East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-11-26
THINGS WILL pop
ON CAPITOL HILL
PINCHOT-BALLING
ROW WILL REVIVE
President Taft Has Herculean Task
on His Hands-Taft Cabinet Men
of Different Type Than Roosevelt
Members.

Washington.-"The going to be
some fireworks on the hill this Win
ter" said a western senator who
dropped into town the other day after
having casually inspected the now
famous Ballinger-Pinch controversy
from afar.
II didn't get near enough to the row
TO stop any of the shells, but you can
put il down now that there VIII be
plenty of them flying around the
Capitol this winter" he remarked
And say" he added, Il wouldn't have
the presidents job right now for LOT
of money.
Everyone is awaiting the word from
the white house and wondering what
Taft will do.
Resume of Row.
Here's. the situation: Last sum-
mer several newspapers criticized Sec
retary of the Interior Ballinger for his
wholesale restoration of the Garfield
conservation Withdrawals of public
land. The cry was taken UP at the
National Irrigation Congress at spo-
kane where Ex-Governor Pardee, or
California. charged that Ballinger had
delivered the west into the hands or
the water power trust and was re-
peated by Pardee, Francis j. Heney
and others at the Conversation Con-
gress at Seattle.
Then l. r. CLAWS. a land office
agent who had been investigating some
Alaskan coal claims which he be-
lieved to be fraudulent and in the In
terests of which Ballinger had once
appeared as attorney, went to the
president with what he, thought was
evidence that Ballinger was trying TO
rush the claims to patent despite tes-
timony that they were illegal. The
president exhonerated Ballinger in an
omen letter and fired CLAWS. CLAWS
then made his charges public.
The reason for naming the row
''the Ballinger-P -Pinchot controversy
is that Ballinger asserted last summer
that Chief Forester, Pinchot was try
ing to run the Department of the In
terror. Now. Ballinger. expressed the
belief that Pinchot has inspired the
attacks on him in the press. The fac
is that Pinchot and Ballinger have
not been pulling we'll together in thu
official harness for some time. Eaci
suspects and mistrusts the other.
Pinchot Relic of RoOseveltism.
In dealing with Pinchot, the pre:ii
dent is confronted with the fact tha
the Chief Forester is looked upon b
the country as the expression of tn
Roosevelt principles of conservation
of the natural resources of the coun
try. He is regarded by many per
sons. especially in the west. as tn
one man who stands between the I'm
terests" that are said to be trying I
monopolize the public resources, an
+bo neon,e 9yT
On the other hand, the presider
has Ballinger, his own selection, a
Secretary of the Interior. He turne
Garfield out in order to put Ballinge
in. and if he were to sidetrack Ba
linger now It would be reflection o
the wisdom of his choice. Then, to
there is Frank Hitchcock. Postmast'
General. who ran the Taft campaig
Hitchcock is a friend of the Secretal
of the Interior and is said to be larg
" responsible for his selection as
member of the Taft cabinet.
Taft Different from Teddy.
Taft's way of doing things is diffe
ent from Roosevelt's and the ms
whom Taft has put into office are
a distinctly different type from tho
who surrounded Roosevelt. Bal