The Washington herald., 1911-08-04

all others where was entitled to de-
fend II, namely, in the Department OF
the Interior, in which ! have rendered
faithful, efficient, and fas the records
will clearly show valuable service for
some twelve years. You have therefore
forced me to resort to other means to
clear my good name of the charges
against me, and to become and remain
a public record, without any proof in
support of them. have, therefore,
brought action against Mr.. Valentine in
a forum not open to the influences to
which you have shown yourself amen
able, and there I expect him to answer
me on the issues between US.
AS for yourself:
% You permitted serious charges to
be filed with you against me without
any evidence in support Of them;
(2) You called for my resignation on
those charges without asking for an an
swer to them or Offering me the oppor-
tunity to file one;
90 After then granting my request for
q full and fair hearing on those charges,
you delayed nearly three months before
giving me any sort Of q hearing, keep
ing me in the meantime on suspension
without pay;
% Long before that Quasi-hearing
you decided against me on the represent
ations of my accuser and his Cocoon
spirators, without hearing me and with
out seeking any light from disinterested
and well-informed sources, Of which
you had notice;
G) You refused to permit rec
ord to be made Of the quasi-hear-
ing which you finally accorded me,
although I rendered a stenographer at
my own expense for that purpose, and
you also refused to call a material wit
ness therein for whose presence and
testimony l asked;
(6) You finally refused to make any
decision on the charges against me, al
though you had kept me on suspension
for nearly three months awaiting such
decision;
Cd Nevertheless. you dismissed me
from the service upon a ground Of
which had had no prior notice, which
even If true was a matter of mere pro-
priety of procedure and not of sub
stance, but which 1 maintain and am
ready to prove was in fact untrue;
Befriended the Commissioners.
(s) At the same time you had had in
your possession for more than two
months charges against the Commis-
sioner of Indian Affairs, which, II true,
clearly involved his official integrity, and
which had been formally submitted to
you, not only with an offer of complete
proof, but with substantial proof Of
some of them accompanying their sub
mission, and you had taken no action
whatever upon them:
80 On the other hand, you had per-
mitted him, after he had filed charges
against me, and while 1 was on suspen-
sion awaiting a determination of them,
to eXpend from the public funds in his
efforts to make a case on them many
times what it would have cost to give
me promptly the full and fair hearing
for which l asked, but which was final
ly denied me; and
GO And l do not attempt to make
this enumeration complete, though II
there were any items In the case
which indicated any natural tend
ency TO fair play on your part I
should mention characterization all
this time you had before you a letter
which had been addressed to you eX-
pressly for your consideration IN this con-
nection, from a former Commissioner of
Indian Affairs under whom I had served
seven years as general superintendent
of logging in the Indian Service. vouch-
ing for my character and integrity as
Il man, informing you of the fact that
in the coure of my work under him
had saved TO the government and TO the
Indians millions of dollars in connec-
tion with their timber interests, and be-
speaking for me a full and fair hearing
in my own defense.
Neither love of fair play nor zeal for
the public interest can have actuated
you in any of these things; and as the
public has a right to join me in wonder
ing what motives really do actuate you
in the administration of the office of
Secretary of the Interior. / am giving a
copy of this letter TO the press at the
same time that 1 mail it to you.
Yours truly, ]. r. FARR