Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-08
His Conduct Has Destroyed Useful
ness as Helpful Subordinate.
HISTORY OF DoLLIvER LETTER
1t Was Written Over Protest of Sec
retary of Agriculture.
WRITTEN AT OWN voLITION
He Persuaded Iowa senator TO Have
IL Read at Same Time Wick
ersbam Brief on CLAWS
Was Presented.


was tonight removed from his office as
forester by President Taft In doing this
the president gave out copy of a letter
he has written to Mr.. Pinchot, in which
he says in conclusion:
by your conduct you have destroyed
your usefulness as a helpful subordinate
of the government, and IL therefore now
becomes my duty to direct the secretary
Of agriculture to remove you from your
office as the forester"
1t developed at the cabinet meeting that
Pinchot wrote the famous letter to Sena-
tor Dolliver at his own volltion and
against the direct advice OF his superior,
the secretary OF agriculture. 1t also ap-
peared that Pinchot induced Senator Doli-
yer in advance to have the letter read at
the same time the presidents message ex-
onerating Secretary Ballinger through a
report Of the attorney general should be
presented.
Letter of the President.
President Tafts letter to Forester
Pinchot informing him of his dismissal,
follows:
THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON,
jan 7.-Sir: The secretary of agriculture
informs me that on December 2S your as
sociate forester, Mr.. Price, went to him
and proposed to resign on the ground that
he had been engaged with Mr.. Shaw, as
slstant law officer, In instigating the pub
llcation in various newspapers and maga-
zines articles attacking the good name of
Secretary Ballinger and charging the In
terror department and the land office with
corruption. The secretary thereupon wrote
a note to you, under date of December 90
asking for your recommendation in the
hut
uary you had conversation with him.
in which you said you wished to make a
statement which should be read I'm the
senate at the same time that my message
transmitting the record in the CLAWS case
reached there and that you thought you
could induce Senator Dolliver to introduce
the statement for you.
The secretary advised against such a
course, but asked you for a recommenda-
tion as to accepting Prices resignation, in
order that he might bring the matter to
me to whom he told you 1t must ultimately
come, because l had considered the CLAWS
charges and had passed upon them.
Ignores Official order.
without further conference with the
secretary and before lmaking a report to
him, you succeeded IN making public, by
having it read in the senate a letter from
you stating that you had sufficiently dis
clplned Messrs. Price and Shaw by repri-
manding them and that your recommended
tion would be that no further punishment
was required, Md this before that recon-
mendation was submitted to the secretary
and me, whose power and duty IL was to
determine upon Prices admissions as to his
completely what action should be taken in
respect to his resignation.
"ln order to understand the fiIll nIrnnrt
Of your letter in which you admit the COM
plicity of Shaw and Price in the publica-
tlon in the press, 1t should be said that
the gravamen of the CLAWS charges was
that Secretary Ballinger and the others
were all effected by a corrupt wish to pat
ent thrty-three so-called Cunningham
claims upon coal lands in Alaska; that the
question whether these claims were fraudu-
lent or not remained to be decided upon
the evidence after both the United States
and the claimants had been heard; that
every patent as an executive act is COM
pletely within the Jurisdiction Of the presl-
dent to direct the Withholding OF II in order
trat he himself may examine the evidence
as to the validity of the claim.
Resents Charge of Bad Faith.
These facts understood, the plain inti-
nations in your letter are, first that mad
|
faith of Secretary Ballinger and the Of
ficers Of the land office although you aud
your subordinates had only seen the ovl-
dence of CLAWS, the accuser, and had never
seen or read the evidence OF those accused
or the records that they disclosed, which
were submitted to me; and
Second, that under these circumstances
without the exploitation by Messrs. Shaw
and Price in the daily weekly and monthly
press Of the charges OF CLAWS, the sd-
mlnistraton, including the president and
the officers of the Interior department and
land office, would have allowed certain
| fraudulent claims to be patented on coal
lands in Alaska, although the matter had
been specifically brought to the attention
Of the president by the CLAWS charges
You solicited the opportunity to make
such a declaration in congress for the pur-
pose of offesetting, If possible, In the pub
! lie mind the presidents decision in the
CLAWS case, supported by the opinion OF
the attorney general, after a full examina-
| tion by both OF the evidence adduced by
! the accuser and the evidence on behalf OF
the accused, while the latter evidence you
and your subordinates had never seen.
Improper Appeal to Congress.
! You did this against the advice OF tn,
secretary Of agriculture without notifying
him that you intended to do 50 and with.
out comforting with me at all
"Your letter in effect an imprope
| appeal to congress and the public 20 ex-
cuse in advance the guilt OF your subordi.
mates before / could act and against MI
decision in the CLAWS case before th>
whole evidence on which that was based
| could be considered
~ should be glad TO regard what has
hETa nod aa apI.f Al
that 1 could pass IL over and take no off
ciAl cognizance Of II. But other AND
higher considerations must govern me.
When the people OF the United States
elected me president they placed me in an
| office Of the highest dignity and charged