Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-26
BaIIinger Determined to Make
Short Work of Roosevelt
Conservation Policy.
FALSEHoOD AND DISLOYALTY
Accuses Secretary of Them in His
Explanations Made to
President Taft.
Believes Facts Presented by CLAWS
Prove Him Unfaithful TO Trust and
He Should be Dismissed.

Washington, Feb 26.-Gifford Pin
chot, taking the witness stand at the
Ballinger- -Pinchot inquiry this after
noon read statement to the committee
before being sworn in which he charged
Secy Ballingcr with falsehood and dis
loyalty to President Taft and declared
that Mr.. Ballinger should be dismissed
from the service.
Mr.. Pinchot made to the Ballinger-
Pinchot investigating committee this
statement of his charges against Secy
Ballnger when he went on the stand
today
What I desire to lay before the COM
mittee is a consecutive story OF my
experience with Mr., Balllnger in reln.
ton to the conservation of natural re-
sources. Among several other matters
there are three of principal importance
to be called TO your attention.
The first OF these concerns the
policy devised and inaugurated by the
last administration of protecting
against monopolistlc control the water
power sites owned by the people
~ shall show you that Secy Ballins-
er entered his office with the clear de-
termination 10 make. short work OF that
policy; that he reversed 1t so far as ne
was allowed to do so; that he restored
the power sites to entry without the
remotest idea Of re- withdra wing them
and that finally. when L charged him
last autumn to the president with be-
ing an enemy OF the policy of conserva-
tion he capped the climax by giving 10
the president himself an explanation Of
his conduct that was essentially false
Tho second has to do with my con-
nection as a government officer with
the Cunningham coal cases and with
the CLAWS charges. shall show you
how the forest service became involved
in these cases and how Claws sub
mitted his facts to me. / believed then.
as I believe now, that he told the
truth. l am convinced now, as | was
when he came to me, that Claws was
faithful public servant and that the
facts which he presented prove that
Mr. Ballinger had been unfalthfuI to
his trust as n servant of the people.
and as the guardian of public property
of enormous value
Il shall show that since learned the
facts YOU have heard from CLAWS and
others which I am about to lay before
you l have acted steadily in the light
of them, as 1t was my duty both as a
public officer ard as a citizen TO be.
/ shall show you that in pursuance OF
that duty l laid before the president
both by word of mouth and in letter
of Nov 4. a statement OF my conyic-
tion that Secy. Ballinger has been a
dangerous enemy to conservation.
i shall show you that this letter was
submitted by the president to Mr.. Bal
linger, and that as part OF his reply
he laid before the president state
ment concerning the Cunningham coal
cases, which statement IS shown by un
disputed documentary evidence to be
absolutely false in three essential par
ticulars 1t VIII then appear that Mr.
Ballinger wilfully deceived the pre,i-
dent and was dlsloyal to him The
third principal matter is concerned with
the attitude of this government in law
and administrative practise toward .he
conservation of the national resource es
belonging TO the people.
Il desire to show you that the story
of Claws courageous and success sful
fight to protect the property of the pec-
pie. which ended in his dismissal with
out hearing. is but single chapter
in the history of the public lands. I
shall show you that under our pres
ent law and practise the moro difficult
task falls on those who would protect
the public property and not on those
who would dcspcil ii. and that under
the present system the betrayal into
monopolistlc control of what belongs 10
all of us is made easy and. often IN
practise. inevitable.
"The imperative duty before this
country is not merely to get rid of an
unfalthful public servant. far more
important duty Is to bring about fun
damental change In the law and the
practise toward conservation, to pre-
vent for the future what has been In
the past the almost inevitable sacrifice
of the public welfare and to make pos
sible here the utilization OF the natural
resources and the natural advantages
for the benefit OF all the people instead
of merely for the profit OF few.
when this story has been told.
and the witnesses whom / shall ask
you to call have been heard, you Will
realize that the interests of the country
are not safe In Mr.. Balllngers hands
and that the public demands of this
committee a verdict in harmony with
the general conviction that the secre-
tary of the interior has been unfaithful
botn to the public whose property he
has endangered, and to the president,
whom nc has deceived