NEWS AND NOTKS 



649 



of which the President speaks, and that it 

 reluctantly made the recommendation only 

 after having been repeatedly ordered by Sec- 

 retary Ballinger to do so." Boston Evening 

 Globe. 



The Effect of the Letter 



The effect of Glavis' summary dismissal 

 will be strongly to deter other subordinates, 

 who may feel like questioning the acts of 

 their superiors. It will clear up the atmos- 

 phere in one branch of the Interior Depart- 

 ment, and it will insure for President Taft'.s 

 official family at least a superficial peace. 

 But it will not convince the West or con- 

 vert it to Ballingerism. The West knows 

 Ballinger too well. It knows his associa- 

 tions. The West knows Pinchot and his 

 work. The vindication of yesterday is not 

 conclusive of the West's interest in this 

 matter. The West is willing, even anxious, 

 to be convinced. It will wait to see who 

 gets that Alaska coal, and whether Ballinger 

 or his friends share in the profits. San Fran- 

 cisco Call. 



Senate Committee to In estigate Indian 

 Forests 



The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is 

 investigating Indian forests. 



Senator Clapp of Minnesota is chairman, 

 and Senator La Follette of Wisconsin is a 

 member. 



Special investigation will be made of af- 

 fairs on the Menominee reservation, Wis- 

 consin. 



This inspection is significant because of 

 the discontinuance of the cooperative work 

 between the Forest Service and the Inte- 

 rior Department at the instance of the latter. 

 Senator La Follette is deeply interested. 



The Effect of Environment 



The President's confidence in Secretary 

 Ballinger is reassuring. Yet, notwithstand- 

 ing the Secretary's complete faultlessness, the 

 welfare of the administration seems to de- 

 mand his early transfer to some other post. 

 In any other Cabinet position Mr. Ballinger 

 could probably command public confidence. 

 The very fact that he comes from a section 

 and environment where the public domain 

 has been regarded as a fair prize, and where 

 land marauders have more or less dominated 

 political affairs assures that, no matter how 

 pure his acts and motives, he must work 

 constantly in a cloud of suspicion. That can- 

 not fail to reduce the efficiency of his depart- 

 ment. Lincoln (Nebr.) State Journal. 



How It Looks in Illinois 



The President may be right we hope he 

 is ; but undoubtedly he is on the unpopular 

 side of the case, and in such a contest he 

 will lose in respect of the great mass of the 

 people. He will win the respect of the cor- 

 porations who are trying to grab the public 

 domain. His argument, if read without his 

 signature, and its source unknown, would 

 lead the general reader to think that it was 

 the plea of a lawyer before a Federal court 

 for a wealthy corporation who was charged 

 with violation of law. 



We are sorry, but the President's action 

 in sustaining Ballinger does not look good 

 to us. Alton (111.) Telegraph. 



A Typical Comment 



The view of the anti-conservation press is 

 well illustrated by the following: 



"There will be some regret in various quar- 

 ters that the President did not make a clean 

 sweep of the trouble-makers and provide for 

 the early retirement of Pinchot, who, if not 

 at the bottom of all the controversy, is at least 

 a malcontent and disturber, and who has 

 been equally prominent with Governor Pardee 

 in making charges of a "water-power trust" 

 which the President has found does not 

 exist. * * * As long as Pinchot is in office 

 there can be no hope of harmony and a maxi- 

 mum of efficiency in the Interior Department. 

 The proper course for him under the cir- 

 cumstances is to resign. If he does not re- 

 sign he should be discharged. Kansas City 

 (Mo.) Journal. 



Pinchot and Ballinger 



The World's Work for October contains 

 an editorial discussion of the disagree- 

 ment of Secretary Ballinger with Mr. 

 Pinchot on "conservaion." Say "Pinchot" to 

 any company of men in the United States, 

 and it is the same as saying "conservation." 

 For this reason, any controversy to which 

 he is a part necessarily becomes a contro- 

 versy about conservation. It is not a con- 

 troversy merely about a legal interpretation. 

 The public understands this, and the enemies 

 of conservation understand it. And these 

 enemies get aid and hope and courage from 

 any doubt that they are permitted to harbor 

 about Secretary Ballinger's appreciation of 

 this large policy and his earnestness about it. 

 Mr. Ballinger owes it to himself to remove 

 it by as vigorous and prompt action as pos- 

 sible, of an unmistakable nature. 



The Kind of Fighters the People Need 



Pinchot fighters are the kind of fighters 

 that are needed to get a square deal under 

 existing conditions. The leader who assumes 



