The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1913-01-08
P|NCHOT ATTACKS
GUGGENHE|M TO HIS
FACE AT MEETING
Declares States Rights Pol
icy Only Stalking Horse for
Conservation Opponents.

Behind the stalking horse of States
lights there is preparing most dan
gerous attack on the whole policy of
conservation. 1t is an attack in which
men of whole principle are fighting side
by side with men whose principles live
In their pockets, and for that reason II
is doubly to be feared"
So declared Clifford Pinchot, former
chief of the forestry service, before the
American Forestry Association conven-
ton today in an impassioned warning
against the proposed plan of ceding
back to the States all forest and mineral
claims now held by the Federal Govern
ment. He characterized the movement
of the money interests against censer-
walton through this new State pan to
be Eager, alert, and well organized. ..
The convention adopted resolutions in
the afternoon business meeting, favor
ing the continuance of the present
policy of national control of forestry.
Mr.. Pinchot himself paid a compliment
Indirectly to Secretary of the Interior
Fisher and his department for present
day elimination of fraud In land entries,
coal and water power rights, and for
safeguarding public interest in land
matters.
Attacks uGggenheim.
Mr. Pinchot made quite a stir when
he declared in the presence of Senator
Simon Guggenheim, delegate to the
convention: THE coal lands of Alaska
will not fall into the hands of the Gug-
genheims, nor will hundreds of mil
lions of dollars, worth of water power
sites become the easy prey of the
great water power combination, whose
growth in the direction of single over
mastering trust has made such progress
in the last few years."
Continuing he said: '.All of this work
for the protection Of the peoples prop
erty has but single object-use for the
benefit of the people. But use by the
people is sharply different from owner
ship by the grabbers. The grabbers
are hungry, for, under the care OF the
Government, the peoples property is
mostly out of their reach.
To the men whose business of grab
bling has been stopped, the present situ-
alton could not well be worse. ANY
To these men the States rights cry is
q tool, and nothing more. Time and
again have been intensely amused by
the perspiring solicitude of citizens of
New York and Massachusetts, lest the
rights Of Colorado and Idaho to control
the disposition of water power within
their borders should fail of due recog-
milton. So with their ceaseless care for
the rights of the honest settler, whom
the Government does not protect, but
whom the grabbers merely use.
Forests Are Huge Prize.
THE national forests are worth. at
least two thousand millions of dollars.
It 10 q huge prize-safe from spoli-
alton while IL remains in the hands of
the nation, but possibly open If it passes
to the States. We may as well call
things by their right names. The bulk
of the agitation for the control of
natural resources by the States comes
from combinations of capital whose pur-
poses could not be achieved if they
were avowed.
There are honest men, honestly mis-
taken, who support this movement. But
the movement itself would never have
reached its present Importance but for
one thing-the' success of the Federal
Government in putting an end to land
grabbing in most of its forms.
From the beginning IL was upon the
forest service that the burden of de-
fendipg the conservatio policy chiefly
defeat would mean the defeat of the
whole policy of conservation. and the
ultimate passage Of untold millions of
public property into the hands of men
who do not need any more of 1t in
order to be perfectly sure of three
square meals a day"
Other speakers at the luncheon this
afternoon were Secretary Fisher, Charles
l. Pack, and DR.. Henry S. Drinker