TAFT SHOULDERS RESPONSIBILITY
Taft Shoulders Responsibility ANOTHER sensational chapter was added to the record of the congiexitnal investigation of the Ballinger-Pinchot controveisy last week. This time it was furnished by...
...I then said to him that I had made up my mind as to my conclusions and had drafted part of my opinion, but that I wished him to examine the full record and bring me his conclusions before I stated mine...
...Ballinger the first evening and asked such questions as suggested themselves, without intimating any conclusion, and said that I would examine the answers and the record, and would see him the next day...
...Ballinger was at Seattle, but upon receipt of the charges he came to Washington to prepare his answer...
...I was sorry not to be able to embody this analysis in my opinion, but time did not permit...
...Admission by Ballinger that he appeared as counsel for coal interests after leaving the lahd office, in the face of the law prohibiting such course...
...It resulted in a general conclusion that jealousy between the bureaus of the interior department and the forestry bureau probably explained the attitude of the interior department officials, but that the intimations of bad faith by Glavis against Mr...
...Wickersham Admits Antedating Letter THE two most interesting and important phases of the examination have to do with the Wickersham and Lawler papers cited and reveal not only a shameless railroading of Glavis out of the public service, but a cunning attempt to cover up this fact and to deceive the public...
...That Guggenheim managers were active in bringing about the election of United States Senator Piles of Washington and celebrated his victory...
...According to Kerby's charges there was much collaboration in the preparation of the letter and several prominent subordinates are involved...
...In view of the fact, however, that he has been silent all these weeks in the face of the popular demand that he speak out, and other circumstances, it looks as though the intention was to keep it a mystery as long as possible...
...Chief of the Field Service Schwartz, and, I think, First Assistant Secretary Frank Pierce, and Private Secretary Carr...
...Ballinger and the others required that the statement be submitted to them for answer...
...On May 16, Ballinger dismissed Kerby from the service...
...Admission by Ballinger that he owned stock >n two western companies, one of which was the Hanford Irrigating company...
...Lawler that I was anxious ta write a full statement of the case, and set out the reasons for my decision, but that the time for my departure cn a long' western trip, occupying two months, was just one week from that day...
...Attorney Gene.al Wickersham finally admits that the opinion on which the President is said to have based the same letter was written long after the date which it bears...
...On the 9th I telegraphed the attorney-general to come to Beverly in order that I might consult him in respect to the case...
...The charge was made in a signed statement by Frederick M. Kerby, a stenographer in the Interior Department, who declares that his relations with Secretary Ballinger have always been cordial...
...On May 15 the President sent a letter to Chairman Nelson of the committee in which he assumes responsibility: 1. For giving Assistant Attorney General Lawler authority to write, as if he were President, a letter exonerating Ballinger...
...3. For antedating the Wickersham opinion on the Glavis charges...
...It was then that Kerby decided to make public his knowledge of an affair that has weighed upon his conscience for months...
...11, and, pursuant to an appointment made by telephone, he came to my home on Sunday morning, Sept...
...The attorney general returned in the evening with notes of the examination which he had made, and reported to me the conclusions which he had reached, which were in substantial accord with my own...
...It contained references to the evidence which were useful, but its criticisms of Mr...
...If Attorney General Wickersham finds that reading Dolliver and Cummins out of the Republican party is not sufficient, he may be forced to resort to the stern measure of reading Iowa out of the Union.—Kansas City Star...
...1 therefore requested Mr...
...Accordingly copies of the statement were sent to Secretary Ballinger, to Assistant Secretary Pierce to Commissioner Dennett, and to Chief of Field Service Schwartz...
...It is many weeks since Mr...
...During the day I examined the draft opinion of Mr...
...that I had six or seven speeches to deliver at the beginning- of that journey, and that I could not give the time to the preparation of such a detailed statement, and opinion as I would like to render in the matter...
...2. For using certain parts of the Lawler draft in the Utter which he finally signed...
...That the Interior Department advertised in a southern paper just before the present inrestigation opened for "kicks on the forestry...
...Mr...
...He says in part: "As I have said, the letter was dictated in Ballinger's private office by Lawler...
...William H. Taft...
...We both had personal knowledge in respect to Secretary Ballinger's attitude towards the Alaska coal cUiims, which was the chief subject of innuendo and complaint, for Mr...
...Brandeis first charged that the Wickersham opinion was written months after its date, in order to bolster up the President's letter, but the committee refused to call for it...
...Letter Follows Disclosure THIS communication marks the culmination of a series of incidents of dramatic interest...
...Ballinger was at the banquet...
...On Saturday came the sensational accusation that President Taft's now famous letter exonerating Secretary Ballinger of the charges made by Louis R. Glavis was not only prepared by Oscar Lawler, Attorney General of the Interior Department, but that the work was done at the direction of Secretary Ballinger and the letter approved by him before it was submitted to the President...
...On Monday, September 6, Mr...
...The conclusions which I reached were based upon my reading of the record, and were fortified by the oral analysis of the evidence and the conclusions which the attorney general gave me, using the notes which he had made during his reading of the record...
