The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-10

certain that a large crowd will attend.
gave directions with regard to said
claims.
THAT he aided the movement to force
| the Cunningham claims to a hearing be-
fore the government was ready to pro-
coed and properly produce its evidence,
and placed the management of cases in
the hands of an inexperienced young at
torney with full knowledge of the import
ance of the cases, both as to the great
value of the property, and the fact that,
being the first case of this kind and
there being hundreds of other Alaska coal
claim cases, they were, in measure,
test cases.
Orders to Subordinates
THAT he encouraged INSTRUMENTATION
in the reclamation service by trying to
discredit the director or head of that serv-
ice in a general way and by issuing or
ders direct to subordinates in said serv-
! ice without either consulting or COM
| muncating with the proper person OF
persons in charge of said service.
THAT he condoned highly improper of
fetal conduct on the part of Mr.. Fer
kjns, head of the Chicago office of the
reclamation service and instead of repri-
mandng him, or asking for his resig-
and chief engineer, he retained him in the
same office with increased power, direct
| ing him to report to Director Newell
whose authority he had already over
ridden.
Under these circumstances and in view
| of these findings, which are forced upon
us by consideration of the evidence, we
are under the stern necessity of max
| ing a further finding:
That Richard A. Ballinger has not
| been true to the trust reposed in him
as Secretary of the Interior. that he is
not deserving of public confidence and
that he should be requested by the prop
er authorities to resign his office"
| The foregoing sums up the findings OF
the four democratic members of the Bal
| linger- Pnchot congressional investigat-
| ing committee, which were made public
| late today.
| The republican members issued no re-
| port of any kind bearing on the con-
| troversy.
Independent Report
| An independent report was given out
by Mr. Madison, the insurgent repub-
lican from Kansas, which declares also
that Mr.. Ballinger should not be re-
| tanned that he was an unfaithful trus-
tee of the peoples interests. an enemy
of conservation" and that the charges
of Clifford Pinchot should be sus-
| tanned.
These findings will be printed and
| filed with Congress.
| The decision of the four democratic
members and Mr.. Madison to make
| the reports public followed a session
which was unusual, three members,
Senator Sutherland of Utah and Rep
resentatives Mccall of Massa chusetts
and DENLY of Michigan, refusing to at
tend the meeting. Finally the chair
man of the committee himself. Sena-
tor Nelson of Minnesota, left the COM
mittee room and failed to return.
Chairman Nelson gave notice that a
meeting would be held in Chicago on
Tuesday. The democratic members adj
journed to meet again in Washington
on December 8. Representative Ollie
NJ. James of Kentucky, one of the dem
ocratic members, announced that all
the democrats would refuse to attend
the meeting of which Senator Nelson
has given notice. The republicans will
then be in the same position that the
democratic members and Mr.. Madison
found themselves in today.
Madison's Report
| Mr.. Madison's conclusions are: THAT
| the charges made by L. r. CLAWS
against Secretary Ballinger should be
sustained that in the matter of the
Idisposition of the Cunningham coal
lands, Mr.. Balinger was not a faith
| full trustee of the interests of the
| people and did not perform his duty
| in such a manner as to properly pro-
| tect such interests.
"That the charges made by Mr.. Pin
chot should be sustained in that Mr..
Ballinger's course in the administra-
ton of the department of the interior
has been haracterized by a lack of
| fidelity to the public interests. That
this has been shown in his treatment
of the Cunningham coal claims, the
rest ora ion of the water power sites
to entry without intention to rewith-
draw and In his administratio of the
reclamation service. the latter resulting
In unnecessary humiliation to the di-
rector and tending toward the disinte-
grafton of the service.
He has not shown himself to be that
character of a friend to the policy of
conservation to our natural resources
that the man should be who occupies
that Important position of Secretary
of the Interior in our government and
he should not be retained in that Of
fice.'
Summary of Findings
A summary OF Mr.. Madson's findings
follows:
THE investigation resolved itself into
two branches, the CLAWS and Pinchot.
.'Clavis charged that Mr.. Ballinger had
interests; that this was more particularly