The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1910-01-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.

Pretty much everybody in the country,
or at least every reader, knows the Chief
of Forestry Bureau is or rather was Clifford
Pinchot. Mr.. Pinchot began with two or
three clerks and now, has two or three
hundred employees looking after the pre-
servation of the national forests He is a
warm personal friend of Ex. President
Roosevelt, in fact, in certain sense he
is the liter ego of Mr.. Roosevelt and a
no more certain representative of his
policies and his ideals lives When the
great conservation convention of Gov.
errors of States with invited guests met
in the East Roomof the White House the
then President emphasized the fact that
if it had not been for Pinchot's initiative
and his enthusiasm for the protection of
the national natural resources that unique
convention would not have been. Mr..
Pinchot has lost his official head but this
little calamity will not cause him the least
Inconvenience for it cannot affect his nm
official heart and will only increase his
unofficial influence It is extremely
probable that the country is with Mr..
Pinchot and that in the discussion be.
tween him and Cabinet Minister Ballinger,
who was the late commissioner of the
Land Office, no mere question of official
is of moment. The country will
continue 20 look upon Mr. Ballinger as
the ex-attorney of Cunningham and as
the representative Of milionaires interest.
ed in the absorption and monopoly of the
public lands and it will continue to look
upon Mr.. Pinchot as the determined
antagonist of these schemes and the adj
vocate of the interests of the whole people
This is what the people of the country
as the Rooseveltian policy
and what Mr.. Roosevelt has emphasized
as the Pinchotian policy.
~
President Taft has at length sent to
Congress his long anticipated special
message urging additional legislation for
the management of railroads and all
common carriers. The message was
heard in the House. of Representatives on
Friday afternoon last but the Senate
having adjourned until Monday it will
not be officially before that body until
the first of this week. 1t will doubtless,
however. be read by all interested SEN
ators who can find time from their social
and other engagements to peruse it. The
message is the most important one that
the President has placed before Congress
1t embodies ideas which have been
evolved after many conferences with his
cabinet concerning the further control of
common carriers and corporations. 1t is
said that the President expects the ap-
proval of Congress and of the country.
inasmuch, as he holds that he is carrying
out his promise to maintain the Roosevelt
policies. 1t will be remembered that last
week the President had a conference
with some of the railroad presidents of
The country in which, it was said, he was
besought to modify his railroad program.
The President, it seems, has not thought
it expedient to make material alterations
in bis proposals and if the recommen-
dations which be has made shall be
enacted into law the powers of the Inter
NJ
carriers will be much widened. It can
be seen from a perusal Of the Presi
dents message that the legislation asked
for by him is much farther reaching
than obtained under tine Roosevelt ad-
ministration and should the Interstate
Commerce Laws be amended as recon.
mended by President Taft the Commits
sion will have measure for the complete
control of common carriers engaged in
Interstate Commerce.
~
There is much discussion in the cloak
rooms of the Capitol and in the Hobbies
of hotels with reference to the relative
attitudes of the administration and the
so-called insurgents. 1t is said that the
latter will not take any planned action in
the matter of official patronage until they
have had an interview with President
Taft on the subject. Up to the present
time, none of the insurgents, it is said,
have been able to see Mr.. Taft. That
gentleman erstwhile. the most accessible
of public men. has now wrapped himself
in solitude inconsistent with his former
accessibility and is mighty hard to get at,