Evening star., 1913-02-11
ACCUSED OFFICIALS
: ENTITLED TO HEARING
Secretary Fishers Comment
Regarding Charges Against
Reclamation Service.

That the charges made against Assist
ant Secretary Adams and officials OF the
United States reclamation service, whose
removal is recommended in a report
made by the House committee on eX-
penditures in the Interior Department,
do not merit comment from him. except
in SO far as justice to the officials criti-
cised demands, is the gist Of statement
by Secretary of the Interior Fisher.
IT believe it is a good thing to have a
periodical investigation of the operations
Of the reclamation service" Secretary
Fisher says, but IL should be carried on
by commission competent TO Judge of
these operations and which will hear
the officials before it condemns them
His Only Comment.
Il would have no comment whatever
To- make about this subcommittee re-
port." he adds, were it not that I think
tie igh-rninded public officials whom it
criticises are entitled TO have me say
That It relates to transactions, most
Of which occurred years ago, and to en-
Sineering works which Were gone over
by the board of army engineers that in
Vestigated all OF the reclamation prof.
eCts in 1910; that Adams and Newell
have been criticised without notice. and
81
charges made can have no credible evil
dence whatever to support them.
First Assistant Secretary Adams is
held responsible for three rulings. two
of which We're made during the admin
istration of Secretary Garfield. The third
was approved by me after personal
visit to Phoenix last October, when ]
went over the whole matter at a public
meeting of the Water Users Association,
which passed a resolution commencing
the course which l adopted and OF which
4 have since received no complaint.
Statement by Mr.. Newell.
F.. H. Newell, director of the reclan,a-
ton service. said today:
am really not very much in a posi-
ton to say just what is the animus of the
attack on the service. 1 cannot get a
copy of this unsigned report that has
been given out. So far as i can piece
things together il appears to be a scheme
for discrediting Mr.. Adams, who has been
prominently mentioned for "A cabinet posi-
tion under the incoming administration.
This Graham committee evidently
started out TO get something on some
one, and finally, after a long existence.
a subcommittee of this same commit l.
tee landed down in Arizona and COM
menced TO investigate the ella In
dams OF course, when you commence
investigate any of the Indian
tribes YOU have an unlimited vista be-
fore you. They evidently did not have
very good stenographers down there
not the official stenographers at any
rate-and when they got back here it
was necessary to fix up the stenogra-
10 piers notes, and "a good many of the
things that were said at the hearing
ftd not get In and u good many things
that did get in were never said.
Adams a Democrat.
Then somebody discovered that Samuel
adams. who did not have a thing to do
with the matter was a democrat Well
he has never pretended to be ANYTHING
else. So somebody. nobody knows who
because the report is not signed, got ur
this report and gave ii out, attacking me
and Adams and the rest by name. But
have not been able TO get a copy of the
tepCrt.
THAT. as / say is the way the thins
looks TO me. but / am merely piecing the
thing together and inferring one ,hine
from another, because /. as yet, have nc
official foundation to go on"