The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-14
Republican Members of COIn-
 mittGG Issue Statement
EVIDENCE IS DISCUSSED
Report on Ballinger Will Re Delayed as the Ant8gonism Between the Factions in the Committee
 Is Intense

Chicago, September 13.-Six republican members of the Bal1niger Investigating committee met here today and issued
 statement condemning the action of the four democratic and one republican in- surgent members who delivered report
 at Minneapolis last Wednesday, demand ing the retirement from office of Secre- tary Ballinger.
 Those present today were Senators Nell son. Sutherland and Root, and Congress-
 men Mccall, Olmsted and Denby. They declared the action of what they term
 the minority at Minneapolis to have
 been according to the worst methods of ward politics"
 The evidence in the Ballinger case was
 discussed, but in the absence of
 quorum they stated no action on the case
 itself was possible It was said that Sen
 ator Nelson had authority to vote for
 Senator Flint. who is a member of the | committee, but who Is in Europe. This
 could not be confirmed. But in any
 event, no attempt was made to use the
 alleged proxy. Adjournment was taken
 subject to the call of the chairman, Sen ator Nelson
 As the minority declined to attend
 today's conference and took their ad- | journment at Minneapolis until the next | meeting of Congress 1t Is probable that ! Senator Nelson will not call another
 meeting until the return of Senator Flint, | who, as the seventh member, would make a quorum.
 Statement of Committee l The following is the statement issued: "The hearings of the committee after proceeding for months were ended in the | closing days of the last session of Con-
 gross. There was no opportunity and no attempt upon the part of anybody to have the committee for the purpose of | consultation upon the evidence or to re- port its findings to Congress prior to the ladjournment of the session. Under the | circumstances, that course was manifest l ly impossible The committee is the crea- l ture of special act of Congress, which | fixed the number of its members at 12
 six senators appointed by the Vice Pres 1 ident and six representatives elected by
 the House. The act carefully defined the powers and Jurisdiction of the commit
 tee and contained a mandate that it
 should report its findings and conclusions
 to this Congress.
 | "A great mass of testimony has been | taken making a direct and collateral rec ord of about 1000 closely written pages. The issues involved were full of moment
 to the cause of pure administration to the conservation of our natural re-
 sources to the interests of the govern
 ment generally and to the regulations of | some of its present and former officers. | The work. therefore, of delberation and
 decision was of great importance as well as of great difficulty.
 'The committee determined to devote | some of the time during the recess of Congress to this work and decided to | meet In Minneapolis on September 5. "The day of the meeting found the
 member widely scattered and only
 seven of the 12 members present. Three other members were detained by brief | but peremptory engagements Senator Flint was in Europe and Senator Root
 on the ocean, returning from arguing
 a case for the government before The | Hague tribunal.
 Eight Members Present Upon reassembling two days later eight gentlemen were present and two
 more were reported on the way. The eighth member to appear happened to | be a democrat and the members of
 that party found themselves in tempor-
 ary control and promptly proceeded to | turn this circumstance to what seemed | to them party advantage. Tn advance of any consultation whatever upon the evidence, which never had been weighed and discussed in committee, they demanded the passage of reso lutions of the most sweeping character, | formally finding Secretary Ballinger guilty, not merely of charges that had been made, but of charges that had
 only been implied and of things which never have been charged but which persons appearing at the hearing had | alleged against him.
 "Other members of the committee present protested against such pro- ceedings which would dispose of the case in the absence of four of the | l2 members, making 1t possible for minority of the committee to find l the committee verdict and this, too, without any consultation or discussion. Partisan End Gained
 But the partisan political end to | be gained by the democratic minor | ity became all the more urgent in proportion as the railway trains bear | ing other members of the committee were approaching Minneapolis. The mi | nority refused even to take a recess and the other members, protesting against the evident determination to take snap judgment by a minority l fin the absence of third of the whole tribunal and declining to bear any re- sponsibility for thus converting the investigation into a travesty and for
 violation of the fundamental prin- | ciples which should govern the pro-
 ceedings, withdrew from the meeting and thus deprived the democrats of
 their temporary control of the commit l tee. "The meeting being left without quorum, any attempted decision of | the case would have no more validity than would like action of similar number of men collected at random
 in the streets, but the spectacle was presented of five gentlemen out of a | tribunal of 12 created by Congress of the United States assuming to act as | the tribunal itself. These five gentle
 men conducted their proceeding to the end according to the worst methods of
 ward politics and after pretending to adopt a report of S9 9-pages which they brought to the meeting already pre- pared and which was never the subject
 of consideration or discussion, or even
 read in the committee. they gave it to | --------~------>---~----~-