries of trade. Their mileage to-day in the United States is a quarter of a million miles. They influence every human ac­tivity ; they connect the producer and the consumer. If they properly perform their functions, they make easy interchange of the labor of man, stimulating production, extending the mar­ket of the producer, lightening the burden of the consumer, and making possible for our humblest citizens a higher standard of living than was ever dreamed of by the ancients. · Failing to perform properly their functions, they are a · restraint upon commerce and industry and economic advancement. They are to civilization to-day what the watercourses and highways were to our forefathers. By reason of his appreciation of the im­portance of the control of the Mississippi River, Jefferson brought about the great Louisiana Purchase. To-day mGre than a score of great railroad bridges cross this river and more than 30,000 cars, carrying passengers and freight, go oYer these bridges daily, emphasi.zing constantly that new ways have suc­ceeded the old and a.re serving fields tha.t • the old could not reach. The conditions covering the use and operation of such arteries of trade are ·Of vital importance to our civilization.

This past century, which has been an age of railroad develop­ment, has recorded greater change and greater progress indus­trially and economically than has any thousand years ot history before. Living in the midst of rapid change, we do not always grasp quickly enough the significance of developments of the highest importance.

The century which gave to the world steam, electricity, and gasoline-, the three great forces of industry, bas likewise pro­duced legions of machines driven by these new sources of power, and each producing for the use and support of mankind and creating eoD1IDerce undreamed of in other days. The same dynamic trinity which has revolutionized manufacturing methods and substituted economic cooperation of labor for wasteful in­dividualism of effort and made cheap necessities of the expen­sive luxuries of our grandfathers-has mad-e possible trans­portation methods essential for the extension of the cooperative idea to a world-wide scope. While in other days of home­spun and hand-made articles each village was a world unto itself, to-day each village has brought to its doors the products of labor the world over, and thereby enjoys a higher standard of living. These industrial changes have brought, likewi.se, a corresponding economic and social change. Economists of other days were forced to accept the monstrous Malthusian theory, ueclaring that population tends to increase more rapidly than uoes the means of support, and that hence poverty-nay, starvn- . tion-must always be with us. To-dny we have no need to be­lip;-e such a slander upon a mercitul God-no need to believe that this world must of necessity have always within it the horrors of mise~b~!:_ P.?...!e~~

vancelllent · In this new industrial world farm and factory and fireside,

producer and consumer, centers of indus:b.·y and markets every­where are bound together by great throbbing arteries of trade, and foremost among these is, as I have said, the railroads. If these roads are to be conducted a.s great toll roads levying heavy toll on the colllmerce as it passes oYer them from pro­d~cer to consnmer, holding the producer down to the lowest pos­Sible price for his products and holding the consumer up to the highest possible price for that which be would buy this heavy toll through the doctrine of •• what the traffic will bear" which was the guide of private rate m-aking under private o~ership and control, then these roads a.re not aids but ra ther hindrances and obstacles to progress and civilization.

We early appreciated the possibilities and advantages of their use but not so soon the possibilities of abuse. We showered ra~oad promoters with bonuses, land grants, exemptions, and pnvileges, all that they might develop our cities and our Nation. Not realizing the danger, we gave to private ownership a free rein, and nowhere was private initiative handicapped by "fanatical" legislation. Unrestrained private ownership failed mise~ably. The commerce that should have been served was preyed upon, and the growth of rebates and discriminations and the pillage of the public by unfair rates gave rise to the de­mand for public regulatiol). of tb€se public utilities. For a quarter of a century or more we have endeavored to regulate and as yet we have not accomplished any great results.

In Alaska w.e have a free hand, a clear start. And to-day the Alaska railroad bill focuses attention on the question, What shall we do with our railrQads? It is a problem that presses constantly more and more strongly for solution.

Note the wonderful increase of railroad traffic in 20 years from 1890 to 1910.

Number passengers carried .... _ ... _ .......•.• _ .. _. Number of passengers ca.rried 1 mile .•••..••• _ .. _ ••

~=~e~~~~~~-~~-i~ ~ -~~~ ~~ ~~~~: Tons carried 1 mile .... _ .......................... . Tons carried 1 mile per mile of line ..•••.......•..•

1890

492,430,865 11,847, i85, 617

75,751 631,740, 636

77,207, 047,298 493,838

1910

971,683,199 32, 333, 496, 329

138,169 1, 849,900,101

255,016, 910,451 1,071,086

We have heard much in this debate about the sufficiency of public regulation of privately owned railroads. As yet such regulation is but an experiment, and a most uncertn.in one as to results at that. Hon. Charles A. Prouty, of the Interstate Commerce CoD1IDission, said at the annual meeting of the National Association of State Railway Commissloners in 1912:

The United States ls trying out ::tn experiment that bas never yet been worked out successfully in any coun.try of the wor.ld. It is try­ing to work out the J?roblem of controlling r:lilroads built and main­tained by private capital but which are under regulations which are fixed and controlled by the public.

It has ne-ver been worked out to an end, but, in my judgment, it has been tried out sufficiently to give some substantial ground for doubt as to whether the problem can be worked out that way.

The great factors in the problem are rates and sen~ce. As to rates, we have not as yet really begun to solve th·e

prob-lem. We have, through the Interstate Commerce Commis­sion and our various State commissions, made war on dis­crimination between points or between individuals, and to a very Ulllited extent as to discrilllination between industries. We have, however, not as yet given ·a hearing to Mr. Ultimate Consumer. I have often heard shippers declare that they did not care how high the rates were so long as they were not per­sonally discriminated against. So long as the rate does not exceed "what the traffic will bear " and is not discriminatory, shippers are satisfied and pass it along to Mr . . IDtimate Con­sumer. He has not been a party to bearings before these commissions and he has not been consid~red, but before the question iS finally solved he must be considered.

There is to-day a concerted movement among shippers and business interests of the country in behalf of the 5 per cent advance in their rates which is asked by 50 of the railroads. If this increase is granted the 5 per cent is not to be paid by these interests that . are supporting th~ delllUnds of the rail­roads, but will be paid by the consumer. It will be another 5 per cent add€<1. to the products of the farm and the factory to be paid by the laborer in the city, who already complains as to the high cost of living, and will be made the basis of further demands fo-r reductron Df tariff duties.

1914. CONGRESSIONAL· RECORD-HOUSE. 3011 t h b t I t ·public obligations. It therefore becomes the duty of Government to Goyernment regulation in this coun ry as many 0 8 ac es 0 so control this carrier monopoly that the public shall be guaranteed

surmount, but two of them loom specially large just before us. adequate service, impartial service, reasonable rates. The interest o! First. the squeezing of the water out of the corporations con- the public goes no further. The obligation o! the Government goes

trolling in order to fix n. basis for rate calculation; and, second, noT~u~~~it itself of this obligation to the public, what is the Govern­a readjustment of rate-regulating authority as between State ment required to do? and Nation, in order that justice may not be lost in the twilight It must of necessity ascertain the fair value of the property which

· t · bl the common carrier uses for the public. It owes no duty to the public zone. Intrastate and interstate commerce are so mex nca y to undertake the regulation o! the financial operations of the railroad. related that they can not be logically and thoroughly rated The Supreme Court bas well said that-separately. If the problem is ever to be worked out to a com- "If a railroad corporation has bonded its property for an amount lJlete solution by rate-re2:ulating commissions we must have a that exceeds its !air value, or 1! its capitalization is largely fictitious,

~ it may not impose upon the public the lmt·den o! such increased rates system of rate courts nmch like our Federal judicial system, as may be required for the purpose of realizing profits upon such ex· in which the Interstate Commerce Commission would be the cessive valuation ot· fictitious capitalization." .

· · ld b · '1 t The :t'ait· >aluation of the property is the true basis. The public supreme court and the State commiSSlons wou e Slllll ar o need not concern itself with all the villainies of overcapitalization, the Federal district courts. which abound in the history o! every railroad in the country.

Railway authorities haYe insisted that the value of the rail- 'l'o execute its public trust, the Gonmment must, in addition to ro<"d hl'S nothrn' !! to .1 0 with the question of proper railroad ascertainin" the fair value of the propet·ty. know exactly the aJilount

n u ~ u o:t' money ~hich the common carrier expends in maintaining the prop­rates. Mr. R. S. Lovett stated before the railroad securities erty used for the benefit of the public. It must also know exactly the commission: cost ot· outlay of tile common carriet· in operating the railroad.

No railroad company bas ever undertaken to base rates on the value llavlng ascertained these three Important essentials-the faiL' value of its property and 110 railroad man bas ever attempted to make rates of the property, the cost of maintaining the property, the cost of oper-

n t t f atin"' the nroperty-the Government is then prepared to enforce ade-according to the value of the t•ailroad. • • • a es mus 0 neces- quatc services, impartial services: and reasonable rate~. To this end sity be the same on all competing railroads, and yet we know that the it must make rates sufficiently hJgh to pay the operatmg expenses, to value of such railroads varies greatly. meet tbe entire cost of maintenance, and enough in addition to insure

Such, howeYer, is not the theory of Government regulation. an adequate return upon the fair value of the property of the common

The United States Supreme Court has declared "the basis of cai~i1;· charged with no duty to become legally or morally answera)}le calculation is the 'fair vnlue of the property' used for the con- for the financia.l jugglL•g of the railway management. The rate wluch venience of the public (Smyth v. Ames) ; or, as it was put in it fixes may indirectly operate to restrain overcapitalization; it may San Diego Land & Town Co. v. National City, 'What the com- even tend to squeeze the water out of excessive stock and b?nd i_ssues

already set afloat; but neither the -railroads nor the dealers m ra1Iway pany is entitled to demand in order that it may have just com- stocks and bonds have any cause for complaint. The railroads have pensation is a fair return upon the reasonable value of the no right to exact from the public rates high enough to pay interest property at the time it is being used for the public.' " and dividends upon stocks and bonds which exceed the fair value of

We are about to provide for n. Ynlnation of the railroad prop- th~g~~~i·~·~~t or excusl:' can be offered for the Government's assuming erties of the country by the Interstate Commerce Commission I any re~ponsibil_ity regarding capitalization of comm?~ carriers f~r. the under the La Follette law. A.t this point I wish to call to your

1

rrotectwn of m>estors. The purchase ~Y an indtv;dual of ratlroad · · b S t L F .-.... ~ h stocks and uonds as a speculatiOn or for mvestment 1s solely a matter attention a s1gned statement Y ena or A. ~ OL!-ETTE n UJC of option with the purchaser. IIe uuys in his own right and at his

appeared in La Follette's Weekly of January 31 w1th reference own risk. pon principle, the Government owes no other or different to the proposed regulation of the issue of railroad ~ecurities. obligation to the man wh';) buys railroad stocks or bonds than to the

h . b · tr t'bl 1 'f .. ·1 man who buys Standard Otl or Tennessee Coal & Iron stocks and bonds, T JS statement seems to me to e 1ncon OYer 1 e, anc 1 our I::U - or to the man who purchases a horse, a house and lot. ot· a farm. road problem is eYer to be worked out successfully along lines of But should tbe Go>ernment assume the responsibility of controlling GoYernment rcgul:ltion these wise words of warning from Sen- the issue of rail!·oad stocks and bonds it will enter upon. an under-

. F . t b h d d S f . th S t • t· t _ taking ft·augbt with grave dangers to the public, an undertakmg certain a tor LA j OLLET'IE mus e ee e . o UI as e en a or S S ,l e to impose unnecessat·y and unjust burdens upon transportation. ment has reference to the railroad problem, it is as follows: 'l'en years ago every railroad in the United States would have taxed

Not since he became President has Mr. Wilson recommended leglsla- its resources to ~he last limit to resist con~erring upon the Governmen,t tion so important and far-reaching as in his message of January 20. powet· to supermtend and regulate Its financial operations. To-day 'l'hougb expt·essed ln general terms the President forecasts the scope they hail with satist'actlon and delight tho recommendation for such and pur·pose of the proposed measur'es. The message has been followed legislation. And it ls to l!e noted that the organs of Wall Street and by a tentative introduction of four bills. 'l'here is to be a fifth, designed the stock exch:=tnges .espectally COJ:?-mend the proposed regula~ion. . to confer upon the Interstate Commerce Commission authot'ity to regu- ~he reason IS obnons. Tb~ ra~lro~ds of the conntr~ carr1ed their late the financial operations of the railroads. fictitious capitalization to a pomt where the public, withm the last few

Believing that the enactment of leg-islation to regulate the financial yea~·s. has g~o"n su~pl~lous or the soun~ess ~f these securities. Va~ues operations o! Interstate railroads would be a serious mistake, I set rapidly .decline?. 'i arJOus schemes were devised to poost the market. forth below some o:t' my reasons for that belief. I do this in obedience They failed. 'I ben. came the bold <;lemand for some Government action to strong conviction and in the hope that the administration may yet be that WO'-;Ild reh~biiJtate these depreciate~ securities and stii~ulate .. the persuaded against pressing that recommendation. languisbmg busmess of the stocl{ exchan.,es. To this end, Mr. Al?nch,

five years ago, hrought forward an ingenious plan to make rallt·oad bonds security for emergency currency issue under the Aldrich-Vreeland bill. And now the railroads are hungry to have some form of Govern­ment sanction for all futm·e bond and stock issues; such an approval would at once make an Issue of bonds ot· stocks "a good thing" in the market. The Government may disclaim that its action is a guar­anty of the value of such securities; the proposed law may even so pro-ride in specific tet·ms, but for all that the investor will claim that in ~ood morals the Government is bound, in its dealing with the rail­l'oad, to make the transnortation charges high enough to "protect." the securities which it bas authorized railroad companies to place upon the market.

