Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-27
Those in Touch With Situation
Declare He win Stay.
OUTCOME IS SPECULATIVE
President Taft Has Not as Yet An
nounced His Decision.
RECOMMENDATION BY WILSON
Secretary Of Agriculture Advises He
Be Admonished, Not Dismissed.
Embarrassing at Best.

Although the nature Of the decision O
President Taft In the Wiley case must b
purely speculative until officially giveI
out at the White House. that tho chem
1stry chief will be ALLOWED to resign
seems more improbable now than at any
time since the preferment Of charges
against him.
That an embarrassing situation may 81
avoided by the retention by the Presi
dent Of DR.. Wiley in his position on rec
ommendation Of Secretary Wilson that h
be admonished, but not dismissed. is the
chief factor in the belief DR.. Wiley's
official scalp will be saved to the service
Secretary Wilson. It Is believed, has
recommended that leniency be shown DR.
Wiley because Of his valued services te
the government In the past and his use
fulness for the future. This being 50 the
President could retain Dr.. Wiley without
seeming to ignore the advice OF Attor.
ney General Wickersham.
Neither DR.. Wiley nor Secretary VIII
son will break the silence they have
maintained from the outset and officials
of the Department OF Agriculture arr
correspondingly accommodating, but
one in fairly close touch with the case
today declared DR.. Wiley Is almost sure
to be retained as q matter Of expediency
Would Avoid Big Row.
"It is generally conceded" he said. ''by
those in touch with tho matter that the
Wiley case has in it the making OF big
ger row than the P1nchot con.
troversy. The reason is plain. More peo-
pie In the United States have stomach
than have coal mines or forests.
Rightly or wrongly, that indetermi-
nate, but nevertheless powerful person
the man in the street. has decided In his
own mind that DR.. Wiley IL the main
guardian Of the public health. Were he
Agriculture the popular view would be
that all the barriers of the pure food Law
had been broken down and 1t will be
taken as only another indication OF the
fact that the administration Is run by the
interests.
''The queer part Of the whole trans
action is that this is one Of the cases
where the interests, spelled from the up
per case. have had little, II anything, to
do. If DIR. Wiley Is officially scalped 1t
will be in the house Of his friends, for the
whole matter is an Official row.
Champion Of Pure Food Law.
For several years past DR.. Wiley has
been quoted, pictured. cartooned and
advanced in print as the champion of
the pure food law. There have been
other people in the department who
were interested in the enforcement of
the law. but DR.. Wiley was generally
given the credit in print for anything
good that was done, and when the food
adulterators or the fake medicine peo-
pie went after anybody's official head
In connection with the pure food and
thew
sonally.
From this personal element there
sprang up jealousy in the depart
ment, and for two years past there has
Wiley and trip him. Some Of his enc
mics in the department thought they
had found the chance in the case OF
DR.. Rusby, and thereon the whole
fight has been made.
ION the face of the documents Dr. WI
ley unQuestionably has violated the letter
of the law. At the same time, the Law
has been violated in spirit about tel
times as much In the appointment ant
payment OF the referee board that was
created for the purpose of reversing DR.
Wiley's benzoate OF soda decision.
How VIII President View Ite
Now the question remains whether tn.
President will look at the case merely al
lawyer ana Oecloe tnat LII. wiley MAJ
violated the law, or whether he will lool
at 1t as a politician and decide 1t woult
make too much fuss to remove DR.. Wiley
from the department.
las a matter of fact, It seems al
though whichever way 1t were decided 1,
would be good for Wiley and bad for the
administration. DR.. Wiley IL comforta.
bly, off and does not care for money be-
yond what Is necessary for comfort. II
he did he could leave the department and
get $4,000 year from any one of hall
dozen big companies simply for the
use of his name on their pay roll.
IF he is retained in the service he will
have triumphed over two cabinet officers
and II he is put out he will be considered
popular martyr from one end Of the
country to the other. Altogether II is
rather an uncomfortable situation for the
administration to have to handle"