The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-02-03
LIKE
CALC|M|NE
BY gibson GARDNER

WASHINGTON, d. c., Feb. g.
1t only required a few sessions of
the Ballinger investigating commit
tee to develop the following facts:
l. That Secretary Ballinger is
represented by at least six lawyers,
who are also members of the COM
mittee.
2. That Chairman Knute Nelson
does not intend that there shall be
any "unfairness' toward Secretary
Ballinger in the conduct of the in
CURRY.
3. That many letters and impor-
tant documents were not among
the papers before President Taft
when he gave Ballinger his clean
bill of health.
4. That Secretary Ballinger took
rart as attorney in the efforts of
the Wilson Coal Co. to secure lands
which United States Judge Cor
nelius H. Hanford, in decision
rendered at Seattle January 26,
1910, announced to be the subject
of a conspiracy to obtain by fraud.
5. That less is likely to be heard
of an investigation of Pinchot, who
has become a sort of prosecutor in
behalf of the people, and general
cause.
To the surprise of many of Pin
chot's friends. Senator Nelson be-
gan at once bullying witnesses and
attorneys for Pinchot, and clumsily
endeavoring to bring out matters
which he conceived would put Bal
linger in more favorable light
Mccall of Massachusetts and Sena-
tor Root helped in less clumsy
way. Sutherland of Utah and Payn-
ter of Kentucky both showed that
they had been primed with the de-
lenses of the secretary of the inter-
ior. and took an active part in try
ing to fuddle the record and inter
rllpt the clear line of testimony of
fered by former Field Agent
CLAWS.
The facts leading up to the fa-
nous CLAWS charges were, how
ever, we'll brought out by Louis
Rrandeis, attorney for CLAWS.
Grandeis showed wonderful ia
mliarity with the case, and met
the bungling antagonism of the
committee with rare tact and pa
tienCe.
To the surprise of all but a few
intimates of Ballinger, members of
the committee, when they assem-
hled, found a bound volume con
tanning what purported to be all
the documents in the Ballinger-
Pinchot case. 1t was thrown to-
'gether, many hundred pages, with
out arrangement or system and
without index: but when carefully
examined il proved to be a steril
letters were missing: but forum
ately CLAWS had preserved copies
ana was able to supply some of the
missing documents.
The fact that the record is found
20 be incomplete is important as
throwing light on the claim that
President Taft had all the facts be-
fore him, when he whitewashed
Ballinger. II is also significant in
view vi lttulIllS luultlS lndt lnt
files of the interior department
have been tampered with.
The reference in CLAWS testi-
mony to Secretary Ballineer's con-
nection with the Wilson Coal Co
case must be borne IN mind as
highly important. When CLAWS
gave his first testimony before the
committee the Wilson matter was
merely in the state of litigation.
But on the day following CLAWS
testimony word was telegraphed
from Seattle that Judge Hanford
had decided the Wilson case, and
that the decision had the effect of
returning to the public domain
1924 acres of valuable coal land in
Lewis county for the reason that
the lands had been obtained by
fraud, Subsequent dispatches from
Seattle stated that Secretary Bal
':nger had acted as attorney of
record in preparing the claims to
these lands. and later was "of coun
sell to the company.
Attorneys for the Pinchot (Which
Is the people's) side of the case
Cnntinued IN D,na Tno