East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-07-27
PRESIDENT TAFT ENGINEERED
CONTROLLER BAY AFFAIR"
IN SPECIAL MESSAGE, He TAKES Responsibility
ExODeraeS His Brother Charles and Glasses Ock to Oick
Letter as wicked fabrication" Denies Meeting
Richard S Ryan.

Washington. July 2s.-It was learn
ed here today that the strong phras-
ing in the presidents message which
he sent to the senate yesterday. does
not appear in the message or on thu
congressional record. Next to the last
paragraph Of the message as publish
ed. it says:
And in all the scandal with which
the public has been regaled. very few
specific instances Of corrupt or i'm
proper attempts to acquire vested in
terests in Alaska have been shown BIZ
evidence that would stand the test Of
judicial examination. Notwithstand-
ing this, however, -. Then tho
printed story resumes the message as
it appears in the official records.
Washington. July 27. Full re-
sponsibility for opening for settle
ment and development 12,S0O acres
of the Chugach national forest re-
serve in Alaska was shouldered by
President Taft in a special message
transmitted to the senate late yester-
day. The case in question has be-
come known as the Controller Bay
affair."
Charles P. Taft. brother of the
president, has no interest in Alaska,
never had and knows nothing of the
circumstances connected with the
transaction" states the message.
As wicked fabrication the
president branded the famous Dick
to Dick postscript. Charles P. Taft,
the president asserted, does not even
remerber that he ever met Richard
5. Ryan, representing the Controller
Bay Railway and Navigation COM
rany, who is alleged TO have written
the Dick to Dick" communication
to the secretary of the interior, Rich
ard A. Ballinger.
AS for eliminating the land in ques-
ton from the reserve the president
says that there is no danger of the
Controller Bay Railway & Navigation
company or any other interest mono
polizing the fields, and nothing to
show that this company is in any
way connected with the Morgan-Gug-
genheim interests. Hence, he believes
that in eliminating the land he has
acted for the best interests of the ma
ton.
ompanying the presidents mes
sage are documents, reports and maps
bearing on the case, as requested
from him by the senate resolution Of
June 81 last
The president relates how Ryan
representing the Controller Railway
and Navigation company, applied in
1909 for the elimination of a tract
to enable this company to secure rail-
road terminals etc.
The application was referred to the
forestry bureau and then to the navy
department with a view that perhaps
the navy department desired to use
Controller Bay as a reservation. The
forestry interests found on objection
to the elimination of the tract indi-
Gated. or indeed" as the president
writes, ito the elimination of $4,000
acres in the northwest shore Of Con-
troller bay"
Finds Objections.
The navy departments answer was
negative" says the president and
after the matter had been considered
by the secretary of agriculture. by
the secretary of the interior and the
general land office, a recommendation
was made to him that 500 acres with
a frontage of 100 rods on the north
west shore of Controller Bay be
thrown open. \ formal order to this
effect was finally submitted to him
in October. 1910. but when the mat.
ter came before the cabinet late in
that month he found objection to il