The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-12-28
Ry limited Press Wire.

New York Dec.-"The American
pepole have evidently made up their
minds that our natural resources
shall be conserved. But for whose
benefit? For the benefit of the few
or the profit of the many? The great
est conflict now being fought will
decide"
In these words, Clifford Pinchot,
chief of the forest service of the
national government, In an address
today threw open the gauntlet to the
opposition which is fighting to oust
him in his program of conservation.
Pinchot's reference to the great con-
lict now being fought, is the declara-
ton that he recognizes the contest
as very real one, in which the
stake is big, as he made perfectly
clear in the course of his address
he expects to fight to the finish.
Pinchot spoke at a luncheon Civ
en- him by a number of prominent
publishers of New Yory at the Uni
versity club.
ut is an honorable distinction"
he declared earnestly, 'of the forest
service that it has been more con-
stantly, more violently and more Bit
terly attacked by the representatives
of the special interests in recent
years than any other government
bureau and again:
"The more successful we have
been in preventing land grabbing
land the absorption of water power
tby the special interests, the more in
genious. the more devious and the
more dangerous these attacks have
become. A favorite one is to assert
that the forest service in its zeal for
the public interest has played ducks
and brakes with the acts of Congress
The fact is on the contrary. that the
service has had warrant of law for
everything it has done. And still
further:
I'VE hold ii to be the first duty
of a public officer to obey the law.
But we hold it his second duty, and a
close second, to do every thing the
law directs or compells him to do.
"The people of this country have
lost vastly more than they can ever
regain by gifts or public property
and without charge, to men who give
nothing in return. It is true that
We have made superb material pro-
gress under this system, but 1t is not
well for us to rejoice too freely in
the slices the special interests have
given us of the great loaf of the prop
erty of all the people.
1.-THE people OF the United States
have been the complacent victims Of
system of grab often perpetrated
by men who would have been sur
prised beyond measure to be accus-
ed of wrong doing and many of
fwhom In their private lives were
model citizens.
I'VE have allowed the great cor
porations to occupy with their own
men the strategic points In business
In social, and in political life. It Is
our fault more than theirs. We have
allowed II when we could have stop
ped It, Too often have we seemed
to forget that man in public life
can no more serve both the special
interests and the people than he can
serve his God and Mammon. There
Is no reason why the American peo-
pie should not take into their hands
the full political power which is
theirs by right and which they ex-
ercised before the special interests
began TO nullify the will of the
majority.
Since the forest service called pub
lie attention to the rapid absorption
OF the water power sites and the
threatening growth of a great water
power monopoly, the attacks upon It
have increased with marked rapidity.
anticipate that they will continue
to do Sc. Still greater opposition is
promised in the near future. There
Is but one protection-an awaken
ed and determined public opinion.
That is why / give you the facts