Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-07

feel that in constructive work and the
advancement of the public service, under
existing difficulties, / have nothing to re-
gret in official administration except that
my health and financial interests have
greatly suffered to the extent that can
no longer sustain the burden.
Your constant support has always
been a source of consolation during all
the vicissitudes of my term of service,
and I deeply appreciate the unfailing con-
fidence you have reposed In me. must:
however renew my appeal to be relieved
as set forth in my letter OF January 10Th
last and respectfully ask you to desig-
nate the time when my resignation shall
take effect, which / hope may be imme-
mediately.
have the honor to remain faithfully
yours, X. A. BALLlNGEH.
To the President
March 9Th, 1911.
Accepted by President.
The White House.
Washington, March Z, 1911.
Dear Mr.. Secretary: I accept your res
ignation with great reluctance. / have
had the fullest opportunity to know
you. to know your standards of serv-
ice to the government and the public,
to know your motives. to know how
you have administered your Office and
to know the motives of those who have
assailed you. l do not hesitate to say
that you have been the object Of one
of the most INSCRIPTIONS consptracies
for the defamation Of character that
history can show. / have deemed 1t
my duty not only to the government
but to society in general to fight out
this battle to the end, confident that In
the end your fellow-citizens would see
that the impressions of you as man
and as the administrator of a high pub
lie office were false and were the result
of malicious and unprincfpled plan
for the use of the press to misrepresent
you and your actions. and to torture
every circumstance, however free from
detrimental Significance, into proof Of
corrupt motive.
With the hypocritical pretense that
in order to avoid the necessity. that even
the worst criminal is entitled to. to wit.
that of a definitely formulated charge
of some misconduct. they showered you
with suspicion and by the most petit
Jogging methods exploited to the public
matters which had no relevancy to an
issue of either corruption or efficiency in
Office. but which. paraded before an hys-
terical body of headline readers, served
to blacken your character and to obscure
the proper issue of your honesty and
effectiveness as a public servant. Tne
result has been a cruel tragedy. You
and yours have lost health and have been
burdened financially. The conspirator'
who have not hes!tated in their pursuit
OF you to resort to the meanest Of meth
DDS, including the corrupt on Of your most
confidential assistant, plume themselves
like the pharisees Of old. as the only pur,
members of society actuated by the spirit
of self-sacrifice for their fellow-men.
Every fiber of my nature rebels against
such hypocrisy. and nerves me to fight
such a combination and such methods to
the bitter end, lest success In this in
stance may form demoralizing prece-
sl4r %~~
and yours makes me feel that I have no
right to ask you for further sacrifice. OF
course. it has been made evident that
was and am the ultimate object of the
attack; and to insist, against your will
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