The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-01-11
Defense
WAS SHOUTING,
stop THEFT
Man To Whom Roosevelt Gave All
Credit for Conservation Refused
To Sit Still and Let Corpora-
tons Grab Resources
What Taft Has Come To in IA
Months as Chief Executive
of the Land
sv gibson oARpNe R.

cause OF the dismissal. OF Clifford Pin
chot. President Taft mas come into the
open In the fignr on the Roosevelt poll
cies and following. This IS frankly
recognized now in Washington.
The fight OF the reactionaries has
gone on quietly ever since Nov. ..
1905. Beginning with the dismissal
OF the Roosevelt cabinet and ending
with the use OF patronage as oiuo-
geon to smash the insurgents. the past
IA months have been one STEADY ef-
fort TO undo what remained OF the
progressive movement started oy the
last administration.
Clifford Pinchot saw his end from
the beginning. He was part OF the
conservation movement. President
Roosevelt stated in his Norfolk speech
that Pinchot was the originator OF the
movement and that all the knowledge
he (RooscvelO had on conservation
he had gained from Pinchot.
After Roosevelt left, Pinchot re-
NAMED. infusing vitality into the con-
servation movement. This was MS
real offense. He refused to sit still
and let the corporate influences re-
sumo their former practice or hlch
and grab. He refused To- permit Bal
| linger though a superior oflcer. TO re-
store public lands. power sites. coal
claims and forests TO the ,depredations
OF the Guggenheims and Standard OIL.
I He appealed TO the public. which.
President Taft SAYS. was an offense
against the dignity OF the pre- s,dep-
/ tial ONCE
On May 10. 1908. at the famous
4 nf
President Roosevelt said: Especial
credit is due 10 the initiative. the en-
ergy, the devotion TO duty and the
farsightedness of Clifford Pinchot
tgrat appiause). 10 whom we owe so
much of the progress We have already
made In handling this matter OF the
coordination and conservation OF ma
tural resources. III II had not been
! for him this conservation neither
would nor could have been called.
As against this Endorsement by
Roosevelt stands the excuse offered
President Taft expresses his belief that
the people have charged him primarily
with the duty OF maintaining that dig
nifty and proper respect for the office
on the part OF my subordinates. Moth
Clifford Pinchot In saving the power
sites or the coal lands.
And yet II was only last April that
Clifford Pinchot went TO the White
House and secured from President
Taft AN admission that Secretary
Bailinger had done wrong in restoring
the power sites TO entry. an admission
which compelled The issuance OF an
executive order for the rewithdrawal
OF the sites.
pinchot was no less insuborinate
then. But President Taft was not
then openly committed to Balllnger. |
Cannon. Aldrich. Hitchcock. Guggen- !
helm and Standard Oil The fieht was |
still under cover. II was the admins
tration's idea that Clifford Pinchot /
could BE- o,er-headed by superior au-
thority. PalIinger was known to be /
opposed TO conservation policies. Gar
field found this out when Ballinger |
was in the land ONCE. Taft knew Bal
fingers connections and leanings on |
this subject. But ne agreed with Sec |
rotary Knox and Postmaster General |
Hitchcock. that in his subordinate po- |
sition OF forester. Pinchot could be |
gagged and rendered ineffective.
What the president and Knox fail |
ed TO take into their plans was the |
habit Pinchot has of taking the public |
into his confidence and giving them |
the facts. This was Pinchot's crime |
against the dignity" of the presiden
tial office. He would not be gagged. |
Seeing thieves making of with sec !
tions OF the public domain he cried |
stop thief"
This was a breach Of Taft admin
etiquet, and he was fired |
From every corner OF the land he has |
been congratulated on having forced |
the presidential hand and brought |
about this sharp alignment between |
the enemies and friends of the Roose-
welt conservation policies. Already !
the wiser heads in the edminis, ration !
camp are beginning TO see that q |
great blunder has been made. and that |
Pinchot Will take with him much OF
the public confidence which still !
chung, while ne remained. TO the Taft |
administration. To these II all spells l
votes. votes, votes lost 70 congI ess-
men.
With PInchot fired there Is less in. \
terest in the Ballinger investigation. n
The main purpose OF this affair was
10 get lid of Pinchot. But Pinchot Il
will stay and be ready with the evil I
g., nn