The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1910-01-13

IseS TO Be Interesting-Battle-Sh
Building to Be Important Question.
Washington.-With the first meet.
ing after the holiday recess congress
starts the serious work of the session.
The national lawmakers are con-
fronted with legislative difficulties
which are harder to overcome because
some of the measures which the ad.
ministration has proposed for enact
ment into law are regarded not mere
ly as party measures, but as factional
measures. Mr.. Taft, being a Repub-
lican, naturally wants the party's rep
resentatives In house and senate to
stand with him as unit, but it ap-
pears that unless the Republicans
known as organization men and those
known as insurgents agree to bury
Eheir differences there will be a hard
fought struggle before the presidents s
recommendations go through congress
in law form, if they succeed in going
| through at all.
In the two weeks of the session
prior to adjournment for the holiday,
the house made some headway with
the appropriation bills. The District
of Columbia bill was reported and
passed, and several other appropria-
tion bills were given fairly full con-
sideration in committee. The situa-
tion with regard to the supply bills,
there, is we'll in hand and con-
gress, if it will, can give plenty of
time to the consideration of purely
legislative matters and yet give prom
ises to the people of an adjournment
not later than May.
Views Somewhat Divergent.
The president, in his speeches and
by inference since congress came to-
gether, has made the subject of
amendments to the interstate com
merce law the chief issue of the Win
ter. 1t may seem a little strange,
therefore, when it is said that con-
gress does not take the president S
view Of the interest that attaches to
this bit of proposed legislation, though
AOubIlNCo IL 10 WILLIE W uulhlI ITO
place of Importance The matter of
legalizing the establishment of postal
savings banks is a legislative ques-
tiOn which seems to have moved the
members to higher pitch of interest
than has any other legislative sugges-
tion which the president has made.
1t is currency legislation of the fu-
ture which is keeping the fate of pos
tai savings banks in the balance. The
president wants legislation and will
continue to urge it. There will be
lobbys in Washington representing
both sides of the postal savings bank
controversy and both those lobbys will
be busy until the question is settled
one way or the other.
This is to be a Pinchot- Ballinger
winter in Washington. The presi-
dents recommendations for legisla-
tion that he wishes to have given the
force of law are all of them charged
with interest, but the trouble of long
standing between the Office of the sec
retary of the interior and the office of
of the chief forester of the govern
ment will throw its shadow over many
of the congressional proceedings that
are purely legislative in their nature.
BaIIingerPinchot Controversy
There is no one in Washington, no
matter what his party, his faction, or
his sympathies in the strife between
Mr. RnllinUnr onh Mr. Dinahnk u,h0
does not admit willingly that the
chief forester occupies the better
strategic position in preparing for
the coming battle. This advantage of
Mr.. Pinchot's rises solely from the
fact that in his work for the preserva-
tion of the forests he is admitted even
by his enemies to be absolutely disin-
terested. When the congressional in
vestigation that has been demanded
by Mr.. Ballinger is on there will be
no witnesses summoned in an attempt
to prove that Mr.. Pinchot has done
his work simply with the view of
holding his position in order that he
may draw his salary. The chief for
SotOA 10 NSlS AASh hAnh' WIN "oHC
into the hard labor of saving the for
ests solely because he had heart in
terest in the enterprise. Mr. Pinchot
has used his government salary at
times to pay the expenses Of men
who could aid him in his work and
for whose salaries there was no ap.
preparation made by congress.
The Secretary's Position.
Secretary of the Interior Ballinger
also has an advantage. When the
charge was made that he had acted
wrongly in connection with the case
which had come before the depart.
ment for action when he was the