The San Francisco call., 1910-05-15

your retirement as commissioner
and before being appointed score
tary.
Tafts letter says:
The whole. record shows that Mr.,
CLAWS was honestly convinced of
the illegal character of the claims
in the Cunningham group and that
he was seeking evidence to defeat
the claims.
LAWYERS letter credits him with no
such honest intent. stating:
The reports and records have
been carefully examined and there
from I find that not only are the
inferences without justification. but
perversion and suppression of truth
amounting TO actual misrepresen-
tation.
GREATLY SOFTENED
Taft in his letter authorized Ballin-
ger to dismiss CLAWS for fling a dis
ingenious statement, unjujstly impeach-
ing the official integrity of his superior
officers
Lawler calls his statement. "disin-
genuous and colored, seeking through
innuendo and inference to create sus-
picion of improper conduct on the part
of his superiors. by a recital of isolated
circumstances, disassociated from the
surrounding facts, and quotations and
detached letters and kilograms. without
reference to the communication to
which they were replies or to responses
ELECTED to them"
The Lawler document IS very much
larger than the entire Taft letter and
deals exclusively with the Alaskan coal
claims, while only about half Of the
Taft letter refers to the CLAWS charges,
the balance relating to the forestry
controversy. to which Lawler hardly
refers at all. The Lawler draft totals
upward OF 5000 words; that OF the
president makes about $500.
EXPECTS DISMISSAL
'T made the facts public because
had decided that loyalty to Mr.. Ballin-
ger did not Justify disloyalty to the
country said Frederick M. Kerby to-
night. He added that in view of what
he had heard of snake killing" he
assumed he would be dismissed from
the interior department.
IF the secretary of the interior be-
lieves that my statements of the facts" !"
he continued. calls for my separation
from the service it is up to him I have
only stated the facts. have only made
my contribution of what he had failed
to make public"
In response to a question as to what
he would do in case he lost his position,
Kerby said;
others than those to whom 1 gave the
information that they would do the best
they could for me in case I was dis
missed"
Kerby declined TO say from whom he
received the assurance. He said that
the question had not been an easy one
to decide from an ethical and moral
standpoint.
Notwithstanding considerable pres
sure from newspaper representatives" T"
said he, "I had refused to make the
story public, believing that the proper
course was to wait until I could be
called as q witness, but the attitude Of
the committees in practically shutting
off the inquiry regarding the memoran-
DUN by Lawler convinced me that the
only course to adopt to make the facts
public would be to give 1T to the press"
Kerby emphatically denied that the
so called Pinchot side of the contro-
versy had anything to do with the pub
lication of his statement. He said that
former Secretary Garfield knew of the
facts in his possession from a mutual
friend, but had nothing to DO with their
publication.
Attorney Vertrees, counsel for Sec
retary Ballinger, met the president at
the White House tonight and held a
brief conference with him.