The Oakes times., 1910-06-02
BALL|NGER IS PUT
IN A BAD LIGHT
CHARGES OF HIS srENoaRApHER
AWKWARD FOR SECRETARY
OF INTERIOR.
WHO WROTE CLAWS LETTER.
Kerby's Statement Both Sensational
and Serious = Senator AIdrlch
Saves His Political Face by
Yielding to Prosressives
on Railway Bill.

Washington.-Frede M. Kerby,
stenographer in the Office of Secretary
Ballinger, charges that the letter ex.
onerating Ballinger from the CLAWS
charges and dismissing CLAWS from
the service was prepared in the office
Of the secretary of the interior by
Oscar Lawler and the final draft was
the result Of conference at which
Don c. Carr. secretary to Mr.. Bal
linger: Fred bennett, commissioners
of the general land office; Chief of
the Field Service, Schwartz; and First
Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Frank Pierce participated. Ballinger
himself read the rough draft Of the
letter aloud. It was freely criticized
by the others and the final draft was
only adopted after 1t had been dis
cussed in its every detail.
Mr. Kerby also charges that the
rough draft of the letters was burned
In the crate in room of the interior
department and that the suggestion
that they be thus destroyed was made
by Don c. Carr. private secretary to
the secretary of the interior. Mr..
Kerby made signed statement to
this effect.
For weeks Attorney Brandeis has
been endeavoring to secure the orig
inal of the letter which passed be-
tween Secretary Ballinger and the
president and was the basis of the
letter Of the president of September
13. When the papers were originally
called for by the investigating COM
mittee the president transmitted all
of the papers and for the first time
gave publicity to the Wickersham
opinion. Within the week Attorney
General Wickersham has verified the
statement that this opinion was not
In existence at the time that the pres
tdent's letter was prepared but that
1t was written some time afterward.
AS matter of fact it was written
about two months after the presi-
dents letter had been made public.
BalIinger's Queer Statement.
In the testimony before the com.
mittee. Secretary of the Interior Bal
linger denied that he had possession
Of copy Of the Lawler letter. Ac.
cording to the statement of Frederick
Kerby, Mr.. Ballinger not only partici-
pated in the preparation of this let.
ter, but there were three carbon
copies of 1t retained in the interior
department, and Mr.. Kerby himself
put q copy of the letter attached to
the Cunningham record in one of the
files in the interior department. II
remained in the file where he had
placed 1t until about month ago
when he noticed that it had disap
peared. Some time after he had filed
the letter he stated that Mr.. Carr
came to him and to Mr.. Massey, an
other stenographer, and informed
them that Mr.. Brandeis wanted the
stenographer's notebooks covering the
period of the letter. Mr.. Kerby said
that 1t was his custom to destroy his
notebooks and he told Carr that he
thought that his books were destroyed
but that Massey kept every notebook
and that he probably had his. Carr
in laughing way said: well. Mas
sey, I think it would be mighty good
idea for you to lose those notebooks .
Mr.. Kerby later found his notebooks
containing the original draft Of the
letter which Oscar Lawler carried
from Washington to Beverly and
which was used as the basis of the
Taft letter dismissing CLAWS from the
service.