The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-05
WASHINGTON STANDS PAT.

Ho luslDl StHeul ny eN'f lSSlutut
Roosevelt of Mr.. Poindexter in the
State of Washington for United States
Senator does not seem TO have cut
any figure at all. In the Republican
State convention at Tacoma on We'd
desday, the progressives did not
have even a look-in, The only ap.
pearance made was when it was
dragged in to be kicked and cuffed.
The machine was in complete control,
and standpati was triumphant.
The convention declared for Sen
ator west of the Cascades to succeed
Senator Piles, which is a direct slap
at Poindexter, since he lives in
Spokane. This is also a direct snub
to exPresident Roosevelt. the second
he has received since his triumphant
return from Africa and Europe, the
first being IN New York, with respect
to the primary law.
The Washington convention did one
good thing, in specifically indorsing
Secretary r. A. Ballinger of the De.
partment OF the Interior The assaults
that have been made upon Secretary
Ballinger are not only unjustifable in
law, sense and morals, they are an
unmitigated outrage. Mr.. Ballinger
has served the people well as Secretary
of the Interior His only offense was
in checking the lawless attitude OF
some subordinates in his own depart
nent and going counter to the lawess
policy of Clifford Plnchot in the De
partment of Agriculture. We are glad
to see that Mr.. Balinger's home State
gave him an emphatic Endorsement.
and doubtless the fact that his course
was the issue had much to do with
the defeat OF insurgency in that
State. For it is likely that the triumph
Of insurgency in Washington, being. In
effect made a local attack upon Mr..
Ballinger at home, would have been
construed as defeat for him, and this
would have been entirely unfair
We do not doubt the strength of the
progressive element in the Republican
party in Washington. but it was a mis-
take there, as it would be elsewhere,
to couple the progressive policy Of the
party with the Pinchot policies of con.
servation, The effort to do this and
the necessary Inference that any
triumph of insurgency in Washington
would have been construed as vic
tory over Ballinger, undoubtedly was
the controlling influence in the poor
showing that the insurgents made in
the convention of that State, and as
the fight was framed on those lines,
the result was inevitable, No RepubIi~
can in Washington wanted TO couple
progression with an attack on Bal.
linger. We do not consider that the
Endorsement Of the progressive policies
in the Republican party ought in the
least to be construed as hostile to Mr.,
Ballinger; yet, as they would inevita-
bly, have been so construed if trium.
phant in Washington, it was quite
as we'll that insurgency so construed
was an utter failure in that State CON
vention.
The true progressive policies of the
so so-called insurgents relate chiefly to
the bad faith exercised in the passage
VI tut utW DuuhO ldW anu Oh
that issue, disconnected from the per-
sonality or persecution of Mr.. Bal.
linger. we believe that the insurgents
would win in Washington as they won
so gloriously In Iowa and Kansas. In
the latter two States Ballinger was in
no sense the issue, The attempt to
make the attack upon him the progres.
sive idea in Washington resulted in
failure. Just as it ought to have done
Insurgency, confined to its proper
ground. is undoubtedly in the vast
majority among American voters, but
it will not do to attempt to wrest ii
from question of principle and make
1t question of personal persecution or
vindictive hate.