Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-06-14

\ personally took his affidavit to Secretary
| Garfield. This is the kind of thing Tor
which attorneys in practice are and al
| ways have been disbarred.'
| The act of May %. 1908, to encourage
| the development of Alaskan coal. and
| the divergent construction of the act are
| discussed in the eighth chapter, while
| the ninth describes ''Glavis' Third Inter-
vention to Save the Alaska Coal Lands, =
and tells of the reference to Attorney
General Wiskersham of the questions as
to the construction of the act of May %,
1908
The tenth chapter is devoted to the
opinion of the attorney general and dis
cusses the meaning of certain technical
phraseology and contains copious legal gal
to Save the Alaska Coal Lands is re-
viewed in the eleventh chapter WHICH
tells how CLAWS was superseded by Mr..
Sheridan, who the brief says had grad
uated from the law school only year
before, had never tried a case in court,
and whose total trial experience in the
examination of witnesses or at hearings
is comprised in attendance during the
whole or part of Al days
The next chapter is devoted to Claws
report to the President. Concerning the
report, the brief says that while 1t was
of necessity fragmentary because 1t dealt
only with the matter of which CLAWS
| had personal knowledge. it is notable for
accuracy and moderation
Continuing, the brief says, "A demge
| of typewriter matter came to the Presl-
| dent from the Interior department in
answer to the CLAWS report. Those an
| swers were supplemented by oral state
ments and arguments made by Secretary
| Ballnger and Oscar Lawler, assistant
| attorney general of the Interior depart
ment, in their interviews with the Presi-
| dent on Sept. and z; and finally by the
draft of letter generating Mr.. Balm
ger, prepared by Lawler. his appointee
| and in effect his subordinate, a man
who had a special grudge against CLAWS
| and who in that draft of letter declared
| CLAWS guilty of falsehood. of the sup
preston of the truth, and of neglect OF
| duty, thus condemning CLAWS on evil
| dence which he had never seen and OF
| course had no opportunity to meet, on
arguments that he had never heard and
what is even more. on. charges of the
preferring of which against him he had
| no knowledge whatsoever"
The thirteenth chapter reviews the OBJ.
Jet and and the effect Of the Gale bin: which
the claim to Alaska coal lands by re.
| moving the obstacles created by the ex-
listing laws" and CLAWS diligence" is
the title of the fourteenth chapter. The
sing letters" and in this connection the
| brief says that the Interior department
| officials unconsciously paid high tri-
butte to CLAWS official record when il
| searching for some means to diScredi1
him they could find nothing more dam
| aging than tine baseless and silly
charge" that he had concealed 90 insig-
nificant letters which Special Agent Bow
man had brought to Seattle from Alas
| ka Just before CLAWS dismissal from the
| service. The attorneys review in detail
the testimony concerning these letters
| and express the opinion that Claws sue.
cessor, Christensen, put the letters into
a box belonging to CLAWS in the store
room of the Federal building in Seattle
what naie. pltiful pitt, story it is"' comments
important government bureau was en-
ployed for months in an effort to injure
and disgrace CLAWS in order to execute
periors without any possibility of ad-
vantage resulting to the government"
Secretary Ballinger and CLAWS as wit.
nessts nesses are re-, compared in the sixteenth
| allegations rest mainly upon written do.
cuments in large part composed by Mr.
Ballinger himself and by H. H. Schwartz
chief OF Field Service and Fred bennett
| assistant commissioner of the land office
so that the brief declares ''if all OF
| ms testimony which is not so corrobora
i've We're taken out of the record. the
| force of his evidence would be but little
! affected
Concerning Mr.. Ballinger's defence the
brief says that it consisted chiefly in
explaining away the natural meaning OF
f.ain. documents. in pleas of ignorance. in
mates His word alone gives whatever
force such testimony possesses" Long
excerpts from the testimony of Secretary
J Balllnser are quoted and the ATTORNEYS
say that If there We're no other charge
against him upon his record as a wit
ness alone the committee ought to find
that he is unfit for the office which he
| holds. 'N'' ''e
CLAWS, according to the opinion of his
| own attorneys as expressed in the brief
exhibited all the qualities of an ideal
witness; perfection of observation, the
| rare ABILITY to see and hear what actually
happens. His memory proved itself AZ
accurate as a self registering clock"
In conclusion the brief SAYS: I'm this
proceeding Mr. Wickersham appears ma
longer as an assistant judge filing his
concurrence after decision. but as an
oVer,zealous advocate. In this proceed.
ing Mr. Lawler is not the Judge hut
STANDS IN his true light, preiudiced d
witness. bitter and vituperative. in This
proceeding CLAWS has had the opnor-
.unI!y TO hear the charges against him.
| conIfont MS accusers and to wiring from
m .hem unwilling admissions, to uncover
their eVasions and their secrecies
~, such are the facts. Such is Mr. RAJ.
| Hnsef record. Such his charactar
ian . you say that the Department of the
nnserior, me that the peoples domain is in