• * • * • • President Wilson's recommendation for the control of the financial

operations of interstate railroads by the Interstate Commerce Commis­sion will be very popular, I have no doubt, at the outset. It is not unusual to find advocates for Government control of capitalization among those who have studied the railroad problem. Ten years ago I entertained a like view. I can therefore understand the President's attitude of mind and sincerity of purpose upon this subject. Further study and reflection have changed the views which I then entertained for reasons which I can but imperfectly set forth within the compass of a single editorial . -

As one goes into the relations of the railroads to the public, he first sees the vice of overcapitalization as an excuse for excessive transpor­tation charges. It is quite natural that he should first think of cor­r~cting the evil by limiting the capitalization to the actual value of the railroad property; but it is inevitable that he should ultimately realize that the true relation of the common carrier to the public, and the true principle upon wh1c.h that relation should be controlled does not impose upon the Government the necessity to regulate the complex financial affairs of the great national railways. In short, aU interests with which the public is in any way concerned can be fully protected by a simplP. and logical method-a method which protects the people against obligations and responsibilities which th~y can not escape if their Government attempts to regulate the financ1al operations of the gre.a t interstate railways.

What interests have the public in the control o! the railroads? As to interstate transportation, the people of this country are inter­

ested in (1) the character of the service rendered and (2) the price which they must pay for that service; they have no other or further interest.

What obligations do these railroads owe to the public? Government charters the common carrier, clothes it with the sov­

ereign power to take private property-even against the consent of the owner-for the catTier's use. The acceptance of this sovereign power oper·ates to dedicate the property of the railroad to a public use, and imposes upon the carrier the obligation to so use its property as to furnish to the public adequate service, impartial service, and to render such adequate and impartial service at reasonable rates.

What duty docs Govet·nment owe to the public regarding the common carrier?

It has created the common carrier. It bas invested it with power to take private property for a public use • . From Its nature, within a limited area along its course, the railroad is a natural monopoly. Pos­sessed of this great power, the railroad might ignore its obligations and oppress the public. ~vernment Is therefore bound to see to it that the creature It has clothed with its sovereign power shall discharge its

But more than this: When the Government, through its commission, has autlJOrized a railroad to make . an additional issue of bonds or stocks it will, in effect, have validated all the issue of stocks and bonds then outstanding.

If it were a proper function of government to " superintend and regulate" the issue o! railroad securities in which private parties speculate or invest, it would be vital that the commission charged with this great responsibility should know the true value of the property of the railroad underlying such securities. But the Interstate Com­merce Commission does not possess such information. It will be years before the commission will have completed its valuation of the railroad property of the country under the law recently enacted. When the commission bas finished that great economic undertaking and sub­mitted its tentative findings, its work will, under the law, have to be tested and tried out in the courts before it becomes even sufficiently stable to form a basis for fixing railroad rates and charges.

In the meantime, is the Interstate Commerce Commission to be called upon to guess at the value, and upon that "guess" to authorize the railroads to inct·ease their capitalization?

The commission bas been completely at the mercy of the railroads in every contest over t·ates where the companies have raised the question that the rate fixed by the commission would not permit the earning of a reasonable return upon its property.

And now it is proposed to require the commission to decide upon the facts presented to it that securities may be issued, upon which the railroads are "henceforth to be supplied with the money they need."

Referring to the fact that the railroads had control of all evidence regarding the vaiue of their properties and that it was powerless to meet that evidence in any contest involving the value of railroad prop­ertyt..the Interstate Commerce Commission, in its report for 1909, said:

" There is no way by which the Government can properly meet this testimony."

If the commission can not, on this f-undamental issue, " meet tlie testimony" of the railroads in a case involving merely the fixing of a freight rate; how dangerous to impose upon them the infinitely greater

3012 OONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE.

.responsibility of determining whether railways shall lsl{ue, it may be. hundreds of millions of stocks and bonds which will become a perma­.nent burden upon transportation. Consider the lasting wrong which this may work upon the publi.c. The railroads will always have the advantage. They are more familiar with the case as it is to be pre­sented than the .commission .can hope to be. They have a powerful organization. They have an army of trained experts, engineers{ statisticians, accountants, masters o:f railway finance, and specia counsel.

If the railroads win wrongfully in a rate case. it is a hardship upon the public. But an erroneous decision fixing a rate too high may be corrected. The case may be reviewed. The excessive rate may be 1owered in a subsequent proceeding. But a wrongful decision by the commisSlon, allowing the railroad to issue millions upon millions ol securities which are at once thrown upon the market, is an everlasting burden upon the public-an everlasting injury to the people.

Whoever buys railroad securities now buys at his own risk. Who­ever buys securities upon the issue of w.hich the Government has set the seal of its approval will, in good morals, bold that the Government must, under all circumstances, maintain railroad rates so high as not­to impair the value of those securities.

The moment that investments are made in securities authorized by the Government, that moment property rights in those securities become fixed. The commission may find that it has been misled, that it has grossly blundered. But its mistake is irrevocable. It is not the simple question of having temporarily imposed a hardship upon a community. It is a case of having in.flicted an irreparable injury upon -an unoll'ending public.

ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTl!l.

If we do not work out to a satisfactory solution this great prob­lem along lines ·of Government regulation, the American people must either give up, declaring that they are powerless to pro­tect their own welfare and secure their own advancement, or they will be o-bliged to turn to Government ownership with all -(}f its responsibilities and its intricacies.

We know -that this Nation of ours will neyer rest until they lla.Ye solved this problem, and while we are still struggling to work it out along the lines of Government regulation I believe 1t is wise and prudfimt that we should study and experiment like­·wise along .the line of Government ownership. Therefore I am 'heartily ln accord with the proposition contained in this bill now before us, which permits us to begin at the beginning with such an <experiment.

Jn this discussion we have heard much from various gentle· men as to possibilities of 1'ailure for Government ownership. These gentlemen have pictured to us various instances of Gov­a-nment -extravagance. I notice, however, that they have been equally silent as to the failures of .private ownership and the wonderful -success of Government effort in building the Panama ·Canal foTiowing scores of years of failure of private effort.

Private ·effort in the business world is not uniformly success­·fnl. More than 90 per cent ·of men engaged in business register .a failure at some time in their careers. And nowhere in all the ·fields of enterprise does failure score more frequently than in that of transportation. Inefficiency, graft, scandal, and crimes of finance .all are found on almost every puge of the r.ail­l.'oad history in this conntry. To-day the American people are ·staggering along under the whole load, lacking the service the country needs, and still asked to pay yet more for that w.hich it has not had and ·does not get.

So acti-ve in our ears are the pleas of the financiers who would make possible payment of dividends upon watered stocks that we hear .little of the other side of the story-of responsibilities not met, of tbe public interests smothered rather than served by private initiativ.e and individual genius.

If we bnt take thought, numerous ;and striking instances in confirmation of what I say must ocCllr to us. The public prints are continno.lly recoTding them. ·we all know of them in our own personal observation and experience.

Representing a _portion of the State of Michigan, I call to your attention such a case, and I would ask any of you cheerful economic doctors :of the school of Government regulation to take a look at the patient and tell us 1n Michigan what sort of a pre­scription you have to offer that will hold out any hope of a proper i"ecovery.

The largest mileage operated by any one railroad system in the State of 1\.fichigan is that operated by the Pere Marquette Railroad system. Upon the proper operation and management of this line with 1,700 miles of road in my State are dependent in large degree the development and progress of a great portion of that State. It does a great intrastate and a great :interstate business in the carrying of passengers and freight It was for many years a profit-producing enterprise, and it played a large part in the development of the State in other days. In 1901 it owned 1,706 miles of track and its bonded debt was less than $30,000,000. To-day it is in the hands of receivers; its bonded indebtedness has, with very little increase in mll.eage, grown from less than $30,000,000 to nearly $80,000,000. Its present management are tm.able to satisfy the demands of the public for service, the demands of the employees for wages, the .de­mands of stockholders and bondholders for interest and divi-

dends, and have been known to issue bonds in order to satisfy the demands of the State for taxes. With improved efficiency the rule of the day in all lines of business, with constantly increasing demands for transportation facilities everywhere, and with a constantly developing country tributary, this great rail­way system, under private ownership and Government regula­tion, presents a spectacle of failure which should give food for thought to any who think that solution of the problem by Government regulation is an easy matter. For a third of a cen­tury we have had our Interstate Commerce Commission, with constantly increasing powers. Since 1907 we have had our State railroad commission, with powers expressly granted to it to regulate rates and to require service. To-day, with the question of rates practically untouched, the question of service seems to be beyond the power of anyone to remedy:

The alleged service being given the public by the Pere Mar­quette Railroad Co. is a scandal and a disgrace to an age which prides itself upon its industrial efficiency. Large portions of my district are dependent upon this system for transportation facilities, whether it be of persons, mail, or freight. Just as one instance out of a multitude, let me quote the following from a protest :filed with the Postmaster General November 16 last, by Dr. J. H. Burley, president of the village of Almont, Mich .. :

Please give Almont, MiC"h., better mall facilities. Our freight service by the Pere Marquette Railroad is getting absolutely unreliable. Condi­tions of tracks so poor that wrecks occur almost weekly, delaying mall from 36 to 48 hours. Winter coming on, conditions will be worse. Have had only 7 mails in last 8 clays. 'l'hree days no mail. Kindly give us service from Detroit, by way o! Romeo, by Detroit United RaHway and carrier from Romeo to Almont, 9 miles.

Permit me to state that the investigation of the Post Office Department sufficiently substantiated this complaint, so that the department acceded to the request and have made contracts to send mail into this railroad town for 9 .miles over wagon roads.

The -following are .expressions from secretaries of boaxds of trade with reference to this subject:

The -freight and passenger .service on the Pere Marquette Railroad is not a,ll that could be deswed. I believe the officials of the road will agree with us as to this. However, they are xegularly meeting with us and cooperating, we honestly belleve, for an improvement of the situation, as 'far as i:he means they have at their command will allow. It is certainly our impression from .observation of the past year, as far as the personnel of the road is concerned, they are doing their veey best to serve ·the public. The writer belieYes you are familiar, fl'om your official experience, with the financial handicap the road is bur­dened with and probably have some well-defined ideas as to a remedy.

The passenger service is fairly good. The freight service is, however, about as poor a.s it could possibly be and maintain any semblance to an organized transportation unit. \Ve .bave at this time a number of complain·ts before the Michigan railroad commission complaining of the absolutely rotten freight service rendered by the Pere Marquette under the present management. There is no question but what this service, or rather Jack of Jt, is due to the failure of cooperation by the different departments and by the employees, who are underpaid and dissatisfied. I can cite you any number of specific instances where from 1 week to 10 days would be consumed in ·transit of L. C. L. ship­ments moving Jess than 100 miles. I believe that some of their heads of departments are making an honest effort to improve the service, but, through lack of cooperation, their efforts do not amount to much.

