The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-05-16
A dmits Til at Draft
Was Prepared by
LaWler.
THIS WAS DONE
AT HIS REQUEST
Draft Did Not Suit Him and Only
Brief Portions Were Used in
Final Document-He Also
Admits Back-Dating, and
Tells Why It Was
Done.

Done.
Washington, ID. c., May 15.-Presi-
dent Taft In person tonight took n
hnnd In the situation which HAD arisen
concerning the "inside' history of his
letter OF September 13, generating
Secretary Daliingcr from the charges
OF Special Agent l.. II. C:lnvls, author-
ixinE the Dismissal of CLAWS.
Over his own signature, he addressed
\ long letter to senator Knutc Nelson,
chairman OF the BallinEcr-Pinchot In
vcstiEntinE com mmittec, setting forth in
minute detail the sequence of events
following his receipt mt beverly on
August 1s last of the charges OF Gla.
Wis.
The President makes no direct men,
tion of the statement of Frederick NJ.
kerby. the young stcnographer in
Secretary Ballingcr's Office. published
yesterday, in which the stcnographer
declared that the Presidents letter
OF exoneration was prepared in Bal
| linger's office by Oscar Lawler, assist
ant Attorney-GeneraI for the Interior
Department. To-night's utterance OF
Mr.. Taft was, however. obviously pros
voked by kerby's statements.
MI Ill sUeClHTeS not only IhaL
Ter did prepare such letter as Kerby
said he did. but that he did so by the
Presidents specific direction. When he
received 1T, he found, he says, that
1t was not what he wanted to issue,
and he wrote the letter himself in
the form in which he desired 1t. using
from LAWYERS draft only one or two
general statements.
The President goes still further and
| takes UP the question of the hack.
dating OF Attorncy-General Wickur-
sham's summary OF the CLAWS charges.
to which Attorney Louis r. Brandeis
that the Attorney -Generars letter was
in fact back dated" and that this
also was done by his specific direction.
Taft's Expianatlon.
Following is the full text of the
Presidents letter:
The Whitehouse.
Washington. D. c., May 15. 1910.
My Dear Senator Nelson
In the hearings before the commit
tee. to investigate the Interior De-
partment Of the Forestry Service. re-
ference has been made to my decision
upon the complaint and charges OF l..
r. CLAWS, filed with mo on the 18th Of
August last, against Secretary Bal
linger. and certain other officials of
the Interior Department. Tho majority
of the committee have decided that nv
action in this regard was not within
the jurisdiction Of the committee to
Investigate. In spite OF this ruling,
references to the matter have cropu
into the record. For this reason @
deem 1t proper to write you and state
with such accuracy as my memory per-
mits what the facts are.
Glavis's statement and charges were
left with me b. him on August IS.
1909. turned them over to the Ats
torney General, who happened to be In
the neighborhood. and he made notes
upon his reading. We both had per-
sonal Knowledge in respect to Secre-
tary Balllneer's attitude towards the
Alaska coal claims, which was the
chief subject of innuendo and CONS
plant, for Mr.. Ballinger had very ears
ly in the administration consulted us
both in regard to them. Il
Statement Discussed.
Within two or three days after tho
fling of the charges. In a meeting at
which the Secretary of the Treasury,
the Attorney General and the Secre-
stary of the Navy were present. full
discussion of The CLAWS statement was
had 1t resulted In general conclu-
sion that jealousy between the bu-
reaus Of the Interior Department and
the Forestry Bureau probably ex-
planned the attitude of the lnterior
officials, but that the in-
tlmations OF bad faith by CLAWS
against MI Ballinger and the others
required that the statement be sub
mitted to them for answer, Accord
ingly, copies Of the statement wcro
sent to Secretary Ballinser, to Assis-
tant Secretary Pierce, to Commissions
cr bennett and to Chief of Field Sery- q
ice Schwartz.
Mr.. Ballinger was at Seattle, hut
upon receipt of tho charges he came
to WASHINGTON to prepare his answer.
On Monday, September 6, Mr.. Ballin-
ger reached Beverly, accompanied by
Mr.. La.wler, the assistant Attorney
General of the Department OF Justice,
assigned to the Interior Department..
Mr.. Rallinger sent to my house on
that day the answers of the various
persons concerned, together with a
voluminous record of exhibits had
a conference with him the evening OF
the day he came, September 8. and
then on the following evening, Sep
.tember 4 talked over the charger
with Mr.. Ballinger the first evening, :
and asked such questions as suggested =
themselves, without intimatinE any
conclusion, and said that would cx-
anime tho answers and the record and
would see him the next day.
/ sat up until O'clock that night
reading the answers and exhihits, 80 sA
that at my next conference was ad
vlsed of the contents of the entire
record and had made up my mind that
there was nothing In the charges upon
which Mr. Bailinger or tho others ac-
cnsed could he found guilty OF either
dncompetency, inefficiency. aisloyaltY
TO the interests of the government. OFT
IN the discussions of the second eyas