Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-01
FORESTER
JUMPS ON
BALLINGER
Pinchot Attacks Policy of
Interior Secretary
DECLARES CONGRESS MUST
DECIDE LAND QUESTION
SAYS PEOPLE CAN BEST CON-
SERVE RESOURCES
Insists It Is Not Good Sense to Let
Valuable Government Privileges
Pass from Public Ownership
for Nothing
SAYS PEOPLE CAN BEST CON-
SERVE RESOURCES
Associated Pressl

w Pinchot. chief of the United
States forest serYice, has again
thrown down the gauntlet to Secretary
of the Interior Ballinger in regard to
the conservation policy.
He declared congress will have to
decide at its coming session whether
the great coal fields of the country shall
continue to remain in the hands of the
| people or be gobbled up by monopo-
lies, and whether great water power
sites shall be given away to special
| interests or be controlled by the people
| sMr. Pinchot makes known his views
on these two "chief sources of power
of the present and future" in a letter to
| DIR. Lyman Abbott of New York, in
response to a series of questions asked
by the latter on "the national conserva-
tion policy"
Referring to the development Of
water power and coal fields, the gov
| ernment forester declares that in most
cases actual development Of the former
can best be done by private interests
acting under public control, but that
'it Is neither good sense nor good
morals to let these valuable privileges
pass from the public ownership for
nothing and forever"
In answer to DR.. Abbott's question
What is the danger to the conserva-
tion policy in the coming session of
| congress?" Mr.. Pinchot declares that 1t
is that the privileges of the few may
continue to obstruct the rights of the
many, especially In the matter of water
power and coal"
Says Congress Must Decide
Congress must decide at this ses-
sion." Mr.. Pinchot says. whether the
great coal fields still in public owner
| ship shall remain so, in order that
their use may be controlled with due
regard to the interests of the consumer.
or whether they shall pass into pri-
vate ownership and be controlled by
the monopolistic interests of the few.
Congress must decide also whether
| immensely valuable rights to the use
of water power shall be given away
to special interests in perpetuity and
without compensation, instead of being
held by the public"
''Why is 1t important to protect the
water powers?" asked DR.. Abbott, and
in reply Mr.. Pinchot points out that
II Is of the first Importance to prevent
them from passing into private owner
ship, as they have been doing because
the greatest source of power we know
is falling water.
Under our form OF civilization" he
says 'if a few men ever succeed in
controlling the sources of power they
will eventually control all industry as
well. II they succeed in controlling all
industry they will necessarily control
| the country"
Mr.. Pinehot adds that he can see mo
reason why we should deliberately keep
Dn helping to fasten the handouts of
corporate control on ourselves for all
| time, merely because the few men vino
| Nyn4IlH hx [ hnr ha4
had the power to compel it,"
Water Rights Should Be Protected
As one of the essential things that
must be done to protect the water
powers for the people, the granting of
| water powers forever, and on nom
Inavigable or navigable streams, must
absolutely stop, according to Mr.. Pin
chot.
! After stating that it cannot be right
to grant perpetual rights to the one
great permanent source of power, Mr..
Pinehot declares that 'it is just as
wrong as it is foolish, and just as need
less as 1t is wrong to mortgage the well
| fare of our children in such a way as
this. Water powers must and should
be developed mainly by private capital,
and they must be developed under con-
ditions which make investment in
them profitable and safe"
He adds, however. that neither profit
nor safety requires perpetual rights.
Mr.. Pinchot declares. further. that
there sis no reason whatever why spe-
cial interests should be allowed to use
them for profit without making some
direct payment. to the people for the
valuable rights derived from the peo-
pie
People Should Have Control
ut is just as essential for the public
welfare that the people should retain
and exercise control of water power
monopoly on navigable as on non-nav-
igable streams" Mr.. Pinchot states in
reply to the question, Does the same
principle apply to navigable streams
as to n-navigable?"
"If the difficulties are greater" he
concludes, then the danger that the
water powers may pass out of the peo-
pies hands on the lower navigable
parts of the streams is greater than on
the upper non-navigable parts, and 1t
may be harder, but in no way less
necessary, to prevent"
Explaining what conservation means,
Mr.. Pinchot declares 1t stands against
the waste of the natural resources that
cannot be renewed, such as coal and
iron; it stands for the perpetuation of
the resources that can be renewed; and,
most of all, it stands for an equal op-
portunity for every American citizen
to get his fair share of benefit from
these resources, both now and for
ever"
In discussing, what has eonserva-
tion to do with the welfare of the
average man today?" it is pointed out
that lit proposes to secure continu-
ance and abundant supply of the neces-
saries of life, which means a reason
able cost of loss and business stability.
It advocates fairness in the distribu-
tion of the benefits which flow from