The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-05-15
Ballinger Had One All Fixed for
Him, but President Used
Only Part of 1t.
SENSATIONAL TESTIMONY
White House, Wickersham and a
Stenographe~ Tell How the
Thing Happened.

WASHINGTON, May 15.-That Sec
rotary of the Interior Bailinger wanted
to draft the letter to be signed by the
President, generating him from blame
in the matter of the CLAWS and Pinchot
charges and expressing the apprecia-
ton of the President of his services,
was the sensational testimony brought
out before the investigation committee
yesterday.
That the President did not sign the
letter as drafted for him, but used it as
the basis for the letter he did sign,
was another startling point made
public
In the morning session an affidavit
was filed by Stenographer kerby, of
the office force Of the secretary of the
interior. in which it was stated that
the letter from President Taft, dated
September -. generating Ballinger
had been prepared by Assistant Attor
ney- General Lawler and handed over to
Ballnger for revision and approval
The inference was that this letter had
been forwarded to the White House and
had there been officially signed by the
President as his endorsement of all
that the secretary of the interior had
done regarding the withdrawal of the
power site lands and the Alaska coal
claims
White House Denial.
The allegation contained in the aft
davt was denied almost as soon as
made, an official statement being made
from the White House. This statement
was to the effect that the President per
sonallv dictated the letter of exonera
ton. the statements contained in it be-
ing based on the personal investigation
of the President into the anti@Ballinger
charges made and on the official report
presented to the President by the attor-
ney general.
Wickersham Sheds More Light.
In connection with the letter, the
committee called Attorney-General
Wickersham as witness. Wickersham
stated that he had knowledge of the
| draft letter mentioned in Kerbys' aft
davit This letter had been written in
the office of the assistant attorney gen
eral and had been forwarded to the
| President, as stated. The President did
not sign that letter. however, but used
it as basis for the drafting of the
letter he did sign.
| Some Differences.
| The committee secured a copy of the
draft letter and a comparison of it
with the letter signed by the President
showed that the latter had incorporated
the first two paragraphs in his letter,
| but had changed the rest.
The frs two paragraphs of the fam
Gus letter contain only a general re-
view of the CLAWS charges. These were
written by the assistant attorney-gen-
eral The lengthy concluding para
graphs are those of the President, in
which he denounces the CLAWS charges
as based on "spectres of suspicion, -
ending his letter by the following en-
dorsement of Ballinger:
within the Law
/ 'In my Judgment. he is the best
friend Of the policy Or conservation
who insists that every step taken in
that direction should be within the
law and buttressed by legal authority.
| Insistence on this is not inconsistent
with a whole hearted and bona fde in
terest and enthusiasm in favor of con
servation. From my conferences with
Won and from everything l know in
respect to the conduct Of your depart
ment, I am able to say that you are
fully in sympathy with this admins
tration $ attitude in favor of c0nserva
ton of natural resources.