Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-07-29

OlTUMWA ~
Ter Railway and Navigation compan
} has made any scrip entries on tn
eliminated tract"
! "Dick to Dick" Episode.
4 Taking UP the Dick to Dick" epis
ode the president says In conclusion
:! Before closing, desire to allude t,
a circumstance which the terms of thi,
resolution make apt and relevant. l
is statement by one Miss M.
Abbott that in an examination of tn
! files of the interior department a few
weeks ago, she found postscript at
tached to letter of July 13, 1910, ad
dressed by Mr.. Richard s. Ryan te
Secretary Ballinger-and in the pres
ent record-urgipg the elimination q
land enough for terminals for the Con
troller Railway & Navigation com
/ pany. The postscript was said tc
read as follows:
went to see the president the other
day. He asked me who 1t was rep
resented. told him according to our
agreement, that | represented myself.
! But this didn't seem to satisfy him.
| So sent for Charlie Taft and asked
him to tell his brother, the president,
who 1t was l really represented. The
president made no further objection to
my claim.
'The postscript is not now on the
files of the department. If 1t were IT
would be my duty to transmit 1t under
this resolution. I do not transmit It,
not only for the reason that 1t is not
on the files of the department, but
for the reason that 1t never was on
the files Of the department, at least
as an authentic document. Who is
really responsible for it's wicked fabri-
cation if it ever existed, or for the
viciously false statement made as to
its authenticity, is immaterial for the
purpose Of this communication. The
purport of the postscript is, and the
intention of the fabricator was, to
make Mr.. Richard s. Ryan testify
through it's words to the public that
although was at first opposed in the
public interest to granting the elimina-
through the undue influence of my
brother, Mr.. Charles P. Taft, and the
disclosure Of the real persons in in
terest, I. was induced Improperly and
for the promotion OF their private gain
to make the order.
Statement Unfounded.
The statement, In so far as my
brother is cOncerned-and that Is the
chief feature of the postscript-is ut
terly unfounded. He never wrote to
me or spoke to me in reference to
Richard S. Ryan or on the subject Of
Controller bay or the granting Of any
privileges or the making of any orders
In respect to Alaska. He has no in
terest in Alaska, never had and knows
nothing of the circumstances connect
ed with this transaction. He does not
that he ever met Richard
s. Ryan. He.never heard of the Con-
troller bay railroad until my cable
gram of inquiry reached him, which,
with his answer, is in the record.
"Mr. Ballinger says in telegram
in answer to my inquiry, both of which
are in the record, that he never re-
ceived such postscript and that he
when it was said to have been writ
ten.
"Mr. Richard S. Ryan, in q letter
which he has sent me without solicita-
ton, and which is in the record, says
that he never met my brother, Mr..
Charles p. Taft, and that so far as he
knows, Mr.. Charles P. Taft never had
the slightest interest In Controller
bay, in the Controller Railway & Navi-
cation Co., or in any Alaskan company
and he utterly denies writing or sign
ing the alleged postscript. The utter
of his writing such q
postscript to Mr.. Ballinger at Wash
ington when the latter was away for
his vacation for two months, must i'm
press everyone.
''The fact is that Mr.. Ballinger
never saw the letter OF July IS, 1910,
to which this postscript is said to
have been attached. It was sent to
me by Mr. Carr, Secretary Ballinger's
private secretary, at Beverly, on July
1.-THE next day. l read the letter at
Beverly, in August with other papers
and sent them to the white house. 1t
was placed upon the white house files
and remained there until April %,
1911, when it was, by request OF Sec
rotary Fisher, returned to the interior
and it was after this that
Miss Abbott, says she saw the letter
with the postscript attached. Mr.
Carr saw no such postscript when he
sent the letter to me- l did not see it
when read it. No one saw it in the
executive Office, but it remained to ap.
pear as postscript when Miss Abbott
saw the letter in April or May on the
files of the interior department All
others were denied the sight.
Postscript Slanderous.
'The person upon whose statement
The existence of what has been proper.
" characterized as an amazing post
script is based is writer for the
newspapers and magazines. She was
given permission by Secretary Fisher,
after consultation with me, to examine
all the files in respect to the Controller
bay matter-and this under the super.
vision OF Mr.. Brown, then private secre.
.ary to the secretary of the interior.
flor tho ovan{n ti0p NJ which che