Be this as it may, there can be no doubt as to the great beauty and artistic value of the two paintings. That one is a replica or a masterly contemporaneous copy of Titian's famous portrait of his daughter, and that the other is a perfect specimen of Giovanni Mazzolini's art, and probably the lost original from which Guido Rene copied his three well-known "Cenci" portraits, can not be doubted. I have always intended that upon my death the two paintings should be presented to one of the great public galleries in this country. The coloring is so exquisite and the expression so perfect that both of the pictures should be in some public gallery where our art students could study and copy them; and although I have always refused to sell them (I was offered £3,000 for the "Cenci " painting), I am now prepared to part with them if by so doing I can in any way help to bring Gen. Anson Mills to justice. Of course, I realize that in making such a proposition in respect to the disposal of the two paintings I am, perhaps, running the risk of having my motive misconstrued and my proposal condemned as improper; but having regard to all of the facts in the case, I am hopeful that my proposition will be received in the spirit in which it is made, and that the vast importance of the great interests at stake, and the many sacrifices I have made in defense of our national reputation as an honest people, will serve as my excuse-if any be needed. A well-known Western jurist and statesman, familiar with all the circumstances of the international (El Paso) dam scandal, has expressed the opinion that my attempt to have Gen. Anson Mills held responsible for his crime," while commendable and necessary, will hardly prove a success, as he will unquestionably be protected to the fullest extent by the department." But despite my friend's sad commentary upon departmental methods and my own unhappy experience of official indifference to what is right and reputable in this matter, I do not believe that the mental and moral obliquity evidenced by the refusal to investigate my charges against Gen. Anson Mills, charges readily substantiated by reference to official documents on file in the State Department, extends to President Roosevelt's immediate entourage at the Executive Mansion. And as it is inconceivable that President Roosevelt would condone so grave an offense as wilful perjury in a Federal official, I feel satisfied that if the particulars of Gen. Anson Mills's misconduct are brought to the President's personal notice the prime mover in the international dam conspiracy will soon be held responsible for his misdeeds. Trusting that you will see your way to comply with my request that the papers under my signature, addressed to President Roosevelt, be brought to his personal notice, I am, sir, Your obedient servant, NATHAN BOYD. The Acting Secretary to the President to Mr. Nathan Boyd. Dr. NATHAN BOYD, Hotel Gordon, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR SIR: I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the 24th instant, with enclosures, and to state that by direction of the President they have been referred to the Secretary of State for a report upon the matter of which you write. Very truly yours, (Signed) WM. LOEB, Jr., Acting Secretary to the President. The Acting Secretory to the President to the Acting Secretary of State. Hon. DAVID J. HILL, Acting Secretary of State. WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, Oyster Bay, N. Y., July 28, 1902. MY DEAR SIR: I beg to send to you by direction of the President the accompanying letters and enclosures from Mr. Nathan Boyd,1 and to ask that you be good enough to submit to him a report upon the subject of which Mr. Boyd writes. Very truly yours, Wм. LOEB, Jr., Acting Secretary to the President. The Acting Secretary of State to the Attorney General. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, July 31, 1902. The honorable the ATTORNEY GENERAL. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from Dr. Nathan Boyd to the President, charging that Brig. Gen. Anson Mills, commissioner on the part of the United States on the United States and Mexican Water Boundary Commission, has committed perjury in opposing the construction at Elephant Butte, N. Mex., of a dam by the Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., and asking that General Mills' conduct be officially investigated. The papers accompanying Doctor Boyd's letter are also enclosed herewith. I beg to request that you will send to this department a report of the matter in order to enable the department to make a report 1 [For enclosure see ante, p. 451.-Agent's note.] to the President, in compliance with his request, as stated in Assistant Secretary Loeb's letter of the 28th instant. Please return the papers herewith with your answer. I have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient servant, DAVID J. HILL, Acting Secretary. Enclosures: From Nathan Boyd to the President, July 24, 1902. From same to William Loeb, jr., July 24, 1902. From R. Newton Crane to Secretary of State, May 14, 1900. Agreement referred to in Doctor Boyd's letter of July 11, 1902, to the Secretary of State. Memorandum on the subject of "perjury," dated July 25, 1902. From B. S. Rodey to Nathan Boyd, July 9, 1902. From Nathan Boyd to the United States Ambassador to Great Britain, April 1, 1898. From Nathan Boyd to the Secretary of State, June 30, 1902 (printed). From same to same, July 11, 1902 (printed). Statement in re Elephant Butte (New Mexico) Dam enterprise and Gen. Anson Mills' international (El Paso) dam scheme by Dr. Nathan Boyd, pamphlet, two copies. The Acting Secretary to the President to Mr. Nathan Boyd. Dr. NATHAN BOYD, OYSTER BAY, N. Y., August 2, 1902. Hotel Gordon, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR SIR: In reply to your recent favor I beg to say that the matter of which you write was promptly brought to his attention, and by his direction was referred to the Secretary of State for report. He has also asked for a report from the Attorney General. Very truly yours, The Acting Attorney General to the Secretary of State. The SECRETARY OF STATE: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D. C., August 6, 1902. