The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-03-02
PinChOt has a Clash
With Secretary Wilson

Secretary Wilson and myself. 1t would
be a painful thing to get into con-
troversy with him, and for that reason
l have kept still"
Senator Nelson pressed his question
as to whether Mr.. Pinchot had con-
suited the secretary before sending the
| letter.
Mr.. Pinchot said he would decline to
answer the question unless it was put
b the whole committee. A motion tt
press the question was put and unani-
mously carried.
Did you consult with the secretary
before sending that letter." repeated
&, Chairman Nelson.
| Il did"
The witness proceeded to explain his
answer by saying that he went to Sec
rotary Wilson on January 3 and told
him Senator Dolliver had requested
information from the forester and the
secretary made nj objection.
I'VE discussed at some length the
right of Senator I'olliver to get the
information from me. AS to the presi-
dents order forbidding subordinates to
/ give information to congress, Secretary
! Wilson said
Believed n Had ConSent.
you and 1 will have no trouble
about that order or words to that eff
/ feet. I believed l had his consent.
believed I described to him the situa-
| ton between the interior department
and the forest service. I told him OF
the intention of our opponents to mag
Nifty what had been done by Messrs
Price and Shaw and that 1 thouht the
orly wise thing for us to do was to lay
our hand down on the table, admit
what we had done and force the con-
gressional inquiry on the points in
question.
! Il was convinced that Secretary Will
son favored my effort to defend Price
and Shaw, although he did not favor
my plan of getting publicity at the
same time the other side did 1 felt
! l had, however, secured mis- permission
to write to Senator DOlliver"
Mr.. Pnchot said he had endeavored
/ to see Secretary Wilson the morning
his letter to Senator Dolliver was read
in the senate to submit to him his let
ter transmitting to the secretary the
: reports by Price and Shaw telling of
their transactions with CLAWS. He did
not find the secretary until afternoon,
however. In the letter of transmittal
Mr.. Pinchot said he had included a
clause referring to the transmittal OF
copy of his own letter to Senator
Dolliver
Secretary Wilson asked him what
the clause meant, Mr.. Pinchot said,
and he told him that it referred to the
letter they had previously discussed
The secretary told him to strike out
all references to the DOlliver letter and
reWrite the letter of transmittal. This
he did, Mr.. Pinchot said, in the secre-
tary's office on department office paper.
Little Talk Would Have Helped.
The forester ended his direct testi-
mony by saying:
IF I had had ten minutes talk with
President Taft-if had been accorded
a hearing-it would have been easier
for me to nave convinced him that
had been neither disrespectful nor in
subordinate and thus I could have
avoided the necessity which he felt
of relieving me of the public service"
The cross examination of Pinchot
was delayed until Secretary Wilson
who desired to take the stand at once,
could be heard
The grizzled old official, who holds
the record for cabinet service. was
plainly agitated when he took the oath
as witness and when he began to
testify his voice was pitched and
strained.
The secretary proved impatient o.:
questions put to him on cross examin-
alton and became somewhat mixed as
to just what letters were being re-
ferred to by his questioners and re-
sentful of any inference other than his
own that they wished to learn from his
testimony
Mr.. Vertrees, counsel for Secretary
Ballinger, conducted the direct exam
inatiOn.
Some Things Corset.
You have heard what Mr.. Pinchot
has said. Have you any statement to
make?" he asked.
/ Some of the things Mr.. Pinchot has
said here-a good many of Them be-
gan Secretary Wilson, ARE correct
But there are other things which are
not correct" The secretary brought
his fist down on the table with a re-
sounding whack. He continued:
He never got my consent to send
that letter to the senate. There are
two things in it that would have made
it impossible for me to give my con-
sent. He attempted to review and