Arizona republican., 1910-01-09
Mir. Taft's Mistake.

political tactlCs. bS Stiohe "i ~ pen he has made Mir. Clifford Pinchot a possible candidate for president of the United States.
 On December 30, The Republican said:
 "It begins to look as if Forester Pinchot is riding for fall, as they say in English politics when a man is looking for an excuse to jump his job. At all events, MT. Pinchot seems determined to have a break with the national administration provided Mir. Taft can be sufficiently provoked.
 The peremptory dismissal of MT. Pinchot from office on the ground ef insubordination is undoubtedly more pleasing to that gentleman than 1t is to anybody else. Whether the dis agreeable situation of the past six months could have been avoided by a larger degree of frankness and tact on each side is a question not now worth considering. But conditions de- veloped which made MT. Pinchot feel that he was not in touch with the administration. During the Roosevelt administration, MT. Pinchot was personal confidant of the president. His policy of conserving the forests and the watersheds, and his advo- cacy of broad policy of conserving the power sites and the mineral re- sources of the country had MT. Roose- veit's enthusiastic support. When the Taft administration came in, MT. Pin chot found that he was merely an important subordinate official of the government, sustaining no very close relations to the president. Possibly this wounded his pride. MT. Taft is unquestionably a sincere supporter of the Roosevelt conservation policies. But his methods are different from the -Pinchot methods. Where as Roosevelt and Pinchot were dis posed at all times to go to any length for the public welfare that the law did not forbid. MT. Taft wants to see authority in the law for all he does; and if the law does not appear authority. MT. Taft's disposition is to ask for the additional authority from congress, and go ahead when he gets it. MT Pinchot may have permitted himself to conclude that the adminis- tration was not in sympathy with his ideas. At any rate. he undoubtedly has been considering for some time the wisdom of detaching himself from the administration.
 So. MT. Taft in dismissing him has played the game as Mir. Pinchot wished to have it played.
 As matters stand. MT. Pinchot is, in the eyes of the people, a martyr to his devotion to the peoples inter ests. This at once raises him to the plane of presidential possibilities For Mir. Clifford Pinchot is no ordinary man. A young man of ~the cleanest character. of scholarly tastes, and of unquestionable patriotism, and gifted with a foresight that few statesmen possess; being a millionaire, and at ease,. he has chosen for years to labor long hours every day in the service of the public in the truest sense. He is democratic and personally likable. his earnestness and honesty have won the respect of the entire country, and fn his extensive travels throughout the land he has made thousands of personal friends. It will be an easy transition for him to loom large on the political horizon
 Perhaps MT. Taft might say that he is not concerning himself with the effect of. the Pinchot dismissal upon his own political fortunes But there is d multitude of citizens who will be concerned-people whose faith in Mir Taft's lofty patriotism cannot be shaken; people who wish for him an unqualified success in the White House: people who will be pained to see that he has been led into a serious mistake
 That MT. Taft was provoked per sonally, and that he justly and keenly felt that the dignity of his great of flee was involved. may be readily granted. But. viewed calmly. the dig nifty of no man. nor the dignity of any office can be lowered by the con- duct of anybody but that man him. self. or the occupant of that office. Mir Pinchot. and not Mir Taft. would have been the loser in public esteem, l if NIT. Taft had chosen to ignore-for the time being, at least-the insub- | ordinate actions of Mir Pinchot
 It is not really remarkable, how ever, that Mir. Taft has, made this !! mistake. Washington is the poorest | place on earth to get correct per | spective' of national affairs. And