The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-03-05
Attorney vertrses Tries to Pin Down Pinchot on His Ani-
 mus Against Ba||inger
MUCH WRAHGLIHG OCCURS
 DURING TIE SESSION
Pinchot Declares That His Charges | Against BalIingcr Arc not BHsed Upon a Single Act But Upon All
 the Facts in the Case

Washington. March 1.-The Ballinger- Pinchot investigation dragged slowly
 along through two sessions today. MT. yertrees, counsel for Secretary Ballinger.
 continued his examination of Clifford Pin chot.
 He elicited some interesting facts from the former forester. but for the most part
 the day was taken up largely with wran- gles between. the attorney and the wit ness. and sometimes between MT. Yer
 trees and counsel for the other side. MT. Pinchot complained to the committee that
 it was. difficult to explain forest service
 matters to a man so little informed on the subject as MT. Vertrees appeared
 to be.
 The members of the committee showed
 considerable impatience during the course
 of the session and Senator Flint repeated
 ly urged counsel to stop wrangling and try to get down to the facts. Many Of
 Mr. Vertrees' questions were based upon
 documentary evidence and he read CO.,
 piously from the record Of the case.
 Senator Flint declared that one letter had
 been placed in the record at least 20
 times
 MT. Pnchot admitted that his frst-hand
 knowledge of Mr. Ballingers acts was
 very limited. but he reiterated that the
 Secretary of the Interior had deceived
 the President concerning the Cunning
 ham coal cases and had made state
 ment to the President which was ''ob- viously untrue" MT. Vertrees at the afternoon session questioned MT. Pinchot closely regard ing the sending Of forest ra ngeFs s+, tQ agri- cultural colleges and brought out tue ! fact that Mir Pinchot was ainder the in- pression that he had Informed the Sec-
 retary of Agriculture of whatrhe was doing, but he was not willing to swear 10 it. The attorney sought to show that MT Pinchot and former Secretary of the
 Interior Garfield were in the habit of
 doing what they thought best, regardless
 of the law. and that their antagonism to MT Ballnger was brought about by his
 determination to proceed wholly within the law.
 Vcrtrees Asks for Facts
 As soon as MT. Pinchot took the stand
 this morning Attorney Vertrees for Mr.
 BalIinger asked him this question::
 MT Pinchot. please state one single fact of your own knowledge that re- fleets upon MT. Bainger's conduct, either as commissioner of the land office or
 Secretary of the Interior. no hearsay or
 what somebody else said, or wrote-of your own knowledge. The witness hesitated Then he ad- dressed Senator Nelson:
 MT Chairman in order to answer that question because of the nice discrimina-
 ton it involves. I must ask your per
 mission to refer to list have here of
 the things MT. Balinger has done.
 The permission was granted. and after
 perusal of the list MT. Pihehot said: ssThe fact of my own knowledge is MT Baingers letter ito the President of November 15, with which he enclosed | RonaId's letter These letters contain | misstatements which I have already shown and am prepared here to show. | MT Vertrees: You have testified here largely by inference and innuendo. Now state what you personally know Mir Bal finger said did" | MT. Pinchot: "The letter of Novem- Der 15.'
 MT. evertrees: What ese?' MT. Pinchot: q never discussed the Cunningham cases with MT. Balinger | The only knowledge have at first hand is limited to writings that are not dis | puted."
 Methods Not Approved Questioned as to the reprimand he gave Assistant Law Officer Shaw and Assist ant Forester Price. MT. Pinchot admit ted that lat heart he approved of the motives of the two in doing what they
 did but did not approve of their method
 of doing it.
 Mir. Pinchot denied that either he or any of his people owned stock in the Pocahontas Coal company.
 '.The family has some stock in coal company in Illinois, he added, but have not.' ttt. fAEf akH AHs ttai
 Mr. Pinchot said that up to.the time
 he sent Glavis to Presidente Taft the re-
 lations between himself and MT Bal finger had been fairly friendly, not more than that
 | He was not more friendly because he knew Mir. Baninger's views as to con- serv ation were different from his own. "Then you were unfriendly?'' NO. I distrusted him" You mean distrusted his poices?' T distrusted his policies and what he
 would do
 So. Mr. Pinchot,, said MT, Vertrees, after all that statement you made to the committee when you took the stand, all l you can cite against MT. Ballinger of your own knowledge is the letter of No- vember l5 to the President? 'I said I expected to prove some of the things charged by other witnesses" | Protest of BaIIinser l Referring to his testimony that MT Bal- finger. as commissioner of the land of | fee protested against the creation of the l Chugach forest in Alaska, in which some | of the Cunningham claims are located, MT. Pinchot said he had never read MT. Bal l fingers letter of protest and did not know what reasons he gave In the letter
 Mr vertrees: Don't you think 1t would lhave been only fair to have read 1t be- fore submitting it here with the infer | lences that might be drawn from your I Itestimony?' | Mir. Pinchot: My knowledge of Mir. Ballingers position was based on an in-
 terview with him in Mir Garield's office.
 and l understood it to be hostile 10 what
 we have since come to ca1l conserva- tior.'
 Mir. Pinchot declared that while the let-
 ter of protest had been on file with the tCONrxNUED 0N FACE A)