The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1910-01-14
is PlNCHOT
SLATED TO co =?
Hints Not Lacking That He Is
Marked For Sacrifice.
WOULD Be NATIONAL CALAMITY

His Scalp Sought by Private Interest.
That Want to Grab the Nations Re.
sources - Congressional Agents o,
These Concerns May Use lnvsstisa
ton to Disoredit Him.
Washington, Jan. /. - The recent
speech of Clifford Pinchot at New York
printed almost in full in the papers
here, has stirred up the conservation
row anew. Everybody In Washington
at least In public-concedes the i'm
portance Of Mr.. Pinchot's work and
the correctness Of his views as to keep
ing natural resources out Of the hands
of private eIploiters, but the friends
of the administration think he over
rates the danger and believe that by
implication at least he is unfair to
President Taft and Secretary Balm
ger. These assert that the admins
tration is just as anxious to conserve
as Pinchot. In their view the chief
forester il trying to make a martyr
of himself, and hints are not lacking
that he may succeed. The great body
Of men. however, who are not parties
to the controversy would regard such
an outcome as q national calamity.
They believe Mr.. Pinchot's crusade
one of the most meritorious undertake
en- in this generation. nor are they con-
WINGED that he overrates the dangers
from private corporations that want
to gobble the public domain. The only
question with this great disinterestcd
public In as to whether the forester'S
implied criticisms OF Secretary Balm
ger are or are not well founded. Hero
is the crux OF the matter, and probably
nothing but an investigation can de-
termine the truth. But there u dan
ger even here. Congressional inyestt-
cations in the past have not been free
from suspicion. Indeed. they are usu-
ally regarded as withdrawing affairs
that place the truth In darkness rather
than light
This 10 che Peoples Fight
Mr.. Pfnchots contentious are true
that vast moneyed interests are trying
to discredit him. And what IA 80
probable or who In better able to
know than the chief forester HIMSELF
Then the proposed Investigation night |
be turned into an engine to distort the |
facts and to throw discredit on Pin
chot and his work. The people should
not be Jailed into any false sense OF |
security ON this point. The conssrva-
ton fight Is their fight. Ii Ptnchot Is |
correOt In his statement OF the dangers
a supreme crisis has bean reached
How easy 1t would be for q few sps-
cial interests with their congressional
agents to cover up real conditions, Grip
ole this entire movement and fRbrtcate
some sort OF charges on which the
forester could be dismissed from the
service! / do not charge that this Is
being done. do not know. AL do
know is that Washington b fall Of
the agents OF corporations who wish
to grab water power sites, coal lands
and all other things OF value that are
not nailed down. that these interests
have powerful friends In congress, that |
they arc making charges against Pin |
chot Of the most nimsy and transpar-
ent character and that they are In
tensely anxious to get rid sf nina 1t |
is because Of the ease with which a |
congressional investigation might do
this and from the fact that similar tn
vestigations have been under wide
spread suspicion In ths past that
sound q note OF warning. In nay own
view the conservation policy and the
rriovemsnts allied to II eonstttIts the
most hopeful signs Of our day. To al
n - tn& fha
at this time would be q cxims against
mankind
osr R.Istlens VIII Nssiss.
One outcome OF the Zelays incident
that may be OF more than passing i'm
portance IL the reported friction be
tween this country and Mexico. The
peg ON which the rumor il hung u the
demand made by the state department
for the speedy trial Of James A. Cook,
an American conductor on the Mexi
can National railroad. who has been in
fail since last August on the charge of
robbery. Back Of this incident, how
ever. IL alleged to be friction over
the mission OF Special Envoy Creel to
Washington and the act Of the Mexi-
huluDIlAltH aEs
TO the deposed dictator Zelaya. That
Creel was not received here with great
cordiaIity Is an undoubted fact. and
that there Is not the best Of feeling In
Washington over MeKico's part In the
Zelaya fight is generally believed. II
may be only a coincidence that the
Cook case came up at this particular
time, but even II that is true the de
mand OF the state department for sat
isfaction for the atrocious killing OF
Cannon and Groce viii not be abated,
and Zelaya win be held responsible,
in his own country or Mexico.
This Would BE Feud Worth While.
Are we TO have an Aldrich-Mac-
Veagh controversy TO add to the other
famous ones Of the season? II is al
ready known that the head Of the
treasury and the boss Of the senate
finance committee have locked horns
on the tariff and on the appointment
Of an assistant secretary Of the treas
ury. Now they are in conflict on the
issue Of the Panama canal bonds.
refuses to issue the bonds