Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-09-03
CONGRESS MAY
TAKE A HAND
INVESTIGATION OF BALLINoER-
PiNCHoT CONTROVERSY
SEEMS LIKELY.
TO STRENGTHEN CONSERVATION
Only Alternative Is for Taft to Inter.
vene and Heal the Breach
Friends of Administration Do
Not Relish Situation.

Washington, Sept. 2.-Congress Is
expected by all sides of the Balinger-
Pinchot controversy to investigate the
various phases of that row during the
session next winter, unless President
Taft shall intervene and settle the
difficulty to the satisfaction of all con-
cerned, before that time. This new
turn of affairs is not looked forward to
with any particular relish by the
friends of the Taft administration,
who realize that the issue will prob
ably be forced upon them in congress,
by the far Western members, who
have fought the Roosevelt policies OF
conservation bitterly and who now
believe they have an opportunity to
get more liberal terms from the Taft
administration.
AS matter of fact it is generally
understood here that the policy of the
administration will be to ask congress
to strengthen the laws of conservation
along the lines of the Roosevelt poll
cies. In that event, Secretary of the
Interior Ballinger, at least, will be
placed in the anomalous position OF
having to fight the friends who think
they are helping him by taking up the
cudgels against the forestry and recla-
nation service.
That the interior department and
the forestry and reclamation services
will be bones of serious contention In
congress this winter is strongly In
Dictated by late developments.
The house committee on agriculture
controls practically all of the appro-
priations under which the forestry
bureau operates and it has hitherto
made it it's business to inquire speed
fically into the workings of that bu-
reau. Likewise the house committee
on territory two years ago requested
the interior department to furnish con-
gress with data relating to Alaska
coal lands, but, after continuing
the investigation for short period,
the department gave 1t up.
Inasmuch as coal claims in Alaska
forest reserves are involved in the
Ballinger-Pinchot row and strong eff
fort is to be made in congress next
winter to increase the amount of coal
land which may he held under one
management it is believed almost un.
avoidable that congress or one of its
committees must investigate at least
part of the basis of the present con
servation row.
Furthermore, Senator Beveridge OF
Indiana, one of the spokesman of the
conservation movements, is chairman
of the senate committee on territories
and, it is understood he may insist or
an investigation complete in all de
tails, before permitting an amendment
OF the present coal land law.
Secretary of the Interior Ballinger
1t was announced at the department
is expected to arrive in Washington
next Friday. The purpose of his com
ing and the length of his stay are un
known to the department subordin
ates, but it is presumed that the sec
rotary has been summoned East by
President Taft with whom he will con
suit at Beverly, and that he will en-
gage himself with furnishing the
president with his side of the contro
versy in order that the president ma,
take some action upon it, before start
ing on his Western trip, the middle o
September. Secretary Ballinger is ex
pected to accompany the president OF
his tour of the Pacific coast state:
the latetr part Of that month.