The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-07-11
COMPLICATIONS
ARE PIL|NG UP
Controller Bay Scandal is
Growing Embarrassing to
Administration
ORIGINAL ORDER IS
CHANGED SAYS BENNETT
White House Issues State
mentand Secretary of In
terror Fisher Gives
Out Another

Il hlsl Az + ts+t tt-tr- fuftUw-Ed III
quick succession to-day In Controller
Bay scandal.
Secretary of the Interior Fisher
fssued formal statement denying
the existence of the Dick to Dick"
letter In the files of his department
and asserting that neither q copy OF
the alleged letter or any reference to
III was contained iii the manuscript
submitted to him by Miss Abbott or
referred TO by her any any way.
An informal statement was issued
AT the White House denying that
Charles p. Taft had ever written to
the President on the subject on Con-
trolIer fay or that the President ever
talked with his brother in regard to
the X. s. Ryan letter aud adding that
9 search of the letter files of Charles
4. Taft in Cincinnati fails to disclose
any correspondence between him and
Richard Ryan or between MIR Taft
and anybody relatiVe to- any Alaskan
matter.
Miss Abbott. who discovered the al
legged letter, declined to make any
frther statement in the premises.
What { have to- say now will be
saId on the witness stand" said the
doughty littls woman who has plunged
the administration into q fresh com
rliuatipn over Alaskan affairs.
Order II Changed.
Finally at the opening session Of
the Investigation into the entire Con-
truiler Bay affair Fred bennett. COM
missioner of the general land Office,
Informed the committee ON expendi
ture in the interior department that
the original order opening the Com
srolier Bay land to entry was changed
after 1t reached his office. he does net
know how. so that Richard s. Ryan,
who is alleged To he Il representative
OF the Guggenheln4s. gained "a great
advantage over other tftigaT1rs-
originally written the order provided
THAI entry men coald net file on the
land for sixty DAYS after the order
issued. This provision st1sas mystari-
ously dropped ou,. probably the Ryan
claimants, who We're on the ground
when the order reached Juneau, were
materially benefited.
when the order came to your Of
iice," asked MIR. Fennell. who con-
Quoted the examination, did il not
contain q sixty day clause providing
for notice 10 persons having designs
on the land 90
a. Y es
Who struck it out?'
Il do not know.
did the elimination OF that clause
make material difference as far as
the chances OF the public looting on
the land in question were concern
ed, Wouldn't the effect be to give
advantage, To those who know OF the
order and were on the ground 90
AIR. bennett replied that 1t would.
Statement OF MIR. Fisher.
II have lust returned 10 Wash
;agton and had not seen the story in
the Philadelphia North, American un-
der the signature of Miss A bbott until
this morning, although some refer
si2ssas tss >,4: slt** i,ssea4 rsfsstrss in efi.
cago by some OF the newspapers and
their representatives.
l.. OF course, know nothing about
what occurred in this matter prior
10 my appointment as Secretary of
the Interior, except what Is contain
ed In the records In the office, and
what has been told me by others. /
do know. however. what has occurred
since ! became secretary, and ] pre-
fer to believe that Miss Abbott has
not been correctly quoted in the ar
ficle in the North American, because
1t contains many misstataments az
substance with regard to her inter-
View with IRE. and completely mis-
represents the character of the inter-
View.
I was not only not Indifferent to
the Controller Bay incident, but was
AHteIsels Interested IN aScertainfng
any real Facts connected with the mat
ter.
1t is true that ! examined Miss
Abhotts article and pointed out to
her that 1t contained numerous in
situations. but very few facts, and
that on this account 1T did not seem
10 be convincing. Miss Abbott frank
~ admitted that this was true. and
explained that she had written the
article t8n8Ar
to revise It. She said she had brought
1t In to me at that time. because she
wished to have the benefit of the very
questions which ] WAS asking. ] call
ed her attention ito specific statements
which seemed to assume conclusions
without indicating in any way upon
what facts they were based 7 told
her should be very much interested
IN the facts il she could ascertain
Y theni but that I was not very much
Interested In unsupported conclusions
suggested to her that she ought 10
check carefully the matter of an ar
ticle OF that character, and she admit
red that she had not done SO, but in
tended doing 1t and would come back
ngafn. Sha. never came back
No Reference TO Postscript.
NO reference whatever was made
IN this Interview to what Miss Alb
nott very properly calls the .amax-
Ing postscript which she saws sha
found attached to letter to Score
tary- Rallinger from Mr.. Ryan, nor
was this postscript ever mentioned
or referred to in any other Interview
which ! have ever had with Miss
Abbott or any one else prior to its
publication In the Philadelphia North
American. was particularly inter-
eated In learning any fact which
would really throw light on the Con-
trolier Bay situation. ana 1 pressed
Miss Abbott pretty hard for the basis
0f-.certafn insinuations contained in
\, her article. Under these circum-
stances. cannot understand how
ahe would have failed to mention
the postscript referred to. The inter-
tcontinusd on Sixth Page.l .