Norwich bulletin., 1911-07-12
Testimony Of
Miss Abbott
AWAITED WITH GREAT INTEREST
IN WASHINGTON.
WILL TELL HER STORY TODAY
Only Person Who Claims to Hae Seen
"charIie Taft" Letter-cabinst Has
Matter Under Discussion.

Washington, July 11-Although many
deniaIs have been made that Cavern
ment officials intend to permit the
Guggenheim interests control Alaskan
transportation through a monopoly on
the water front of Controller bay in
that territory, the administration has
decided to let congress reach its own
conclusions and every scrap of infor-
nation relating to the matter will be
sent to the senate as soon as possible.
Taft Wants Situation Cleared.
While President Taft and the mem
berS of his cabinet have voiced the
opinion that investigation will show
nothing even remotely resembling such
an attempt to favor the Guggenheim
interests-an attempt in which the
names OF &C. P. Taft. the PRESIDENT s
brother, and former Secretary of the
Interior Ballinger have been coupled,
they are determined that every effort
should be made to clear the situation.
CaD.net Discusses Matter.
At the regular session of the cabi-
net today the Controller bay affair was
discussed at length. 1t was decided that
all the departments Interested war,
agriculture, interior and commerce and
labor, should be urged to make their
reports on the case as quickly as pos
sible. All the documentary evidence
in the case probably Will be in the
pTCS1uGuL uduuS early kiSAt week anu
that it then will be sent Immediately
to the senate in answer to a resofi1-
ton adopted late in June calling for all
such informatioR
Much Interest in Miss Abbott's Testi-
mony.
Washington is awaiting with much
interest the story to be told tomorrow
before the house committee on -expen-
ditures in the interior department
which has started an investigation Of
its own. by Miss NJ F. Abbott, who
of the interior department a letter
from Richard S. Ryan to the then
Secretary Richard A. Bal1inger, show
ing that Ryan sought the aid of Charles
P. Taft in securing President Taft's
approval of the opening of the water
front on Controller bay, Alaska.
Only Person Who Saw Letter.
Up to this time Miss Abbott ap-
pears to have been the only person
to have seen the mysterious letter.
Secretary Fisher has said that a thor
ough search of the department files
failed to reveal such a letter. Presf-
dent Taft has stated that he had never
talked with his brother about Ryan or
Controller bay, and it is announced
that neither the files at the White
house nor these in the Office of Charles
P. Taft show any correspondence on
lilc SupJCCt.
Brown Denies All Knowledge of 1t.
Ashmun Brown, former secretary to
Mr. Ballinger, from whom Miss Abbott
claims to have secured the letter, has
denied absolutely any. knowledge of it.
According to published accounts. Miss
Abbott will testify that she found at
tached to a typewriter letter from r.
S. Ryan to r. A. Ballinger. dated July
tS. 1910, this note or postscript:
Text of Alleged Note.
Dear Dick: I went to see the pres
ident the other day about this Con-
troller bay affair. The president asked
me whom it was 1 represented. I told
him, according to our agreement, that
/ represented myself But that did not
seem to satisfy him. So I sent for
Charlie Taft and asked him to tell his
brother who it was [ really represent
ed. The president made no further OBJ
lection to nv claim Yours,
DICK"