Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-15
ISSUANCE OF SUBP0ENAS
Alleged Discovery of Official Papers
in Special Agents Boxes. "
STORY TO BE TOLD HERE
Ballinger Pinchot Investigating
Committee Deliberates Over Admit
ting Report From Seattle.

CLAWS, the accuser of Secretary Ballin-
GER was the victim OF a "frame-up" In
with the finding Of various
official papers in Claws effects
as charged yesterday. Attorney Vertrees,
for Mr.. Ballinger, requested the
joint congressional Investigating commit
tee that subpoenas issue forthwith for A.
chief of the field division.
al &c. w. O'Neill of Seattle.
The request was granted and subpoenas
were issued for Christensen. and also for
the assistant custodian of the federal
building where the boxes belonging to
CLAWS were stored.
Tne committee was in executive session
forty minutes discussing the admissibility
at this time Of report from Seattle CIV
ing the details OF the alleged discovery.
No decision was announced.
Mr.. Vertrees, counsel for Secretary Bal
linger. today continued his cross-examina-
tion of CLAWS.
In striking contrast to the lively inter-
est of yesterdays testimony. the pro-
ceedings today I'm the investigation were
dull and featureless.
The Pierce Opinion.
Mr.. vertrees questioned CLAWS fur
ther today about the memorandum ne
assisted y preparing. and on which As
sistant Secretary Pierce rendered con-
struction of the new coal land law OF
NAV. 1908. Claws testified yesterday
that this opinion. to his mind: sho"eo
Mr.. Pierce to be unfit for his once.
Mr. Vertrees sought to show that IHe
Cunningham claimants. having decided
TO stand for patents under the oid ia"'
were specifically excluded from consiueIa q
ton in the Pierce opinion Inc a.eoI nss
also sought to show that Attorney GSn-
eral Wickersham did not oveIrus W.,
Pierce, but substantially SuStaaicu iii''
in every essential particular.
All CLAWS would admit In this connec,
ton was that he certainly did not in.enu
to exclude the Cunningham claims i.oi
consideration. and that while A..ormes es
the law as Mr.. PIERCE olo' Iiie "''Nos'
c. "R,,t NE YOU condemn Mr.. Pierce on your
construction Of the law!
The morning session had not proceed
Cd far when Mr.. Vertrees and the wit
ness had another clash. The attorney
wanted direct answers: Claws wanted 70
explain every answer by reIerrnis 70
ports, etc. Mr.. Vertrees once arose Win !;
himself by SAYING "Mr. Chairman The
COMMITTEES ruled to let CLAWS make as
many and as long explanations as ne
desired. ,S
II don't think they are relevant, said
Chairman Nelson: but go on
Charges Against bennett.
Mr. vertrees then took up the witness
accusations of misconduct against Fred
80 <bn 0f1cp
Claws had declared that after hearing
H. r. Hartman. one of the claimants,
make certain admissions relative to his
claim, bennett answered a telegram from
CLAWS saying none OF the ciaHldheS Hdu
made admissions.
Mr.. Vertrees brought out the fact that
CLAWS. telegram had been sent more
than q year after the Hartman admis-
sion and that the witness knew of no
other admissions among the Soo claim
ants
Yet you condemn MIR. bennett as an
improper official from this?'
mot from that alone. replied the
witness.
made June %, 1909, as to certain state
ments which q claimant named Mcdonald
had said he had made to bennett may
have been too broad. If 1t was the wit
ness said he was anxious to correct 1t.
what else did bennett do? asked
Mr. Vertrees.
"Well. he wrote those funny letters
from Seattle and Portland
Dennett's Letters Copied.
How did you get copies of those let
ters?"
Special Agent Spalding acted as Den
nett's stenographer and told me about
the letters, and asked him to furnish
me with copies
You ordered him to do so. didn't
you?"
II was his superior oficer.'
"He refused and you ordered him."
ssHe hesitated. He said the letters
were private. But they were mailed un-
der a frank and I thought that made
them official"
"You used that argument to spalding,
didn't your
Il don't know that I did
Mr.. Vertrees went into the letters in
some detail. They were written by Den
nett to H H. Schwartz, chief OF the
field service. and have heretofore been
in evidence.
Delay Sought by CLAWS
Mr. vertrees sought to show by let
ters and kilograms in the Record that
CLAWS charges tnat ms requests Tor
a delay in hearing the Cunningham
cases had not been favorably received
by Mr.. bennett were not substantiated
by the evidence. In one telegram read
bennett wired Mr.. Ballinger suggesting
that he authorize a delay until GER
tain evidence could be secured. Mr.
Ballinger in reply said that In view OF
his personal reluctance to direct pro-
ceedings in the Alaska cases bennett
himself should give the necessary di-
rections to Schwartz
That convinced me-. saiu CLAWS.
that Mr.. Ballinger was personally di-
recting the cases. for I'm all my ex-
perience with the Interior Department
/ never heard Of it being necessary for
the commissioner to appeal to the Sec
retary for permission to delay hear
ng"
Mr.. Vertrees read into the record an ex-
.ract of a letter from bennett to
Schwartz, in which he said:
"If more time is necessary we will have
% grant 1t. but 1t seems to me that No
ren1ber is putting the matter OF rather
ong."
Mr.. vertrees here requested that Miss
Ella NJ Shartell of Seattle. stenog-
.apher be summoned as a witness.
"While you are about it. Mr. Chair