Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-16

claimants consulted you in regard to the
prospect of securing a patent upon the
claims. and invited your attention to the
character of certain evidence which was
being used to impeach the validity Of the
claims by Special Agent CLAWS. You &C
cepted the employment. visited Secretary
Garfield and Commissioner bennett, pre-
scented the question to them in respect tC
which you had been consulted, found that
there was no probability of securing a
patent of the claims without presenting
them under recent remedial legislation
imposing conditions which the claimants
were either unwilling or unable to meet
You so advised your clients. To pay you,
travelling expenses and for your services
you received $3.50 and no more.
THE influence which Mr.. Glavin seeks
connection Is that you. while commission
er of the general land office. came into
possession of facts concerning the so
called Cunningham group of coal land
claims. which made it improper for you
to use such facts after your resignation
in the course of securing the patents
find the fact to be that as commits
sioner you acquired no knowledge in re-
spect to the claims except that of the
most formal character, and nothing
which was not properly known to your
clients when they consulted you. The
evidence in respect of which you were
consulted professionally was not secured
by Mr.. CLAWS until after your resigna-
ton as commissioner of the general land
Office.
Did Not. Interfere With CLAWS.
"A second inference sought to be drawn
by Mr.. CLAWS against you is that you
have acted improperly since becom-
ing Secretary of the Interior in ref
erence to the consideration of the Cum
ningham cases. and have used your influ-
ence to interfere with Mr.. CLAWS ef-
forts to defeat the claims.
Your only action which could in any
manner affect the Cunningham group OF
claims was an order made by you soon
claims pending and undisposed Of in the
land office should be pressed to final
hearing and disposition as rapidly as
possible. consistent with justice. and
these included the a31 Alaska coal claims
of which the Cunningham group num-
bered SO. AS such expedition was essen
tial. both in the public interest and in
that Of the claimants. it could hardly
be said to be action taken in the Gun
ningham claims.
that expressly. because Of your previous
relation as counsel to one of the claim
ants, from the time you entered upon
the duties of Office of Secretary of the
Interior until the present day you have
studiously declined to have any connec-
ton with the Cunningham claim. or to
exercise any control over the course of
the department in respect to these claims:
that you have. said SO in written and
verbal communications to your subor-
dinates, and to the claimants themselves.
Moreover. in May last you came to me
a similar
your course and intention in respect to
the claims.
The statement made by Mr.. CLAWS that
while you did thus formally withdraw
Cunningham claims you nevertheless
continued to exercise your influence in
regard to them. is not sustained by any
evidence In the records produced.
The truth is that had you or Commits
sioner bennett or Chief of Field Service
ency of these claims been desirous.
through dishonest motives and without
regard to law and the interests of the
public of bringing them to patent. the
opportunities for you to have done so
were many and the circumstance that
speaks. not more conclusively than many
others, but still most emphatically,
against the accusatory statements Of
Mr.. CLAWS is the fact that though his
conviction that the claims were fraudu-
department. he was allowed during all
the years of the tendency of those
claims to remain in charge Of them as
an agent of the department when 1t
would have been entirely easy for either
Won or bennett or Schwartz to remove
him to Portland or elsewhere and thus
take the claims out of his Jurisdiction.
Instead of this, with the consent and
aculiescence of every officer whose cor
rupt motives in respect to these claims
he now asserts, CLAWS has remained
continuously in control of the taking of
evidence with respect to the claims. and
only when the claims were about to pc
submitted to hearing before tribunal
was ii thought necessary. MT CLAWS not
having had any professional experience,
to give them in charge OF Mr.. sheridan
a LAWYER whose good faith and earnest
ness in opposing the patenting or the
claims even Mr.. CLAWS has not had the
temerity to question.
Authorized to Dismiss CLAWS.
I'm answer to your request for author
ity to discharge MIR. Claws from the
service of the United States for disloy-
atty to his superior officers In making a
false charge against them: When sub
ordinate has trustworthy evidence upon
which to believe that his chief is dis
honest and is defrauding the government
1t is, of course. his duty to submit that
evidence to higher authority than his
chief. But when he makes a charge
against his chief founded upon mere sus-
picion. and in his statement he fails to
give to his chief the benefit of circum-
stances within his knowledge that would
explain his chiefs action as on proper
grounds. he makes it impossible for him
to continue In the service Of the govern
ment. and his immediate separation
becomes a necessity. You are.
therefore, authorized to dismiss l.. R.
ment for fling a disinsenuous statement
impeaching the official integrity
of his superior officers
II cannot close this letter without re-
terring to certain other matters con-
1ected with your conduct of the Interior
Department, which have been unfairly