The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1910-02-04
CLAWS RESUMES
HIS TESTIMONY
States BaI|Inger Urged Him to
Postpone Investigation,
CITES NUMEROUS DIFFERENCES
Says Attorney General Understands
Brief to President Was Not
Based on Fact-WilI Con-
tinue Today.

Louis R. CLAWS, former agent of the
land office, and author of the charges
against Secretary Ballinger, testified
before the Ballinger-Pinchot investi-
cation committee that Mr.. Ballinger
had urged him to postpone his lnVestl-
cation of the Cunningham coal land
cases until after the presidential cleo
tion of 1908. The request was made,
however, after Mr.. Ballinger had
ceased to be commissioner OF the gen
eral land Office and while he was q
member of the Republican national
campaign committee. The postpone
ment was asked at conference In
Portland. Ore, in October, 1908.
The reasan assigned by Mr.. Bal
linger. according to the witness, was
that two of the Cunningham coal land
claimants, A. c. Henry and l. l.
Smith of Seattle, had refused to con-
tribute to the Republican campaign
fund because the government was
holding up patents to their coal en-
tries. This was the most interesting
disclosure of the testimony and was
called out by questions propounded by
Representative James of Kentucky.
CLAWS was on the witness stand at
both sessions He told Of numerous
differences with Mr.. Ballinger in the
interval during which the present sec
rotary of the interior was out Of Of
flee in 1908. How Mr.. Ballinger adj
mitted on one occasion that he was
attorney for the Green group OF
Alaska coal claimants, and on another
admitted that the Cunningham Claim
ants were "in a bad way" and asked
CLAWS what could be done to extri-
cate them.
The name of Guggenheim also came
out when the journal of Clarence
Cunningham, which CLAWS obtained
and copied, was introduced in evil
dence. The reading of it disclosed a
number of Acknowledgements for
money advanced by Daniel Guggen-
helm for engineering work on the
claims. Attorney Brandies, for CLAWS,
called attention to letter of H. H.
Schwartz chief of field agents, in.
commenting on the Guggenheim el,f
tries as suspicious circumstances.
In February. 1909, whom it wassl
known that Mr.. Ballinger was to be-
secretary of the interior, CLAWS again
conferred with him, at which time Mr..
Ballinger expressed the opinion that
mere technicality should not be al
lowed to defeat patents the comment
being made in connection with the
Alaska claims.
CLAWS denied most emphatically
the charge of Attorney General Wick
ersham made in his brief to the pres
ident on the case, that CLAWS had
failed to bring the necessary papers
in the coal land cases to the attention
of the federal grand jury to secure
action before the statute of limita-
ton INTERVIEWED He said that he had
recommended action before the grand
Jury. The local United States attor
ney when the matter was called to
his attention made excuses for delay
that he was not certain of the Juris-
diction and wanted to communicate
with Washington for advice. He also
stated that Commissioner bennett had
told him in July when he urged &C
ton, that the claimants would be pun
ished sufficiently by the cancellation
of their claims with prosecuting them
criminally.
s'Then the attorney generals state
ment is not true?" inquired MIR. Bran
dies emphatically.
'sNo, it is not" replied CLAWS