The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-02-10
Assails President Taft In Today's Is
sue of His Truth" Maya
zine.
DEALS IN CUNNINGHAM ENTRIES
Would Like to Know Whether Chief
Executive Is Going To Rule Or
Not.

Madison, Wis. Feb. 1O.-"After
assuming the responsibility for the
patenting or Withholding from pat
ent in the Cunningham entries, do
you now wish to be relieved of it?
els it your desire that, at the elev--
enth. hour, congress should take from
your hands the jurisdiction of the
Casa jurisdiction you voluntarily
and publically assumed? If so, up
on what grounds of public policy or
of public beneft?"
These pertinent questions are ad-
dressed to President Taft in an open
letter to the nations chief executive
in La Follette's Weekly Magazine to-
day. The complete letter, nearly
two thousand words in length, gives
the entire history of the Cunningham
case and the great harm which
might come to the nation if two bills,
introduced on. January 9th by Sena-
tor Nelson, are passed.
"You have yourself assumed all
the responsibility for the disposal of
this case. You have taken it out of
the hands of the Interior department.
There is in this case, therefore, no
so-called "vicious circle" of investi-
cation and adjudication by officers
Of the same department. It is q
matter solely OF executive duty, OF
executive responsibility.
@This being the case, it is proper
and important that congress know
the executive attitude toward these
two bills. It is, in this particular
instance, quite as important that the
public know it.
"The first is special bill for the
transfer of the decision of the Cum
ningham case from your hands to
the Court of Appeals of the District
Of Columbia, "says the letter in:
speaking of the two bills introduced
by Speaker Nelson. 'The second is
a general bill, providing for the
transfer of the decision of all land
cases from the executive to the
courts and authorizing a retrial de-
novo in cases which have already
been heard before the interior de-
partment.
"Under either bill the decision of
the Cunningham case may be taken
from your hands and turned over to
the Court of Appeals of this district.
"You, yourself, have stated in
published letter that the RESPONSE
bility for the executive act of patent
ing or Withholding patents in land
cases lies with the executive. Since
1896, the executive branch of the
government has disposed of all such
cases, and the Supreme Court of the
United States has upheld his author
ity to do so.
"You have either directly or indi-
rectly, given the country to under
stand it was your fixed purpose to
make personal disposition of the
Cunningham case.
But now that you have assumed
the responsibility of the decision,
there appears no reason why the ex-
traordinary step of seeking legisla-
ton to wrest the case from your
hands should be taken-a step which
will effectually postpone the cancel
lation of the Cunningham claims for
an indefinite period.
eff the first bill passes, there will
result the protracted delay and great
expense of additional delays. The
fraudulent character of the claims is
already proven. Yet, if this bill
should become law, the claimants
will be given the chance of making
one more effort to defeat the govern
ment's case.
'If the second bill passes, the
claimants will be given the hither-
/ to unknown privilege of having the
case tried over again denovo.
"The government has already prov