St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-01-19

the case OF 1nISf forester H1ncHOC. NO
one charges that Mr. Pinchot has been
dishonest in the conduct of his office and
all recognize in him very enthusiastic
servant of the government but the
charges against Ballinger are of more
serious nature. They may be summar-
lied as follows:
That Mr.. Ballinger in 1907, as Com
missioner of the Land Office, repeatedly
sought to bring the fraudulent Cunning
ham claims to patent in spite of reports
and evidence that they were fraudulent.
That under his order patents had
actually been prepared ready for his sig
nature.
That the order was only revoked and
his signature was only withheld when
CLAWS protested and vigorously expos
tu1ated. making a covert threat to take
it to the Department of Justice.
That, while Land Commissioner, Mr..
Ballinger furnished the owners of the
Cunningham claims with copies of con-
fdential letters and kilograms between
government agents in the field and the
Land Office relating to their claims.
That, upon the establishment of the
fact that these claims were illegal, he
went before a committee of this House
and urged the passage of bill curing
the fraud and making fraudulent claims
valid. This was few days before Mr..
Bal1inger retired from the Land Office.
Shortly after he retired from the Land
Office, in March, 1905. he appeared be-
fore it as the paid attorney of the same
fraudulent claims he had sought to urge
to patent. Later, the charge is, he
wrote the land office in Alaska, repre-
senting himself as the attorney for other
claims that had been before the Land
Office. Later still claimant wrote the
same land Office in Alaska, saying Mr..
Ballinger was his attorney.
These acts and others show Ballinger
to have been an attorney representing
questionable land claims against the
Government. That and more occurred
during the year which elapsed between
his retirement as Commissioner of the
General Land Office and his appointment
as Secretary of the Interior.
1t is charged that as Secretary of the
Interior, having the Land Office under
him, pressure was renewed in the case of
these claims to force them to patent.
CLAWS resisted, charging fraud, and final
ly took the matter to the Department of
Justice; and the Department of Justice
rendered decision holding that, not
withstanding the decision of the Depart
ment of the Interior, these claims were
fraudulent. CLAWS was right, and Bal
1inger and bennett were wrong. Then
CLAWS was arbitrarily, summari1y, and
without hearing dismissed from the ser
vice.
The Cunningham claims are in connec-
ton with vast coal field in Alaska, pos
sibly more valuable than any in the Unit
ed States. 1t is the treasure house of our
country for the future, the supply OF coal
on which the navies of the United States
must depend in the years of the future,
when they are operating i'll the Pacific
Ocean. That land was open to settle
ment by citizens OF the United States.
A large number of claims were filed on
this coal field. The Guggenheim system
has railroad now within 80 miles of
this vast area of coal. 1t is charged that
these systems and specially interested
persons sent dummies, men who did not
desire to make entries for their own pur-
poses, but merely as tools of other people.
to enter this vast tract of land with the
intention of turning it over to this syndi-
cate. Agents of the Government were
sent to investigate the matter. A man
named CLAWS was sent by the Interior
Department to make this investigation
During the making of the investigation
Secretary Ballinger, then head of the
Land Office, insisted that he should i'm
mediately make his report. CLAWS insis-
ted that he must have time to investi-
gate the question. The charges say that
Secretary Ballinger was all the time at
tempting to hold down the investigation,
to force these special agents to make their
| report, to close up the proposition, and
issue the land patents to the fraudulent
entrymen.
This statement of the charges shows
more serious possibilities than the Pin
| chot case and the whole country earnest
| ly desires prompt and unprejudiced YER
| dict on this case.
It looks as though Windsor county