The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-01-30
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The PinClOt=
BalIinger War
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@Y Che FemovaI Erom office &c
S~G Gently of Clifford PinchoGs Tn
FL Gle Sans chief forester, and
the appointment Of Il congress
BonaI committee 60 probe the interior
and forestry departments the Pinchot-
BaIlingeF controversy again becomes
the mix of Che entire country and row
promises 60 Furnish some exciting
times in Washington before che affaiP
is settled PinchoG's diismissaS gemog
ed nom official lilo IN the national
capital q m0N who has done mucA eX-
eellent Rorh as oug chieg forester and
one OF toe few remaining Gavorttes az
ex-Rresident Roosevelt. Only 9W0 9th
er members of che famous tennis eab-
met" are BOW 10 the administration
family--Eawrence Ga Murrays aG pres
ent comptroller of tie euTrencys and
Herbert Knox Smith commissioning 0T
corporations
The controversy dntes bnck 60 19O2,
when in that year Clarence Cunning
ham, prospectOr in Alaska, discOv-
cred in the southeast part~of the terri
tory large deposits of coal. The claims
filed to the land thus discovered were
in due time combined in thirty-twO
groups, covering about $4,000 acres
the beneficiary being a syndicate form
ed by Cunningham. When these claims
were filed it attracted much official at
tentiOn, and charges were made to the
general land office that many of the
claimants We're dummies" that the
law was being evaded to secure the
great tracts of coal lands to the Gun
ningham syndicate.
So much for Cunningham. How ella
Wis, Ballinger and Pinchot later ap-
peared on the scene, as the playwright
would say, is as follows: Louis c. Gla-
Wis, who has been so prominent a fig
ure in the affair, began an investiga,
ton of the alleged land frauds in
1908, he being the chief of the field
division for the northwest, with head.
quarters at Seattle. Living in Seattle
was Richard A Ballinger He had
been commissioner of the general land
practicing law at Seattle. He was re-
tanned as counsel for the Cunningham
syndicate. His service in that ca
pacity was brief, but from it sprang
the trouble that has followed him as
secretary of the interior. Part of the
coal lands in question lie i'll national
forest reserve known as the Chugach
forest. This is under the control of
the forestry division of the department
of agriculture. To this fact was due
the entrance of Clifford Pinchot, chief
forester. on the scene in connection
with CLAWS.
When President Taft was spending
his vacation at Beverly last summer
he received on Aug. IS a statement
from Mr.. CLAWS containing charges
against high officials of the interior
department in regard to the Cunning
ham claims. Mr.. CLAWS stated in sub
stance in his report and in others made
later for publication that he was sat
isfied the claims were fraudulent
When the CLAWS report was pub
lished it created a great stir. The
truth Of its assertions was Indignantly
denied by the officials of the interior
department. Secretary Ballinger re-
quested the authority of the president
to dismiss Mr. CLAWS from the public
service, and on Sept. 10 the president
sent long letter to Mr.. Ballinger au-
thorizing CLAWS dismissal for filing
a disingenuous statement unjustly i'm
peaching the official Integrity Of his
superior officers"
Just before retiring from office Pres
ident Roosevelt put into force prof.