Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-15
DIG BILL MEETS
DEADLY PARELLEL
Letter Generating Ballinger Is
Much Like One Drafted
by Oscar LaWIer
STENoGRAPHER TELLS STORY
Expects to Lose Job, but Has
Another in Sight, He Says,
in an Interview
CONTINUED from Page One)

Continued from Page One)
since YOU became secretary of the in
terror in reference to the Cunningham
cases. and have used your influence TO
interfere with Mr.. CLAWS efforts TO
defeat the claims"
Lawler says:
You have acted improperly since
becoming secretary of the interior IN
reference to the consideration OF the
Cunningham cases, the Improperly
arising out of the fact of your having
been consulted by parties interested
therein after your retirement as com
missioner and before being appointed
secretary"
Mr.. Tafts letter says;
1.-THE whole record shows that Mr..
CLAWS was honestly convinced OF the
illegal character of the claims in the
Cunningham group, and that he was
seeking evidence to defeat the claims.
LAWYERS letter credits him with no
such honest intent, stating:
'"The reports and records have been
carefully examined and therefrom l
find that not only are the interences
without justification, but that CLAWS
has been guilty of a perversion and
suppression of truth amounting to ac-
tual Misrepresentation.
TWO WAYS OF SAYING IT
Mr.. Taft. in his letter, authorizes
Ballinger to dismiss CLAWS for filing
"disingenuous statement, unjustly I'M
peaching the official integrity Of his
superior officers
I,awler calls his statement, "disin-
genuous and colored, seeking through
jnnuendo and inference to create sus-
picion of improper conduct on the part
of his superiors by a recital of isolated
IiGenriofa1 the
surrounding facts. and quotations and
detached letters and kilograms, with
out reference to the communication to
which they were replies or to responses
elected to them"
The Lawler document is very much
larger than the entire Taft letter. and
deals exclusively with the Alaskan
coal claims, while only about half of
the Taft letter refers to the CLAWS
charges, the balance relating to the
forestry controversy, to which LAWYER
hardly refers at all.
The Lawler draft totals upwards of
5000 words, that of the president makes
about $500.
II made the facts public because l
had decided that loyalty to Mr.. Ballin-
ger did not justify disloyalty to the
country" said Frederick M. Kerby to-
night He added that in view of what
he had heard of "snake killing" he as
SuIned he would De QlSHllSSeu lIOlll tllS
interior department.
IF the secretary of the interior be
Iieves my statements of the facts he
continued, calls for my separation
from the service, it is UP to him.
have only stated the facts. He has
said that he wants the publication of
all the facts. / have only made my
contribution Of what he mad falled 10
make public
HAS ANOTHER JOB IN SIGHT
In response to a question as to what
he would do in case he lost his position,
Kerby said:
81 have had personal assurance from
others than those to whom I gave the
information that they would do the
best they could for me in case ! was
dismissed"
He declined to say from whom he
received the assurance.
Kerby said the question was not an
easy one to decide from an ethical and
moral point.
Notwithstanding considerable pres
sure from newspaper men," he said, i
had decided not to make the story pub
lie. believing the proper course was to
wait till ] could be called as a witness.
but the attitude of the committee in
practically shutting off the inquiry re-
garding the memorandum by Lawler
convinced me that the only course to
adopt to make the facts public would
be to give it 10 the press
Kerby emphatically denied that the
so-called Pinchot side of the controver-
sy had anything to do with the publ
cation of his statement. He said that
former Secretary Garfield knew of the
facts in his possession from a mutual
friend, but had nothing to do with their
publication.
Attorney Vertrees, counsel for Mr..
Ballinger met the president Ia the
White House tonight and held a brief
conference with Mr.. Taft.