The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-03-26
SECRETARY WILSON YIELDS,

ret8rY Balllnger ana upon First ASSIST
aut Frank Pierce of this city is cvi-
dent, not alone in the public judgment,
but also in the moderated tone of that
officialdom which insisted on doing
Secretary Wilson of the Department Of
Agriculture was dcvotcc of Pipchot-
ism when Roosevelt was President, and
when Pinchot was in his asccndancy,
Under that regime it WAS in vain TO APP
peal TO the law, or TO urge rights and
privileges under the law, if these con.
fhcted with any theory or desires Of
the powers in control.
An instance of this was the arbi-
trary dealing of the forestry service
with miners and settlers on the forest
reserves. There was constant inter
ference with the miners, in the way of
obstacles interposed, denial of use of
timber. and annoying iuterferences and
supervision When the miners remon-
strated, Chief Forester Pinchot replied
by citing the law, which exempts the
miners from all interference by him
or his rangers, their operations being
under the jurisdiction of the Interior
Department. not of the Agricultural De
pa rtment, in which he served. His cita-
ton was correct; that was the fact and
the law Nevertheless, the annoy
suces to the miners from his regulations
and rangers kept up Just AS before, But
now they are abated
Similarly. when there was case OF
for himself and family on forest re
serve, the forestry service made hls
life a burden, and often drove him off.
But now Secretary Wilson issues spe
cial circular on the subject, promising
better treatment TO the home seeker IN
the future, 1t goes only to the point
of conceding tho right of the settler
who has taken up his claim before the
forest reserve was set apart as such,
has continued his residence thereon,
and is now in lawful occupancy, IN
good faith, of the tract. it is diff
cult to see how or why there should
once have been the least question of
the settlers right in such case. But,
manifestlv there was; the circular is
practical confession that the Depart"
ment has been proceeding on the un-
lawful assumption that such settlers
bad no rights that would stand against
the forestry regulations - that ls
against executive law, made by the
Secretary and the Chief Forester
Whenever there was any interference
with such a settler, that interference
was wholly unauthorized by law, no
matter how high station the official
held who undertook it. But IL is con
fcssed by this circular that there has
been such unlawful interference. And 1T
is more than likely that many settlers,
feeling themselves unable to cope with
the harassing officialdom, were obliged
to give up their legal rights. This CIR
cular is at once q shameful admission
of despicablc acts of tyranny by the
Department, exercised against the help"
less, and a mean pretense Of liberal
treatment of the settler, who has legally
had all along. TO the full, the rights
now accorded by this circular, but de-
MED him by an arbitrary exercise of
administrative power abhorrent in re-
public. 1t is such complete admission
of the evil and absolute exercise of of
fetal power outside of the law that VIC
arc astonished to see Secretary Wilson
make it. Nothing worse than what is
here clearly admitted has ever been
charged against either Wilson or Pin
chot. In fact, Wilson has heretofore
figured very little, publicly, in all this
usurpation of authority 10 override the
law and deprive settlers of their legal
rights. But now it appears that he
has been cognizant of the outrage all
along, and tscitly gave his assent there
to. And thus he voluntarily ranged
himself among those betrayers Of the
people who would administer without
law, and strike down personal and
legal rights through the exercise of
mere executive power. This country
would not have far to 90 on such a
road as this, in order TO submit to a
dictatorship, the assumption of arbi-
trary rule by the strong, in subversion
of the peoples rights through the as
sertion of personal sovereignty by an
autocrat strong enough to seize the
helm of state and enforce his personal
reign. .......