The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-15
Conqressnan Ollie James ~Gives His Side of Dispute
REPORT LONG HELD BACK
MT. James Says That Republican Mem bers of the Committee Did Not Want to Report Until After
 the Election

Louisville, September 14.-Congress- man Ollie James, one of the democratic members of the committee appointed by Congress to investigate the charges made against Secretary Ballinger, to- night gave out the following state ment in reply to the signed statement issued by the republican members of the committee in Chicago yesterday.
 "The statement issued by Senator Nelson and his colleagues yesterday in Chicago Is only positive proof of what we saw demonstrated at Minneapolis, and that is that they did not desire to make a report upon the Ballinger case
 until after the election. Their attempt to prevent a report was resorted to by breaking the quorum.
 Senator Root arrived in New York on the 9th of this month. The commit tee did not meet until the 9th to pass upon the reports. He could easily have
 sired
 "Senator Flint stated to the commit tee positively that he would not be present.
 This statement was made when we adjourned in Washington in June to meet in Minneapolis on the 9th.
 Representative Olmsted was in Maine making republican speeches. Of course. he thought this more important than attending to his official duties. He might plead, however. In mitigation of his absence, to the minority, the re- su1t of the Maine election.
 Denby Is Absent
 | Representative Denby was absent, engaged in attempting to defeat an in | surgent for the Senate. in when ne was likewise unsuccessful
 | "The rest of us were there; five of us were ready to do business. We ad-
 iourned five days waiting for the oth- l CTS We had duty to perform, anc l we performed 1t.
 l ''The statement made by the gentlemen | that the meeting called for September Q | in Minneapolis was for the purpose or
 considering and discussing what the re-
 port to be made three months thereafter
 should be- Is far aside from the truth.
 It was specifically agreed, when we ad-
 journed in Washington to meet in Minne- apolis on September 5. that it was for
 the purpose of making up our report and giving it to the public. Representative Mccall of Massachusetts was the only member of the committee who protested | at the time against the agreement 10 make the report public. The gentlemen | are now stopped from urging that we
 were meeting in Minneapolis for the pur-
 pose of making up report. which was
 not to be given to the public until Con- gress assembled. If this statement be | true why did we go to far-away Minne-
 apolis at great expense to the taxpayers.
 for the purpose of doing that which we could have done in Washington, without any expense at all.
 Nobody Pooled
 Such a diatrlbe as issued by the gen. tlemen cannot fool anyone. We owed 1t
 to the people to give this report to them. | If Secretary Ballinger Is innocent of the charges preferred, these gentlemen ought | to have the courage to say so, and not allow him to rest under cuold until after the election, or until Congress as- sembles, and upon the other hand, If MT, Ballinger, as trustee and guardian or many millions of the peoples property was an unsafe official, and unfaithful to | the people, the quicker 1t was given to | the public the better; and the fact that
 an election would be held in two months, might be urged as political excuse, but
 neither a patriotic nor an official req
 son.
 From the temper of the article issued Inv the gentlemen, I am fixed in the firm helief that they will not report until the election and the report which they pre-
 nare will be one which they will very
 much wish to be forgotten before another election"