Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-06

counsel whenever / choose" retorted
Senator Sutherland.
.sI1l take the liberty of interrupting
members when they interrupt counsel
whenever l choose returned Mr.. James,
suavely.
ct know you will"
Il certainly will"
Wouldn't Criticise Preside1t. .
After this little passage Mr.. Brandeis
asked another question. He wanted to
know whether the Presidents letter did
not contain many inaccuracies.
II refuse to answer your question. i
will not be put in the attitude of critics.
ing the President replied the witness.
/ Mr.. Brandeis then sought to make the
| witness admit certain statements were
based on inaccurate information. He re-
ferred to the Presidents statements that
| CLAWS had been superseded by Sheridan
because a lawyer was needed to handle
the Cunningham claims. Mr.. Brandeis
pointed out that the testimony and let
| ters of bennett and Schwartz showed
| that he was superseded because he did
not want the cases to go to hearing
| without field examination.
| Mr.. Ballinger said he did not know
what motives prompted the land office
officials in supplanting CLAWS.
The Cunningham Claims.
4
bennett concerning the Cunningham
claims, Mr.. Brandeis asked the Secre-
rotary whether he then considered that
matter ore of importance.
| Nothing like the degree Of Importance
which you would attempt to give it,
retorted the witness. AZ that time.
he continued. with rapidly increasing
heat there was no hysteria through
out the country regarding the value Of
the coal lands of Alaska being away up
in the billions. There were not at that
time fanciful notions regarding the
wonderful and marvellous value of the
mineral wealth of Alaska, which, If dis
tributed throughout the United states:
would be practically fortune to every
citizen of this country.
IA the time this matter came up it was
generally considered that it was worth
the claims to have to get them, and
therefore the matter was not of that
ltranscendent Importance which you would
have appear
Hesitating a moment and with evident
emotion. Mr.. Ballinger added: Il Ink
you eXaggerate the Importance of the
matter
Did not YOU give an explanation
and reason for your going to Secretary
Garfield to talk about Cunningham claims
after you ceased to be commissioner the
fact that 1t was matter of importance,
| persisted Mr. Brandeis, with a motion Of
his finger as if boring through some OBJ
| stacle. and with a enthusiastically ironi-
the Secretary, who answered with en-
| phasis:
II did regard it is a matter of i'm
pOrtance-yes. / considered it a matter Of
more than ordinary detailed importance"
Mimics Brandeis.
Then. half rising in his seat with one
hand upon the table and with an indie
scribable mimicry Of Mr.. Brandeis' tone
<ho ofor
II considered it of enough importance to
speak to Mr. Garfield about, because I
thought Gov. Moore had talked with Mr..
Garfield" Then, looking his inquisitor
lsquarely in the face and with lowered
brows, he asked defiantly:
| Does that satisfy your question:"
Il Think" replied Mr.. Brandeis. calmly
and still smiling, 1.-THE committee is more
DESTROYS of light than heat"
II desire to give illumination regarding
these matters. but the record is filled
with remarks that do not illuminate
anything. but merely cast aspersions on
my character snapped the witness.
Tart Reply from Ballinger.
| With the beginning Of the cross-exam-
ination of Secretary Ballinger late yester-
day afternoon. the Ballinger-P inchot in
vestigation became livelier than at any
| time since it began.
| When Attorney Brandeis assumed that
| a letter written by Commissioner bennett
for Mr.. Ballinger, Secretary Ballinger
sharply retorted:
'"That isn't true. You're wrong. as
you usually have been in this hearing
Brandeis questioned Secretary Bailinger
| regarding his treatment OF Claws and the
| Secretary did not mince words in making
his replies. He admitted that he had told
1
Ito kill some snakes Declaring that he
did not mean the expression for pubiica-
ton, he admitted that he had made up
his mind that CLAWS fought to be killed
as a snake.
When the CLAWS attorney asked the
Secretary whether the loyalty of CLAWS
to the Interior Department might not
have been outweighed by his loyalty to
$4,000, 600 Of American people, Mr.. Bal
linger replied warmly:
Declares His Hands Clean.
II will not argue that with you, and
will tell you why. There Is not a thing
in my public career which warrants any
man in accusing me. and it would be the
public duty of any one to acQuaint the
President with the fact If there was" He
made it clear that, knowing his hands
| were clean, he did not hesitate to con-
denim CLAWS.
Attorney branQelS ralneu qu6StlOnS On
| the witness as to Secretary Ballinger's
suggestion, written from Boise last
| summer, that Assistant Commissioner
Schwartz should consult Postmaster Gen
eral Hitchcock in the appointment Of
| certain employees excepted from the civil
| service. Secretary Ballinger asserted that
| he considered Mr. Hitchcock good per-
son to refer to in case the President did
not care to name the appointees. Then
he refused to make any further explana-
ton. Mr.. Brandeis appealed to the COM
mittee, but the witness was sustained.
Denies Any Wrongdoing.
| At the close of his testimony Secretary
| Ballinger made a vigorous denial Of any
wrongdoing as a public official.
Every act that has been performed by
me as a public Official he said, both as
| land commissioner and as Secretary OF
| the Interior has been performed with
the sole idea of fulfilling my trust under