Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-06-14

been clear-listed and that the claims
had remained in "chancery' to this
day.
Mr.. Vertrees points out that through
out the entire time CLAWS had been
kept in charge and was the one man
relied upon to investigate all Alaskan
claims. He says Ballinger defended
CLAWS. asserting that the criticisms
which Ex-Governor Moore had passed
upon him because of the delay in pat
enting the Cunningham claims was
undeserved
"It must he borne in mind also that
no question of injury to the govern
ment is involved" suggests Mr.. YER
trees. 1.-THE patents did not issue and
the question of the legality of the
claims is one now being tried. Finally
it should be stated that the evidence
of Stenographer Frederick M. Kerry
alone is conclusive as TO the fectituue
of Mr.. Ballinger's course. kerpy was
his confidential stenographer ana
clerk and in charge OF the conndentlal
files. If there were anything improper
or corrupt to be known 1t would De
known to him. He was eager to speak.
He wished with all his soul to be call
ed before the committee as he was call
ed. We called him. The committee VIII
remember his eagerness ana zeal. ne
was pressed to state Wnat ne Knew
against his chief. Again ana again
was he asked to state anything that Ill
his opinion reflected upon the secretary
of the interior Not an act. not trans :
action, not a thing. could be state by
him. He asserted that there was one
thing. and that was that Mr.. Ballinger
intended. with full knowledge Of his
unfitness, TO appoint r. II. thomson 10
be director Of the reclamation service.
Referring to Kerbys testimony that
he regarded Thomson as unit because
Mr.. Ballinger thought he was the man
to go to Alaska to advise ]. r. Nor
gan & Co., when his friend. George w.
Perkins, of that firm, asked him to
recommend a Western engineer to
make an examination with view to
contemplated railroad enterprise, Mr.
Vertrees says: This is the only sin
of Mr.. Ballinger which Mr.. Kerby
could name"
Mr.. Vertrees calls attention to the
rigid scrutiny and examination the in
terror department has been under dur
ing the inquiry and says nothing has
been revealed which reflects upon the
loyalty, the integrity, the good faith
the sense of duty of any man there
in"
THE only persons who can be criti-
cised," continues Mr.. Vertrees, ARE
those who have been discharged, and
have arrayed themselves against the
secretary and the department of the
interior. This inquiry involves the
good name of gentleman and the
reputation of the member of the cabi-
net. 1t is no idle thing to assail the
character of member of the cabi-
net. He is one of the advisers of the
President and dishonorable conduct on
his part not only brings disgrace to
him as an individual, but reproach up
on the government itself. Consequent
ly such an accusation ought not to be
lightly brought There ought surely
to be substantial grounds. Here, it
may be asserted, there are absolutely
none. The prosecution is cruel and i,
is baseless'
Mr.. Vertrees says the accusations
against Mr.. Ballinger relate, officially,
to his policies with respect to conser-
vation water power sites and reclama-
tion and to his course with respect to
the Cunningham claims and, personal
ly, to certain acts of alleged profess
sional improperly committed by him
as a lawyer, not as an official, but
when in private life.
Defending Mr.. Ballinger's conserva-
ton policy, Mr.. Vertrees cites numer
Gus cases in support Of his contention
that Former Secretary Garfield was
wrong in his view that the secretary
of the interior, in dealing with the
public lands, had authority to do that
which he may conceive advisable and
for the public good, unless it be for
hidden by some statute, and this
necessarily without regard to the usage
of the past
Mr.. Ballinger's position with regard
to the exercise Of the so-called super
visory power with respect to the with
draWal of water power sites, on which
question he also differed with Mr.. Gar
field. is defined as follows: That when
Congress had, by law, said that the
public lands should be open to entry
that is. entry under the homestead.
mining and desert land laws-it is be-
yond the power of any administrative
officer to withdraw by executive order
the lands which Congress has thus
stated Shall be open to entry. Num-
erous cases also are cited in support on
this view
Discussing the Garfield policy of is
suing cooperative certificates" where
by reclamation projects could be ex-
panded and extended, the brief says
Mr.. Ballinger's view that those certi-
ficates We're illegal was fully sustained
by the attorney generals opinions,
which held the certificates invalid
based upon the fundamental PROPOSE
ton that an executive officer could
not enter into any contract unless it
was authorized by some act of Con-
gress and that the reclamation act did
rot confer authority upon the secre-
tary of the interior to enter into such
agreements.
Another of the Garfield policies" re-
versed by Mr.. Ballinger, was the ''co-
operative agreement" between the in
terror and agriculture departments
whereby the control of certain en-
ployes Of the Indian bureau was given
over to the forestry bureau. The brief