For several yeal's past large sections of my district served by this road have found the freight service insufficient, result­ing in great congestion of freight, delays in shipments, and loss to farmers and stock and produce buyers, who were unable to take advantage of the best markets. Within a few weeks this insufficient freight service has been cut in two in the Thumb district of Michigan, and where the rule was before a freight train each way every day, there is now but one every other day. The following is from the Huron County Tribune of January ilO last : FREIGHT SERVICE IS IliTTOLERABLE, _BAY SHIPPERs-BAD :AXE DOES NOT

GET TH.REI!l P. :M. TRAINS A WEEK, AS PROMIS"ED.

The freight situation in Bnd Axe bas become intolerable, -say many shippers and merchants. Last week a shipment o! goods by the Clark & McCaren Wholesale Grocery Co. is reported as having taken from · Monday till Friday to get to Elkton 10 miles distant. Bad Axe was supposed to have an outgoing P. M. freight train every other day, but is not getting even this triweekly service, poor as it would be. The fact is 'that the freights can not get here three times a week. Every station along ·the road, both on 1:he Saginaw and Port Huron ·divisions, is so congested with freight and it takes so long 1:o load, unload and switch cars that neither can make its destination the same day it starts from either Saginaw or Port Hru·on. Frequently, it is said, the trains tie up overnight along the way on account of the 16-hour limit for the crews, and instead of the trains coming in one day and goiiig ont the next, it takes about two days to make the tri-p -each way. This does not make much more than three round trips in two weeks.

Local railroad men are powerless to relieve the situation. They are obeying orders, and are not to blame.

Harbor Beach is said to be even worse off than 'Bad Axe, and accord­ing to reports a delegation of business -men from that town to P. M. headquarters in Detroit received little encouragement and but ·scant

co"'ifot:.:'l'Iocnl shippers ha-ve gone over :the heads of the P. M. officlals and taken -up the matter of freight injustice with the commission at Lansing.

1914. CONGRESSION .A.L RECORD-HOUSE. 3013 Here is another expresSion, from the Harbor Beach Times of

January 23: ~HESJ.'I Altl'l DAYS OF RETnOGRESSIO~-PRESE~T RAILWAY TRAIN SERVlCE

WO"C'LD !U.1KE GOOD lllATERIAL FOR JOKES"MITHS-EVEilY TRAIN lS ON TJIEl SAME KINO OF SCHEDULE USED WHE.'i DAD WOREl COPPER-TOED BOOTS.

Well. sir, there is nothing about our present misfit of a train service over the Port Hope & Palms division of the Pere Marquette Ra.il-

ay over which to "crow." When our citizens were informed, Monday morning of this week, that during the previous night the train-moving map on the best-paying 18 miles of trackage of the entire system of llllcltigan's big system, the Pere Marquette Railwny, had been changed and the new conditions took us back to the days of years ago, when Harbor Beach bad no factories and the system was a narrow-gauge atfair, they were loud in comments; but right here is where we suggest thnt :rour foot be placed upon the soft pedal, so far as the subordinate officers are concerned. for in making this backward movement they simply are carrying into action orders received from the head office.

During the week our people have been treated to all kinds of " auld Ian:; syne" stunts in the line of raUroading, including a passenger train of coaches of 1862 vintage pulled by an engine running back­waL·cls and other numerous and freakish ideas; yet all is the result of a system that has been taken !nto Wall Street, robbed, and left by th.e wayside for dead. now in the care of nurses, trying to keep the pool' thin~ supplied with activity sufficient to make it a. matter of sympathy for the consideration of the State railway commission.

In the Detroit Tribune of January 31 appear charges framed by representatives of striking employees of the road to- tll.e effect i.hnt the roadbed and rolling stock of the road have fallen into such bad condHion that lives and property are in constant jeopardy, that 75 engines on the said railroad were, between .1\Iay and September last, condemned by Government inspectors as dangerous. and approximately 50 more have been withdrawn from service by Government inspectors because of their defective ancl unsafe condition. These parties further cite as an example of the demoralized and impoverished condition of the railroad the following telegram from J. W. Mulhern, superintendent of the Grand Rapids division, under date of June 25, 1913, to the engineer of No. 9:

Tills ts authority for you tb proceed on No. 9, engine 189, without a whistle.

And these parties further allege that said engine, with a pas­senger train, was thereupon run 550 miles without a whistle, contrary to the laws of the State.

Complaints are now pending before the Interstate Commerce Commission from Mr. Burr B. Lincoln, deputy dairy and food commif.lsioner of the State of Michigan, and other parties alleg­ing insufficient service, as to delays in transit in connection with shipments of live stock, and oth~r .demands for service. Occa­sionally through this cour e the individual case is cared for, but the thousands of instances occurring each day where injustice is done the public by the failure of this railway system to fur­ni..<ili the service to the public that it is entitled to do not reach the commission and are not adjusted, and if they did reach the commission th~ commission could not procure the relief to which the complainants would be entitled.

It is not a matter of individual inefficiency. It is not a tem­porary situation which will work itself out. It is not a case of simple failure of a public agency to perform its duty. It is a serious and urgent situation, which exists by reason, not of will­ful failure, but of absolute inability of a public agency to per­form its duty under the conditions_ with which unrestrained private ownershiP' bas surrounded it. The engineers. and the

- brakemen and the conductors and the station agents and the sec­tion men and the men in the car shops and the train dispatchers, and even the division superintendents and the general superin­tendent and general manager and those officers of the public, the receivers, are not to blame for the present situation, wherein the State of Michigan, which bas a right to expect service from the Pere Marquette Railroad Co., is, instead, being hampered and held down in its industrial development by the failure of that privately owned and publicly regulated public utility to give service. The Pere Marquette co-rporation is carrying water in its stock to the amount of many millions of dollars. Money that the public have paid to that corporation for service has been di­Terted to the pockets of speculators and gentlemen in high finance. June 30, 1013, this corporation had outstanding, accord­ing to its own report to the Interstate Commerce Commission, capital stock to the amount of $28,41·5,200, and a funded debt amounting to $75,750,720. This gives a total of $107,250,720 on which this corporation seeks to pay interest or dividends. At the same time almost all of the property of this corporation is taxed in Michigan under a law which provides for its assess­ment at its cash value the same as any other property. A few hundred miles of the lines are outside of the State, and, of course. are not included in the valuation placed upon the Pere Marquette by the State board of assessors; but these do not amount to more than a few millions of dollars in value.

The State board of assessors have just determined the value of the property of this -company. in Michigan for 19.13 at the

same figure as for the previous year, namely, $25,600,000. The company will, no doubt, appear before that board, as they have done every year heretofore, and protest that their property is being assessed at more than it is worth, and then will go home and try to figure out some way of paying interest and dividend on an amount equal to three times or more its assessed valu· ation. It is to be noted that the State board of assessors in Michigan in making their assessment of railroads are not grop­ing in the dark and making random guesses. In addition to other data before them, they have always before them that splendid piece of work, the appraisal of the railroad property in Michigan, which was secured by that pioneer progressive of progressives, Gov. Hazen S. Pingree. This appraisal was made under the direction of Prof. M. EJ. Cooley, an engineer of national reputation, and Prof. Henry C. Adams, later statisti­cian.of the Interstate Commerce Commission and now an advisor of the new Republic of China. In this appraisal the value of the Pere l\Iarquette lines in Michigan in 1900 was placed at $28,890,892.

These suggestions are sufficient to indicate that a situation exists in connection with the Pere Marquette system that pre­sents a great problem for solution, and one that it is urgent for the welfare of my district and of my State; and of your Nation us well as mine, that it should be solved soon, not by any tem­porary restoratiTe on the 5 per cent plan, but by a thorough cure. I shall at a later time present a resolution asking a thor­ough investigation of the Pere Marquette Railroad Co., its financial history, and its present physical condition, and the nature of the service it is rendering the public. I am making these observations here to-day as a reminder both of the fact that private ownership, self-regulated, has failed to keep its trust with the public, and that as yet Government regulation of privately-owned public utilities has not really begun to solve the problem. I have not made any reference to Gove:cnment aid for the Pere Marquette, although that is a factor in the situ­ation. We are now making our start in the development of Alaska,_ hoping to build up there a civilization worthy of our country. Before we have given large sections of new territory to private individuals to secure railroads for the development of such territory. I believe this is a most propitious time to experiment with a newer method of building our own railroads and securing our money back out of the lands and owning our own railr.oads to be forever operated along lines best suited to the welfare of Alaska. [Applause.]

Mr. REILLY of Wisconsin. Mr. Chairman, this bill provides for th~ construction by the United States Gove1·nment of about 800 miles of railroad in Alaska, the road to be built between such points and over such routes as may be determined by the President of the United States.

The purpose of this measure is to connect one or more of the open Pacific coast harbors on. the southern coast of Alaska with the navigable waters in the interior of Alaska and with the coal and copper fields of Alaska, thereby aiding in the development of the agricultural, mineral, and other resources of that Territory. Auth~rity is given in the bill to borrow $35,000,000 on UnHed

States bonds, said: sum to be used in the construetion of said railroad.

This bill is based on the report of the Alaskan Railroad Com­mission, which was appointed about two years ago for the pur­pose of investigating the Alaskan situation, with the view of determining the best policy to be pursued by the National Gov­ernment in the development of that country.

Alaska was purchased by the United States Government from Russia in 1867 for $7,200,000.. Alaska contains 590,000 square miles of territory, being about one-fifth the size of the United States, and has a population of about 50,000 people.

Ninety-nine per cent of the Territory of Alaska is owned by the United States Government and the balance is largely owned by what is known as the Alaskan Syndicate, or the Morgan­Guggenheim interests.

Alaska has at the p-resent time about 450 miles of railroad, the Alaskan Northern, the Copper River & Northwestern, the White Pass, and the Yukon being the principal lines.

According to all authorities Alaska is rich in natural re­sources, a veritable treasure house, so valuable that no man has assumed to be able to name the sum that would represent her total wealth.

It is claimed that Alaska has more gold: than California and Colorado, more coal than West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsyl­vania, more copper than Michigan, Arizona and Montana, large deposits of iron ore, extensive forests,. considerable quan­tities of the finest marble, and various other minerals in abundance.

3014 .OONGRESSION AL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5, .

From the standpoint of agriculture, strange as it may seem to those who have looked upon this country as a sea of ice­bergs, Alaska is of considerable importance, as she is located in a latitude similar to that of several countries of northern Europe, where in a territory smaller than that of Alaska 10,000,000 people are supported by the products of the soil.

Mr. Chairman, after reading the hearings of the two com­mittees having this bill in charge, and after listening to the able and exhaustive debates on the floor of this House, it would appear that there is a general agreement on both sides as to certain vital points fundamental in the correct solution of the problem before us.

There is little dispute as to the natural resources of Alaska. All agree that she is unquestionably rich in copper and coal; that she has valuable forests-in fact, that her natural wealth is so great that she practically stands alone as the one great storehouse of the world whose treasury door has yet to be unlocked. It is conceded that if Alaska is to be developed, if her great natural resources are to become available, railroads are necessary; that railroad construction in Alaska by private individuals ceased in 1906 when the Government withdrew from entry the public lands of Alaska; and that private enterprise will build no more railroads in Alaska under present conditions.

I agree with the gentleman from California [1\lr. KENT], who has just addressed the House, that the problem here presented is a very simple one, being nothing more or less than a plain business proposition.

Here is the situation: The people of the United States own 99 per cent of a Territory equal in size to 10 average States of this Republic, a Territory wonderfully rich in natural resources, for the development of which railroads are a necessity.

Shall the railroads be built by the people who own the Terri­tory and its natural resources, or shall the people turn over to private individuals the resources of the Territory as a bonus for the construction of the necessary railroads?

The advocates of this bill insist that as a plain business proposition the answer to this question must be that the people of the United States should construct the necessary railroads for the development of their own property, especially so when to act otherwise would mean that the property must remain undeveloped or else be surrendered to private individuals to be de\eloped and exploited as they should determine.

While it has been the policy of our country in the past to give to private individuals bonuses in the form of land grants for tile purpose of inducing them to engage in the construction of railroads in undeveloped countries, it is now generally agreed on an sides that the said policy resulted in a criminal waste of the people's property and in the building up of a far-reaching and gigantic monopoly of our natural resources.

