Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-02-28
Make by Ex-Forester Pin
chot on Sec. Ba||inger.
Charges Him ljntaI'htuI Both
70 Public and President.
Sec. Ea|Ilngsr Will. at Proper
Time. Tell Fasts TO Committee.

! Washiueton. Feb. 4i.--With Clifford
J Pinchot on the witness stand, the Bal
Iinycr- pincbot inquiry entered its sec
ond phase Saturday. The dismissed
| chief of the forest service, before be-
: ing sworn. dramatically declared t1at
! when his story had been told, the
: country would demand verdict IN
! harmony with the general conviction
! That the secretary Of the interior has
been unfaithful both to III" public.
| whose property II" has endangered. and
to the President. whom n" has de-
! CciVed
| L.. Il. CLAWS; and Attorney Frandeis
| stood aside to make room for Mr.. Pm
chot for Attorney George Wharton
| Pepper. his personal counsel, and the
story of Secretary Bal!inSer's dealings
with the water power sites of the pub
| lie domain.
| Mr.. Pinchot accused Secretary Bal
! linger of having made an explanation
OF his conduct to the President that
was essentially false" He charged
| him with being Il dangerous enemy
to conservation" He charged htim
with having made Il statement shown
| by undisputcd documentary evidence
ito be absolutely false in three es-
| Sential particulars" He charged him
! with having "Wiituily deceived tn"
| President" and Of being disloyal to
| tn" President.
| Mr.. Pinchot'S first hour nfi the wit
| ness stand were as rcpirt" With %cn-
| saticn as had been promised and the
| suffocating crowd in the hearing room
| hung intcntly upon every word that
| fell from his lips. \ trillc nervous at
| first. Mr.. Piuchot soon became ac-
cuStnmcd to his surroundings and
imainta med Il confident poiSe there
| after. His recital had not progressed
very far, however. when there came
an objection from Mr. Ballingers at
| torney as to the witness repeating
! conversations with President Taft. 1t
was contended that the relation of
these conversations would put the
President in an attitude where he
would either have to remain silent or
else appear before the committee as
Il witness. which it was declared would
be undesirable
The question was argued for some
time and during the course of his
statement of the matter the attorney
dent Taft, in q letter written Subse-
quent to the conversation had de-
clared that lis recollection of what
transpired ut the interview differed in
some particulars from that of Mr.
PinchOt. The matter was put over for
consideration by the committee in ex-
ecutiVe session and it is expected that
a decision will be announced when
the next session is held on Tuesday
morning
Mr.. Pinchot followed up the vigor-
Gus attack made upon the secretary
in his opening statement by announce
| ing that he fully believed in Special
Agent CLAWS and was convinced that
all CLAWS had said was true. He
characterized CLAWS as faithful
public servant and declared that the
! fact which he presented proved that
Mr.. Ballinger had been unfaithful to
his trust as the guardian of public
property Of enormous value"
Tho conservation movement begun
under the administration of President
Roosevelt was progressing splendidly
up to the time that President Taft
and Secretary Ballinger came into Of
fee declared Mr.. Pinchot. He charged
that in less than a month thereafter
Secretary Ballinger had practically
broken the backbone of the central
idea IF the conservation movement by
| restoring previously withdrawn water
power sites to the public domain and
laying them open to private appropria-
ton and monopolistic control.
Mr.. Pinchot charged that when the
~ gt n,it M,- PaI
gave no hint that he would e-with-
draw the power sites and that as a
matter of fact he did not re- withdraw
any Of them until after Mr.. Pinchot
had gone To the President and had
made = vigorous protest.
TIL" reservations by Mr. Ballnger
wor" made without any investigation
of the subject whatever, said Mr.. Pin
chot. and he charged the secretary
with having deliberately ordered the
officers of the reclamation service
against their will, to recommend that
S'nnr of the rc@torationS should be
made. Mr.. PDchot declared that Di-
rector Newell o. the reclamation Scr
vice, would b" called as one of his
witnesses 10 nrov" his charges against
Secretary RalirEcr. Tile former sec
r'tar" Of tile interior, James r. Gar
/ field. 1t was announced would also be
one IF Mr. Pinchot's hackers.
plc OF the most dramatic Incidents
of tho day WAS left for the last hall
hour of the session when Mr.. Pnchot
declared that there was no such de
! CiSion hy the comptroller of the
treasury as had been cited By PreSi-
dent Taft IL his letter Of September ~
1859. to Secretary Ballinger. dismiss
ing the CLAWS charges and authorizing
the removal OF CLAWS from the ser
vice OF the United states. The Presi-
dent had contended that Mr. Ballingcr
had acted under a decision Of the
comptroller which permitted of no APP
! peal when he had abrogated a CO.
| operative agreement with the agri
| cultural department whereby the for
! est service was given control of the
| forest r"Scrv" on Indian lands. Mr..
| PinchUt admitted that there was an
opinion by the comptroller which for
| babe the detail of clerk in the for
| est service to the Indian office, but
! f.f,r 1t<t, Il