The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-03-27
A Fling at Roosevelt.

a Fling at Roosevelt.
Although Mr.. VertTees was particularly
referring to Messrs. Garfield and Pinchot
some members of the committee, after ad-
Journment, were inclined to cOnstrue the
statement as fling at Mr.. Roosevelt
and SO expressed themselves.
Patriot CLAWS" came in for a large
shale of Mr.. Vertrees' attention. CLAWS
suspicious .I by nature, BECAME perverted
to be hSnest and known to be capable"
CLAWS refusal to speak is to be ascribed
to vanity that brooks no suggestion"
Mr.. Vertrees also dwelt at length upon
Clifford Pinchot, and "the Pinchot serv-
ice," as he chose to designate the for
estry. Mr.. Pinchot, vain and flattered
by his own publicity bureau" "Pinchot
ceased to be the department of agricul-
ture." He was exposed and Mr., Bal
linger had committed the objectionable
sin Of defeating the ambition of a self
exaggerated man" Here was the birth
place Of that spirit of resentment and re-
yenge to assassinate the good
name of Mr.. Ballinser and bring re-
proach on the President Of the United
States, who had not retained Mr.. Gar
field and had dismissed Mr.. Pinchot."
OF Mr.. Ballinger, the attorney said: :
not thing of caprice True conserva-
ton has no sturdier supporter than he"
Those who have already been born and
now breathe have rights as well as those
yet to be born and yet to breathe" De-
velOpment ought not to be exiled by the
theorists and doctrinaires." "In restor-
ing to entry vast entries Of the public do
main, which he believed to have been
wrongfully withdrawn, Mr.. Ballinger still
believes he was right, but if he erred he
denies that it was an error for which the
good faith of his official action should
be questioned by those who would substi-
tute opinion for law"
Not a site Lost,
mot a site was lost" He could have
transferred Mr.. CLAWS at any time and
obviously would have done so had he
been minded TO bring about improper
action which Patriot Claws was prevent
ing and thwartng where he was"
Mr.. Vertrees' statement was a long one,
going into the details of practically every
phase OF the case. He said IL would be
shown that as regards the Cunningham
claims and in ali other matters Mr.. Bal
linger was "clean-handed," and that his
actions had been those OF an honest and
upright citizen and official. He denied
that Secretary Haliinger had ever drawn
up an escrow agreement, or any other
sort of agreement in the Wilson coal land
cases. He said Mr.. Ballinger had a legal
and moral right 10 do what he did in
presenting the Cunningham affidavit to
Secretary Garfield.
Vertrees asserted that it would be
shown that Mr.. Ballinger was in no way
responsible that the request for an opin-
ion on the new coal lands acts Of 1908 mad
gone first to Assistant Secretary Pierce
rather than to Attorney General wicker
sham. Ali along the line a general de-
NAL of charges. references and insinua-
tons was entered.
1.-The evidence now to be offered, said
Mr.. VertTees, will make all Of these
things so clear, SO undeniabls and so plain
that this committee will cast about to
discover how it is that men who knew as
much Of the truth as Pinchot and CLAWS
and Garfield and Davis and Newell knew,
could have had the daring to present
themselves as sincere, honest harborers of
a suspicion. much less as persons really
believing that they had knowledge of in
culpatory facts"
Day RepIete With Interest.
The day was replete with interest. The
growing bitterness between Attorneys
Vertrees and Brandeis manifested itself
in several sharp exchanges.
The demands of Mr.. Brandeis, first,