Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1909-11-25

Mr.. Roosevelt, looking the other way
thinking on other things, busy with
his great plan to make Mr. Taft his
successor, leaving all forest things
to his dear Pinchot," promptly
o. KID the confscations.
Also, like Mr.. CLAWS, Mr. Pin
chot discovered a mares nest. The
Pinchot nest related, not to coal, but
water He detected symptoms of a
coming water-pOwer trust
In some reconcile way, which
do not understand and therefore
shall not try to lay bare, that COM
ing water-power trust was to be
knocked on the head, killed as il
were, on the nest by a sheer first
effect of that forestry cOnfiscation
of 18O,00O,0O0 acres
But, behold you, along comes Mr..
Ballinger as Secretary of the Inter-
ior, Keen, clear, alert, law to his
finger-tips, all spring steel and ac-
ton and in the pride of his youth,
sets aside the Pinchot confscation,
deforests that conquest of 100000
600 acres and reads it to the general
public domain from which, by Mr.
Pinchot, it had been so feverishly
subtracted.
Naturally Mr.. Pinchot carried the
storm of his briefs to Mr. Taft. That
executive, at cheerful ease in his
Beverly splint-bottom rocker=of
double width and strength-gaye
judgment as aforesaid for Mr.. Bal
linger, and Mr.. Pinchot dolefully
withdrew, as depressed as some pea
cock bereft of its tail.
It's awful to be born rich. It's
more awful when thus conditioned
you are taken captive by fad. The
two combined make No" so hard
to bear.
Mr.. Pinchot hasn't left the de-
partment-Mr. CLAWS has-being inl
continently chucked out Mr.. Bal
linger won from Mr.. CLAWS on
knock-out-from Mr.. Pinchot on
points.
Mr.. Roosevelt was in the White
House. Junior Jimmy Garfield sat in
looking about for a superintendent
of the Land Office. Mr.. Garfield said:
Get Ballinger."
Mr.. Garfield had met Mr.. Ballinger
at Williams about the time Mr.
Roosevelt at Harvard was meeting
Mr.. Pinchot.
What's his politics?" asked Mr.
Roosevelt.
He hates thieves" was the reply
Then Mr. Garfield told Mr.. Roose-
welt an engaging tale of how Mr.
Ballinger had once killed three
rattlesnakes with his quirt during
those far-off cowboy days. This
tragedy took appropriately on the
banks of Rattlesnake creek.
There are rattlesnakes in the
Land Office" observed Mr.. Roosevelt
to Mr.. Ballinger, having speciously
roped the latter into the White
House on a pretense Of lunch. I've
pitched upon you to kill them"
Mr. Ballinger, Stakeholder, re-
form Mayor of Seattle, became Sup
erintendent of the Government Land
Office. True to his employment, he
did for that land Office what ST.
Patrick did for Ireland. When he
got through, not a graft-rattle, not
fraud-hiss could anywhere be
heard The land snakes were gone.
With broom of law with bosom of
dismissal, Stakeholder Ballinger had
swept them out.
Mr.. Roosevelt was working as a
beaver never worked to make Mr..
Taft his successor. Brother Chas.
Taft, down in Cincinnati, was spend
ing S1,2G0,000 of his wife's money
Inherited from her iron-monger-
ing father old dead Dave Sinton-
in the same good cause. Mr.. Bal
linger. inspired by so much and
high example, began to get busy
along similar lines
Mr.. Ballinger caused himself to
from his State of Washington. He
saw to it that he was sent delegate
to the Chicago convention. He
Unanswered himself delicately, vet
sufficiently upon the conventions
platform committee On all occa-
sions and in every corner he was
for Taft and Taft alone Also he
showed himself as apt for politics
as any Irishman.
To Mr. Ballinger, as debts of
politics are counted, Mr. Taft owed
much 1t was the expected thing
that Mr.. Ballinger should be in
Vited into the Cabinet.
1t was just as expected, that being
invited, he would come. He was
invited. He did come. He's there
now. to the destruction of the
Glavises and the dismay of the
Pinchots. 1t might be subjoined,
too, that he is there TO the advan-
tage of the public and the truth in
no wise be over-run.