Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-15

Oscar Lawler, assistant attorney gem
eral for the Interior Department, of which
Richard A BaIlinger is the head. did
In fact prepare a draft of a letter ad-
dressed to Secretary Ballinger, and in
such form and phrase that 1t might have
been adopted verbatim and signed by the
President as Mr.. Tafts exoneration of
the Secretary OF the charges OF l.. n.
CLAWS. and authorizing the dismissal of
CLAWS from his position of special agent
of the Interior Department.
This draft by Mr.. Lawler was delivered
yesterday afternoon to the Ballinger-Pi Pin
chot committee and ordered spread upon
the records of the investigation. Careful,
comparison of the Lawler draft with
the letter of the President shows that
Mr.. Taft did in fact adopt practically
verbatim two short paragraphs of Mr..
LAWYERS language. The substance of the
two documents is not otherwise closely
similar
White House Denial.
Denial was given at the White House
last night, in a brief statement, to the
that ne. as stenographer in the office OF
the Secretary of the Interior, had pre-
pared, at the dictation of Assistant Al
torney General Lawler and in form lor
ter exonerating Secretary BalIInger, Aft
erward, with some modincalion Oh PIN ase-
olOgy, signed py the President.
Attorney General WicKersnam yester-
day transmitted to the Baliinser-PlncLot
committee the memorandum
prepared by Law Officer LawIer OF the In
terror Department.
1t is in the form Of a letter from the
President to Secretary Ballinger In some
features it is practically the same as the
Presidents letter of September 13. 1859.
Ballinger and dismissng
CLAWS.
Presidents Authorship Asserted.
That the President dictated his letter.
personally, as the result of his own in
sGSllSdllOf Ol lLt ItSOIO anu cOLSlOeia-
ton of documents and papers in his pos
session at the time, and upon the report
to him of the Attorney General, is a.
serted in the White House statement.
To this statement was added the COM
ment at the White House that a
of the LAWYER memorandum.
as submitted to the Ballinger-Pinchot
committee yesterday. and
the Presidents letter itself will show that
the Kerby charges have no foundation
The statement of the President did not
go into the suggestion that in debating
his letter, he used some of the ideas and
phrases prepared by Mr.. Lawler. Having
before him the papers in the case at the
time he wrote the letter. it was likely
that he made use OF certain expressions
and thoughts he found in them. it is
assumed, by several of those familiar
with the case.
Drafts Burned, Says Kerby.
Kerby related in his affidavit at length
he circumstances under which he alleged
the Lawler draft to have been prepared.
kerby asserted further that all the pre-
iminary drafts used in the preparation
,f the letter were burned in a CRATE IN
he Interior Department at the sugSes-
ion and under the supervision of Don NJ.
Carr, Mr.. Ballinger's private secretary.
Kerby drew the inference that the Law
er letter had been adopted by the Presi-
lent essentially as his own: that Mr.. Bal
niger and his legal adviser had there
ore virtually prepared the exoneration
which M. Taft had issued over his own
Signature.
Similarity of Letters.
The LAWYER memorandum sent by the
AttorRey General to the Ballinger-
,1nchot investigating committee bears
10 date and is a carbon copy and not the
riginal.
The first and seventh paragraphs of tho
Presidents letter are identical with
OF the memorandum Other
of the memorandum are
In the Presidents letter.
One PARAGRAPH which Lawler wrote and