The United States Government owes a duty to Alaska. and to her citizens to assist in the development of that country. All a O'ree that the assistance most needed is -a railroad. Now w2, as Representatives of the people of these United States, should either provide for the development of Alaska by means of Gov­ernment-owned railroads or else we should permit the Guggen­heims, the Morgans and their allied interests to acquire the natural resources of that country-in fact, to become the own­ers of the country-in order that private enterprise will con­struct the railroads necessary for the development of the country.

I do not know what other Members of this House may do, but I do know that I will not vote to turn over to a few vast natural resources that belong to and should be preserved for the use of all the people.

We have been told many times during the course of this debate by the opponents of the measure that Alaska has no use for railroads; that the railroads already constructed in that country are not paying and never will pay ; and that the National Government will lose every dollar it will invest in the country.

The opponents of this bill argue that the proper way to treat .Alaska is to take the Government's hands off of her natural re­sources, lease or give them to private individuals, and then this bleak, cold, barren country will suddenly become able to support railroads which private individuals, after gobbling up all of her resources, will kindly construct.

It would seem that if private enterprise will find it profitable to build the necessary railroads for the development of Alaska, in case the resourC'es of that country should be leased, given or sold to them, that the people of the United States, being the owner of said resources, can well afford to build the necessary railroads, with every probability of the venture being a financial success, especially so since the people, through the Government, can build the road for money that will cost but 3 per cent,

while individuals will use money upon which from 7 to 10 per cent will be expected.

It has long been the policy of this country to aid in th~ development of new territory, by giving financial assistance to private individuals who are engaged in constructing what might be called the pioneer railroad trunk lines necessary for the development of the country.

The United States Government has given more than 150,000,000 acres ·of public domain to private individuals for railroad con­struction in our western States. It is safe to state that more than $1,000,000,000 have been donated by the National, city, county and State go\ernments for the building of the great railroads extending from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

I stated that this bill provided for the continuance of an old policy of our Government as regards railroad construction in new territory, with this marked difference, however, that in the past the Government of the United States and the people along the right of way, after furnishing the money for the construc­tion of railroads, kindly turned the roads, when built, over to private individuals, while under the terms of this bill, the Government having furnished the money for the construction of a railroad, will retain the ownership of the road for the benefit of all the people.

It is no disparagement of the resources of .Alaska that it should be necessary for the National Government to build the railroads necessary for the development of that country. It is very doubtf-ul if our western country, with its rolling plains, its fertile valleys, and great mineral resources. would even to this day have been developed to any great extent if the National Government, the different city, county, and State governments along the rights of way had not come forward and furnished the money needed for the construction of the necessary pioneer rail­roads.

There appe.-.'lrs to be a difference of opinion as to the agricul­tural possibilities of this Territory. The gentleman from Okla­homa [Mr. FERRIS] in his speech against this bill was rather sarcastic in Ws references to Alaska as an agricultural country. I desire to compliment the gentleman from Oklahoma oo1 his speech, because it was an able one, wherein every argument or possible argument against the bill was presented with much force and skill.

No matter what the opposition to this bill may say, the fact nevertheless remains that Alaska has agricultural possibilities, and while it is true that the country may never be an ex­porter of agricultural products, there can be no douBt at all, judging from the reports of the United States experimental sta­tions located in that country, and from the agricultural possi­bilities of other countries similarly located geographically, that Alaska will be able to produce agricultural products sufficient to support a population of at least 10,000,000 people.

1\fr. Chairman, in passing this bill we are not entering upon a new policy; neither are we committing ourselves to the policy of the ownership and operation of railroads of this country by the National Government. We are simply continuing an old policy of governmental assistance in the construction of rail­roads for the purpose of developing a new country.

It is argued by the opponents of this measure that it will es­tablish a precedent which will eventually lead to the Government · ownership and operation of all the railroads of the United States. This argument has been the strong talking point of . almost every speech made in opposition to the measure.

As a general proposition I am opposed to the Government ownership anll operation of our railroads, and as I view the situ­ation to-day I will continue to be opposed to the proposition until it is proven by a fair trial that Government supervision and control of railways is a failure.

Is it possible that the gentlemen who oppose this bill, because, as they claim, its enactment into a law will be the first step toward the ownership by the Government of all the railroads of this country, are willing to sacrifice nature's richest store­house of natural resources, now the property of all the people, by turning it over to private individuals as the price of rail­road constructicn in Alaska, in order that some future advocate of Government ownership of railroads will not be able to point to the Alaskan Government-owned railroad as a reason for the Government ownership of all the railroads of this country?

The question of Government ownership of railroads is not before us at this time, and when that question does come squarely before Congress for solution, a Government owned and operated qtilroad in Alaska may or may not be a strong argument in favor of Government ownership of railroads of the United States.

I am going to support this measure, not because I believe in a Government-owned railroad, but because it appears that rail-

t914e~ CONGRESSIONAL. RECORD-HOUSE. 3015. roads are necessary for the ' development ·of_ .Alaska; that prl:­vate capital will not build the railroads unless we pay the priee demanded, a surrender to private enterprise of the natural resources of that country; and because only through the Govern­ment building this road will it be possible for the people to corr­tinue as owners of Alaska.

.Alaska, through her representative [Mr. WICKERSHAM], Is here plea ding for the passage of this bill. She is asking that this bill become a law, because the history of that country under the domination of the Guggenheim and Morgan syndicate is almost without a parallel in modern times. It is a history of strife, of lawlessness, of corruption, inspired by private greed, a greed that has paralyzed every effort of those who happened to be outside of the pale of the Alaskan syndicate, to develop the country, and Alaska is asking for a Government-owned rail­road because she desires that hP.r natural wealth be developed for the use of all the people of this country, and not for the benefit of the Alaskan syndicate.

The construction of an Alaskan railroad by the National Government will eventually be of great benefit to the people of the United States. Alaska even to-day, undeveloped, is of considerable commercial importance to this country. We had more ttade with Alaska in 1913 than with China and many other countries, and there is every indication that with the proper railroad facilities our trade with that Territory will ~ecome an important item. _

We need the coal and copper of Alaska in our industrial de­velopment. Especially do we need the coal of Alaska for the use of our Navy and our growing eastern commerce. In case of an eastern war that would require the presence of our Navy !in the PaCific Ocean, Govern.IDent coal mines in Alaska would mean an annual saving of millions ot dollars to the Government rn the cost of fuel.

Practically all the natural resources o:t our country outside of Alaska are held in the iron grasp of monopoly. It will be for the benefit of the people to have under the control ot the General Government the coal, copper, and other mineral re­sources of Alaska, to· be used, if necessary, in combating and destroying the gigantic monopoly that now controls the coal, dron, copper, and other natural resources of the country.

Mr. Chairman, I am not going to allow myself to speculate :Upon the agricultural possibilities of Alaska or upon the prob­able value of her vast coal and copper deposits or upon the effect the passing of this bill will have upon the question of Government ownership of railroads in this country.

Suffice for me is to know that Alaska is marvelously rich in natuml resources, and that the only way by which those re­sources can be preserved for the use and benefit of all the people Is for the Government to build a railroad as provided by the terms of this bill.

Mr. O'HAIR. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, if I should vote

1the way I would like to on this matter, and should follow the /feelings and dictates of my heart, I would vote for this bill. ,You can not read the history or talk with people who have come

1 aown from Alaska without feeling a great deal of admiration and sympathy for them. But I apprehend that it is not sym­lpathy they want-it seems to be a railroad at the present time. . I have always observed that when a mining proposition, or an oil proposition, or any kind of industrial proposition is brought to you from a far-off land, a place that is inaccessible, where the prospective stockholders can not go to investigate, the greatest success in selling the stock is generally experienced.

' [Laughter.] From all I can hear and from conversation with gentlemen,

:there are mighty few Members of this House who know any­thing about .Alaska first-hand.

Since this matter was called up I have been seeking out those who know something about it, or said they did, and reading a few books. Every man that I have seen and every

, book that I !lave read written by men who live in Alaska booms the country. Of course they do if they live in Alaska. It I [lived in Alaska, I would tell all the good things about it and I would leave untold everything that would not get votes for this raih·oad.

I have made up my mind, gentlemen, that if Alaska is worth enough to deserve a railroad somebody will build it, and if 1Alaska is as worthless as the gentleman from Oklahoma says

' it is nobody ought to build it. It has been true of every coun­try on the Western Hemisphere, at least, that no place that

1 !has been worth developing has failed up to this time to have a r ailroad built by private enterprise.

I hear a good deal of talk about the Panama Canal and of railroads to the far West. Now, those are entirely different

t propositions. This is a developing proposition. It is not a proposition to b-uild a road from llere to Alaska, where we are

r

gOfug to begin to take out the gold, coal, oil, reindeer, and the polar bears. This is not a proposition to build a railroad over barren wastes, impassable swamps, or bleak mountain passes, ' but it is a proposition to build a railroad of 700 miles from somewhere on the coast to the intetior of Alaska for the pur­pose of developing more than a half million square miles of tand. That is the proposition pure and simple .

The Qovernment dug the Panama Canal not for the purpose of developing swamps and tropical jungles on the Isthmus of Panama but for the purpose of enabling the commerce from everywhere to be transported through this barren waste to the ports and markets of· everywhere.

The proposition is world-wide and world developing. It was necessary for 'the Government to build the canal, because the project was so uncertain and stupendous that no private enter­prise would ever be organized on a large enough scale to accom­plish the undertaking.

The Government donated vast areas of land to private enter­prises in order to induce them to construct overland routes across the great western deserts to the Pacific coast, and those transactions have been a subject of scandal for the past genera­tion; but those enormous grants and gifts were not made for the purpose of developing any country, they were made for the purpose of constructing lines of communication across _ vast sweeps of worthless desert in order to reach a country which was worth developing. No one ever supposed that the Govern­ment was willing to contribute or did contribute to the con­struction of railroads for developing the far Western States­that was accomplished by private enterprise, for the siinple reason that those States were worth developing. I have never known of a project for the development of any valuable natural resources that was not eagerly sought by investors. ·

Whene-ver the Government goes into the business of building railroads for the purpose of d-eveloping parts of our country it will inevitably be called upon to take over other enterprises, such as the mining of coal, the Government ownership of irriga- · tion, the Government ownership of manufacturing enterprises, and then Government ownership will reach a condition of com­plete centralization. No other condition on the face of the earth can so effectually and completely break down individual liberty as a centralized Government, with all business matters · under its ownership; and until I become convinced that the phi1osophy of the Socialist is correct I shall never cast a vote in favor of the Government going into any business of a com­mercial character or nature. It is repugnant to our form o:t government~ The true function of constitutional government is to enact just laws and to fairly and impartially administer them. Let the citizens own and manage the wealth of the Nation and let a just and righteous Government, honestly ad­ministered, compel an honest accounting of that guardianship; in other words, the Government should never lose control over anx commodities, products, or resources under its jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing a square deal. It is only within the last few years that the people of this country have awak­ened to the fact that this Government can and must and will control the railroads, the telegraph, the telephone, the express companies, the trusts, combines, and monopolies.

Alaska has to-day about 35,000 white people and 30,000 natives. It covers an area of about 590,000 square miles. There are about 20 sections of land in Alaska for each of the men, women, and children of the white race. In the last 10 years Alaska has produced about $200,000,000 worth of gold and about $200,000,000 worth of fish and seal furs. There are about 26,000 miles of seashore, including islands and inlets, and the navigable streams furnish about 3,000 more miles of water frontage in Alaska. Most of the land a vail able for agricultural purposes is near the seashore and along the rivers. Lack of railroads can not be said to have retarded the growth of the population along the shores of the ocean and the rivers, and yet there is about 1 mile of frontage for every white person in .Alaska along her navigable waters. You might build 10,000 miles of railroad in Alaska, but you would not improve the facilities provided by - nature for transportation along her navigable front. The Government has done wrong, criminally wrong, in withdrawing the great coal fields and forests of Alaska from entry and virtually locking up the resources of that great rich country. ·

I do not believe the charge that this country is a barren waste. I do not believe the assertion that Alaska can not be made profitable as an agricultural country. The evidence is too convincing for me not to believe that this country, when proper laws are put into effect, will become a great mining count ry, with vast resources from its agricultural products, and capable of feeding millions of people. Under the conditions that exist to-day, if you were to string Alaska with lines of roads as thick

I""

3016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE .. FEBRUARY 5,

as they nre in Illinois, you could not transport 1 pound of coal; you could not get a stick off of the timber reservations.

