Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1910-03-04
.P|NCHOT AND
WILSON DISPUTE
LETTER TO poLLlvER NOT Az.
THoRlzEp eY SECRETARY,
He TEsTiFiEs.
SAYS AUTHORITY WAS EXCEEDED
Had Permission to Write About De
partmentai Affairs oniy.-Aoed
Agriculture Head 10 Affiliated
BY Cross Cues ionine.

Washington, March 2.-The expect
ed clash between Clifford Pinchot and
Secretary Of Agriculture Wilson over
the disputed question as to whether OF
not the secretary had given the former
forester permission to write to Sen
atOr Dolliver the letter which resulted
in Mr.. Pinchot's dismissal came at
last before the Ballinger-Pinchot in.
vestigating committee.
Mr.. Pinchot declared he had discus.
sed the matter at length with Secre.
tary Wilson and that he understood
his superior officer had given him ex-
press permission to write to Senator
Dolliver.
/ Secretary Wilson imediately took
the stand and asserted that while he
had given Mr.. Pinchot permission to
write to Senator Dolliver concerning
departmental affairs" he never did
and never would have given him per-
mission to write letter criticising
the present of the United States.
| Under a cross-examination almost
l
the committee Secretary Wilson was
uncertain as to Just what had passed
between himself and the forester and
became somewhat mixed at times as
to just what letters the committeeman
we're referring to In their rapid fire of
questions.
Aged Secretary Agitated.
The secretary reiterated again and
again he never saw or heard of the let
ter Mr.. Pinchot wrote until 1t was
read in the senate. The elderly Sec
rotary OF agriculture, who holds all
records for cabinet service, was plain
" agitated when he took the stand.
Mr.. Pinchot had been reluctant to
testify to anything that would bring
him into controversy with the chief
under whom he had served IL years.
but Chairman Nelson insisted he
should go into the matter.
Mr.. Pinchot declared that he and
Secretary Wilson went SO far as to
discuss the executive order issued by
President Taft. forbidding subordinate
omcers of the various departments
from giving Information to congress
and he added that the secretary said:
you and l will have no trouble about
that order"
Admitting that his memory failed
him as to certain points, Secretary
Wilson always came back to the state
ment that he never, under any circum-
stances, would have given MT. Pin.
chot permission to write the letter
which caused his separation from the
service.
Taft May be . Witness.
Attorney Vertrees, representing Sec
rotary Ballinger, interposed the sug.
gestion that ruling should be had
as to whether Pinchot and probably
other witnesses should be allowed to
repeat conversations with the chief
executive. Vertrees said there was
not the slightest objection to the in
PRODUCTION of evidence of letters writ
ten to or by the president. The at
torney commended, however, that if the
committee permitted witnesses to give
their version Of conversations at the
White House it would put the presi.
dent in the embarrassing situation of
remaining silent or appearing before
the committee as witness. The lat.
ter alternative Vertrees deemed to be
undesirable.
George w. Pepper, representing Pin.
chot, had agreed that the summoning
of the president would be undesirable,
k,rk ~
were necessary rs the foundation for
further testimony.
There was surprising development
IL the investigation when Clifford Pin
chot announced to the committee he
based his charge that Secretary Bal
linger had been guilty of making state
ments to the president that were Fab
solutely false in three essential par
ticulars," not upon a letter from Bal
linger himself. but upon letter writ
ten by ]. T. Ronald, a former law part
ner of Ballinger, to DR.. Lyman Abbott
Pinchot said copy Of this letter, with
was forwarded by Balm.
ger to the president.
Pinchot admitted when questioned
by the committee that the three state.
ments in the Ronald letter which he
declared to be false. had previously
been covered by letters written by
Ballinger himself to the president. in
which Ballinger had stated what the
witness admitted was true statement
Of the facts.
Pinchot said he did not attempt to
these two facts.
Pinchot said he talked with Presi-
dent Taft about the Ballinger-G
in Salt Lake last September.
eERax BOATS cnAsu lM zoe