Bisbee daily review., 1910-06-03
sALLlNoER's APPOINTMENT
PLAINLY A BLUNDER.

Mr.. Ballinger should never have been
chosen as secretary Of the interior.
While the prosecution" had its ups
and downs as the case dragged along.
and while the defense" with an ad-
vantage in machinery, and the slim
ulation 10 effort that causes the hare
to run his best two leaps in front of
the hounds. made as good a showing
as was possible. it is plain. at the
end OF the investigation, as it was At
its beginning. that Mr.. Ball,nger is
unfit.
President Taft. who selected Mr..
Bailinger. may have been peculiarly
unfortunate. peculiarly negligent or
merely peculiarly constituted. No
matter why the appointment was
made. or how instantly, it was not
one that did credit the administra-
ton or promised any good results.
President Taft's most ardent admir-
ers-and he has many admirers de-
spite the fact that his first year in
the White House has been anything
but brilliant-fnd 1t impossible to ao-
plaud his course in the Ballinger
case. He was at first imposed upon
no doubt, but very easily imposed
upon. The surprisingly slip-shod
manner in which Mr.. Ball'nger was
"exonerated." was. however, an i'm
position upon the public whose SER
want the president IL. It would be
more exact to say the attempted i'm
position. The effort to acquit Mr.
Ballinger by the power OF presidential
Endorsement, sans investigation, was
distinct failure. But for the fact
that a humble stenographer-let his
motives be what you will-told the
story Of how the exonoration letter
was prepared, the investigation would
have closed without a frank admis-
sion from the White House Of an err
rcr that the developments Of the in
vestigation made patent Granting
that the president had none but the
hest motives in delegating the pres
Dental power of exoneration to an
understrapper who, as 1t now APP
pears. had a grudge against Mr..
Claws. the means employed to clear
5ir Ballinger. to Gust Mr.. CLAWS and
to make it impossible for Mr.. Pin
chot to remain in the public service,
were characterized by an utter lack
Of the Judicial earnestness. del'bera-
ton and fairness that we're naturally
to be expected of a former member
OF the bench, and a man in whose
personal probity every one reposed
the utmost confidence. The investi-
cation was forced. because public
opinion, expressed through many
channels. outweighed a presidential
opinion, expressed in a letter written
by Mr.. Lawler and edited and elab-
GRATED in haste, by its signer. The
administration might have saved its
elf its present embarrassment by a
candid statement that while the pres
ident rested every confidence in the
cabinet member. against whom cnarg-
es and insinuations were made, the
presidents personal investigation had
Of necessity. been hurried and full
and fair sitting of the charges was
invited But the administration
adopted the opposite course Ii
stood pat upon an investigation that
1T knew to have been farce, defied
the public to go behind the returns
set about packing the investigating
committee as a criminal jury Is
packed where the defendant owns
tho circuit judge. and prepared {:
apply a new coat Of whitewash t.
/ cover an old one that had begun Il
crack and peel.
r Party machinery proved insufficient
to the task of creating a wholly pro
Ballinger committee. and enough ha
! been developed to show to the salts
i. faction of a vast majority OF the tar
payers Of the United States tina
anyone of fair intelligence and IL
tentions might go into a crowd an
pick out q man better fitted than NJ
n BslIinger for the position OF trus
u now occupied by Mr.. Ballinger. A
i Mr.. Root said. with natural cholc
e when the attorney for the ''prosecl
ton" attempted to show that Pres
dent Taft's contradiction OF Steno
n rapher Kirby was contradIcted by II
D. documents in evidence, the presldel
Ie -, "a. haen On trial On the caso n