The railroad is not needed to bring the fish and seal furs out of the colmtry, because these products are already on the ocean front, and it surely would not appeal to the business sense of anybody to build a railroad at an expense of $40,000,000 to haul the gold out of Alaska. If a railroad were built as is proposed by this bill, it would serve only about 10,000 to 15,000 people; so t lle 11roposition resolves itself into an investment of at least $1,000 for each white person in the Alaskan Territory in ord.e r to build 700 miles of railroad; . and those who say the country would settle up and a great many more people would go tllere by the building of this railroad have not a peg to stand on, when it is shown that those miles of ocean frontage and I'i>er bottom lands fronting on navigable streams are more ac· cessible to-day and always have bean than the interior would be with unlimited railroads. The most level and most fertile part of .Ala ska lies along its coast line and along its rivers, yet er ery white citizen living in Alaska could go fishing on a nn.vigable shore and have no person to disturb his solitude .within 1 mile of him, unless it were a native that he took along witll him to cut bait. Now, there is something wrong with Al aska, and before I vote to spend $40,000,000 of the people's money on a questionable venture I intend that the promoters of tliis scheme shall prove their case to the satisfaction of rea­sonable men. We have spent $400,000,000 digging the Panama Canal, and I think the Panama Canal is all right, but I would rather h ave had $400,000,000 spent on internal improvements for ·the benefit of the "folks at home." It is very high sound­ing to talk about digging canals and spending great quantities of money for the benefit of the world, but I think the time has come in this country when it is the duty of every man who hn.s an official position to bend his energies to caring for the welfare of Americans first.

It is a good deal like a man who buys his wife a piano when she needs a cook stove. The piano is all right, but unless you can afford both the cook stove should be bought first. So the proposition to build an Alaskan railroad is all right if we had plenty of money to first improve our public highways, to en­la rge nnd deepen our ri>ers, lakes, and harbors, to promote irrigation, and to establish Government hygienic conditions for both man and beast.

I would rather know how to· prevent hog' cholera than to have a railroad stretched clear from the Pacific Ocean across Alaska to the North Pole, and yet we are having trouble in getting an· appropriation of one-half million dolla rs to find out how to pre­vent and cure hog cholera. The loss to the fa rmers for each year from hog cholera is approximately $100,000,000. Forty million dollars will build S,OOO miles of fine macadam highway in the United States. This highway, extending across the con· tinent almost three times, would pass in front of the doors of from 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 people. Which would you rather have, the railroad in Alaska, so far away that no one of us and probably few of our children will ever see it or use it, or 8.000 miles of macadam highway at the yery threshold of one· thi rd of our people?

It is the same old proposition. Some of the 1\Iembers of this House are like a great many people who hear a glittering tale for the first time. They are willing to spend their money like a lord on something that is shrouded in mystery, and especially are t hey willing to spend it when it is somebody else's money . . I ne>er \Oted to spend one cent of American money away from America. I do not think I ever have in private or public life voted against spending .American money in developing and pro· moting internal resources and internal improvements. The people who pay the bill are entitled to the benefit and not the world or somebody away off in an inaccessible territory.

Alaska will never be developd by building a railroad; but if you will give Alaska a chance by repealing obnoxious, selfish, paternalistic, restrictive laws that now throttle and fetter her, there is no doubt in the world but that she will take care of herself, and the goddess of Alaskan prosperity and the spirit of Alaskan progress will unfurl their . banners to the Arctic breezes and inscribe a declaration of commercial independence by the light of the Aurora Borealis.

Mr. WILLIS. Mr. Chairman, a week ago I spoke upon this bill at some length and do not therefore desire at this time to trespass at any great length upon the patience of the committee.

There seems to be general agreement that if there are suffi­cient resources in Alaska to support permanently a considerable population of home builders it is wise to open this great empire and develop those resources. The first step in the opening of any country to settlement and development is the establish· ment of adequate means of transportation; that is, by the con­struction of railroads.

It is evident that private capital will not be invested in rail· road building in Alaska unless the owners of that capital are given such opportunities for profit and such control over the resources of that country as seriously to inttrfere with the rights of the present owners, the people of the United States.

Alaska must not be turned over to exploitation by private special interests. .Therefore, if railroads are to be built and the rights of the people of the United States still preserved those railroads must be constructed and operated by the Gover~ent · there is no other logical conclusion to these premises. '

But whether the Government of the Unitetl States or any other entity should build railroads in Alaska depends upon the re­sources and possibilities for development of that counti'y; i:f these resources and possibilities are shown t6 exist, the neces· sity for Government action in the construction of a railroad for the development of its own property and the benefit of the peo· pie of the United States is perfectly clear. The important question to be determined, therefore, is, What are the facts as to the resources and opportunities for development in Alaska?

Consequently I desire to submit some further observations as the gentleman from Wyoming [Mr. 1\IoNDELL] would say, upori. the question of the resources of Alaska, and I therefore, because of lack of time, ask unanimous consent to extend my remarks in the RECORD upon that subject.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection? There was no objection. Mr. WILLIS. Mr. Chairman, under the leave just granted

I supmit certain additional facts as to the resources of Alasku. As to the great value of the minerals, fisheries, and furs of this mighty Territory there can be no doubt. ·

On :m investment of $7,200,000 Alaska has given us in re­turn since 1867 (and· by far the greater portion since 1809, or only 14 years), as shown in the reports of the United Stat es Geological Survey, Director of the Mint, and other official documents:

$213,018,719 1,824,364

13,377,194 355, 489 093, 119

240,830,168

Total--------------------------------------- 470,390,053 A faint idea of what Alaska may be expected to do when it

shall have adequate means of transportation is given by the following , table:

Value of articles Bhippea to the United States in 1912. Copper, ore and matte--------------------------------- $4, 904, 715 Fish:

Salmon, canned ---------------------------------­Salmon, rul other-----------------------------------AU other fish and fish products __ .. _________________ _ Fish fertilizers----------------------------------­Fish and whale oiL-------------------------------

Furs ----------------------------------------------­Gypsum -------------------------------------------­~arble ---------------------------------------------Tin, ore and concentrates ____________________________ _

\Vh alebone ------------------------------------------Other merchandise-----------------------------------­Gold and silver--------------------------------------

15,551, 7!H 907, 242 5S9, o20

41,062 283, :1:31) 728, 554 129,375

77, 1GI) fl0, 831 18, 012

1,000,261 16,031,705

Total .---------------------------------------- 40,354,178 Some doubt has been expressed during this debate as to the

possibilities of stock raising in this far northwestern country. On this point the annual report of the Alaska agricultural ex­periment station for 1910 says :

Cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, and angora goats can be raised nearly or quite as well in Alaska as in other of the most northern countries. Theoretically the Galloway cattle are speciruly well adapted to t il ls climate, but nearly all the well-known breeds have now been produced here : Herefords, Durhams, Ayrshires, Holsteins, a nd J erseys grow a ::i rapidly and mature as quickly as in other countrie . What are not to be kept tor milk are usually killed fl:om October to December, after they are yearlings, so th~y an: fed silage or hay only one winter. They can then be made to dress from 500 to 600 pounds each. The heifers nre nearly or quite full grown and giving milk frequently before the_y are actually 2 years old. All the pure breeds and those of mixed breeding apparently do as well in Alaska as elsewhere.

Comparatively few colts have yet been raised here, but enough t o prove conclusively that they grow quickly, are perfectly healthy, very hardy, and make as large and as valuable horses as could have been pro­duced from the same stock farther south. Horses can be raised . much more cheaply than would be generally supposed. Pasturing is still so abundant it costs practically nothing, and food and shelter for colts ancl young horses are actually needed only a very small portion of the time some winters scarcely at all. Horses have repe.atedly wintered well with little or no care where no other domestic animal would have survived.

That the introduction of the reindeer into Alaska has wrought wonders and that this branch of stock raising possesses im­mense possibilities is shown by the following from a recent report of Dr. Sheldon Jackson:

In Lapland (on an area of 14,000 square miles) there are about 400,000 head of reindeer, sustaining in comfort some 26,000 people. '.rhere is no reason why Arctic and sub-Arctic Alaska should not sustain a ·population of 100,000 people with 2,000,000 head of reindeer.

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 3017 Lapland sends to market about 22,000 head of reindeer a year, the

surplns of her herds, which, at an average weight per carcass, dressed. of about 150 pounds, is equal to 1,660 tons. As this is a surplus over and above the wants of the population, the value of this industry in the near future as a source of meat supply from lands otherwise com­paratively valueless for other purposes becomes apparent. The present herds arc nearly all located on the western coast from the Kuskokwim to Point Barrow, a distance of some 800 miles, but in the near future this industry will extend over the entire Alaska Peninsula and many northern localities not yet occupied. Those best acquainted with sur­rounding conditions estimate that Alaska has grazing grounds sufficient to 5upport from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 head of stock.

On this interesting subject the New York Independent of Fel.Jruary 2, 1914, states that-

Fifty thousand thrifty reindeer are already grazing on Alaskan wilder­ness pastures as contentedly as if their ancestral home had been there. They are, however, the quite recent descendants of some 15 or 20 animals that were imported from Siberia about 20 years ago by way of experiment. It was a good day for the north when the fathers of the flock first landed. Never has any animal done more for man or more remarkably accomplished a country's material salvation.

'l'he native peoples of the Alaskan coast country were in a bad way IJefore their animal benefactors came to he-lp them, and were eking out a very poor existence. There was nothing in the way of a permanent industry to keep them profitably busy, and the food supply was very often dangerously near the vanishing point. Dr. Sheldon Jackson, a missionary working among them, conceived the idea of importing from !:;iberia a few head of reindeer, wWch were giving the people of that country, under similar natural conditions, both work and food. Shortly afterwards the United States Government took up the experiment, and now all the reindeer herds in Alaska are under Government control. 'l'hey at·e let out on favorable terms to the native herders, and already the profits have been 300 per cent on the original investment.

'l'here is no fear of starvation in Alaska now, as once there was, for the reindeer gives an unfailing supply of meat and milk. Its skin makes a warm and serviceable clothing. And the responsibility of tak­ing care of the herds has developed the natives from rather shiftless hunters and trappers into men of regular and thrifty habits.

Concerning the agricultural possibilities of this great peninsula, Mr. Seth Mann, from whose report the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. SAUNDERS] very properly quoted, says:

The Government agricultural stations in various parts of Alaska h~ve demonstrated many of the agricultural possibilities of the respective regions where they are located ; and in the neighborhood of Fairbanks there are a number of commercial farms and gardens which are operated at a profit and which supply the needs of the city of Fairbanks and the neighborhood and also the demands of the steamer traffic. Excel­lent strawberries arc grown, and vegetables are raised without diffi­culty. The growing of various grains is as yet largely in the experi­mental stage. But crops of wheat, oats, barley, and rye are matured on the Government farms.

The summer season Is short for the maturing of wheat, but there is much less difficulty with the other grains mentioned. Some hay is cut by individual farmers. The interior of Alaska is more favorable for agricultural purposes than the regions along the coast since there is more sunshine in the interior and more cloudy and rainy days upon the coast. However, the city of Juneau is supplied with vegetables from local farms situated from 1 to 12 miles away from the town. It does not appear that Alaska wlll ever export the products of agri­culture, but it seems fair to assume with the growth of population which will result fr·om the building of railroads, roads, and trails and the development of the mineral resources of the Territory that larger areas of arable lands will be brought under cultivation, and that the needs of the people of Alaska will be supplied from its own fields.

Relative to fruit-growing the report of the Alaska agricultural experiment stations has this to say:

Fortunately for Alaska there are some fruits which do well here. The currant and gooseberry and the raspberry thrive and fruit as well as anywhere on earth. ThP currant and the gooseberry are both in­digenous to Alaska. The red currant is found more or less abundantly in the mountain valleys throughout the Coast Range. It is particularly abundant in Kenai Peninsula, where the writer hils seen large bushes loaded with fruit, which was much appreciated by the bears, as evi­ilenced by their tracks and their voidings. A dwarf red raspberry grows abundantly in the interior valleys and on the lower slopes of the hills as far north as the Arctic Circle. The writer once was a member of a party of berry pickers less than a degree from the Arctic Circle, and the raspberry was the most al.mndant fruit. Alaska has other ber­ries equally good. The blueberry of the interior is so abundant in places that the slopes look blue at a distance, and the native cranberry Is also found in low, moss-grown thickets in the interior and in the swamps in the coast region.

