Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1910-01-12
.P|NCH0T DISCHARGED
DENOMINATIONS SERVICE

ate, a letter from you stating that
you had sufficiently disciplined
Messrs Price and Shaw by reprl-
handing them, and that your recon-
mendation would be that no further
punishment be required, and this be-
fore that recommendation was sub
mitted to the secretary and me, whose
power and duty it was to determine
upon Prices admission as to his COM
plicity and what action shall be taken
respecting his resignation.
In order to understand the full pur-
port of your letter in which you adj
nit the completely of Price ana
press, it should be said that the
gravamen of the CLAWS charges was
that Ballinger and the others ali were
affected by corrupt wish to patent
thirty-three so-called Cunningham
claims upon coal lands in Alaska; THAI
the question of whether these claims
were fraudulent remained to be de-
cided upon the evidence after botn
the United States and the claimants
have been heard that every patent,
as an executive act, is completely
within the jurisdiction of the pres1-
dent to direct the Withholding of it
in order that he may examine the EVIL
dence as to the validity of the claim.
These facts understood, the plain
intimations of your letter are.
First, that I reached the wrong con-
clusion as to the good faith OF Mr..
Ballinger and the officers OF the land
office, although you and your subordi-
mates had only seen the evidence of
seen or read the evidence of those
occused or the records they disclosed,
which were submitted to- me.
Second, that under these circum,
stances, without exploitation by Shaw
and Price in the daily, weekly and
monthly press of the charges OF
CLAWS, the administration, including
the president and officers of the inter
ior department and land office, would
have allowed certain Fraudulent
Alaska, although the matter had been
specifically brought to the attention
of the president by the CLAWS
charges. You solicited an opportunity
to make such declaration in CON
gress for the purpose of offsetting, IL
possible, in the public mind the pres
idents decision in the CLAWS case
supported by the opinion of the at
torney general, after a full exam1n;,-
ton by both, of the evidence adduceG
by the accuser and the evidence IN
behalf of the accused, while the lat
ter evidence you and your subordi-
mates had never seen.
You did this against the advice OF
the secretary of agriculture, without
notifying him that you intended to
do SO, and without conferrTng with
me at all. Your letter was In effee,
an improper appeal to congress anc
the public to excuse in advance the
guilt of your subordinates before I
could act and against any decision in
the CLAWS case before the whole ev1-
dence on which that was b4ssed eouId
Je considered.
| began to regard what had hap
pened only as a personal reflection
and so could pass it over and take no
official cognizance of it. But other
higher considerations must govern
me. When the people of the United
States elected me president, they
placed me in an Office of the highest
dignity and charged me with the duty
of maintaining that dignity and a
proper respect for the office in the
use of my subordinates Moreover. II
were to pass over this matter IN
silence, it would be most demoraIiz-
ing to the discipline of the executive
branch of the government.
BY your own conduct you have de-
stroyed your usefulness as a helpful
subordinate of the government. 1t,
therefore, becomes my duty to direct
the secretary of agriculture to re-
move you from your office as the for
ester. Very sincerely,
William H. Taft
Wilson Acts Promptly
Secretary Wilson swiftly carried out
the decision of the president, and adj
dressed to Clifford Pfnehot, forester;
Price, associate forester, and Shaw,
assistant law officer of the forestry
bureau, letters substantially identical
That to Mr.. Pinchot reads:
you are hereby removed from your
office as forester. You will deliver
possession of your office affairs and
belongings of the government, to Al
bert F. Potter, assistant forester"
Referring to Senator Ballinger's let
ter to Senator Jones asking that the
forest service be included in the in
quiry, Mr. Fitzgerald objected to Sec
rotary Ballinger's attempt to dictate