Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-05-25
President Tafts wer upon the in
surgents is a war upon courage, indie
pendence and conscience.
A p,seRAcEEuL RECORD.

A DiseRAcEFuL RECORD.
After many weeks of probing and
digging the attorneys for Pinchot and
CLAWS finally drove the President out
from behind his cover. In his letter
to Senator Nelson he practically adj
mits that his exoneration of Balm
ger was a prearranged whitewash,
and that he permitted Ballinger to
mix the dope and help in the use of
the brush. That he ordered Balm
gers attorney to prepare his letter
generating Ballinger before he could
have known what the evidence was,
and has since then had the Attorney
General prepare an opinion and date
it back to cover his acts. The whole
was so far removed from
judicial fairness as to become naus-
r p = y
eating. The disclosures SHOW how
completely the administration is
controlled by the trusts, and how
little opportunity an honest official
has to defend the interests of the
public. The following editorial from
the Des Moines News contains many
thoughts worth remembering.
From the very organization OF the
Taft administration it has been evil
dent to all fair-minded men that con-
.ditions were brought about very diff
ferent from those under the Roose-
welt administration. The difference
was not alone as to men and meth
ods,. but as to purposes and, principles
The Ballinger exoneration is case
in point. Ballinger was an attorney
for the grasping syndicates seeking
to gain control Of great natural re-
sources to be exploited for personal
gain. Wickersham had been the at
torney for all sorts of trusts and
combines. These men were placed
where they could serve best the self
ish purposes Of those with whom
they had been associated.
The public is familiar with the
whole deplorable record. When Bal
linger was accused before 1.-THE bar
of public opinion, President TAFT
himself gave out statement in
which he declared that after full in
vestigation of all the facts 1T was
found that Ballinger was absolutely
pure and above suspicion.
There was much disposition to ac
cept this verdict because it was
known that TAFT had been fedora
Judge and it was presumed that II
this matter he had proceeded in
Judicial manner to arrive at a deci
sion.
| Now it transpires that instead Q
the Ballinger generation having bee
1.-THE result of a careful investigate,
|of the facts, it was the reverse.
1T is now asserted, and it is ad
mitted, that the generation was writ
ten by Ballinger's attorney at a tim
when it could not have been possibl
for the president to have made tn
Investigation which he said he ha
made before the statement wa
prepared.
In short, it is very much as
the Judge sitting on the bench ha
directed that the attorney for the a,
| cused prisoner should, before tn
trial had opened, prepare the Verde
of not guilty; then that the judg
should sign it up and later that a
abstract of the testimony should |
turned over to him dated back.
This is all there is in the late
phase of the Ballinger case. 1t meaI
! that the president having made
bad bargain under which he was col
PEELED to turn his administration o
er to those who, as Dolliyer sal
know exactly what they want"
is under compulsion to pile deceptic
upon deception under the vain hol
that the public is going to be foole
There is but one way for the Ia
administration to purge itself al
that is to get rid of Ballinger al
Wickersham and put honest men
their places.