Another recent report makes the following statement with reference to the growing of vegetables ;

It is possible to grow magnificent vegetables in all parts of Alaska, except on the tundms and mountains. To Alaskans they are no novelty, b.ut to strangers unacquainted with the country they are a constant sur­prise. They lndude all the pt·oducts of the Temperate Zone in America, and the bm·eau bas in its exhibit potatoes, turnips, beets, rutabagas, sugnt· beets, carrots, parsnips, kohl-rabi, celery, rhubarb, radishes, onions, cabbage, cucumbers. peas and even tomatoes, and in one or two very favored spots even melons have ripened. The samples both for size and quality will compare with the markets of New York, although grown more than J ,500 miles north of that city. Every family can have its garden, which will not only furnish the necessities of life but will beautify the home with a wealth of flowers. These facts have · become so well known that notice of them has practically disappeat·ed from the reports of the agricultural stations, but as the potato ls so important an item in the daily menu every effort ~s being put forth to secure those variP.tles best adapted to the climatic conditions of l'alufall and sunshine.

1f , further evidence were necessary to prove the real agricul- , tural value of this wonderland of wealth, the following from

LI-191

the report of the Alaska Railroad Commission would seem to be conclusive:

* * * Of the agricultural importance of the Tanana Valley there can be no question. The district can not be expected to raise products which will be valuable for export, at least under conditions which can now be foreseen. It should, however, become in part self-supporting by raising a large amount of the food material now imported from outside. Though cattle l'aising has not been carried on to any extent, yet it is probable that this can be successfully done in competition with meat brought in from the States. The snowfall is, however, heavier than in the upper White River Valley, and some winter feedin~ would be neces­sary. Whatever experience may show in regard to raising cattle, there should be no question that a local dairy industry could be developed.

* * • It may be said that the Susitna, lower Tanana, aud upper Kuskokwim Basins contain farming and grazing lands unrivaled in ex­tent and fertility in Alaska, and which in time to come may furnish a food supply for export.

* * • • • • * The data presented shows that the United States possesses in Alaska

a frontier 'l'erritory of great size and of wonderful industrial possibili­ties. 'l'he commission believes that its climate is favorable to perma­nent settlement and to agriculture ; that its mineral resources are vast and as yet but little exploited; that its population is sparse, but only by reason of its inadequate transportation facilities; and that its peo­ple are of the same type of hardy pioneers that have carried the United States frontier to its present limits.

Mr. DA VEl\"TPORT. :Mr. Chairman, if no other gentleman de­sires to speak, I want to use but a moment and to ask, inci­dentally, permission to extend my remarks in the RECORD.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection? There was no objection. Mr. DAVENPORT. The reason I do that, Mr. Chairman, is

because during the debate a number of gentlemen have seen fit to criticize in a way that I know they did not mean any harm by; but, at the same time, a greater portion of their argument is directed against the Guggenheims, and my congenial friend from Alaska [Mr. \VICKERSHAM] and I engaged in several collo­quies during the delivery of his speech on that proposition.

Now, I know there is nobody in this :S:ouse who is going to be offended in one way or another. If it had not been for the fact that Oklahoma exists and that my colleague [Mr. FERRIS] and I are from Oklahoma, and that the Guggenheim firms exist, a great portion of this argument would never have been in this RECORD.

But what I am trying to say is-so that my genial friend will know-is that he did not think in 1908 that the Guggen­heims were so bad, because he was willing to ser-ve them in the capacity of their attorney. And I wanted to state that while Mr. WICKERSHAM is here, because he has occupied prominent positions in Alaska, and after be had lived there he solicited employment from Mr. Birch for the allied interests.

Mr. WICKERSHAM. I deny that proposition. Mr. DAVENPORT. All right. I will read the correspondence. l\Ir. WICKERSHAM. Wait a moment. Your statement was

that I "solicited employment." Mr. DAVENPORT. He submitted a proposition as to what

he would work for them for, and in the bottom of the letter he asked where l\Ir. Jarvis was. He sent his regards to Jarvis in the Birch letter, and when he decided to run for Congress he wired Jarvis that he desired to run for Congress, and asked where Birch was. I want to be fair. But in 1908 he did not think the Guggenheims were as bad as they are now.

Mr. WICKERSHAM. Have you the original papers? l\1r. DAVENPORT. No. I have a letter from Birch saying

that the copy is an exact copy of the letter. :Mr. WICKERSHAM. The gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr.

DAVENPORT] seems to be intimately associated with the Guggen­heims just at this time in his correspondence.

1\Ir. DAVENPORT. I never saw any one of the Guggen­heims but Senator Guggenheim, in the Sixtieth Congress, and I never saw Birch. But wheu the gentleman said what he did, I immediately got busy and did w1ite to Mr. Birch, at New York, and asked him if it was a fact, because a gentleman in this House, whose reputation is good, said it was a fact. And I present a copy -of the letter, which I will read:

STEPHEN BIRCH, Esq., Seattle, Wash.

JAMES WICKERSHAM, ATTORNEY AT LAW,

Fairbanks, Alaska, ApriL B, 1908.

Mr. WICKERSHAM. You ought to read the other letter. Mr. DAVENPORT. I will read Birch's letter in reply to

mine. Mr. WICKERSHAM. Ha-ve you not the letter that was writ-

ten to me ·first? Mr. DAVENPORT. No, sir. Mr. WICKERSHAM. Then you have not the correspondence? Mr. DAVE:NPORT: I have a copy of Mr. WICKERSHAM's

letter that he wrote, and knows that he wrote, and which he does not deny. -

3018 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5,

Air. WICKERSHAM. You ought to malie a complete state­ment by reading both letters.

Mr. DAVETh'PORT. I will make a compl~te statement, and I do not wish to misrepresent the gentleman, either. I wanted the gentleman to be present so that if it was not true he could deny it; for if the Gugge~eim representati-ves were as bad as he had pictured them, I might think they put up a job on me. I wanted to know whether it was true or not. The letter says:

MY DEAR Mn. BIRCH : Your letter of March 17 has been reeeived. nnd I hasten my answer that it may catch the last mail out over the ice. .

I regret that I can not meet you in Seattle the latter part of thl.3 month, because one can ma..k.e one's ideas plainer in conversation than by writing, but since the opening of the April term ot courts prevents it, I shall briefly state the matter by letter.

I have entered upon the practice of law here, and represent some of the most important interests in the Territory, and the outlQO.k for re­turns is satisfactory; still I long for the fleshpots of the ' outside," and

ould accept an offPr from your allied Alaska interests to act as theil: general counsel, but not in any subordinate capacity. I will accept a three years' contract at 15,000 per annum with offices in Seattle and office force and maintenance. Upon that sort of arrangement I would devote my time exclusively to their interests and give them the best service possible. My opportunities b~rc, however, are so good that I could not alrord to give them up for less than a three years' contract wltll yon.

Please advise me by wire it anything is done in connection with this offet· and it may be th.ns arranged.

Remember me kindly to Capt. Jarvis.. Very truly,

JAMES WICKEitSIIil.l:.

And then, on June 23, 1908, this message was sent by the gentleman from Alaska :

[Telegram.] SIG:'l"AL CORPS, UXITED STATES .AnMY,

Fairbanl~s. Alaska, Jurw 23, 1D08. Capt. D. H. JARVIS, •

Northweatm·n Steamship Co., Seattle, Wash.: I intend to run for Congress. Where is Birch?

JAMES WIC'KEilS"lllli.

1\!r. WICKERSHAM. Now, what of it? Mr. DA V:&"PORT. I simply offer it to show that he did not

think the Guggenheims were so bad in 1908. Ir. WICKERSHAM hau gone off the Federal bench January 2, 190S, and on April 8 this correspondence was boing on. Th:.lt is all I care to say.

The CHAIR~IAN. The Delegate from Al11..ska [Mr. WICKER­SHlli] is recognized.

lir. WICKERSHAM. Now, lli. Chairman, the letter which the gentleman has read is a correct copy of ·a letter that I wrote. I wrote it in answer to a letter which was written to me by Mr. Birch, and if Mr. Birch or the gentleman from Okla­homa [ fr. DAVENPORT] had desired to be fair, either with me or with the House, they "\\Ould have- put both letters in the REcoRD, because then it would have been easily discovered--

l\Ir. DA YE~PORT. Mr. Chairman, I stated to the gentleman that I did not ha\e his letter.

Ur. WICKERSHAM. Certainly; the gentleman did not have it, or he would have put it in, I suppose. But if the gentleman had been as anxious to be as fair with me as with the Guggen­.heims he would have got the other letter.

Mr. DA VEl\lFORT. Mr. Chairman, I was just as anxious as the gentleman. After I bad made my speech the gentleman howled " Government or Guggenheim," and that is why I sought the investigntion.

Mr. WICKERSHAM. Yes; that is correct, and I howl again; and I say now that the demonstration that the gentle­man has made here exhibits the power of the Guggenheims on this floor to do things which are wrong.

l\1r. DAVENPORT. I have never seen the Guggenheims, and the gentleman knows it.

Mr. WICKERSHAM. Oh, the gentleman has had a great deal of correspondence with them lately.

Mr. DAVENPORT. No; I have not had any. The CHAIR~IA.J.~. Does the gentleman yield to the gentle­

·man from Oklahoma? l\Ir. WICKERSHAM. Not at all. If that correspondence

was properly published down in the gentleman's district, he ;would have a lot of trouble about it.

.Mr. DAVENPORT. I will say, Mr. Chairman, on this floor that I wrote this letter and got this reply. The gentleman's statement is unfounded. He can make any statement he wants to down there in my district and in Alaska in regard to me, and I can stand on my record at home and abroad just as well -as he can.

.Mr. WICKERS~!. The gentleman has not read the letter . that he has that be wrote to the Morgans.

Mr. DAVENPORT. The Morgan letter was published in the Senate, but that was not the Guggenheims'. Senator LIPPITT used the letter over there.

Mr. HOUSTON. Mr. Chairman, I move that the committee do now rise.

The motion was agreed to. Accordingly the committee rose; and the Speaker ha\in"'

resnmed the chair, .Mr. lli.RRISDN, Chairman of the Committe~ of the Whole House on the state o! the Union, reported that that committee had had under consideration the bill ( S. 48) to au­thorize the President of the United States to locate, construct and operate railroads in the Territory of Alaska, and for othe; purposes, and had come to no resolution thereon.

WITHDRAWAL OF PAPERS.

.Mr. J. M. 0. s~nTH, by unanimous consent, was granted lea-ve to withdraw from the files of the IIouse, without leavin~ copies the papers in the case of Edmuncl Buck, B. R. 26854; Sixty~ second Congress, and James 1\I. Fink, H. R. 24215, Sixty-second Congress, no adverse reports having been made thereon.

E..~OLLED BILL SIGNED.

l\fr. ASHBROOK, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, re­ported that they had cxnmined and found truly enrolled bill of the following title,. when the Speaker signed the same:

H. R. 10034. An net to authorize the changing of the names of the steamships Bu,cl-mwn and Watson.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE. By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted a.s fol­

lows: To Mr. BAILEY, for 10 days, on account of important business. To Mr. SH.ARP, indefinitely, on account of serious illness in

his family. To Mr. FosTER, indefinitely, on account of service on the com­

mittee investigating the Colorado mining strike. DEATH OF REPRESENTATIVE BREMNER, OF NEW JERSEY.

.Mr. HAMILL. l\Ir. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution. The SPEAKER. The gentleman from New Jersey [1.\Ir.

HAMILL] offers u privileged resolution which the Clerk will report.

The Clerk read as follows : House resolution 400.

Resolved, That the House bas beard with profound sorrow of tbe death of Ron. RonEnT Gux!'l" BnEMNEil, a Representative from the State of. New Jersey.

Resolved, That a committee of the House, with such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the funeral.

. Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary expenses in con­nection therewith be paid out of the contingent fund of the House.

Resolved, That the Clerk" communicate these resolutions to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased.

The SPEAKER. Is there obJection to the present considera­tion of the resolution? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none. The question is on agreeing to the resolution.

The resolution was unanimously agreed to. The SPEAKER. The Chair appoints as the committee on the

part of the House the following gentlemen : Mr. HAMILL, Mr. KI~KEAD of New Jersey, Mr. SCULLY, Mr.

