The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1910-02-17
ACCUSES CLAWS
Say He Had Copies of Of.
fiCidl Letters.
DETECTIVES BROKE OPEN BOX
Aocuser of Ballinger Charged With
secreting Valuable Land Office
Documents - Declares II
is . "Frame-Up.
DETECTIVES BROKE OPEN BOX

Washington. Feb. 15-Special agents
Of the land once broke into q box con.
tanning certain private belongings OF
Louis r. CLAWS. and which he had left
In a room in the postofice building at
Seattle. They found. so 1t is alleged.
copies Of a number OF important let.
terra and kilograms that were missing
from the Official files Of the Office
which CLAWS had then turned over to
his successor
This fact came out In the course OF
the Ballinger- Pinchot inquiry and
created a sensation. CLAWS denied alb
solutely that he ever had the letters
after be had delivered his office and
its belongings to his successor. A g
Christensen. He promptly denounced
the episode in Seattle as a "frameup"
Several OF the letters were IN a list
published by Golfers Weekly last fan
in one of the attacks made by that
newspaper on Secretary Ballinger.
When the investigation by the Joint
committee Of congress begun. Louis
ID. Braindeis attorney for CLAWS. re
Guested the committee TO call for
number of letters and documents. and
this list included most Of those which
were in dispute John J. vertrees. of
Nashville. Tenn. attorney for Score
tary Ballinger. who conducted the
cross examination of CLAWS. explained
TO the joint committee that Secretary
Ballinger called on the chief of the
field agents at Seattle to furnish Ger.
tain letters The first reply to the re
quest was that the documents could
not be found. But they were received
Monday by the secretary OF the in
terror from Seattle. accompanied by
an explanation from CLAWS successor
IN which II was said that they were
recovered from the box of personal
belongings.
CLAWS Says It's 4 "Frame-up."
1T is frame-up.~ exclaimed CLAWS.
1t makes me Indignant for any one
TO assume that I would have been
foolish enough 10 have put those let.
tiers in box and left them where
they would have been accessible 10 the
very men who are trying to make a
case against me. IL makes me indir.
nant to think that subordinates OF the
secretary OF the interior would stoop
70 such methods in order to serve Mr..
Ballinger-
CLAWS denied ever having placed
the letters Ia the box. He told the com
mittee that he believed that the agent
OF the land Office had taken them from
the Office files and placed them there
for the purpose OF making Il appear
that he had distracted them from the
files and had refused TO give them up.
Attorney Nertrees proposed 10 sub
NIT the letters and the accompanying
explanation from \ c. Christensen.
the special agent in charge at Seattle.
But vigorous objection was made.
Before this question had been dis
posed OF Representative James. OF
Kentucky voiced his indignation at
the manner in which the letters had
appeared in the committee room. Al.
torney Brandeis then made a spirited
protest against the way in which Sec
rotary Baliinger had turned over 70
his attorney for submission to the
committee as evidence letters that the
committee had called for under In
structions as TO their custody
CLAWS took the stand at the omen
ing OF the hearing Mr. Vertrees drew
from the witness that the Cunning
ham claimants were the first to paw
N ssH-.kteir claims aRs that in numer