Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-14
ATTACK ON P|NCH0T
Representative TaWney Calls
Him UntruthfuI.
HOT REPLY TO CHARGES
Former Forester Blamed for Defeat
of Free Lumber Schedule.
INFLUENCED THE COMMITTEE
Statement Regarding Appropriation
for Publication of Country Life
Report Declared False.
INFLUENCED THE COMMITTEE

In a speech at Rochester, MINI. last
night Representative James a. Tawney.
chairman OF the House appropriations
committee and vice chairman Of the re-
publican congressional committee. replied
to the recent attack made upon him by
the former chief forester. Clifford Pinchot,
who was depcsed by President Taft.
Mr.. Tawney fatty charged MIR. Pinchot
with untruthfulness and declared the
former chief forester was responsible for
the defeat of the free lumber schedule
in the tariff bill. Mr.. Tawney insisted
that while he and President Roosevelt
had had personal differences he had vot-
| ed for every one OF the Roosevelt policies
which the President praised Congress for
| enacting.
After describing how he had fought for
free lumber and how he had failed, Mr..
Tawney said:
why did fallc So far as the action Of
| the ways and means committee was CON-
cerned and 80 far as the action of the
House on the Payne bill was concerned.
my failure may be attributed to several
! causes. but primarily 1t was due to the in
fluence and action of Clifford Pinchot.'
Mr.. Tawney added that in return for
the lumbermen of the United States FROM
Using Mr.. I'inchot to confer upon him. in
effect, the administrative control of their
forests, Pinchot had withdrawn his rec
commentator for free lumber made to
! urged the retention Of the Dingley rates
on lumber
Wrote Letter on Subject.
"The letter which Pinchot wrote" said
Nr. Tawney, was used on the floor Of the
House by Representatives Cushman Of
Washington and Ransdell of Louisiana.
both OF whom we're bitterly opposed to
free lumber, to defeat ny amendment
placing lumber on the free nst.''
NOW, remember continued Mr.. 'Taw-
ney, that when Mr.. PinchOt appeared
before the committee on ways and means
lumber was on the free list. Mr.. Pinchot
appeared before the committee only few
days before the bill was finally COM
ple,ed and reported to the House. and
when reported to the House lumber had
been placed back on the dutiable list at
the rate of 81 a thousand.
After hearing Mr.. Pnchot Mr.. Nc
Call of Massachusetts, who had previous
ly voted for free lumber. changed his vote
| In the committee and voted for a duty on
lumber. Mr.. Pinchot, therefore. is re-
sponsibie for the Payne bin retaining
lumber on the dutiable list, and as have
said before, when my amendment was
under consideration to place lumber on
the free list. not only Mr.. Pinchot's letter
but his personal influence was used and
exerted to the utmost in order to defeat
the adoption of that amendment"
Takes Up Other Charges.
Mr.. Tawney took up other charges that
were made against him by Mr. Pinchot
He said in part:
Another assertion made by Mr.. Pin
chot In his speech here q few nights ago,
which is equally unfounded and unsup-
ported by truth, Is as follows: We asked
Tor $4,000 to put that (the report OF the
country life commission) in shape SO that
all the farmers in the country might be
able to get ito tell the farmers what
other farmers had said about their own
interests and about the way to improve
the condition Of their lives. $4,000 Ia a
very small sum In a government which
like ours appropriates hundreds of mill
lions every year. But under Mr.. Tawney's
Craftsmanship of the committee on appro-
priations that sum was refused
My friends. Mr.. Pinchot is familiar
with the fact that all appropriations re-
lating to agriculture are under the Jur1s-
dictiOn OF the committee on agriculture:
that the committee on appropriations of
which i am chairman has nothing what.
ever to do with the estimates for agricul-
tural appropriations unless 1t be def1cten-
cy estimates.
Appropriation Never Asked.
He therefore knows. and I charge him
with knowledge Of the fact that the COM
mittee on appropriations was never asked
to appropriate a cent for the publication
of the country life commission report A
provision for this purpose was inserted In
| the agricultural appropriation bill in the
Senate. but the House. by an overwhelm-
ing vote. refused to c.1eur in the amend
ment and the Senate thereupon receded
from its amendment and the provision
| went out Of the bill.
Another equally unfounded assertion Of
Mr.. Pinchot was that was directly be-
hind the defeat OF the appropriation which
President Roosevelt asked for to enable
| him to follow up the wrongdoings Of
tdent Roosevelt never asked for an ap-
preparation for any such purpose and I
defy Mr.. Pinchot. or any other man, I
care not who he Is. to show either an off,
| cial or an unofficial request from the Pres
ident or from any other governmental Of
fetal, for an appropriation Of that char
acter. Mr.. Pinchot knows that no re-
quest Of this kind was ever made. But
! here again he attempts to deceive, know
| ing that there was a Limitation placed in
| the sundry civil appropriation bill for the
| any other department OF the government
OF employees in the Treasury Department
who were paid from the appropriation for
| the detection of counterfeiting and the
protection OF the person OF the President.
He knows as well as you do that this is
all that the controversy was over at that
time. But Notwithstanding this knowledge
| on his part he falsely says th-t an appro-
priation was asked for when none was
sible for its defeat, although there was
| nono RI defeaf"