TuTTLE, .;\1r. 2\IcCoY, Mr. TowNS!.ND, l\Ir. HART, Mr. BAKER, Mr . WALSH, Mr. Eil.GAN, 1\Ir. JOHN ON of Kentucky, Mr. GEORGE, 1\Ir. A.sH.EnooK, Mr. BROWNING, Mr. CARY, Mr. PnOUTY, Mr. WALLIN, Mr. 'VI:-iSLOW, Mr. KEISTER, Mr. BROUSS...UW, and Mr. FESS.

ADJOURNMENT. The SPEAKER. The Clerk will report the next resolution. The Clerk read as follows : Resol1:ed, That as a further mark ot respect this House do now ad­

journ. The SPEAKER. The question is on agreeing to the resolu­

tion. The resolution was unanimously agreed to; accordingly {at 6

o'clock and 46 minutes p. m.) the House adjourned until to­morrow, Friday, February 6, 1914, at 12 o'clock noon.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS.

Under clause 2 of Rule XXIV, executive communications were taken from the Speaker's table and referred as follows:

1. A letter from the Secretary of Commerce, transmitting draft of a bill to include in the class of employees now entitled to the workmen's compensation act employees of the Coast and Geodetic Survey of the Department of Comm-erce (H. Doc. _ -o. 708); to the Committee on Labor and ordered to be printed.

2. A letter from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, sul>­mitting an increase of estimate of appropriation under the head of " Contingent expenses, Treasury Department: Miscellaneous items" (H. Doc. No. 70!)); to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be printed.

3. A letter from the assistant clerk of the Court of Claims, transmitting findings of fact and conclusions of law in the French S,P.oliation claims, relating to the brigantine Resolution,

1914. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 3019 in the case of Thomas H. Simes, administrator of the estate of Edward Catts, v. The United States, and in other cases ( S. Doc. No. 396); to the Committee on Claims and ordered to be printed.

4. A letter from the assistant clerk of the C.ourt of Claims, transmitting findings of fact and conclusions of law in the French spoliation claims, relating to the brig Hiram, in the case of George F. Chace, administrator of Stephen Chace, v. The United States, and in other cases (S. Doc. No. 395); to the Committee on Claims and ordered to be printed.

5. A letter from the assistant clerk of the Court of Claims, transmitting findings of fact and conclusions of law in the French spoliation claims, relating to the brig Dove, in the case of Joseph Ogden, executor of Jane Ann Ferrers, v. The United States, and in other cases (S. Doc. No. 394); to the Committee on Claims and ordered to be printed.

6. A letter from the assistant clerk of the Court of Claims, transmitting findings of fact and conclusions of law in the French spoliation claims, relating to the schooner Thomas, in the case of Joseph Ogden, executor of Jane Ann Ferrers, v. The United States, and in other cases (S. Doc. No. 393); to the Committee on Claims and ordered to be printed.

7. A letter from the assistant clerk of the Court of Claims, transmitting findings of fact and conclusions of law in the French spoliation claims, relating to the brig Mer·maid, in the case of the President and the Directors of the Insurance Co. of North America v. The United States, and in other cases (S. Doc. No. 392); to the Committee on Claims and ordered to be printed.

8. A letter from the assistant clerk of the Court of Claims, transmitting findings of fact and conclusions of law in the French spoliation claims, relating to the schooner Hunter, in the cuse of Harry R. Virgin, administrator of Rufus Horton, surviving partner of the firm of John & Rufus Horton, v. The United States, and in other cases (S. Doc. No. 397); to the Committee on Claims and ordered to be printed.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS.

Under clause 2 of Rule XIII, bills and resolutions were sev­erally reported from committees, delivered to the Clerk, and referred to the several calendars therein named, as follows:

Mr. TAYLOR of Colorado, from the Committee on the Public Lands, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 6831) to quiet title to lot 5, section 33, township 14, range 18 east, Noxubee County, Miss., reported the same without amendment, accom­panied by a report (No. 222), which said bill and report were referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

Mr. STEVENS of Minnesota, from the Committee on Inter­state and Foreign Commerce, to which was referred the bill ( S. 1346) to authorize the Eastern Maine Railroad to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge without a draw across the Penob­scot River between the cities of Bangor and Brewer, in the State of Maine, reported the same with amendment, accompanied by a report (No. 221), which said bill and report were referred to the House Calendar.

Mr. LINTHICUM, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, to which was referred the resolution (H. J. Res. 209) authorizing the President to extend invitations to foreign Governments to participate, through their accredited diplomatic agents to the United States, in the National Star-Spangled Banner Centennial Celebration, reported the same without amendment, accompanied by a report (No. 223), which said bill and report were referred to the House Calendar.

CHANGE OF REFERENCE.

Under clause 2 of Rule XXII, committees were discharged from the consideration of the following bills, which were re­ferred as follows :

A bill (H. R. 6114) granting a pension to J. F. Mercer; Com­mittee on Pensions discharged, and referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

A bill (H. R. 8584) granting a pension to Hattie Dannells; Committee on Pensions discharged, and referred to the Com­mittee on Invalid Pensions.

A bill (H. R. 8465) granttllg a pension to Lydia W. Wolga­mot; Committee on Pensions discharged, and referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

A bill (H. R. 11650) granting a pension to Christina Whit­come; Committee on Pensions discharged, and referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

A bill (H. R. 11410) granting an increase of pension to Peter Risban; Committee on Pensions discharged, and referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

A bill (H. R. 11999) granting a pension to Melissa A. Haw­ley; Committee on Pensions discharged, and referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

PUBLlC BILLS, RESOLUTIONS, AND MEMORIALS.

Under clause 3 of Rule XXII, bills, resolutions,andmemorials were introduced and severally referred as follows :

By Mr. SMITH of Texas: A bill (H. R. 12906) to provide for a public building at Ballinger, Tex.; to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.

Also, a bill (H. R. 12997) to provide for a public building at Pecos, Tex.; to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.

By Mr. JOHNSON of Kentucky (by request of the Commis­sioners of the District of Columbia) : A bill (H. R. 1299S) to provide for an investigation of the collection and disposal of city wastes in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

Also (by request of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia) : A bill (H. R. 12999) to authorize the construction and operation of a municipal asphalt plant in the District of Columbia; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

Also (by request of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia: A bill (H. R. 13000) to provide for the construction of a viaduct and bridge to carry Benning Road over the tracks of the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad Co., and of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. ; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

Also (by request of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia) : A bill (H. R. 13001) to provide a park in the north­east section of the District of Columbia; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

By Mr. BALTZ: A bill (H. R. 13002} to prevent the transpor­tation by interstate carriers of certain persons and articles for the alleged prevention of so-called labor troubles; to the Com­mittee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

By 1\Ir. BUCHANAN of Illinois: A bill (H. R. 13003) to pro­vide for furnishing the pupils of the high schools of the Dis­trict of Columbia with free textbooks; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

By Mr. BROWN of N~w York: A bill (H. R. 13004) for a survey of Hempstead Harbor, N. Y.; to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. FLOOD of Virginia: A bill (H. R. 13005) to give effect to the provisions of a treaty between the United States and Great Britain concerning the fisheries in waters contiguous to the United States and the Dominion of Canada, signed at Wash­ington on April 1, 1908, and ratified by the United States Senate April 13, 190S ; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

By Mr. BROUSSARD: A bill (H. R. 13039) to amend the act of August 30, 1890; to the Committee on Agriculture.

By Mr. ADAMSON: A bill (H. R. 13040) to regulate the im­portation of viruses, serums, toxins, and analogous products, to regulate interstate traffic in said articles, and for other pur­poses; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

By Mr. KEY of Ohio: Joint resolution (H. J. Res. 216) remit­ting taxes on Oldroyd collection of Lincoln relics; to the Com­mittee on the District of Columbia.

By Mr. HARDY: Joint resolution (H. J. Res. 217) to convey the thanks of Congress to the captain of the American steamer K1·oonland, of the Red Star Line, and through him to the officers and crew of said steamer, for the prompt and heroic service rendered by them in rescuing 89 lives from the burning steamer Volturno in the North Atlantic Ocean; to the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

By Mr. FINLEY: Memorial from the Legislature of South Carolina, favoring immediate action for repeal of the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

PRIV .ATE BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS. Under clause 1 of Rule L""UI, pri\ate bills and resolutions

were introduced and se\erally referred as follows: By Mr. CANTRILL: A bill (H. R. 13006) granting a pension

to John T. Holton; to the Committee on Pensions. Also, a bill (H. R. 13007) granting an increase of pension to

Jerome Bonaparte Secrest; to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. By Mr. CLINE: A bill (II. R. 13008) granting an increase of

pension to William Zegenfus; to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

3020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. FEBRUARY 5",

By Mr. COX: A bill (B. R. 13009) granting an increase. of pension to William H. Jilarper; to· the Committee on ]nvalid Pensions.

Also, a bill (H. R. 13610)" granting a. pension to Ernest McFadden ~ to the Committee on Pensions.

By l\Ir. DALE: A bill (H. R. 1.3011) granting a pension to Ida Rauch; to the Committee on Pensions.

Also, a bill (H. R. 13012) gi:anting an increase. of pension to Michael Ho11and; to the Committee on Invalid' Pensions.

By l'sir~ DIES: A bill (H. R. 1301:3) for- the relie1i o£ the heirs of Ann Frisby;- to tlie· Committee on War Ol:rims.

Also1 a bill (H. R. 130M-) for the relief o:f th-e legall repre­sentatives of Rosanna Dischinger~ deceased; to the Committee on War Claims.

By l\fr. EDMONDS: A bill ~H. R. 13015) to place th~ name of Alexander W. Selfridge upon the unlimited retii·ed list of thB Army ; to the Committee on Military AffaiPS.

• <Uso, a bill (H. R. 13016') to· place the name of W. K. Henth upon_ the unlimited retired list of the Army; to the. Committee on Military .Affairs.

By Mr. FESS: A bill (H. R- 13017) granting a pension to Carrie Trump ; to the Committee on Pensions.

Also, a bill (H. R. 13018) granting :rn increase of pension to George A. Orebaugh; to the Committee on Invnlid Pe.ns-ions.

By l\Ir~ HAMMOND: A bill (H. R. 13019} to give· the Court of Claims, jurisdiction in the matter of the petition of Charles J'. Wright and others; to the Committee· on Claims.

By Mr. HUGHES of West Virginia: A bill (H. R. 13020) grunting an increase of pension to William H. Abbott; to the. Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. KEY of Ohio: A bill (H. R. 13021) granting an in­crease of pension to Henry C~ Jennings; to the Committee on In1alid Pensions.

By Mr. LINDBERGH: A bill (H. n. 13022} granting an in­crea e of pension to Webster Benner; to the Committee on In­lalid Pensions.

By l\Ir. MORGAN of Oklahoma: A bill (H. R. 13023) granting an increase of pension to Elizabeth Irwin; to the. CollllJlittee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. PETERS of Massachusetts: A. bill (H. R. 1302-!) for the relief of the Bates & Guild Co.; to the Committee on. Claims.

By lUr. REILLY of Connecticut: A bill (H. R. 13025)" granting an increase of pe.nsion to Catherine McEnerney; to· the Commit­tee on Invalid Pension<=~

By l\Ir. SCULLY: A bill (H. R. 1302U) granting an increase of pension to John :McGuire; to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. J. 1\f. C. SMITH: A bill (H. R.. 13021) granting a pension t(} Lyman. Mosier; to the Committee on In1alid Pen­sions.

By Mr. Sl\IITH of Minneseta : A blil ~H. R. 13028) for the relief of Joseph Cameron; to the Committee on Claims.

By- Mr. STEPHEL~S of California: A bill (H. R. 13029) :tor the relief of John L. Maile; to the Committee on Military Affairs. ,

By Mr. STEPHENS of Te..~as: A bill (H. R. 13030) granting an increase of pension to William F. Mosier; to the Committee on In1alid Pensions.

By Mr. SWITZER~ A. b1ll (H. R 13031) granting a pension to D. H. Darling; to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

Also, a bill (H. R. 13032) grantin<>' a pension to William Defoe ; to th-e Committee on Invalid Pensions.

By Mr. THACHER : A bill (H. R. 13033) granting a pension to Peter Black; to the Committee on Pensions.

