Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-01-05
EMBERS OF ASSOCIATED PRESS.
PJNCHOT AND BALLINGER.

Cousress having taken a hand IN
the Pinchot.Ballinger controversy 1t
will at least be fair if the newspapers
and yellow magazines Of the country
do not arrive at and publish the YER
dict until after the investigation
which both Pinchot and Ballinger
have asked be most thorough. OF
course it is expecting too much for
bearance on the part of Senator La
Toilette to await the evidence before
giving the verdict. His conception
of justice is to find one guilty and
then-although grudgingly perhaps
accept the evidence; and we are
not sure but that on the bench he
would be prone to "set aside the
verdict" if not entirely in accord
with the ideas of the court. La Fol-
lette boldly proclaims that President
Taft is attempting to "whitewash"
Ballinger. The facts as laid bare
from day to day do not show it..
The president has asked that the
whole matter be Investigated and
Secretary Ballinger, through all
proper channels, has been most in
sistent upon thorough probing.
The Minneapolis Journal very fairly
discusses the controversy as follows:
With rare zeal for the pub
lie good, and an enthusiasm
touching fanaticism, is must be
said that Clifford Pinchot shows
little of that spirit of co-opera-
ton which is essential to the
working out of practical schemes
of reform. If Mr.. Pinch0t be-
lieves that conservation can be
made the exclusive issue of a
little group Of altruists, he is
mistaken in the way republics
accomplish results. In all his
speeches Mr.. Pinchot gives
the impression that he has an
exclusive property right in the
issues involved in conservation.
1t is noticeable that in none
of his addresses does he admit
that President Taft or Secretary
Ballinger has ever uttered a word
of helpfulness to the cause near
est his heart. Occupying a sub
ordinate position in the agricul-
tural department, ne might cas-
lily skim over any claims Mr..
Ballinger may have to recogni-
ton, on the ground that he is in
another department., but we can
not see how he can ignore his
chief, always and entirely, as
though they had no relations.
This is what we mean by the
absence of the spirit of cooper
alton in Pinchot. He is so far
from it that his speeches by
their silence might by implica-
ton be attacks upon the pres
ident.
Mr.. Pinchot, evidently sim
cerely believes that the policy of
conservation is endangered. If
so, 1t is quite as much in dan
ger from lack of a definition as
from an inadequate or bad one.
The public does not know exact
~ what conservation means. It
welcomes the issue as a counter
blow against monopoly in behalf
OF the public II is the feeling
that this Is its meaning that
makes the magic word, conserva-
ton, so popular in the country.
So far as actual recommends.
lions on which legislation may
be based are concerned, Mr.. Bal
finger appears to have done more
for conservation than Mr.. Pin
chot himself. He has put con-
gress on the track of a very
practical idea-that of classify
ing the remaining public lands
according to their greatest value
into farm lands, grass lands,
coal lands and mineral lands.
He believes that coal lands
should be held for the whole
people. This is sound. The