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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 11, 1910)
' The Commoner. WARCH 11, 1910. 5 r vamfrfj ""r"ir")ST "tjlyt1 'jrB 'Hfnw i-' to believe It and that the president sent It to mo because he did believe it and wanted mo to be lievo it against this contention." ,.., Mr. Pinchot here referred to the record con cerning his letter of dismissal from Presidents Taft. 'What have you to say to the charge that you were disrespectful to the president?" asked Mr. Pepper. "I contend that the expression of an honest belief that the president had acted under a misapprehension is not disrespectful." "What, now, as to showing a ladle of confi dence in the purpose of the president to take the defense of the people's rights in his hands." "If the president had signified his intention to take matters in his own hands I would have been happy to leave it there. But the presi dent's letter showed he would continue to leave it in Ballinger's hands and that he had great confidence in Mr. Ballinger." "What as to your being insubordinate?" "I was not but I do not desire to lay stress on that point. I should have been insubordinate without a second thought if I should have con sidered it necessary to bring the facts bofore the public." "Were you in fact Insubordinate?" "As a matter of fact I was not. But I have no desire for a personal vindication. I would rather not go into that question." "Why not?" asked the witness' attorney. "Because it is not important and I regard it unnecessary to bring out a difference of opin ion between Secretary Wilson and myself. It would be a painful thing to get into a contro versy with him and for that reason I have kept Belli Senator Nelson pressed his question as to whether or not Mr. Pinchot had consulted the secretary before sending the letter. Mr. Pinchot said he would decline to answer the question unless it was put up by the whole committee. A motion to press the question was put and unanimously carried. "Did you consult with the secretary before sending that letter?" "I did." The witness proceeded to explain his answer by saying he went to Secretary Wilson on Jan uary 3 and told him Senator Dolliver had re quested information from the forest service and that the secretary made no objection. "We discussed at length the right of Senator Dolliver to get the information from me as to the president's order forbidding subordinates to give information to congress. Secretary Wilson said: 'You and I will have no trouble about that order,' or words to that effect. I believed I had his consent. I described to him the sit uation as to the controversy before the Interior department and the forest service; I told him of the intention of our opponents to magnify what had been done by Price and Shaw and myself. I thought the only wise thing for us to do was to lay our hand down on the table, admit what we had done and force the congres sional inquiry to the points where it ought to develop itself. "I was convinced that Secretary Wilson fa vored my effort to defend Price and Shaw al though he did not favor my plan of getting publicity at the same time the other did. I felt I had, however, secured his permission to write to Senator Dolliver." The cross-examination of Mr. Pinchot was delayed until Secretary Wilson, who desired to take the stand at once, could be heard. The grizzled old official, who holds the record for cabinet service, was plainly agitated when he took the oath as a witness and when he began to testify his voice was high pitched and strained. "The secretary proved impatient at some of the questions put to him on cross-examination and became somewhat mixed as to just what letters were being referred to by his questioners and resentful of any inference other than his own that they wished to draw from his testimony. Mr. Vertrees, counsel for Secretary Ballinger, took the direct examination. "You have heard what Mr. Pinchot has said, have you any statement to make?" he asked. 'Some of the things Mr. Pinchot has said here a good many of them," began Secretary Wilson, are correct, but there are other things that are not correct." The secretary brought his fist down on the table with a resounding whack. He then con tinued: "He never got my consent to "send that letter to the senate there are two things in it that would have made it Impossible for me to have given my consent. He attempted to review and Judge the mental processes of the president. He also assumed the authority that was inino to discipline." Secretary Wilson said he had tried for two months or more to get a report from Mr. Pin chot concerning the alleged activity of the forest service in the Glavis matter. Ho said Mr. Pin chot kept delaying making a report to him. "And what did ho finally bring you?" The witness stated Pinchot sot Shaw and Price to work to prepare a report to him. For some reason or other this report wan nothing moro than their opinion of their own work. "Now, gentlemen, I know comparatively noth ing of what you are considering here. I have read something about it in the papers and know what tho president said. Mr. Pinchot wants you to believe that because I reasoned no objection to his writing letters to Senator Dolliver regard ing departmental matters that ho had a right to write what ho did. Ho had no such authority from me. I knew nothing of it. The question before this committee is: 'Did ho havo my consent to write that letter?' He did not. I never saw it. I never hoard of it until I read it in the Congressional Record." The cross-examination of Secretary Wilson was begun by Attorney Pepper, but it was soon taken out of his hands by the four democratic members of the committee who took turn about in plying the cabinet officer with questions. Tho republicans took practically no part in tho ex amination. In reply to Attorney Pepper Secre tary Wilson said he would forgive Mr. Pinchot for his assumption of authority over the disre spectful subordinates of the forest service, but that ho could not forgive tho part concerning the president. MR. TAFT'S LETTER TO PINCHOT In his testimony before the Ballinger investi gating committee, Gifford Pinchot read into evidence the full text of a letter written to him by President Taft from Beverly, as follows: Beverly, Mass., September 15, 1909. My Dear Gifford: I inclose herewith a letter which I am about to send to Secretary Ballinger for such use as he sees fit, in reference to the charges made by Glavis against Secretary Ballinger, Pierce, Dennett and Schwartz. I have reached this conclusion only after a full consideration of Glavis' statement and their