Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-05-27
Brandeis, in Senate Hear
ing, Points to Fa-
voritism.
oUsTED STRANGERS
Strong Indictment Against Sec
retary of interior in Final
Argument.

Washington, May 81. - Attorney
Brandeis delivered the summing up
address before the Ballinger commit
ee today. He pronounced CLAWS an
ideal public servant" and Pinchot "a
man of character so high as to be
even above suspicion of self seeking"
He reviewed Bal1inger's alleged init
mate connections with capitalists in
terested in Alaska lands. carrying the
intimation this connection was not for
the public good.
Wealthy Not Disturbed.
Brandeis called attention to those
wealthy claimants remaining undis-
turbed as to the validity of their
claims, while those of residents of
Illinois and Michigan were investi-
gated and asked If that was mere
coincidence. Brandeis defended the
action Of Stenographer Kerby in max
ing public the Lawler memoranda and
said the president in sending the let
ter condemning CLAWS was misled by
the statements only of Ballinger and
LawIer.
Brandeis declared that of the 461
Alaska coal claimants whose addresses
were secured by special agents $50
appeared to be residents of the Pa
cif1c coast and 164 lived in Seattle,
Ballinger's home city.
Among these claimants he said,
were men of the greatest influence
in the state nnancfaffy ana poffrfcsffy.
and among these were friends and
associates of Ballinger. While these
~Pacific coast claimants remained un-
disturbed by further inquiries into the
validity of their claims, most of the
others, those residing in Illipois and
Michigan, were on Sept. "a, 1907. di-
rected to be thoroughly investigated.
stopped After Visit.
WAS it a coincidence that the in
vestigations of Special Agent Jones in
the summer of 1907 into the Cunning
ham claims stopped shortly after Bal
1inger returned to- Seattle, shortly
after an agreement between the Nor
gan-Guggenheim. Alaska syndicate and
the Cunningham claimants, which rem
dered an early issue of patents impor-
tant?
WAS 1t coincidence that an active
inquiry was undertaken into the claims
of residents of Illinois and Michigan"
-DeIves Into Cunningham Claims.
Then followed a long consideration
Of the Cunningham claims and Balm
gers alleged irreconcilable afidavits
in connection with them, and the
speaker persisted in connecting Bal
linger as an interested party with big
claimants, either because of personal
or political friendship.
Pepper for PinchOt.
Attorney Pepper addressed the COM
mittee on behalf of Pinehot. He re-
viewed the testimony and claimed it
sustained the contention that Ballinger
was responsible for the trouble III the
interior department, that the interior
department showed a lack of fidelity !
to the public interest, and the presi- !
dent had been deceived as to the real
significance of what was happening |
in the interior department Pepper |
insisted Ballinger was unfaithful to
the public interest in his handling of |
power sites, forests and coal lands.
Vertrees Scores Press.
Vertrees, counsel for Ballinger. in /
opening his argument, made a scathing /
of the press for its atti-.
tude toward the case, and said the
only commandment the newspaper men
seemed to obey was "Give us this day
our daily bread
Crops Helm Business.