Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-03-12
SENDS GOVERNMENT EMPLoYE
OUT TO BOOM ROADS IN
RIVAL TERRITORY.
DAVIS DEMANDS ousrING OF
AGENT, BALLINoER INTERFEREs
Secretary Shown to Be Endanserins
Entire Reclamation Service and Best
Government Engineers Arc Prepar-
ing to Resisn-Letter to President
Taft Proved Falsehood.

Washington, March 12-Chief En-
gineer Davis, of the reclamation SER
vice, who yesterday fatty denied the
| truth of many statements made by
( Ballinger to President Taft and others,
continued today as witness before
the Ballinger-Pinchot investigators.
Davis declared the reclamation service
had been in danger of disintegration
ever since Ballinger came into office,
and that it is still in danger and many
! Of it's best engineers are contemplating
resigning.
| Davis declared that Ballinger order
ed the reclamation service to recon-
| mend various lands for restoration to
! the public domain while he had re-
| ported to the president that he had
| acted in this matter only because of
| the recommendations made to him by
| the service.
BalIinger Letter False.
Mr.. Davis said Secretary Ballinger
had written letter to DR.. Thomas E.
Will. of this city, repeating the state-
ments that lands had been restored up
on recommendation of the acting di-
rector of the reclamation service that
they were no longer needed. The wit
| ness said he was the acting director
referred to: that he had never made
any such recommendation
The witness declared that early in
the present administration he had
found Mr.. Ballinger deeply prejudiced
against the reclamation service. He
asserted that Mr.. Ballinger had told
him to prepare the list of lands for re-
storation slowly SO as not to attract
public attention. The witness said he
had made no attempt to influence Mr.
Ballinger as to these restorations be-
cause he was always met with the fiat
statement that Mr.. Garfield's with
drawal Of the lands had been entirely
Illegal.
Mr.. Davis asserted that Mr. Ballinger
| was wrong in stating to the president
that Mr. Garfield's Withdrawals did not
truthfully show what they were made
for. There had been no subterfuge, he
said, and if there had been any ap-
pearance of subterfuge it was his fault
and not Mr.. Garfield's.
Feud Between Officials.
The witness revealed in his testimony
that there Is quite feud between the
reclamation service and the geological
survey. 1t was on reports Of the re-
clamation service that Secretary Gar
field acted in his withdrawal of power
sites, Secretary Ballinger has depended
entirely upon the geological survey.
Mr.. Davis did not hesitate to criticise
the survey and declared that the mar
row strips which had been Withdrawn
along streams by the geological survey
did not properly protect the power
sites.
Mr.. Davis declared he thought the
Garfield plan Of making wholesale with
drawals which could be pared down by
subsequent examinations was prefer
able to the Ballinger plan of restoring
all lands and later withdrawing the
smaller areas actually necessary for
power-site purposes. He thought the
first method a better protection of the
governments interests.
BaIIinser as Wrecker.
Just before adjournment the witness
said: "Mr. rBallinger made frequent
statements to me that he was contem-
plating changes in the service. On
June 10 1909 he told me he had def
nitely decided on a change in the head
of the service. In language as strong
as politeness and proper respect would
permit, told him that his entire course
ever since he had been mentioned for
secretary Of the interior had been sub
versive to the best interests of the
reclamation service and had tended to
it's disintegration.
"He asked me what I meant. told
him l referred to the many rUmors of
changes that had been made in the
newspapers. He said the statements
were not authorized. told him that
nevertheless they were true. for he had
made the same statements to me. I
told him the public regarded these
statements as true
BaIlinser Tool Of Hartman.
Davis said that under orders Of Sec
retary Ballinger, E. T. Perkins, Of
Chicago, went thru the west lecturing
in a black tent to advertise the re-
clamation work. In addition to salary
of $4,000 year from the service, Per-
kins was receiving $500 per month
from the Hartman lines. The Hill
lines protested that Perkins was COM
ing into their territory lecturing about
the projects of the Hartman lines.
Davis recommended Perkins dismiss
sal, and when Director Newell re-
quested Perkins resignation, Ballin-
ger reprimanded Newell for interfering
in the matter which was being person.
ally conducted by himself.
Davis declared he had a hard time
preventing all the engineers in the SER
vice from resigning in a body as a
protest against the method pursued by
Secretary Ballinger in refusing to pro-
mote them when promotion was recon-
mended.
BRING TERRITORY BACK.
President Directs Action to Recover