The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-02-16
CLAWS ACCUSED.
Land Office Agents Find
Missing Papers In Box.
BALlINGfR INQUIRY SENSATION
Witness Against Secretary of the
Interior Declares Indignantly
That the Charges Are a
"Frame-up."
BALLINGfR INQUIRY SENSATION

Washington, Feb. 15.-Special agents
of the land office declare that they
broke into box containing certain
private belongings of Louis Il. CLAWS
which he had left in u room in the
postoffice building at Seattle and found
copies of important letters and tele-
grams that were missing from the Of
fetal files of the office which CLAWS
had turned over to his successor.
This fact came out in the course of
the Ballinger- -Pinchot inquiry here
and created sensation. 1t led to
sharp division of opinion in the com
mittee and Il wrangle among the law
yers. CLAWS denied absolutely that he
ever had the letters after he had deliv-
cred his office and its belongings to his
successor. A. c. Christensen.
Several of the letters were in a list
published by Golfers Weekly last fall
in one of the attacks made by that
newspaper on Secretary Ballinger.
John j. Vertrees, attorney for Sec.
retary Ballinger. who conducted the
cross examination of CLAWS. explained
to the joint congress committee that
Secretary Ballinger called on the chief
of the field agents at Seattle to fur
nish certain letters. They We're re-
ceived by the secretary of the interior
from Seattle, accompanied by an ex-
planatiOn from CLAWS successor. in
which it was said that they were re-
hn nf ha
longings
ut is frame-up!' exclaimed Gla-
Wis. 1T makes me indignant for any
one to assume that l would have been
foolish enough to have put those let
ters in box and left them where they
would have been accessible TO the
very men who are trying to make a
case against me. 1t makes me indig-
nant to think that subOrdinates of the
secretary of the interior would stoop
10 such methods i'm order to serve Mr..
Ballinger."
CLAWS denied ever having placed the
letters in the box. He told the com
mittee that he believed that agents of
the land office had taken them from
the office files and placed them there
for the purpose Of making it appear
that he had abStracted them from the
files and had refused to give them up.
Asked by Attorney Vertrees If he
furnished the letters or copies Of them
to Golfers. the witness replied that
he did not
do you know where Golfers got
the letters?"
Il have a suppOsition. but no definite
information" the witness replied.
Did you give copy of those letters
to anybody else?" inquired Chairman
Nelson
Yes; | gave number of letters to
the forest service"
The letters in dispute were some that
had been delivered by the local land
Office at Juneau. Alaska, TO Special
Agent CLAWS at Seattle while he was
yet in the service. They arrived In
Seattle while CLAWS was at Beverly
laying his case against Ballinger be-
fore President Taft. on his return
To Seattle he went over the documents
and became acquainted with their con
tents.
Chairman Nelson and Senator Root
insisted that the documents should go
into the record, but this was vigorous
| ly resisted by Senator Fletcher and
Representatives Madison. James and
Graham. Representative Madison
made the point that inasmuch as the
author of the report Special Agent
Christensen, was TO be called later as
a witness the letters and his report on
the way they were obtained should not
be received in evidence until Mr..
Christensen was present to identify
them and be cross examined in regard
TO them.
Representative James of Kentucky
voiced his Indignation at the manner
in which the letters had appeared in
the committee room. He pointed out
that under the instructions of the joint
committee il was the duty OF Secre-
tary Ballinger to have sent the letters
to the clerk of the committee to be
submitted to counsel ON both sides for
investigation under injunction OF Sc
crecy as to their contents and that
only such of them were to be admit
ted as evidence as had been first In
spected and passed by the committee.
Louis X. Brandeis, attorney for Gla-
Wis, made spirited protest against
the way in which Secretary Ballinger
had turned over TO his attorney for
submission to the committee as evil
denee letters that the committee had