answers to it, but I never reached a conclusion based on a stronger conviction than this one Is. Glavis seems to be a man who has acquired but one idea, and who has allowed his suspicions to grow to such a point as to be altogether dis ingenuous in tho statement of evidence which he adduces to sustain his attack upon his su periors. I have made no reference to you In this letter, which will probably be made public, because I do not wish to bring you into tho controversy at all. I have advised Mr. Ballinger and his subordinates that I wish your name left out of tho matter in their answers and references, should it become necessary, as is not unlikely, to send the whole record to congress. I am aware from tho tono of your letter and from your conversation with me that you did not give to Mr. Ballinger the confidence and trust which I do; and in this respect I think you do Mr. Ballinger injustice. I think you have allowed your enthusiastic interest in the cause of conservation, and your impatience at legal obstacles and difficulties to mislead you in this regard, and that Glavis himself has led you to regard as suspicious a number of things which, when weighed in the light of all the circumstances you now know, are lacking in evidential force to sustain such a previous charge as that of bad faith against officials who have heretofore shown themselves to bo entirely trustworthy. I write this to urge upon you that you do not make Glavis' cause yours. You had no access to the records which Glavis had access to, and you did not know the explanation for some of the things that Ke pointed out as suspicious which he ought to have made known to you and to me. I can not for a minute permit him to remain as a subordinate in the interior department or in the public service. It would be fatal to proper discipline. On the other hand, I wish you to know that I have the utmost confidence In your conscien tious desire to serve the government and the public, in the intensity of your purpose to achieve success in the matter of conservation of national resources, and in the Immense value of what you have done and propose to do with reference to forestry and ..kindred methods of conservation, and that I am thoroughly in sym pathy with all of these policies and propose to do everything that I can do to maintain thorn, insisting only that the action for which I bc como responsible, or for which my administra tion becomes responsible, shall bo within tho law. I write this letter in ordor to prevent hasty action on your part in taking up Glavis' caugo or In objecting to my sustaining Ballingor and his subordinates within the interior department as a reason for your withdrawing from tho public service. I should consider it one of tho greatest losses that my administration could sustain if you wero to leave it, and I sincerely hopo that you will not think that my action In writing tho in closed letter to Secrotary Ballingor is reason for your taking a step of this character. When a man has beon unjustly treated, as Secrotary Ballingor has been in tho manner pointed out in tho letter, a copy of which I send you, it is my duty as his chief, with tho knowledge that I havo of his official integrity and his lack of culpability, to declare it to tho public and do him justico, however great inconvenience may arise in other respects. I havo been greatly disturbed by tho public discussion carried on In the press, from which it is inferred that your bureau Is arrayed against tho interior department and that material Is being furnished for both sides from official sources. I was especially distressed by McITarg's re ported interviews, though I bellevo ho now re pudiates any criticism or slurring remarks con cerning President Roosevelt. Ho was an effi cient officer, but he talked too much and wildly, and his withdrawal relieved mo. I must bring public discussion between departments and bureaus to an end. It is most demoralizing and subversive of governmental discipline and effi ciency. I want you to help mo In this. I can enforce team work If I can keep public servants out of newspaper discussion. Very sincerely yours, WILLIAM H. TAFT. INTIMIDATED AND SILENCED Washington, D. C, March 3. "I am intimi dated in my representative capacity as a mem ber of the house," shouted Representative Steen erson of Minnesota, In tho house today when charging that largo sums of money had been raised by ship-owners to improperly influence members of congress in behalf of tho ship sub sidy legislation. Mr. Stoenerson, who is one of tho house in surgents, demanded recognition from tho speak er on a' question of personal privilege to mako reply to an attack made upon him in the "Amer ican flag," published at Cleveland, O., In the In terest of ship subsidy. Tho speaker ruled that inasmuch as tho attack had been caused by a private letter written by Mr. Steonerson it could not be brought out in the house. Mr. Steonerson declared that tho merchant marine league of the United States, with head quarters in Cleveland, "conspired and associated together for the purpose of unduly influencing congress and creating hostility against all per sons opposed to such legislation." He wanted a committee appointed to investi gate these charges to determine whether a con spiracy did exist. Representative Underwood of Alabama, up held the contention of Mr. Stoenerson. "If a conspiracy of that kind has been formed," insisted Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin, "it is the subject for a criminal action and should be investigated by a federal grand jury." Speaker Cannon cited precedents to show that the question raised was not one of personal privilege and on motion of Mr. Payne the en tiro matter was referred to tho committee on tho Judiciary. Associated Press report. THAT PACIFIC MAIL CONTRACT Washington dispatch to the Philadelphia North American (rep.): "Secretary of War Dickinson made no attempt to justify the ex isting contract made with the Pacific Mail Steamship company, except upon the ground of necessity, in his statement today before the sen ate committee on inter-oceanic canals. He ad mitted the contract was a bad one, that it had caused him embarrassment and that something Bhould be done to Improve the existing situa tion. But he contended that at the time the contract was made, it was necessary in order to maintain through transportation between At lantic and Pacific coast ports by way of tho Isthmus of Panama. The contract in question gives 70 per cent of the through rate on all shipments to the steamship company, leaving the government but 30 per cent for transport- frafW-:-.-. J-. . t rt-k-t ..