Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-27

politically as we'll as financially. Inc
struggle to establish that every Ameri-
can is entitled to equal justice-in the
public service as well as in the courts
that no off1ciaf is so highly stationed
that he may trample ruthlessly ana UNI
Justly upon even the humblest American
citizen The cause of CLAWS is the cause
of the common people. and more espe-
cially the cause OF hundreds OF 'hou-
sands of government officials.
Mr. Brandeis gave a chronolrglcai re-
sumo of the Alaska coal iano si'u'..ioi
from the time the Cunningham claims
were first filed upon 10 1905. He iald par
ticuIar stress upon the contention tnat MT;
Bailinger commissioner OF tne Iau
office was fully acquainted with the STU
alton and personally directed the pro-
ced,Ire i'm the land Office whereby the
claims were scrutinized. lie declared ina
of gel Alaska coal claimants whose du-
dresses were secured by special agents
early in their investigation boo appearee
TO he residents of the Pacific coast ana
163 lived in Seattle, Ballinser's nome
city.
"Among these claimants were the men
of greatest influence III the STATE, t tt,al,a
ciallv and POLITICALLY. and among these
were friends and associates OF ME- bai-
l:nger," said the attorney. w ME ines
Pacific coast claimants renamed uiiuis
turbed by further INQUIRIES mo tne
those residing in Illinois and MicnSaii
were on September "a. 1907. directed 10
he thoroughly investiga Jed was IL d -
incidence that the inve sdsat1ons 'ol Sp pe-
cial Agent Jones in the summer OF l'o
into the Cunningham claims stoppeo
shortly after Ballinger returned 10 seq,
lie shortly after the agraen1eht pe.Ms
the Morgan Guggenheim Alaska ~ nul
witch rendered an early issue OF me
natents important? Was it colnclueiice
that an active inquiry was nnder ,,s;n
into the claims or residents oil liiihois
and Michigan?
Ballinger's Eastern Trip.
He referred to Ballinger's trip east 10
see Ibis old friend Garfield ana ms
friend and protege, Bennett, on pehaii Vi
the Cunningham claimants.
''Why did Ballinger do that? he asked
He says that these were not slrlcti!
legal services. If they were not, so much
the worse. Was this, then. an attempt 70
cspitalize his friendship with Iarheio
and with Bennett: to capitalize an innu-
ence necessarily attending ms recent III
cumbepcy in office: to capitalize the Know
edge he had acquired when fililns the HI
portant office of land commissioner
.'He saws he was very unwilling TO I'M
dertake this land office work and that ne
rather unexpectedly received only reliI-
bursement of his travelling expenses.
this be so. much the worse III asalhst
bfs will and without expectation OF com
pensa tion he undertooS this service Tor
such men as Charles j. smith thaIIes
Sweeney Horace c. Henry and eX-GoV
Moore then it must have been because
their will was law to him. Under their
potent influence. Mr.. Baliinger forgot the
rules of professional ethis as he iorsot
the rules of the land department over
which he had presided and by which ne
was barred for two years after his fetlre-
ment from practicing before IT.
as such a man a safe trustee for lhe
people's property Brandeis demanded
Strange Distinctions
Mr. Brandeis said that w;len CLAWS ap-
pealed to Bailirger to postpone hearings
on the Cunningham cases until after a
field examination could be made the Sec
retarr drew strange ethical distinctions
He said Ballinger had felt at liberty to
serve the Cunningham claimants, al
though he had previously. as land COM
missioner, represented the government:
but on becoming Secretary. he had felt
barred from representing the people be-
cause. as he had expressed it, he had in
cidentally acted for the Cunning ram
claimants" Brandeis said that Rallnger
had felt no hesitation in Fastening, at
the instance of the claimants. the 1nVesti-
CATION of the Cunningham and other
claims.
Referring to CLAWS successful appeal
TO the forest service for a delay of the
hearings, and his being subsequently SUI
perseded by the inexperienced" Sheri-
dan. Brandeis said that even Sheridan
agreed that postponement was proper"
Holds Ballinger Responsible.
As to Mr. BailiEser's assertion that he
had had nothing to do with the coal
cases since he became Secretary. Bran
deis said:
effect he did all. 1t needed no writing
signed by him to do the act. 1t needed
no specific instructions. Those by whom
he was surrounded were of that category
who at the winking of authority p"
understand law and who would never
prove insubordinate from Overzeal for
the public interest.
Ballinger as a Witness.
Brandeis spoke Of Ballinger's appear
anee on the witness stand. with it's ex-
traordinary failures of memory, nisstate-
ments and denials. and quoted from the
testimony Ballinger's cross-examination
about the LAWYER memorandum, with the
evident purpose of showing that Balm
ger attempted to conceal the truth and
evade his questions.
''Such is the conduct, such is the char
acter of Mr.. Ballinger." he continued.
in the closest relations with men like G.. ].
Smith. Horace. G.. Henry and with their
associates, Charles Sweeney, ex-Gov.
Moore and McGraw. He is evidently in
very close relations with George w. Per-
kins, j. p. Morgan & Co. and the men,
bers OF the Alaska syndicate. Now con-
slider the past conduct of Mr.. Pallinger.
Considering his character as it has mani
Tested itself throughout this case, do you
really think that the interests of the peo-
pie could be safely represented by Mr.
Ballinger as against the special interests
of the. Cunningham claimants and the
CLAWS Defended.
Mr. Brandeis defended CLAWS action in
laying the matter OF the Alaska Goa
claims before the President by advice OF
Pinchot. He said after CLAWS had sub
was not again communicated with by the
President before the appearance of tn,
latfers letter of September Ii dsmissins
him and generating Ballinger. He said q
'deiuge of typewriter matter came
from the Interior Department in reply
supplemented by oral statements and ar
guments by Ballinger and Assistant At
torney General LAWYER, and that finall,
the President had committed to Lawler
IAN appontee and in effect a subordinat,
of Ballinger a man who had a specia
grudse against CLAWS, the drafting of tn,
Presidents opinion on the whole matter.
Condemning of CLAWS.
III is not surprising under the circum
stances that the letter of the President