The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-06-07

SpaniSh-American war. has retired
after forty-six years service in the
navy, twenty-four Of which were spent
at sea. He was at one time executive
officer of the battleship Maine before
the sinking Of that vessel and was
judge advocate of the court of inquiry
which investigated the blowing up of
the Maine in Havana harbor. After
the Spanish war he was for two years
captain of the port of Manila at the
time President Taft was governor.
The last Ballinger sensations are
greater than the first. Although the
inquiry is so near an end. no one
can tell what dynamite the case may
yet contain. The letter of the president
admitting that the Wickersham review
of the CLAWS charges had been ante
dated at Mr.. Taft's own suggestion
and confirming the testimony Of Kerby
that Assistant Attorney General Law
Ter had prepared the draft which be-
came the basis of the presidents exon
GRAFTON of Ballinger has furnished the
latest explosion in this strange case.
To add to the complications the White
House had previously issued denial
of Kerby's evidence as to the draft of
the letter prepared by Lawler. On the
heels of this Attorney General Wicker
sham submitted to the investigating
committee the text of the Lawler let
k4r ,iy,o of xr-hi
that it had been used by the president.
some sentences having been incOrpo-
rated verbatim, as was subsequently
stated in President Taft's letter to
Senator Nelson laying bare the entire
transaction. One other complication Is
that Lawler, although an assistant at
tcrney general. is assigned to duty in
the interior department and is thus
practically under Secretary Ballinger
and himself an official of the accused
department. One bright spot in the
affair is that the president refused to
incorporate in his letter Mr.. LAWYERS
reflections on Clifford Pinchot and his
implied approval of the Cunningham
claims.
The action Of Secretary Ballinger in
dismissing Frederick NJ. Kerby, the
stenographer in the interior depart
ment who testified as to the Lawler
letter, is creating almost as much
heated discussion as the firing Of
CLAWS and PinchOt. One side claims
that Kerby was forced to so testify or
commit perjury, and the other faction
as stoutly maintains that there is no
excuse for his having divulged the Sc
crets with which he was intrusted.
Kerby himself claims that the CLAWS
attorney. Brandeis, gained knowledge
Of the memorandum entirely independ
ent Of himself. but that after procur-
ing this information Brandeis came to
him and asked him about it. He ad
mitted knowledge Of the document.
but asked not to be drawn into the
affair unless it became absolutely nec
essary. It may be added that kerby
expected dismissal when he testified.
The effort Of the, president in asking
for an appropriation for the tariff
board and for larger powers has been
In the line of making the body In fact
q tariff commission. He has frankly
stated that he desired accurate data
gathered by experts to be used as
basis for future revision II such re-
vision appeared to be necessary. The
fact that Representative Longworth
took up the cudgels for the presidents
plan Il regarded as significant. It in
dicates not only the possible attitude
Of Colonel Roosevelt on the question.
hnt shows that Mr.. Lon9wnrth II ran
idly becoming the administration
spokesman on the floor Of the house.
It IL not often that prayers In the
two houses 30 into politics and contro-
versial matters. and when the blind
chaplain Of the house prayed the other
day that the muck rakers should rake
before their own doors and that we
should avoid the sin Of hypocrisy there
was something resembling q gasp
throughout the chamber.
Being president Is not exactly a bed
Of roses. When Taft was going about