Los Angeles herald., 1910-04-03
.BR|BE HINT MADE
SAYS WITNESS IN
BALL|NGER PROBE
Agent of Golfers Claimed to
Have Offered Money for
Testimony
SECRETARY TO SUE WEEKLY
Evidence Given That Missing Let
ters Were Found in Box
of CLAWS
SECRETARY TO SUE WEEKLY
Especial 70 The Herald.l

!" ASHINGTON, April "A sem
wv sation developed in the congress
sional investigation into the
Pinchot- -Ballinger affair today when II.
K. Love, formerly a special agent of
the land office, testified that John w.
Dudley. formerly register of the land
office at Juneau. Alaska, had told him
in Juneau last February that an agent
of Golfers Weekly had intimated to
him that "it would be worth from
$4,000 to $4,000 to him" to come to
Washington to testify.
Ballinger and his attorney seemed to
put great stress on Loves testimony
and later in the day the secretary an
nounced that in the course of g. short
time he would institute a lawsuit
against Golfers Weekly as the result
of the publications concerning him ap-
pearing in that paper. The complaint
is expected to charge libel and to ask
heavy damages.
Evidentl-- the investigating commit
tee was also impressed by Loves state
ments and it has proposed summoning
he knows. Love was witness sum
moned by Ballinger, but his startling
statement regarding the alleged offer
of money did not come out until dur
ing his REORGANIZATION by Attorney
Brandeis.
TESTIFY FOR DEFENSE
Four other witnesses took the tand
for the defense today. Frank l. Spald-
ing, former disburing agent in i. II.
Claws office at Seattle, was called to
testify that CLAWS had tried to induce
him to cut out of an expense account
an item of $55 for typewriting in Chi
cago a report containing his charges
against Mr.. Ballinger he was prepar-
ing for President Taft.
Mr.. Spalding admitted under cross
examination that CLAWS had explained
that he intended to reimburse the gov
eminent, because he wanted for him
self two or three of the copies he had
made.
Miss Ella Shartell, a stenographer in
Claws Office at Seattle, testified she
made for CLAWS three copies of the
twenty-four missing letters that were
afterward found, 1t is alleged, in a box
belonging to CLAWS. She identit1ed the
three copies shown.
Miss Shartell was followed on the
stand by George A. Parks, formerly OF
Denver, but now attached to the lana
office in Seattle. Parks told OF having
a search through the federal building
for some field note books Christensen
wanted at Portland.
Assistant Custodian O'Nein of the
federal building accompanied him.
"'I looked into a big box which be-
longed to Claws" continued the wit
ness. zone of the lids on top was
loose l saw what appeared to be a
sleeping bag and a tent and some
books. I satisfied myself that the box
contained the personal effects of Mr..
CLAWS andsI had no right to examine
them. / did not disturb the box or its
contents in any way.
Barrett w. O'Nelll, assistant GUS
todian of the federal building in Seat
tie, next was called. He corroborated
what Parks had said about the search
he had made and then told of the dis
covery of the twenty-four missing let
ters. He said Christensen had applied
to him to make a further search of
CLAWS effects. The witness said he
went with Christensen. They opened
the same box in which Parks had
looked.
''I took out the sleeping bag and tent
and then the dictionary; Christensen
reached in and pulled out something.
He said: MY God, here are those
papers that are wanted by the COM
mittee and we have been looking for
them for so long He said some copies
of these letters had appeared in Col
lier's and l became interested at once.
1 said. Here, I'm up against it. don't
want to be drawn into this proposition