Arizona republican., 1910-05-16
PRESIDENTS STATEMENT
 Regarding Letter Exonerat- ing Ba|fnger
 LAWLER's DRAFT UNUSED.
As to "Backdating" ofAt- torney Generals Sum- mary-Relation in Detail of Processes Leading Up
 to Letter of September 13

Washington, May 15.-President Taft in person tonight took in hand the sit
 uatien concerning the inside history
 of his letter of September 13 exonerat- ' ing MT Ballinger of the charges of ! Glavis and authorizing the dismissal of Glavis.
 Over his own signature he addressed long letter to Senator Nelson of the Ballinger- -Pinchot investigating com the sequence events following the re- ceipt at Beverley on August IS of the charges of Glavis.
 The president makes no direct men ton of the statement of Frederick Kerby. the young stenographer in MT. Ballingers office, in which the stenog- rapher declared that the presidents letter of exoneration was prepared in Mir. Ballinger's office by oscar Lawler. assistant attorney general for the in- terior department. Tonight's utter ances by Mir. Taft were obviously pro- voked by Kerby's statement.
 MT. Taft declares that I.awler did prepare such a letter as ,Kerby said, but he did so by the presidents speci fife direction. When he received it, he found, he says, that 1t was not directed to the issue. and he wrote
 lot t,s., desired it, using from Lawler's draft only one or two general statements.
 The president goes still farther and takes up the question of back dating" Attorney General Wiokersham's sum- mary of the Glavis charges to which Attorney Louis Brandeis has drawn at tention, MT. Taft says the attorney generals letter was in fact back dated" This was also done by his specific direction.
 The following is the full text of the presidents letter:
 The White House, May 15, 1910.
 My Dear Senator Nelson-In the hearings before the committee to in- vestigate the interior department and the forest service. reference has been made to my decision on the complaint and charges of Glavis filed with me on the 18th of August, last. against Secretary Ballinger and certain other officials of the interior department. The majority of the committee have decided that my action in this case is not in the jurisdiction of the committee l to investigate.
 Tn spite of this ruling. reference 10 the matter has crept into the record For this reason I deem it proper to write you and stat e the facts with such accuracy as my memory permits.
 "Glavis' statement and charges were 1909. 1 turned them over to the attor- ney general who happened to be in the neighborhood. and he made notes. Both of us had personal knowledge with respect to Mir. Ballingers atti- tude toward the Alaska coal claims. which was the chief subject of innuendo and complaint. for Mr. Ballinger had very early in the administration con suited us both regarding them.
 Without two or three day sof the fil- ing of the charges at a meeting at which the secretary of the treasury, the attorney general and the secretary of the navy were present a full discussion of the Glavis statement was had. It resulted in a general conclu- sion that the jealousy between the bureaus of the interior department and the foresty bureau probably ex- plained the attitude of the interiar department officials, but that the in timations of bad faith by Glavis against Mir. Ballinger and others re- qured that the statement be submit ted to them for answer. According ly, copies of the statement were sent to MT Balinger. Assistant Secretary Pierce. Commissioner Dennett and Chief of the Field Service Schwartz
 MT. Ballinger was at Seattle but on receipt of the charges he came to Washington to prepare an answer On Monday, September 9th, Mir. Ballinger reached Beverley, accompanied by Mir. Lawler, assistant attorney general of the department of justice, assigned 10