Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-01-11


to his completely what action
should be taken with respect to
his recognition.
In order to understand the full
purport of your letter in which
you admit the completely OF
Price and Shaw in the publica-
lions of the press, it should be
said that the gravamen of the
CLAWS charges was that Secre-
tary Ballinger and the others
were all affected by a corrupt
wish to patent the thirty-three
so-called Cunningham claims
upon coal lands in Alaska; that
the position of whether those
claims were fraudulent or not re-
manned to be decided upon the
evidence after both the United
States and the claimants had
been heard; tha< every patent
as an executive act is completely
within the jurisdiction of the
president to direct the withhold
ing of it in order that he him.
self may examine the evidence
as to the validity Of the claim.
These facts understood, the
plain intimations in your letter
are, first, that I had reached
wrong conclusion as to the good
faith of Secretary Ballinger and
the officers of the land office,
although you and your subordi-
mates had only seen the evidence
of CLAWS, the accuser, and had
never seen or read the evidence
of those accused or the records
that they disclosed, which we're
submitted to me-; and, second,
that under the exploitation Of
Messrs. Shaw and Price in the
daily, weekly and monthly press
of the charges of CLAWS, the ad-
ministration, including the pres
ident and the officers of the in
terror department and land office,
would have allowed certain
fraudulent claims to be patent
ed on coal lands in Alaska, al
though the matter had been
specifically brought to the atten-
tion of the president by the
CLAWS charges.
You solicited the opportun)';-
to make such declaration in
congress for the purpose of off,
setting, if possible, in the public
mind the presidents decision in
the CLAWS case, supported by the
opinion of the attorney general,
after a full examination by both,
of the evidence adduced by the
accuser, and the evidence on be-
half of the accused, while the
latter evidence you and your
subordinates had never seen.
You did this against the advice
of the secretary of agriculture,
without notifying him that you
intended to do so, and without
comforting with me at all. Your
letter was in effect an improper
appeal to congress ana the pub
lie to excuse in advance the guilt
of your subordinates before I
could act and against my decis-
ion in the CLAWS case before the
whole evidence on which that
was based could be considered.
I should be glad to regard
what has happened only as per-
sonal reflection, so that l could
pass it over and take no official
cognizance of it. But other and
higher considerations must gov
ern me. When the people of the
United States elected me presi-
dent they placed me in an office
of highest dignity and charged
me with the duty of maintaining
that dignity and proper respect
for the Office on the part of my
subordinates. Moreover, if l
were to pass over this matter in
silence, it would be most demon
alizing to the discipline of the
executive branch of the govern
ment.
BY your own conduct you have
destroyed your usefulness as a
helpful subordinate of the gov
eminent, and it therefore now
becomes my duty to direct the
secretary of agriculture to re-
move you from your Office as the
forester.
Very sincerely yours,
William H. Taft.
Hon. Clifford Pinchot, Forester.