| OCR Text |
Show PINCHOT 1 AKE8 MOST SURPRISING I ADM1SSS0N ON THE WITNESS.. STAND i 1 Says He Based His Accusation of" Duplicity Against Ballinger on. a Letter Written ; by J. T. Ronald, Not by Ballinger " i plallon when Shaw was with Glavls. ' The witness here read Into the evidence evi-dence the full text of a letter written ; to him by President Taft from Bev- ' erly. Sept 13, 1909, at the same time ! he wrote to Secretary Ballinger. exon- 1 cretin him from the Glavls charges. In th'. letter the President ex-prc-ss?d confidence in Mr Pinchot, bur. urged him not to inako Glavls' cause his own. II? referred to Glavls as die. ingenuous and as a man who had let one Idea run away with his Judgment. The President expressed regret that Mr. Plnehot did not share his confidence confi-dence and trust In Mr. Ballinger. Mr. Pinchot also read his reply to the President, dated Nov. t. 10O. in which he renewed his criticism of Secretary Sec-retary Ballinger. Washington. D C. March 1 There was a surprising development today In the Balllnger-Pinchot investigation when Gilford Pinchot announced to the committee that he based his charge that Secivtary Ballinger had been guilty of making statements to the President that were absolutely false In three essential polDts, not upon the letter fiom Mr. Ballinger himself, but upon a letter by J. T. Ronald, a former law partner of Mr. Ballinger, to Dr Lyman Abbott. Mr. Pinchot said a copy of this let-tor, let-tor, with a notation, was forwarded by Mr. Ballinger to the President. He admitted that the three statements in the Ronald letter, which he claimed to Ire false, had previously been covered cov-ered by a letter written by Mr. Ballinger Ballin-ger himself to the President, In which Ballinger had stated what the witness admitted was a true statement of the facts. Mr. Pinchot said be did not attempt to reconcile thepe two facts. Before this development, the Interest Inter-est of the morning session bad centered cen-tered In the announcement by Pinchot j that h would not press for a decision as to whether or not he should be allowed to give his vetMon of the conversations con-versations with President Taft, and the introduction in evidence by Pinchot Pin-chot of a long letter written to him by President Taft in September last. In this letter the President denounced Glavls as disingenuous, warned Mr. Pinchot against making Glavls cause his own. declared he was sorry Mr Pinchot did not have the same confidence con-fidence and trust In Mr Ballinger as he did, and lastly, declared that controversies con-troversies between the departments In Warhlngton must cease. -He- referred In- this particular to an alleced interview with Ormsby Me-Harg, Me-Harg, former assistant secretary of commerce and labor, in vhth Mr. Mc-Harg Mc-Harg was reported ro have said that Theodore Roosevelt "must have thought himself the- lord' " Washington, March 1. When the Pinchot Ballinger committee of inquiry in-quiry met today In the senate office building there was pending the question ques-tion as to whether or not Clifford Pinchot, Pin-chot, the witness on the stand, should be allowed to give bis version of conversation con-versation had with President Taft. Counsel for Mr. Pinchot finally said he would not press for a ruling, and the matter was- dropped. Mr. Vertrees, counsel for Mr Ballinger, Bal-linger, suggested that a ruling should be had as to whether or not Mr. Pin chot, and probably other wltuesses, should be allowed to repeat conversations conversa-tions with the President. Mr. Vertrees 6ald there was no objection to tho Introduction in evidence of letters written to or by the President, but he conttnded that If the committee permltled witnesses to give their version ver-sion of conversations at the White House It would out the' President In the embarrassing attitude of either remaining silent or appearing before the commit Ke z n witness. The latter lat-ter he deemed to v undesirable. There was no Indication this morning morn-ing Hi to how much longer Mr. Pinchot Pin-chot would remain on the stand. He will.be succeeeded by witnesses called by him to substantiate the specific charRts he has made agaiDst the secretary sec-retary of the interior. Among these. K was announced, would be officers in tnc government rcrinmation service. serv-ice. When the public hearing opened, Attorney Pepper began to question Mr. Pinchot as to the sequence of events lqllowing July 1, 1909, when the former forester said ho first heard of the Cunningham claims through forest officials in the West, and when ho heard what his subordinates had done at Glavis' request, looking to a postponement of the hearings of the Cuunlngham claim, he approved thoroughly. thor-oughly. Asked if there was anything unusual unu-sual itt the interference of tho forest service. Mr. Pinchot repd a letter signed by President Roosevelt, May 17. 190.", directing the secretary of the interior to co-operate with the forestry for-estry service as ty lands In forest resets, re-sets, aud to adopt tho service's findings find-ings m far as possible. The witness told of his interview with Glavls at Spokane on Aug. 9, 1909 The meeting was not by appointment, ap-pointment, and Mr. pinchot said ha posslb'y bd met Glavls once before, he wa not sure. Glavis laid all his evidence before him. Mr. Pinchot said, Kpd spoke of publishing the whole story. "I was deeply Impressed by what Qlavis said, and urged him to go to the President. I did this because I thought a scandal would arise, as It since haH arisen, and I thought the President ought to have an opportunity opportu-nity .o protect himself and his. administration." ad-ministration." ' Mr. Pinchot read in evidence the letter of Introduction he gave Glavls to the President. In this letter he raid ha had known Glavis for several years'." , The witness explained again that ho tbousht be had met Glavis once before; be-fore; at any rate, he said, he had known of him. for several years. As to' Shaw going to Chicago to assist Glavls In the preparation of. his statement to the President, Mr. Pinchot said the impression had gono forth that Shaw had assisted Glavis In preparing an article published in a weekly paper. This wa8 not true, the witness declared, for such an article ar-ticle could not have been in contera- |
