Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1910-01-25
USE OF PUBLIC
FUNDS PROBED
LAND OFFICE COMMISSIONER
DENIES CHARGES
BODY WILL GET NO
APPROPRIATION
Urgent Deficiency Bill, Carrying 3d.
100000, Adopted with Reduce
tion-Lloyd's Successor
Appointed
ASSOCIATED Pressl

WASHINGTON. Jan. 24.-Refusing
to appropriate any money for the eX-
pense of the immigration commission
the house today passed the urgent ue-
ficiency bill, carrying nearly $5,00O,OOO'
This is a reduction of more than
81, 900, 900 under estimates submitted by
the treasury department
Following the action taken by the
Democratic caucus, the house appoint
ed Mr.. Graham of Illinois to succeed
Mr. Lloyd of Missouri as a member OF
the Ballinger-PinchOt investigation
committee.
In the senate Mr.. Tillman criticised
the administration for failing to pros
ectite suits against the Southern Pa
cific railroad for recovering publlc
lands granted to the railroad under
the condition that it should be sold IN
tracts of 100 acres at not more than
$3.50 an acre.
Both houses will be in session to-
morrow.
Condensation of the testimony before
the last hearing of the committee as
reported in these dispatches led to the
omission of an important statement OF
Commissioner bennett of the general
land office, regarding the charge that
private kilograms were paid for out OF
the funds of the department. This is
what the commissioner said, as shown
by the stenographer's record:
Dennett's Reply
AZ have no knowledge of any such
kilograms being sent, with the excep-
ton of two kilograms which were sent
to the commissioner of the general
land office at a critical time, stating
certain remarks which were being
made in paper. These kilograms,
after having been received, were taken
to the chief of field service and the
Western Union was notified that they
must not be charged to the public land
appropriation; that they related 10
private matters; that no bill would be
authorized which was submitted for
those kilograms"
1t appears from the record that this
statement was substantiated by Mr..
Newburgh, assistant chief of the &C
counts division; the purport of the
testimony of both being that the tele-
grams referred to as transmitting
newspaper articles were not paid for
by the department at all.
Examined by Mr.. Hitchcock, Com
missioner bennett agreed to furnish q
detailed statement of all expenditures
from the million-dollar fund around
which revolve charges of improper
use, and also to furnish list of trans
fers of employees ON the civil service
roll, "or Schwartz rolls."s He denied
that salaries were increased generally
when employees were transferred to
schwartz roll.'
Mr.. Hitchcock said he could not
agree to answer all questions because
of the naturally confidential character
of his sources of information in the
interior department, and the punish
ment that would follow the exposure
of those sources.
Mr.. bennett said a little more than
$4,000 worth of furniture, including
carpets and rugs, had been bought for
use in the general land office under
the 100000 public domain protection
fund, but that it was all incidental to
the work under that appropriation,
and was OF the cheapest kind of ma
terial and bought under the regular
contract system.
He said the S1,OOOOOO appropriation
had enabled the bureau to catch up
largely with the work of protecting
the public domain.