New Britain herald., 1929-07-30
DR. MAHER CLAIMS
 TEMPLET0N MADE
 BOARD SIGN PAPER
Forced Agreement on McCook Property, Tuberculosis Groups
 Head Insists
POLITICAL POSSIBILITIES IN
 REGIME REVIVED AGAIN

New Haven Doctor Charges Ex-Gov-
 ernor Insisted That State Agree to
 Take Only GO Feet of Disputed
 Land for Sanitarium-Owner Was
 His Executive Secretary and Chief
 Adviser.
 Hartford, July 80 LP)-Poltical hostilities rampant in the Temple ton administration broke out anew today when pr. Stephen J. Maher of New Haven, chairman of the state tuberculosis commission, charged Governor Charles A. Templeton in 1923 forced the commission into an agreement to accept only so feet from the McCook estate for the Sea side Sanitorium at East Lyme.
 Major Anson T. McCook, who was Governor Templeton's executive sec retary and principal-in the agree ment. emphatically denied the charge. however, in the following statement.
 No Pressure Used
 No pressure was brought to bear by Governor Templeton on the com- mission and any statement to the contrary is false.'
 Attempts to communicate with Mir. Templeton were futile. The former governor instructed the telephone operator to inform report CTS that he did not wish to talk and that he was not at home.' This agreement. which never went into effect and which was followed by condemnation proceedings by the state to acquire additional land. Is now the subject of wide interest be- cause of it's alleged political ramifi- cations. It was referred to in the su- preme court opinion in the McCook case and was the basis of argument by McCook counsel in answer 10 claims set up by the state. The ques- ton now being raised are why dld the commission ignore the agree ment and what were the clrcum- stances of it's origin.
 Refuses to Amplify Statement Dr. Maher refused to enlarge upon ] his charge of coercion by MT. Tenn pleton. All he would say was that the commission was forced into the agreement by the governor. State of- ficals say. however that Dr. Maher signed the letter of agreement un- der duress of threat of removal.
 They assert the letter in fact, was drawn by an agency outside the commission and submitted to the commission chairman with instruc- tions to sign it. They point to the opening sentence of the letter sent to governor by the, commission in which the latter fixed 50 feet as the size of tract necessary for the eX- pansion of the Sanatorium, as an ln- dicaton of coercion. The letter con- taned a promise to take the 50 feet with the provision that no additional land would be sought from the Me Cook estate by the state.
 Open1nG sentence
 This opening sentence follows:
 In compliance with the sugges- ton that you made last week in the course of conversation with one Of us (Arthur Reed kimbalD we here by put in writing and subscribe to the following statement
 A different version, however, Is presented by McCook supporters, who go more deeply into the history of the case than do the state ottl- cials. They say that in June. 1922. the commission wrote to Major Philip J. McCook of New York. brother of Anson T. McCook, notify ink him that it is intended to obtaln options on other lands if the McCook tract was not available.
 Major McCook replied this land was not for sale.
 In 1923, they maintain, a bill, sad to have originated in the office Of the tuberculosis commission. came to his attention, but it was withdrawn when repudiated by the commission. Then, it is said, Major McCook heard rumors that the commission
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