The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-02-15
Nelson Calls For Order.

3
/ The crowd i'll the court broke into
applause. Chairman Nelson said such
another demonstration would result
i, in the room being cleared.
CLAWS said the letters which APP
peared IN the weekly paper were those
of which he had furnished carbon cop
les to the forest service He had FUR
nished these copies to the forest SER
vice as further means of safeguard
| ing the Alaska coal lands.
when did you first do this to safe
guard the Alaska coal lands?"
After l saw the president at Bevdr-
ly last September
The last hour of the afternoon ses-
sion was taken up with an examina-
ton of the witness as to the construc-
ton he had placed upon the opinion
rendered by Attorney General Wick
ersham after CLAWS had protested
against the opinion by Assistant Sec
rotary Pierce.
Didn't you say in an article you
wrote in weekly paper that the attor-
ney general overruled Pierce on every
point and sustained you and thus saw
ed the Alaska coal land?' asked Mr..
Vertrees
Yes" replied CLAWS.
And doesn't the attorney general in
this report to the president say that
! the memorandum submitted to him
sisted, specifically exclude any posi-
BILE consideration of the Cunningham
cases?"
Il was very much surprised that he
would make that statement" replied
| CLAWS, because he had my report on
| the Cunningham claims before him
and one of the questions submitted
to him, 1 thought, covered the Cum
ninGham class of cases"
! The examination was proceeding
along this line when adjournment was
taken until 10 o'clock tomorrow morn
! ing.
! At the morning session CLAWS as
serted that Ballinger did not act alone
! in the Cunningham group, but in the
Green group as well, in which he took
six afIidavits.''
HE also acted as arbitrator between
H r. Hartman and John Hartline
relative to the purchase of some coal
claims asserted the witness
Continuing CLAWS said:
His next action consisted in ask
ing me, in the fall of 1908, when he
was in politics and arranging for
campaign contributions to hold off
any investigation of the coal cases
This showed he did not have the in
terests of the government at heart
Representative Olmstead: AT this
,ime was Ballinger an officer of the
! government?
mo sir, he was. on a committee to
get campaign COHtfIDulIOIS. AuOlHei
action which showed him unfaithful
was the fact that after hearing at
the conference of Mr.. Schwartz, Mr.
bennett and myself that there was great
necessity of having a construction of
the law OF May, 1908, and agreeing
with IS that the matter was of such
importance that the attorney general
should act on it and after fnStructing
us to prepare a letter to the attorney
general for him to sign, he deliberately
changed his mind for some reason
and turned the matter over to a subor-
dinate of his own department.
Acts Alleged CowardIy.
None OF these are things upon
which criminal charge could be pre-
Dictated, but to my mind it was far
more cowardly for him to do these
things than if a man had actually
stolen something for which he could
have been convicted.
"In July, 1909, when / saw Mr.. Bal
finger at his Office in Seattle and told
him we had been notified to proceed
to an immediate hearing he knew the
weakness of our case. The greatest
weakness was the affidavits he had
himself prepared for Cunningham. In
spite of this he did not take any ac
ion to bring about a postponement
cr the hearing.
These statements are all that !
! AN recall that show him unfit for his
,.,fFice, unfaithful to his trust and not
loyal to his people"