The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-01-07

case We're sent TO congress in respopse
80 resolution Of Senator Flint of Cal.
lfornia.
Tic attorney general statement
IerIiHs pa,. the charges preferred against
nalnnger. ny Claws on August i9. re.
orp,'n arows me status of the Cunningham
group or coal land claims in Alaska,
s5ates bailinger g relations with The
claimants, cites the laws bearing on the
case. quotes many letters written by
| GiaYis and others in regard TO the
CLAIMS and tho resultant controversy
ana ,n draws The following conclusions:
ne conclusions which in my- opin.
ION. arc very clearly established bv
those papers arc as follows:
Defense of Ballinger.
First, th" insinuatious or charges Of
improper action on the part of Secre.
IsfE Balllneer. Assistant Secretary
tfe'TG. : ommls"'oner bennett, or Chief
or Fleid Division Schwartz arc In
my opinion entirely disproved So far
from laklng any action rn favor the
nnnlngham claimants the record clca7.
~ shows that Secretary Rallineer was
sscrupulouslY careful not in any rcsucct
70 act upon these claims, for the reason
mat during The summer Of l90s. while
nc was IN no mnTncr connected with the
government he had been consulted by
some ot thc claimants with respect 10
the issuance of patents. and had called
upon Secretary Garfield for inc pur-
pose of ascertaining the attitude Of his
department thereon. Neither his action
nor any of his written or spoken ex-
prcssions were favorable 10 these claim
hntS. Tho utmost bc did was 80 in.
struct The laud Office 10 promptly invcs.
ngate and dispose % all pending eases
Second, the suggestion chat IL was
unlawful for Nv Balliugrr To lave any
professional relation with these claim
ants because Of his previous incum-
hency 0f the o1Tica of commissioner Of
the land Office Is. in my opinion. uu-
sound. The suggestion IS based ON
section 100. United Stutes statutes,
which reads:
II shall not be Lawful! for any per
son appointed after thc FIRST dav Of
june. ono thousand eight hundred aud
seventy two, as I'M oficcr. clerk or en-
ployee in any Of the departments to
act rs counsel. attorney. agent for the
prosecution oC any claim against the
United States which was pending III
either of said departments. while he
was such officer. clerk or employee. nor
in any manner nor by any means to aid
IN the prosecution of any such claim,
within two wears next after he shall
have ceased TO DC such officer. clerk or
employee
Ills |jESdl ~ EtDLcDL
In the case Of ". y. Harlan. Se.rc.
tary ot the. interior Smith, in = well
reasoned opinion hcld that The words
claim against the United States as
used in that section must be construed
to mean a money demand against the
Iuted States An earlier decision
which gave wider application 10 the
words was oVcruled.
Third. the Cunningham locations
l.
All but three of them proceeded 10 en-
try prior 10 MAY /. 1907. and the re-
naming three in October, 1907, pay
ments aggrcgaiing Sj2, 500 being made
and covered into the treasury.
"Thr government has had an abun.
dance nj time 10 investigate the validity
of these entries. The rutymen are
certainly entitled 10 know with reason.
able promptneSs the objections 10 issu-
ing patents on their claims and to have
such objections disposed OF within req
sonable time. The attention of the land
office was especially directed 10 these
caims in August, 1905. They were in
vestiGatcd by Agents Love and Jones
They yYere put in Mr.. Claws hands TO.
celher iih the inycstigatioau of all
other Alaska coal lands locations and
entries in January. 1905. All the es.
sential facts relating 20 he ciainS seem
10 have been ascertaincd hy him In the
spring of 1908.
s1ndeed the claimants do not appear
to have made any concealment Of the
facts upou which their claims depend.
Except during period Of not exceeding
two months april and May. 190s)
when proceedings Wcrc suspended owing
Ia the exhaustion OF the appropriation,
CLAWS had upward of two years in
which TO compete MS Investigations.
He was furnished by the land office
with all the assistance which lie re.
quested.
"All efforts to induce him 10 bring
mis- investigation to a conclusion were
met only with requests Tor further as
sistancc coupled with criticism ot his
superior officers, as we'll 3s or special
agents who had been connected with the
eases, and every time the general land
Office urged SPEEDY completion of the
work. which, it may be observed, was
merely preparatory 60 trial Of the
dncstions involved in the entries for the
purpose Of determining whether or not
patent should issue, CLAWS advanced
some more or less speci0us reasons why
nc was not ready 10 formulate oblec-
tions and proceed 10 trial.
Instead Of hampcring oc interfering
With him every facility was given him
by the interior department and with ono
or two immaterial exceptions every re-
quest for assistance WAS promptly
granted Had the department desired
imuoperly 10 pass the claims 10 patent.
IL might have done so in January. 1905,
by simply acting on the favorable re.
port Of Special Agent Love without
notifying CLAWS that the CLAIMS had
been clear listed; or, when tho field
work WAS rcdistrictcl. these claims
might have been left in charge Of the
new chief of field division az Portland
when CLAWS WAS transferred 10 Seat
lie.
H.Fourth-G Claws claim that ho pre-
vented the government from BONG de-
frnudcJ b.. procuring Il reference to the
attorney general OF the questions of
law involved and the overriding. hy
him of an opinion written bT, Assistant
Secretary Pierce which would bavo en-
abled tbc Cunningham claimants to
procure patents on their claims, IS
absolutely disprovcd bY The record.
which follows;
'sG)-That The letter submitting
the questions 70 the attorney general.
the form of which was prepared by Mr;
l Il. .l.I, a