The sun., 1910-01-08

having read in the Senate. a letter stating
that you had sufficiently disciplined Messrs
Price and Shaw by reprimanding them
and that you recommended that no further
punishment was required. and this before
that recommendation was submitted TO
the Secretary and me, whose power and
duty 1t was TO determine, upon Prices ad-
missions as to his completely. what action
should be taken with respect to his resig-
nation.
In order to understand the full purport
Of your letter. in which you admit the COM
plicity of Price and Shaw in the publications
OF the press. 10 should be said that the grava-
men of the CLAWS charges was that Secre-
taTy BallinEer and the others we're all
affected by n corrupt wish TO patent thirty
three so-called Cunningham claims upon
coal lands in Alaska; that the question
whether these claims we're fraudulent or
not remained 10 be decided upon the evil
dence after both the United States and the
claimants had been heard: that every patent
as an executive act is completely within the
Jurisdiction OF the President to direct the
Withholding of it in order that he himself
may examine the evidence as to the validity
of the claim.
These facts understood, the plain intima-
tions in your letter are. first. that I had
reached n wrong conclusion IA to the good
faith OF Secretary Baliinger and the officers
Of the Land ONCE. although You and your
subordinates had only seen the evidence
Of 0isvis. the accuser and had never seen
or read the evidence Of those accused or
the records that they disclosed which we're
submitted to me. and, second. that under
these circumstances. without the sxploita-
tion by Messrs. shaw and Price in the daily
weekly and monthly press of the charges
Of CLAWS. the Administration. including the
President and the officers of the Interior
Department and Land once. would have
allowed certain fraudulent claims to be
patented on coal lands in Alaska, although
the matter had been specifically brought
TO the attention of the President nv the
Claws charges.
You solicited the opportunity to make
such declaration in Congress for the pur-
pose OF ofTsettinE. il possible. in the public
mind the Presidents decision in the CLAWS
case. supported by the opinion of the Attor-
gney -(ieneral, after a full examination by
both OF the evidence adduced by the accuser
and the evidence on behalf of the accused.
subordinates had never seen. You did this
against the advice of the Secretary OF Agri-
culture. without notifying him that you
intended to do so and without conferring
with me at all.
Your letter was in effect an improper
appeal to Congress and the public to excuse
IN advance tho guilt of your subordinstes
DtlOFo l COuiu AfI. anu against my O0CiSlOn
In the Claws ase before the whole evidence
on which that was ba sed could be cousid-
ered.
! should be glad to regard what has
happened only as a personal reflection.
20 that / could pass II over and take no
aficial cosnizance OF It. But other and
higher considerations must govern me.
Whan the people Of the United Statos elected
me as President they placed me in an once
cf the highest dignity and charged me with
the duty OF maintaining that dignity and
proper reapoct for the once on the part OF
nay subordinates. Moreover. II | were to
pass over this matter in silonce it would be
most demoraIizing to the discipline OF tho
executive branch OF the Government.
BY your own conduct you have destroyed
your usefulness as a helpful subordina to
OF the Government, and it therefore now
becomes my duty to direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to remove you from your Office
as the forester Very sincerely yours.
WILLIAM Hiatt.
Hon Gifford Pinchot, Forester
After the second Cabinet meeting Sec
retary Wilson wrote the following official
letter to Mr.. Pinchot
DEPARTMENT OF AGRIcULruRE,
January 7. 1910.
SIN: BY direction OF the President you
are hereby removed from your ONCE as
your ONCE affairs belonging to the Govern
ment to Mr.. Albert F. Potter. Assistant
Forester. Respectfully.
JAMES WILSON:
Secretary Of Agriculture.
Identical letters, mutotis BlutaRdis, were
cent TO Associate Forester Price and Law
Ofiicer Shaw by Mr.. Wilson.
ing i'm official circles there was no differ
ence OF opinion at the Cabinet meetings
m regard TO what course should be taken
with. respect TO Messrs. Pinchot. Price
and Shaw. At the special Cabinet ses-
fion. held late yesterday afternoon, a
Sew hours after the reading of Mr.. Pin
shots letter to Senator Dolliver in the
Senate. the President and Attorney
fieneral Wickersham were strongly of
3he opinion that Mr. Pinohot and his
be dismissed without delay. However.
IL was determined that the matter was
TOO Important to be disposed of until
bfter the fullest consideration had been
xeferred until the President could obtain
the counsel OF as many members Of the
Cabinet as would be able to be present
~ the regular Friday session.
The view OF his advisers confirmed
the first Wow taken by the President.
and IL is declared that there was a unani-
NOUS decision that Mr.. Pinchot had
fresp assed so far beyond the bounds
81 prOpriety that his dismissal was neces-
tary and should be ordered without re-
gard 70 any adverse political effect il
might have ON the Taft Administration.
As lor kIr. Price and Mr.. Shaw, no doubt
aprevaiIsd from the outset that by their
own confession they deserved no consid-
eration.
At the special session of the Cabinet.
which adjourned just before o'clock
thds evening. Secretary Ballinger. who |
had a more intimate personal and Official
Interest in the matter than anybody
else connected with the Government |
service. wrs not present. Secretary of
War Dickinson. who is ia the West Indies, |
and Secretary OF Commerce Nagel, who |
had left town for a short stay, were the |
only other absentees of the Cabinet circle. |
Secretary OF the Treasury MacVeagh, |
who was to have left Washington this
afternoon for Chicago. where he had
an engagement to speak for tomorrow
night, cancelled his date and remained
here for the special Cabinet session.
~ Opinion is divided here as to the reasons
that actuated Mr.. Pinchot in writing a
letter to Senator Dolliver containing
comments which President Taft con-
strued as reflection on his own judgment