New-York tribune., 1910-01-07
MAY GUST PINCHOT
Continued from first page.

making ii an official document. He SAID
that Messrs. Price and Shaw had pre-
pared an official report upon their ac-
tions which he was transmitting to the
Secretary OF Agriculture.
MR.. PINCHOTS LETTER.
This report shows that Messrs. Price
and Shaw made public certain informa-
tion regarding the so-called, Cunning
ham claims for coal lands in Alaska,
said Mr.. Pinchot THE effect of the
publication was to direct critical public
attention TO the action of the Interior
Department.
1T shows. also. that they countenanced
the publication by L. r. CLAWS of GER
tain facts concerning these claims after
he had been dismissed from office, and
that in other ways they endeavored TO
direct public attention to the imminent
danger that the Alaska coal fields still In
government ownership might pass for
ever into private hands, with little or no
compensation to the public"
This information, Mr. Pinchot added.
was of nature proper to be made pub
people of the United States are not en-
titled to know concerning the source,
nature and progress of claims made for
portions of the public lands"
"The rumor." he said, that the CLAWS
report to the President was prepared in
or by the forest service is incorrect. AT
GIaviss request l sent Shaw, as it was
proper / should. to Chicago to assist him
in arranging his material for submis-
sion to the President
After saying that these officials had
acted on information they had concern
ing the danger of the loss of the Alaska
coal lands. Mr.. Pinchot continued:
PRESIDENT MISTAKEN"
Action through the usual official
channels, and finally even an appeal to
the President, has resulted (because of
what I believe to have been a mistaken
impression of the facts) in eliminating
from the government service in the per-
son of CLAWS the most vigorous defender
of the peoples interest Furthermore,
the refusal of the Secretary of the In
terror to assume responsibility in the
cases had left their conduct wholly in the
hands of subordinates, each of whom
was apparently committed in favor of
patenting these claims
Price and Shaw, he said, deliberately
chose to risk their official places rather
than permit what they believed to be
the wrongful loss of public property.
Having violated rule of propriety as
between the departments, Mr.. Pinchot
said they deserved a reprimand and had
received one But l shall recommend
he added, without hesitation that no
further action in their case is required
Mr.. Pinchot said the action of these
subordinates was most unusual, but sug-
gested that the situation which called 1t
forth was quite as unusual.
"Price and Shaw" he said. success
fully directed public attention to a ma
tional danger They increased the peo-
ple's interest in the peoples property
and powerfully fostered the desire to
conserve it. There is now far less
chance that the Alaska coal fields will
pass into the hands of fraudulent claim
ants than there was before they acted
They acted on what they believed to be
trustworthy information Many consd-
erations hich had not been brought
home to the Presidents mind, as appears
from his letter of September 13, had
weight with them.
DEFENDS SUBORDINATES
The rules of official decorum exist IN
the interest OF official administration and
of that alone. If they are used to pre-
vent an honest and vigilant official from
saving the property of the public, their
purpose is violated and they have be-
come worse than useless. Price and
Shaw concede that what they did trans
gressed propriety. But, measured by the
emergency which faced them, by the
purity of their motives and the results
which they accomplished, their breach Of
propriety sinks wellnigh to insignifi-
canoe"
Mr.. Pinchot said he disclaimed any in
tention or desire to shirk any part of his
own legitimate responsibility for what
was done " these two subordinates
What they did, he added, raised a cues
ton of principle which should not be
ODSCui cu ny pclSOiIdl
or possible mistakes on their part They
had, he slid, done for the people of the
country what the people would have done
for themselves had they been in a situa-
ton to do it.
The Ballinger- Pinchot controversy oc-
cupied practically the entire attention OF
the Senate Following the reference to
the Committee on Public Lands of the
Jones resolution for the appointment of
a joint committee of six Senators and
six Representatives to investigate the
controversy, the Senate adjourned until
Monday. Senator Nelson has called a
meeting OF the Public Lands Committee
Tor Saturday morning. and expects to
report the Jones resolution for passage
on Monday.