The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1910-02-17
BALLINGER'S ATTORNEY PRAC-
TiCAlLY ACCUSES CLAWS
OF THEFT
MISSING LETTERS FOUND
Box Belonging to CLAWS Left at Seattle
Broken Open and Letters are
Discovered Among
His Effects

UNDERTOOK crOSS-eXamlnatlOn OF CLAWS
the principal witness for the prose
cution." The climax was reached when
Vertrees announced hat the box be-
longing to CLAWS, left in the grand
jury room at Seattle, was broken open
a few days ago and a number of let
tiers missing from the files Of the land
Office at Seattle, copies of which were
recently published in a weekly paper,
were found therein.
CLAWS angrily declared that If any
letters were found in his belongings
"a frame up had been prepared
against him. His denunciation Of fed
eral officials who would stoop to such
tricks to win the favor of their super
Tors brought applause from the spec
tators. Throughout the hearing the
sympathies Of the spectators, a great
majority of whom are women, has
been with CLAWS.
Vertrees announced that CLAWS sue
cessor, Chief Christensen of the fed
division, would be called to testify to
finding of the letters. He offered a
letter from Christensen giving de-
tails of the alleged discovery. The
committee, after a long wrangle on
whether 1t should be received, de-
ferred the question until tomorrow in
executive session.
ONLY MISCONDUCT
Vertrees drew from the witness the
fact that he charged no corruption
against anybody in the land office or
department OF the interior. CLAWS de-
clared If he had found evidence of
a~n-- - mould h,,yn tnIynn xhn
matter to the grand jury instead OF
to the president. He charged Balm
ger and bennett, however, with mis-
conduct. Through a process Of elm
nation witness cleared all the other
officials of any willful wrong-doing.
He asserted he was fully convinced
that the facts he offered In evidence
warranted the Judgment that neither
Ballinger nor bennett was fit to hor
an ONCE of pubnc trust.
AS to Assistant Secretary of the In
terror Pierce, CLAWS declared he had
rendered an Interpretation
of the coal land law Of 1908, and that
this decision, while not an act OF
~wrongdoing, indicated he was not fit
to fill the office he holds. bennett,
CLAWS declared, was nothing more
than a tool for Ballinger and would
do anything Ballinger said
SPECIFIC WRONGDOINGS
In response to a question CLAWS
summed the specific acts of wrongdo-
ing which he charges against Balm
ger. His statement was long, listen
ed to with interest, and was really the
first time he gave a definite statement
of the prosecutions case.
He said: THE first action was APP
of Ballinger in the Wilson
coal cases. His participation in draw
ing the escrow agreement to turn over
the lands that should have not been
proved up, and were not proved up, as
a matter of fact, was criminal. The
statute of limitation has run, and
evidence is not quite clear. Thu rec
ord speaks for itself.
"Ballinger's expressions in 1907 to
Special Agent Jones, when he knew
there had been violation of the coal
land laws; his statement that he was
coming to Washington to see what
congress would do to help the claim
ants get patents.
after giving me instructions to
uldht q luil hNVSli6aNhoh Vi oi 49,
coal cases, he took up an old report
by Special Agent Love and deliver
ately ordered that the Cunningham
claims proceed to patent. The Love
report did not warrant a favorable
ruling. 1t showed an understanding
among the claimants, and suggested
fraud rather than compliance with
the law.
"Ballinger's appearance before the
house committee in favor of the Gale
bill, which, II passed, would enable
fraudulent claimants to secure pat
ents.
"Ballinger's action in deliberately
representing the other side after hav-
ing been commissioner of the general
land Office, having full knowledge OF
the character of the investigation we
had made. He did not act in the
Cunningham group alone, but in the
Green group also.
His asking me. in 1908, when he
was in politics, and arranging for
campaign contributions, to hold OF
investigation of the coal cases.
After hearing at a conference with
Schwartz, bennett and myself, that
there was great necessity of securing
a construction of the law Of 1908 and
agreeing that the attorney general
should act on 1t. and after ~instructing
us to prepare a letter to the attorney
general for him to sign, he deliber-
ately changed his mind and turned
the matter over to a subordinate In
his w department.
COWARDLY DEED
None of these are things upon
which a criminal charge could be pre-
dicated, but to my mind 1t was far
more cowardly for him to do these
things than II a man had actually
stolen something for which he could
have been convicted.
Last July when | told Ballinger we
had been ordered to proceed to an i'm
portant hearing he knew the weak
nesses OF our case The greatest weak
ness was the afidavits he himself had
prepared for Cunningham. Dehpite
prepared for Cunningham. Despite
'sz.a2e0E The statements that I re-
cali show him unfit for his Office. un-
faithful to his trust, and not loyal
n the people,"