Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-12
Battle Royal Is Started by
Former Governor
SECRETARY OF INTERIOR Is
ACCUSED OF MALFEASANCE
ROOSEVELT POLICY DEMANDED
BY CALIFORNIAN
~ Do Oppose Giving Away immense
Rights to Private Corporations"
Declares Pardee at Irri-
cation Congress
CBy Associated oress.)

oION AIN T., w dSll., mug. IL
With the stage carefully set, the
actors prepared in their lines
and an overwhelming audience
in it's place, the Ballinger-Pinchot
battle royal burst upon the Ma
tional Irrigation congress this
afternoon.
The man who, in the language
OF an enthusiastic Californian,
ripped things wide open was
Dir. George c. Pardee, former
governor of California. DIR. Par
Ice attacked Richard A. Ball
niger, secretary of the interior,
with herceness only seconded
by that of former Senator George
Turner of Washington, who took
UP the cudgels in defense of the
secretary.
No Use for Manuscript
Former Governor Pardee took the
platform to deliver the address upon
the subject assigned to him. But he
had no use for his manuscript. He
opened by saying that he was for
Roosevelt and the Roosevelt policies.
Roosevelt was a president who did
things first" said he. land talked about
them afterward. And that's the kind
of men we would like to see in public
office now"
DR.. Pardee told of the activities of
former Secretary Garfield, who, under
the instructions of President Roose-
welt, withdrew from public entry many
tracts of land under the belief that
these lands should be held for the peo-
pie. Now, he said, Secretary Ballinger
has again put up for entry these lands.
and each tract has In it's boundaries a
water power site.
~ do not oppose private enterprise In the
development Of these sites" said Dr. Par
dee, but do oppose giving away immense
rights TO private corporations which in
few years will hold the same political con-
troll over cities and states that railways now
hold rs n result of the magnificent gifts
made them when they were asking for help
to construct.
I'VE know the corruption that has resulted
from railway control. shall we now hand
out 10 form OF corporate power our
institutional"
Pleads for the People
DR.. Pardee said water power sites
should be withdrawn from entry and
held for the people.
"When," pleaded tho speaker, ARE
we ever going to have a chance for
the common. hard working citizen
Secretary Ballinger has said that irri-
CATION is not proposition for a poor
man. l take Issue with him and say 1t
is particularly a poor mans PROPOSE
tion. and if there Is any one trying to-
make il not so let us find out about
it
Senator Turner during these remarks
had left his place in the rear of the
hall and was sitting behind the
lxar G pn-dnp nnnpiII1pd Mr.
Turner gained the foo and replied.
Il think" said he, that the remarks
of Governor Pardee at a time following
the secretary of the interior, are. to
say the least. in bad taste. Mr.. Bal
linger has done in his official capacity
only what any man would do under
his oath of office-he has obeyed the
law. No man has the right to act
first and read the Jaw afterwards, and
even Governor Pardee never did such
a thing in his official capacity"
Pardee Answers Turner
Again DIR. ParCee was on his feet.
al want to say" he exclaimed, that
/ never said such a thing. ! said that
we want a man who acts first and
talks afterward. | want to say fur
ther Cooking at Mr. Turner) that l am
here representing none but myself, and
/ am not an attorney nor the son of
one. If that be treason, make the best
of it,"
Mr.. Ballinger had left the hall at this
time, but Clifford Pinchot who inciden-
tally had been the unseen recipient OF
cuffs and compliments, sat smiling.
Mr.. Ralllnger entered the auditorium
this afternoon surrounded by recep-
tion committee, and when he arose 70
speak he was cheered for several min
utes.
The secretary, after few introduc-
tory remarks, read from paper his
ideas on reclamation and the public
domain. One point he made plain. and
that was his idea of what has been
done by the secretary of the interior
was under the law. His speech in part
was as follows:
BaIIingers Address Official
Secretary Ballinger, who spoke on the
attitude of the administration toward
the reclamation of arid land in the
west said, in part:
"While the government has invested
over $50,000000 in irrigation works,
many times that amount has been in
vested since the passage of the
reclamation act by private enterprises,
and it is safe to say large portion
of these private investments have re-
suited from governmental example and
encouragement Let me say here that
IL has not been and is not the policy
of the national government in the adj
ministration of this act to hinder or
interfere with the investment of pri-
vate capital in the construction of ir-
rigation work, but rather to lend en-
couragement. This is particularly true
i'm reference tC irrigation under the
Carey act in the various states. ] am
not a believer in the government enter
ing into competition with legitimate
private enterprises. It's functions un-
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