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 31st ultimo, with its enclosures, relating to a letter addressed to the President by Dr. Nathan Boyd, charging Brig. Gen. Anson Mills, commissioner on the part of the United States on the United States and Mexican Water Boundary Commission, with having committed perjury in opposing the construction of the dam at Elephant Butte, N. Mex. In reply thereto I have to say that this matter is in the hands of M. C. Burch, special assistant to the Attorney General. He is now out of the city, but will return about the 1st of September, when a full report in accordance with your request will be made. Very respectfully, JAMES M. BECK, Acting Attorney General. The Acting Attorney General to the Secretary of State. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D. C., September 13, 1902. The SECRETARY OF STATE. SIR: Referring to your letter of July 31, 1902, with which you enclosed certain communications from Dr. Nathan Boyd to the President, one to Mr. William Loeb, jr., assistant secretary to the President, and copies of other correspondence, all relating to the charges made by said Doctor Boyd of perjury on the part of Gen. Anson Mills, commissioner on the part of the United States in the United States and Mexican Water Boundary Commission, in connection with the case of the United States v. The Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co. et al., in my reply, dated August 6, 1902, to your abovementioned letter, I advised you that upon the return to the city of the attorney having charge of the case a full report would be made. to you, thus enabling you to reply to the President. Subsequent to the date of my reply to you I received direct from the President a request for a report upon this matter, and now have the honor to enclose you herewith for your information and for such action as you may deem proper, a copy of such report. The papers enclosed with your letter of August 31 are herewith returned to you. Very respectfully, H. M. HOYT, Acting Attorney General. [Enclosure.] To the PRESIDENT, Oyster Bay, N. Y. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D. C., August 22, 1902. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of August 2, with which you transmit certain papers submitted to you by Dr. Nathan Boyd, requesting me to make report to you concerning the matter to which they relate. The gist of Doctor Boyd's complaint consists of intemperate charges against the good faith and official conduct of Gen. Anson Mills, acting as commissioner for the United States of the International Water Boundary Commission, especially in relation to the proposed international storage dam at El Paso, Tex. While the work of this commission and the functions of General Mills in that connection fall under the jurisdiction of the State Department, it is not amiss for me to state my personal belief that the facts, as known to me, do not at all justify the attack on General Mills, in which it is demanded that he be held "responsible for his misdeeds," and the proposed international dam project, supported by him, is characterized as a "conspiracy to rob the people of New Mexico of their right" and "a plot to defraud the English investors" in the private irrigation enterprise which Doctor Boyd represents. Doctor Boyd intimates that some action on these charges remains to be taken by the Department of Justice, but I am aware of no correspondence on this subject with the State Department which has not been closed. In Doctor Boyd's demand for an investigation of General Mills' official conduct, he claims that this course should be pursued" in the interest of justice and in the interest of our national reputation as an honest people." These expressions lead me to say that, throughout his protracted series of assertions on this subject, during my predecessor's incumbency and my own, Doctor Boyd, in his advocacy of private foreign interests, has repeatedly impugned the integrity of our national administration and the honesty of our people. It is unnecessary to say that he has no ground whatever for such offensive suggestions, and thus inevitably gives to the unbiased mind a distrust of his entire case. Coming now to the part in the matter taken by this department, I am not concerned with nor advised about the desirability nor the practicability of the international dam scheme. The Department of Justice has nothing whatever to do with that proposed enterprise. The simple fact is that the National Government, through this department, is engaged in an orderly endeavor to learn through the courts what are its proper functions as a sovereign power and in view of international rights claimed under treaties with Mexico. respecting the navigation of the Rio Grande, touching incidentally (but perhaps necessarily, as the case develops) general and private irrigation rights on that river, its headwaters and tributaries. This proceeding is in the form of a suit to enjoin the operations of the Elephant Butte enterprise, in which Doctor Boyd is interested. The Government's action has been taken in good faith, of course, in pursuance of a solemn and rightful intention to be advised |