The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-05-16
President Reveals Inside His
tory of How Famous Epistle
Was Composed and Its Con-
tents Revised by Himself.
FIRST MISSlVE TORN UP
AND ANOTHER WRITTEN
Statement That Understands
Communication Was Back
dated" Is Admitted and Rea-
son Therefor Is Explained.
LAWLER NOTE REJECTED

WAs ddIS to- in May SyrsoI 550 dnb+
took a hand in the situation
concerning the inside" history of his
letter Of September 13 generating
Secretary Ballinger from the charges
of Special Agent L. r. CLAWS and au-
thorizing the dismissal of CLAWS. over
his own signature he addressed a long
letter TO Senator Knute Nelson, chair
man of the Ballinger-P inchot investi-
eating committee, setting forth in
following his receipt at Beverly on Au
gust IS of the charges of CLAWS.
The President makes no direct men
ton of the statement of Frederick NJ.
Kerby, the young stenographer in Sec
rotary Ballinger'S office. in which the
stenOgrapher declared the Presid ent' :
letter of exoneration was prepared in
BallingeTs office by Oscar Lawler, as
sistant attorney general for the in
terror department. Tonights utter
ance of Mr.. Taft was obviously pro
voked by Kerby's statement.
BY Taffs Direction.
Mr.. Taft declares Lawler did pre-
pare such a letter as Kerby said. but
that he did so by the Presidents Spe-
cific direction. When he received IL he
found. he says. that II was not what
he wanted to Issue, and he wrote the
letter himself in the form in which he
desired il, using from LAWYERS draft
only one or two general statements
The President goes still further and
takes up the question of the back
dating" of Attorney General Wicker
TO which Attorney Louis D. Brandefs
has drawn attention. Mr.. Taft says
that the attorney generals letter was
in fact "backdated," and this also was
done by his specific direction. Follow
ing Is the full text of the Presidents
letter:
The White House, Washington, d. c..
My Dear Senator Nelson-In the
hearings before the committee to in
vestigate the interior department and
forestry service. reference has been
made TO my decision upon the com
plant and charges of Mr.. CLAWS filed
with me on the 18th of August against
Secretary Ballinger and certain other
officials of the interior department.
The majority of the committee have
decided my action in this case was not
in the jurisdiction OF the committee to
investigate In spite of this ruling,
into the record. For this reason deem
ii proper to write you and state the
facts with such accuracy as my mem
DRY permits.
Given 10 Attorney General.
CLAWS statement and charges were
left with me by him on August IS
1909. ] turned them over to the at
torney general, who happened to be
in the neighborhood. and he made
notes upon his reading. We both had
personal knowledge in respect to Sec
rotary Ballinger's attitude toward the
Alaska coal claims, which was the
chief subject of innuendo and COM
plant, for Mr.. Ballinger had very
early in the administration consulted
us both regarding them.
Within two or three days after the
filing of the charges, at a meeting
in which the secretary of the treasury.
the attorney general and the secretary
of the navy were present, full dis
cussion of the CLAWS statement was
held. 1t resulted in a general con-
clusion that Jealousy between the
bureaus of the interior department and
the forestry bureau probably explained
the attitude of the interior department
officials, but that the intimations of
bad faith by CLAWS against Mr.. Bal
Continued on Page Ffye.l