Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-08-27

made Seattle model city. His life
was threatened often, but that is a
tribute offered every man who does
real work. Ballinger's life was threat-l
ened in Alabama also by a colonel"
who wanted to pull Il gun on him and
was made to desist only by little
judicious choking. The secretary of
the interior does not like to have these
old stories told of him now. it is said.
But why did he get into the cabinet If
he did not want to be talked about?
The Point at Issue.
Having introduced the two princi-
pals in the .'mill" it may be as well to
tell what the row is all about. Prima-
rily il is over one of the Roosevelt poll
cies. lust before the eX-president left
office he withdrew nearly million
acres of timber and water site lands
from public entry. The ostensible rea-
son was to preserve the forests, but
the real purpose was to protect the
water power sites on a portion of this
domain. Hardly had Secretary Btllin-
ger entered office than he again threw
L.
thereupon appealed to President Taft.
with the result that $4,000 acres. con
tanning some of the most valuable wa
ter sites. was second time with
drawn.
At the national irrigation convention
recently held at Spokane and at the
transmississippi congress, still more
recently in session ut Denver. MIR.
Pinchot defended his conservation pol
| icy amid immense enthusiasm, He
was especially cheered when he assert
ed that conservation of natural re-
sources is a Roosevelt policy that Taft
| is pledged to carry out. In his Spo-
kane address he boldly asserted that
| power trust is being formed in the
| country which is seeking to obtain
| possession of the government water
site lands. leaving the Inference plain
| that Ballinger's action in throwin:;
| open these lands left the way clear for
their acquisition by the trust. This
was universally construed into an at
| tack on Ballinger. At the same con-
| vention Ex-Governor Pardee of Cali
| fornia aSsailed the secretary of the in
| terror openly for having played into
| the hands of private interests as
against the public veal.
The Legal End of It.
The defense offered by the friends OF
| Mr. Ballinger is that he is himself an
| ardent conServationiSt. but that he is
only trying TO obey the law. They say
that this is lawyers administration
| and that strict construction is the rule.
| Thus the difference is more apparent
| than real. being one of method rather
| than of principle.
The opinion is expressed that this is
the view President Taft himself takes
| of the matter. Rumo-s have been per-
| sistent that he has sought to make
| peace between the two officials and in
| the main has succeeded. AS the ques-
| ton involves two opposing forces and
| as the conflict between these two has
| in nowise abated. such peace can
| scarcely be permanent. So long as
| there is opposition between private
selfishness and public good so long
| will the movement for conservation OF
natural resources be endangered by
combinations of capital that seek to
| exploit these resources for their own
| ends
OF the great conservation crusade
| Clifford Pinchot has been the virtual
creator. Theodore Roosevelt became
its ardent champion. Despite legal
technicalities and the antagonism of
| special interests. it will 20 on. for the
reason that it is meant to protect the
rights of the people and to benefit the
future This nation is learning. as
older nations have learned, that it can
not eat its cake and have ii. that it
cannot waste its resources without i'm
poverishing the unborn. In so mighty
and meritorious work individuals
are nothing; the cause Is everything
1t is above politics and above men,.
Coal Fields Also Involved. 80
An interesting sidelight thrown on
the question has come out of Alaska
There immensely rich coal fields were
few years ago discovered. and a
number of individuals at once filed
claims. 1t is now asserted that before
making their entries these individuals
} organized syndicate. to which the
lands would be turned over, plar
/ clearly against the law. The case has
been pending in the interior depart
ment since the days of Hitchcock