.Also, a bill (H. R 13034) granting a pension to Maurice Downey ; to the Committee on Pensions.

Also, a bill (H. R. 13035) granting an increase o:t pension to Andrew J. Jenney; to the Committee on Inv::ilid Pensions.

.Also, a bill (H. R. 13036) granting a pension to Cha.rles W. Smith; to the Committee on In1alid Pensions.

By Mr. TUTTLE: A bill (H. R. 13037) for the relief of G. D. Campbell & Co. ; to the Committee on Claims.

Also a bill (H. R. 13038) for the relief of the Campbell Lum­ber co: (Ltd.) ; to the Committee on Claims.

PETITIONS, ETC. Under clause 1 of Rule XXII, petitions and papers were laid

on the Clerk's desk and referred as follows : By the SPEAKER (by request) : Petition of citizens of East

St. Louis, Ill., protesting against the "OnB hundred years of peace celebration " ; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Also (by request), petition of a committee of Grand Lodge, Order Sons of Italy .. protesting against the passage of bills re­stricting immigration; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.

Also (by request) , memorial at cifuens of New York City, pro­testing against the pa:ssage of b-ills Jrestricting immigration; to tJie Committee· on Immigration and Naturalization.

By Mr. ASHBROOK: Petition of A. E. Westbrook and 11 other citizens; of Ashley, Ohio, favoring the passage of Hause bill 5308, relative to mail-order houses-; to the Committee on Ways andl. Means.

Also, petitions !).! Fr:rnk Knauber and 54 othe1: citizens of Newnrk, Ohio, protesting against national prohibition; to the Committee on the J'udiciary.

By 1\fr: BRYAN: Memorial o:f the Associ~ ted Chambers of Commerce of the Pacific- Coast, favoring an appropriatien for lilllska's participation in the Panamn Exposition; to the Com­mittee on Appropriations.

Also, petition of John Louis Camp, No. 13, United Spanish War Veterans, relative to the rnnk and title of major general for Thomas McArthur Anderson; to the Committee on Military Affairs .

Also, memorial of the Mill tary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, <Dommandery o:t the. State of Washington, fn.-vo.ring the IJassage of the Sherwood bill (H. R. 1946) ; to the Committee on Peusioll.S.

By 1\-Ir: CALDER: Petition of Societa Cittadini Padulesi dl 1\f"utuv Soccorso, (!)f BFooklyn, N. Y., protesting against the pas­sage of bihls restricting immigration ; to the Committee on Im­mjgration and NatiDalization.

By :Mr. D.ALE: Memorial of the New York Wh(}lesa:le Grocers' Association, relati1e to the right of the manufacturers to ma.ke the resale price on goods; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

Also, memoriaJ of the Switchmen's Union, of Buffalo, N. Y., :fh.vnring the> passage of Hous-e bill1873, the anti-injunction bill; tO' the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, memorialJ o:f the· National Association of Clothiers of New Yo:l!k Cltyy protesting against the passage of the Bartlett­Bacon anti-injunction b-ill; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petitions of the Gorham Co. and Samstug & Hilder Bros., of New York City, favoring tll.e passage of the Ransdell­Humphre-y hill, for trood control; to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors.

By Mr. DA.I.."\fFOll.TH: Petition of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, of Alabama. N. Y., favoring legislation reiati.-e to United States attorneys in private practice of In.w; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of the Young People's Society of Christian En­deavor, of Alabama, N. Y., favoring legislation prohibiting inter­state trn.nsmfssion of racing and betting odds and affecting the opium trade; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Comm.erce.. •

Also, petition of the Young People's Society of Christian En­deavor of Alabama, N~ Y., favoring legislation relati'"e to Sun­day rest in the District of Columbia and relative to prostitution in the District of Columbia; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

Aiso, petition of the Young People's Society of Christian En­deavor of Alabama, N. Y.., favoring legislation preventing sale of liquors in Hawaii; to the Committee on Insular Affairs.

Afso, petition of the Young People's Society of Christian En­deavor of Alabam~ N. Y., protesting against Sunday work in post offices ; to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

Also, petition of the Young People's Society of Christian F.n­deavor of. Alabama, N. Y., favoring legislation prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors in buildings used by the United States and favoring national prohibition; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By 1\Ir. DYER: Petition of the National Association of As­sistant Postmasters, relative to House biTI 12473; to the Com­mittee on the Post Office and Post Roads .

Also, petition of the National Association o:t Clothiers, against House bill 1873; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of the Switchmen's Union, favoring House bill 1873; to the Committee on the Judiciary. ·

By Mr. ESCH: Petition of the Switchmen's Union of Buffalo, N. Y., favoring the passage of the Bartlett-Bacon anti-injunction bills; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of the National Association of Clothiers of New York City, protesting against the passage of the Bartlett-Bacon anti-injunction bills; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, resolution of the executive board of the Wisconsin State Union of the American Society o:r-Equity, protesting against all bills which strive to define more clearly the Sherman Act; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. FRA.NOIS : Petition of the business men of the sixteenth district of Ohio, favoring House bill 5308; to the Committee on Ways and Means.

'

1914 .. CONGRESSION.AL RECORD-SEN ATE. 3021 By Mr. GRAHAM of Pennsylvania: Petitions of the Benefit

Society Vorwarts uncl sundry citizens ot Roscoe, Pa., protesting against national prohibition; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. HAMMOND: Petition of the Arbeiter Unterstuetzung Verein, of New Ulm, Minn., protesting against national prohibi­tion ; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. KE~EDY of Rhode Island: Memorial of General Knox Branch of the American Continental League, of Provi­dence, R. I., protesting against the " One hundred years of peace celebmtion"; to the Committee on Foreign A1Iairs.

By Mr. KINKAID of Nebraska: Petition of SUQ.dry citizens of Cozad, Nebr., favoring the passage of the Lindquist pure fabric and leather blli; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

By Mr. LIEB : Memorial of the German Maennerchor of E\nnsville, Ind., protesting against national prohibition; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Bv Ir. LONERGAN: Petition of the Switchmen's Union of North .America, of Buffalo, N. Y., favoring the passage of the Bartlett-Bacon anti-injunction bills; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. J. I. NOLAN: Petitions d the San Francisco Typo­graphical Un1on, No. 21, of San Francisco, CaL, and five other labor or,;;aniz.ations in the city of San Francisco, in behalf of the passage of the seamen's bill {S. 136); to the Committee on the Merchant M:n.rine and Fisheries.

By ~fr. O'SHAUNESSY : Petitions of ozganizutions of Provi- · deuce. R. I., protesting against the passage of bills restricting immigration; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturaliza­tion.

.Also, petition of the General Knox Branch of the American Continen~'ll League, .of Providence, R. I., protesting against the •• One hundred years of p~3ce eelebration "; to the Committee on Foreign Afl'airs.

Also, petition of F. R. ReynoldR, of Providence, R. I., favoring the passage of House bill 29, relati\e to eight hours a clay for women in the District of Columbia; to :the Committee on Labor.

By Mr. REILLY of Connecticut : Petition of Polish citizens of Wallingford, Conn., .and Independent Musiker Association, of New Haven, Conn., against House bill 6060; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.

By Mr. SCULLY : Petition of members of the German-Ameri­can Amance of Middlesex County, N. J., protesting against national prohibition; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of the National Association of Assistant Post­masters, relative to the dismissal of assistant postmasters; to the Comrui ttee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

Also, petition of the National Association of Clothiers, of New York City, protesting against the passage of the Bartlett-Bacon anti-injunction bills; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

.Also, petitions of members of the German-American Alliance, and Adam Vogel and John Fee, jr., all of llliddlesex County, N. J., protesting against national prohibition; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. J . . M. C. SMITH: Petition of A. S. Williams Post, No. 40, of Charlotte, Mich., and Le-wis Clark Post, No. 2757, of

·Olivet, .Mich., protesting against any change in the American flag; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, petition of the National Association of Clothiers, favor­ing the passage of the pure fabric bill; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

Also, papers to accompany a bill (H. R. 7868) for the relief of Rose G. Houchen; to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

Also, memorial of the Retail Jewelers' Association of Irving, Mich., protesting against guaranty of gold-filled watchcases; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

By .Mr. STEPHENS of California: Petition of citizens of Los Angeles, Cal., against House bill 9674; to the Committee on the District of Columbia.

Also, petition of the California State Federation of Labor, favoring Bryan-Poindexter bill; to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Also, petition of citizens of California, against excluding the 1\Ienace from the mails; to the Committee on Rules.

Also, petition of Alaska Fishermen's Union; San Francisco Typographical Union, No. 21; and Elevator Constructors' Un1on, No. 18, favoring seamen's bill; to the Committee on the Mer­chant Marine and Fisheries.

Also, petition of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the Pacific Coast, favoring an appropriation for participation by Alaska in the Panama-Pacific Exposition; to the Committee on Appropriations.

.Also, petitions of citizens of Los Angeles, Cal., favoring House bill 5139; to the Committee on Reform in the Civil Service.

.Also, petition of George H. Dunlap, of Los Angeles, Cal., against House bill 5139 ; to the Committee on Reform in the Civil Service.

.Also, petition of the Polish Citizen's Club of Los Angeles, Cal., against House bill 0060; to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.

.Also, petition of the German-American Alliance, of San Diego, Cal., and Concordia Turnverein, of San Diego, Cal., against House joint resolution 168; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. THACHER: Petition of John Russell, commodore Plymouth Yacht Club, of Plymouth, .Mass., relative to deep­ening, etc., of the Government Basin near the wharves in Plymouth (Mass.) Harbor; to the Committee on Rivers and llarbors.

Also, petition of the Boston Fish Bureau, protesting against the passage of the 1\fcKellar cold-storage bill; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

By l\fr. TRIBBLE : Petition of J. E. McGee and other citizens, protesting against oil mills operating cotton gins; to the Com­mittee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. YOUNG of North Dakota: Petition of Mrs. Elizabeth Grass, of Fargo, N. Dak., favoring increase of pension for Army nurses of the Civil War; to the Committee on Invalid Pensions.

SENATE. FRIDAY, February 6, 1914.

The Chaplain, Rev. Forrest J. Prettymn.n, D. D., offered the following prn.yer :

Almighty God, breathe upon -us the gentle and refining in.flu­ence of Thy holy spirit. In the midst of all confilct of interest and dash of op-inion may we be enabled to keep the unity of spirit in the bond of peace. Grant us that grace of heart and life upon which a true foundation of manhood may be builded. Give to us the spirit that creates and seals forever the blessed bonds of friendship. Give to us passionate, 3.1"dent patriotism, that our lives may he given. may be consumed, in the interest of the great commission that Thou hast committed to our hands. For Christ's sake. Amen.

The Journal of yesterday's proceedings was read and appro,ed. 'THE UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION.

The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a communi­cation from the Interstate Commerce Commission acknowledg­ing the receipt of the resolution of the 2d instant, relative to an examination and inquiry for the purpose of ascertaining whether the United States Steel Corporation or any of its sub­sidiaries has been guilty of giving or receiving any unlawful rebates, offsets, or preferences, especially within the last six years, etc-., and stating tha.t the resolution will receive prompt attention, which was referred to the Committee on Interstate Commerce.

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE.

A message from the House of Representatives, by J. C. South, its Chief Clerk, -announced that the House had passed the joint resolution ( S. J. Res. 107) relating to supervision of the Lincoln Memorial.

The message also announced that the House had agreed to the report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the House to the bill (S. 832) granting pensions and increase of pensions to cer­tain soldiers and sailors of the Civil War and certain wid-ows and dependent relatives ,of such soldiers and sailors.

The message further announced that the House had agreed to the report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill ( S. 833) granting pensions and increase of pensions to cer­tuin soldiers and sailors of the Ci\il War and certain widows and dependent relatives of such soldiers and sailors.

The message also announced that the House had agreed to the report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill ( S. 834) granting pensions and increase of pensions to cer­tain soldiers and sailors of the Civil War and certain widows and d-ependent relatives of such soldiers and sailors.

ENROLLED BILLS SIGNED.

The message further announced that the Speaker of the House had signed the following enrolled bills, and they were thereupon signed by the Vice President:

H. R. 9574. An act to authorize the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. to construct a bridge across the Mississippi River near the city of HannibaJ, in the State of Missouri ; and

H. R.10084. An act to authorize the changing of the names of the steamships Buckman and Watson.

,