The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-09-24

WINS
CO1rRSE OF SECRETARY RE-
CEJVES ENDORSEMENT
OF PRESIDENT.
r Galvis, Who Made Charges,
dismissed from Service Pin
cbot Refuses to Talk, as Yet,
Except to Say Conservationists
VIII Win.

A. predicted, President Taft, before
orting west, issued to the press g
..o+ament of his findings in the mat
,,r of the charges against Secretary Of
Ala Interior Ballinger and other Off
o.als of that department..
The president made good the pre-
Lotion that his report would prove tt
:, an generation of Secretary Balm
He states that he has been I'm
abIe to find any excuse whatever fol
,,,o charges of improper conduct or
t,o mart of the secretary, either in
,,nnnction with the Cunningham Goa
o,oims or in the matter of the Montana
,over sites thrown open to entry.
Claws Dismissal Sanctioned
Incidentally, the president author
,,os the dismissal by Secretary Bal
unger of Louis R. CLAWS, the special
=, ,ent of the land department, who
f1ad the charges against Ballinger
Thursday, under orders from Ballinger
flo dismissal was formally announced
from the department at Washington.
/ CLAWS, chief of the Seattle
fold division of the general land Of
fire was dismissed by telegraph by
Secretary of the Interior R. A. Balm
DOR Thursday, and Andrew Christen.
sen chief of the Portland division, was
nlaced in charge of the office. Mr..
Christensen arrived from Portland
Thursday morning and presented his
Instructions to Mr.. CLAWS, before the
/, tier had received his Geographic no.
tcp from the secretary of the interior.
Mr. Christensen came with instruc-
tons to take over the books of record
Immediately and to take charge OF the
office When Mr.. CLAWS gets a re-
cnipt for the records from his success
sDr his connection with the office will
end. Thursday morning Mr.. CLAWS was
in his office as usual, but after sur
rendering the books went to his rooms
at the Lincoln hotel, where he re-
NAMED during the afternoon. Asked
il he wished to make statement con-
corning the controversy decided by
PRESIDENT Taft, Mr. CLAWS said:
Il have read the presidents letter
t. Secretary Ballinger carefully, but l
shall not discuss the merits of the case
al this time 1t would be improper for
he to comment on the presidents COM
nunication through the press. l shall
have statement to make later on, but
a present | have nothing to offer. |
do not regard the incident as closed.
At the proper time | shall make my
position clear
That CLAWS knew at the time he
fled these charges that he was more
than likely to lose his position as a
consequence has been we'll known to
his intimates for some time. To a
friend a short time ago he made this
statement:
hlON dlu lihOiy w AOSN
out in this affair and to be dismiss ed
rom the service, but what is there
for me to do? If I am not permitted
to work upon cases that may happen
u involve my superiors in office, my
duties cannot conscientiOusly be per
formed l have figured this whole
thing out and in the light of what
have found and in my best judgment
there is but one thing for me to do
and that is to go through with it."
When press representative called
upon Mr.. CLAWS he was at his desk
as usual, and seemed not greatly dis
turbed over the information CLEANED
from the presidents letter. He was at
tending to his business as usual, as
We're also the members of his office
orce. Beyond the statement quoted
above, he would not talk. There is ev
cry reason to believe, however, that
Just as soon as he receives his mes
Ease OF dismissal and quits the Of
ice, he will have a statement to make
mat will be of intense interest to the
country at large.