The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-07
Chief Forester Again Comes to the Front In Defense of
 MT. GIaVis
DECLARES PRESIDENT
 TAFT WAS MISTAKEN
Pinchot Writes To Senator Deliver Giving His Views on the Gun ningham Claims Upon Min
 eraI Lands in Alaska.

Washington, January e.-The Ballinger- Pinchot controversy was today made doubly intense by the reading in the Sem ate of a letter addressed by MT. Pinchot to Senator Deliver. in which the course adopted by L. R. Glavs, with the assist ance of Messrs. Price and Shaw, of the bureau of forestry, was warmly approved. In this communication the chief forester not only upheld the criticism of Secretary Ba1linger but suggested that the Presi- facts when he removed from the public service MT. Glavis.
 MT. Pinchot's letter called MT. Hale to his feet with a severe rebuke to the chief forester for having ignored a recent order by the President directing that no subor- dinate officer should give information concerning affairs of the government ex- cept to his superior officers. He also suggested that the adoption of this course tended to forestall and prejudice public opinion in relation to the Ballinger-Pin- chot controversy
 Preceding this incident Senator Jones' joint resolution for an investigation of the interior department and of the fores- try bureau was referred to the commit tee public lands, but the reference was not made until after considerable discussion of a resolution by Senator Newlands instructing the committee on public lands to report within two weeks recommendations for legislation putting into effect Secretary Ballinger's recom- mendations made in his last annual re- port for the conservation of natural re- sources. Senator Newlands' resolution was also referred to the committee on public lands.
 While the Senate was taking this action the House declined to enter upon dis cussion of the joint resolution introduced by MT. Humphrey. The resolution went over until tomorrow.
 Sensation in Senate. In the Senate Mr. Pinchot's letter caused a sensation. In addressing his letter to Senator Deliver, Mr. Pinchot indicated that it had been written at the request of the Iowa senator, but 1t was addressed to him as Chairman of the committee on agriculture, thus making it an official doc ument. He said that Messrs. Price and Shaw had prepared an official report upon their actions which he was transmitting to the Secretary of Agriculture.
 This report shows that Messrs. Price and Shaw made public certain informa- tion regarding the so-called Cunningham claims for coal lands in Alaska said MT. Pinchot "The effect. of the publica- tion was to direct critical public at tention to the action of the interior de- partment.
 Tt shows. that they countenanced the publication by L. R. Glavis of certain facts concerning these claims after he had been dismissed from office and that in other ways they endeavored to direct public attention to the imminent danger that the Alaska coal fields, still in gov ernment ownership. might pass forever into private hands with little or no com pensation to the ,public."
 This information, MT. Pinchot adds, was of a nature proper to be made pub lie, 'unless there are secrets which the people of the United States are not en- titled to know concerning the source, nature and progress of claims made for portions of the public lands.
 '.The rumor,' he said. that the Glavis report to the President was prepared in or by the forest service is incorrect At
 
 proper I should. to Chicago to assist him in arranging his material for submis- sion to the President" $
 Defense of GIavis.
 After saying that these officials had acted on information they had concern ing the danger of the loss of the Alaska coal lands MT Pinchot continued:
 Action through the usual official chan nels and finally even an appeal to the President had resulted (because of what I believe to have been mistaken im- pression of the facts) in eliminating from the government service in the person of Glavis the most vigorous defender of the peoples interests. Furthermore. the refusal of the Secretary of the Interior to assume responsibility in the eases had left their conduct wholly in the hands of subordinates, each of whom was ap- parently committed in favor of patenting these claims-''
 Price and Shaw, he said, deliberately chose to risk their official positions rather than permit what they believed to be the wrongful loss of public property. Having violated rule of propriety as between the departments, Mir Plnchot said they deserved a reprimand and had received one.
 "But I snail recommend" he added "without hesitation that no further ac- ton in their case IS requireu-
 "Price and Shaw" he said. success fully directed public attention to na- tional danger. There Is now far less chance that the Alaska coal fields will mass into the hands of fraudulent claimants than there was before they acted.
 Rules of Decorum Broken.
 "The rules of official decorum exist tr the interest of an official adminis- tration and of that alone. If they arc used to prevent an honest and vigllant official from saving the property of the public, their purpose is. violated and they become worse than useless. Price and Shaw concede that what tkey did transgressed propriety. But measured iHiHsII tfH es