Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-19
A SHAMEFUL CHAPTER


from Golfers Weekly under the title
"The Attorney General of the United
States" We venture to say that when
our readers read this article they were
unable to repress a feeling of shame
that cabinet officer of the United
States could have so far forgotten the
dignity of his great office as to have
condescended to about the most con-
temptible piece Of thmblerigging that
has been attempted in the history of
politics as it is done in Washington,
and that is saying a good deal, But,
most of all must our readers have been
ashamed of the fact that by the action
of men whom he has drawn around
him in the most confidential positions.
the president of the United States was
made a party to this contemplate and
altogether shameful thing.
Let us again consider the facts as
they were drawn out after four
months effort by Mr.. Claws attorney,
| Mr.. Brandeis. in the course of the Bal
linger investigation
Mr.. CLAWS, an employe of the gov
ernment, impeled by a high sense of
duty felt II necessary to complain to
the president of the failure of a men,
bers of his cabinet to honestly and
carefully guard the interests of the
people of the United States. which
were about to be invaded by the con-
| scienceless Guggenheim syndicate. Mr.
! CLAWS only took this course of ap-
pealing to the head of the nation after
| he had adopted every other means to
protect the interests of the public, and
found that he was about to fail in his
efforts, and that public property
amounting to hundreds of millions of
dollars in value was about to be given
away to men who were already rich
beyond the dreams of avarice, by the
secretary of the interior, whose high
est duty it was to protect the inter
ests of the public in this property.
The president, after an interview
with the accused cabinet officer and
the attorney of the law department of
the government appointed to serve his
office, determined that letter should
be written vindicating Mr.. Ballinger
| He referred the matter of writing this
! letter to the attorney, who was vir-
tually a member of Mr. Ballinger's
office force and the letter was written
in Mr.. Ballinger's office, dictated to
one of Mr., Ballinger's stenographers,
and predicated upon documents and
information furnished by Mr.. Bal
| linger's department. This letter was
written in the name of the president,
at the presidents request. When re-
ferred to him by its author, the presi-
dent did not adopt all of it verbatim.
He did, however. write a letter of his
own, the substance of which was
founded upon the letter furnished him
by the attorney of Mr.. Ballinger's de-
partment, and several sentences of
which We're quoted verbatim from the
attorneys letter.
| In this letter of the presidents Mr..
Ballinger is thoroughly vindicated and
/ Mr.. CLAWS, the honest official, who, if
| he had transcended the bounds of Of
ficial propriety, did it in order to pro-
tect the interests of the people of this
great country, who were paying his
salary, was discharged from his posi-
tion and from the service of the people
Bear in mind that this letter of the
president vindicating Ballinger bore
date OF September 10, 1909. Weeks after
this letter was written the senate of
the United States by resolution, called
upon the president to furnish to the
senate Any reports, statements, pa
pers or DOCUMENTS UPON WHICH
| HE ACTED IN REACHING HIS
| CONCLUSIONS" Afer this requisition
upon the president was made by the
senate the attorney general of the
United States prepared a letter ad-
dressed TO the president, consisting of
some ninety printed pages, and requir-
ing three weeks for its preparation, in
| which he assumed to review at length
the facts and law involved in the ac-
cusations against Mr.. Ballinger. This
letter. although it was prepared months
after the presidents letter of Septem-
Der 49, 1909, WAS DATED SEPTEM-
BIER H. 1909, AND WAS FURNISHED
TO THE SENATE BY THE PRESI-
| DENT AS THE PRINCIPAL PAPER
OR DOCUMENT UPON WHICH HE
| ACTED IN REACHING THE con-
| CLUSIONS EMBODIED IN HIS LET
TER OF SEPTEMBER 13, 1909, VIM
| DEBATING MIR. BALLINGER. From
some expressions contained in the let
ter Of the attorney general, Mr. Bran
deis, the attorney for Mr.. CLAWS,
reached the conclusion that this letter
WAS NOT WRITTEN AND FUR
NIsHED TO THE PRESIDENT, AS
INDICATED BY ITS DATE, PRE-
VIOUS TO THE PRESIDENTS LET
TER Finally, after four months of
effort, he was able to establish this
fact
LET 1T BE BORNE IN MIND
THAT THE LETTER OF THE AT
TORNEY FOR BALLINGER'S DE-
PARTMENT UPON WHICH THE
| PRESIDENTS LETTER WAS AC-
TUALLY BASED WAS NOT FUR
NISHED TO THE SENATE IN RE
SPONSE TO THE RESOLUTION
| ABOVE QUOTED, BUT IN IT'S
PLACE a LETTER WAS FUR
| NIsHED WHICH WAS WRITTEN
LONG AFTER THE PRESIDENTS
| LETTER, ALTHOUGH DATED Be
/ FORE 1T. TO requests made for a
/ copy Of the letter of the attorney for