...He took the whole recori away...
...In his letter Wickersham does not send the opinion called for and the alacrity with which he finally wrote his letter has raised the question, does he hope and expect that the House will now be satisfied and will not adopt the resolution requiring him to send the opinion and other data wanted...
...Ballinger sent to my house on that day the answer of the various persons concerned, together with a voluminous record of exhibits...
...The draft was discussed in detail, and it is my memory that Ballinger himself read the letter or draft aloud, and general criticism from the others was invited and received...
...During- the 8th, 9th, and 10th I gave such consideration to the Glavis record as was consistent with previous engagements, but paid no attention to the speeches...
...Each time a fresh draft was completed it would be taken in to Lawler who would revise it...
...Then, being threatened with a resolution in the House of Representatives, Wickersham hurriedly writes a- letter admitting antedating the opinion and said there is no mystery about it...
...Lawler frequently consulted E. C. Finney, assistant to Ballinger...
...Pinchot and Mr...
...Glavis I did not think it proper or wise to adopt...
...The majority of the committee have decided that my action was not within the jurisdiction of the committee to investigate...
...President's Letter FOLLOWING is the text of the Taft letter: "In the hearings before the committee to investigate the interior department and forestry service,1 reference has been made to my decision upon the complaint and charges of L. R. Glavis filed with me on the 18th of August last against Secretary Ballinger and certain other officials of the interior department...
...Ballinger had early in the administration consulted us both regarding them...
...private secretary and that the note books used were tu be "lo^-t...
...On the afternoon of the second day a consultation was held between Ballinger, Lawler, Finney, Commissioner Frederick Dennett, of the Land Office...
...Lawler, who was present at my suggestion, discussed the evidence at some length...
...And, for one thing, it has discomfited those who charged Attorney Brandeis with "undue suspicions" when he intimated that the Wickersham opinion had really been written long after the date which had been put upon it...
...He felt, however, that the people were entitled to- know the whole truth in the so-called Glavis case...
...Finding concealment no longer possible they have finally come out in the open and admitted the truth of the charges...
...Admission by Ballinger that he drew the Cunningham affidavit and took it to Secretary Garfield...
...He arrived there Saturday afternoon, Sept...
...In spite of this ruling, references to the matter have crept into the record...
...This time it was furnished by President Taft...
...Glavis' statement and charges were left with me by him on August 18, 1909...
...Ballinger or the others accused could be found guilty of either incompetency, inefficiency, disloyalty to the interests of the government, or dishonesty...
...We then discussed the matter at some length, particularly some points of law which were involved, and took up the opinion which I had finished and made a number of alterations, and as the result of that discussion, I determined the final form which I employed and signed the same on Monday, Sept...
...For some time the investigation conducted by Attorney Brandeis had apparently been with a view to bringing out such admission by Ballinger or other officials of the department, but without definite results...
...I only used a few paragraphs from it containing merely general statements...
...Ballinger and others...
...Important Facts Brought Out ONE IMPORTANT fact after another was brought out during the three days that Secretary Ballinger was on the stand...
...After much consideration the committee finally called upon Lawler for a copy of his original draft of the letter, but the latter replied that he had kept none...
...Lawler, the assistant attorney general of the department of justice, assigned to the interior department...
...I turned them over to the attorney general, who happened to be in the neighborhood, and he made notes upon his reading...
...I therefore directed him to embody in a written statement such analysis and conclusions as he had given me, file it with the record, and date it prior to the date of my opinion, so as to show that my decision was fortified by his summary of the evidence and his conclusions therefrom...
...I said to Mr...
...Lawler, but its thirty pages did not state the case in the way in which I wished it stated...
...Briefly they may be summarized as follows: That Oscar Lawler, attorney general for the Interior Department, wrote the summary of the President's letter of September 13 last, exonerating Ballinger and authorizing the dismissal of Glavis...
...Within two or three days after the filing of the charges, at a meeting at which the secretary of the treasury, the attorney general, and the secretary of the navy were present, a full discussion of the Glavis statement was had...
...In the discussions of the second evening Mr...
...I had a conference with him the evening of the day he cams, September 6, and then on the following evening, September 7. I talked over the charges with Mr...
...He then delivered to me the draft of opinion prepared by Mr...
...For two days Massey and I did nothing but help rush this work...
...Kerby also declares that all the lough drafts were burned at the suggestion of Ballinger...
...For this reason I deem it proper to write you and state with such accuracy as my memory permits what the facts are...
...Mr...
...Lawler to prepare an opinion as if he were president...
...Lawler and said that he had had an opportunity on coming from New York to read the answers of Mr...
...I sat up until 3 o'clock that night reading the answers and exhibits, so that at my next conference I was advised of the contents of the entire record, and had made up my mind that there was nothing in the charges upon which Mr...
...Probably half a dozen drafts were made before the final one was accepted...
...Ballinger reached Beverly, accompanied by Mr...
Vol. 2 • May 1910 • No. 20
