The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-16
Colorado Representative Deter
mined to Further Probe
Friar Lands Sale.
SCORES ADMINISTRATION
FOR THE ACTION TAKEN
Declares Recent Disclosures
Fully Demonstrate Necessity
of Complete Investigation.

WASHINGTON, April l5.-Represen-
tativc Martin (Democrat) Of Colorado,
who for weeks has been waging fight
in the house to show the friar lands OF
the Philippine Islands are being selSed
by the s'sugar trust with the
acouiescence Of Attorney General
Wickershsm and the war department,
tonight gave 10 the press nm lnterVicw,
in which he reviews hls EFFORTS, assails
the government officials alleged 10 be
involved, charges that information that
would prove his contention is being
withheld by the war department, and
demands full congressional inquiry
into the matter.
Mr.. Martin characteriZes the action
Of the Republican majority OF the house
yesterday in defeating, ms resolutiHon Hol
calling upon the war department Tor
information on the sale Of the trlar
lands as a blanketing movement;
He points out number OF alleged dis-
crepancies in the reports sent by the
war department to the house committee
on insuar affairs, on the triar lands
transaction. and accuses the government
officials of duplicity
Wants the Lid Of.
He charges the administration with
having begun n policy of exploita
clares. ''1f it has been falsely accused,
let it take off the lid"
Mr.. Martin announced he was pre-
pairing new resolution of inquiry INTO
the friar land deal, which ne would IN
troduce in the house as soon as drafted.
Mr. Martin s statement follows:
If there ever was any doubt about
the necessity of an investigation OF
Philippine affairs. it is removed by the
disclosures made by the war depart.
ment in response to my resolution of
inquiry. | learned three days ago the
war department had furnished Chairman
Olmsted OF the insular committee
what purported to be the information
called for in my resolution, and | re-
Guested Mr. Olmsted to let me see it.
This he refused.
81 wanted 10 see this matter before
il was reported 10 the house, because /
knew II would be accompanied by mo-
ton 10 table my resolution as having |
served its purpose. thereby cutting
of debate and preventing further air |
ing of the matter on the floor. This oc.
cnrred yesterday as ] anticipated 1t
was simply a blanketing move,
Claims Justification.
Tho var department. report. upon
lt discloses -gGs6TIasians between the
war ,departmeSt ard Attorneys for the
Pun ehasers of the \frAr lands in the |
Philippines for several months prior to
the sale. also between the war depart |
ment and the Philippine government,
whereas the war dcpan ment. in n com
munleahon published in the Congress.
sioual Record on March 2S, stated its
nrst information concerning the sale of |
this estate was received through the
public press. This afiirms my conten-
tlon that this deal had been under way |
1or months, and was practically con
smmmated before Attorney General
NlckerSham was asked for an opinion /
II was also stated that when the |
secretary of war heard about this mat |
Ter through the newspapers he cabled |
inc Phillpplnc government TO hold ND !
the sale until he could get an opinion |
from Attorney General Wickersham. No
such cablcgram appears in the informa-
ton now furnished. On the contrary, |
there appears one from the department. |
TO the governor general, dated Dccem- |
Der "a, 1903. the very day Wicker. |
sham opinion was asked. approving
The. sale of the San Jose estate which |
had already been made
Another cablcgram from the gov.
eTnorgeneral antcdatipg the request for
WIckersham s opinion shows the sale |
was not to Poole, as heretofore repre-
sented by the war department, but to |
Poole or his nominees. Poole s nom
NEE is or will be a subsidiary sugar
trust corporation, probably the Min |
dora development company. already or
ganlzcd by dummy incorporators under
the laws of New Jersey.
ihen there, is cablegram dated |
October %, from the governor.general |
10 the secretary of war stating Prem. !
Ilss and Poole desired TO purchase the |
San jose estate. This cablegram re-
fers 10 prlor negotiations by one Ham
mond with the war department about |
these friar lands. This Hammond, il
develops, is a namber Of the firm of
Strong & Cadawallsdar Of New York.
or which Henry w. Taft is now the
second member, TO which rank he was
promoted from ffth place, when Mr..
WIckersham left the firm to become at.
torney-general.
Mr.. Hammond opened negotiations
with the war department. and then
obviously, for appearance sake. turned |
their consummation over to another
firm of attorneys. Hammond repre-
sented Havemcyer., The purchaser,
Poole, represented Havemcyer. Have |
meyer is the sugar trust
could point out many other things, |
but the proper time and place to point I
them out Will be in congressional in
vestlgation. The administration must
investigate this matter. or stick It's |
head in the sand like an ostrich. to
bind It's eyes to the storm that is com. !
ing.
81 have charged the administration
with having begun policy of unlaw-
ful exploitation in the Philippines and
every development goes 20 establish
The trnth of the charges. If the ad- !
minlstration has been falsely accused, |
let it take OF the lid