EDITORIAL 



769 



and resource exploiter in I )emvr is the 

 popularity of Forester Pinchot. 



The writer begins by mentioning 

 "the 'spontaneous' and 'enthusiastic' in- 

 dorsements procured for the Forest 

 Service by Mr. Pinchot." These, the 

 writer declares, "are the most care- 

 fully planned and manufactured 'out- 

 bursts' of popular feeling- that were 

 ever expressed this side of a Roman 

 mob of stipes on the mimic stage." 



"Just now," we are told, "the Chief 

 Forester is competing with Secretary 

 Ballinger for Presidential favor. 

 Hence he organizes an intelligent con- 

 spiracy for popularity. And Presi- 

 dent Taft will be deluged with reso- 

 lutions approving the Chief Forester 

 and all his methods." 



"And most of this 'outbreak.' ' we 

 are assured, "is all humbug." 



The writer then proceeds to explain 

 how Mr. Pinchot has carefully organ- 

 ized a claque, and "at every possible 

 gathering" they do their stunt, "out 

 over a resolution or a speech lauding 

 him and his work, and his press bureau 

 does the rest." This, the writer as- 

 sures us, "is the rankest fake ever per- 

 petrated * * * the method of the 

 cheapest demagogue." 



Really, this Denver "continuous per- 

 formance" has in it the element of the 

 pathetic. 



Here we have Mr. J. Arthur Eddy 

 serving for months together as "tem- 

 porary" president of his organization 

 and. as he informs his constituents, 

 with an emptv treasury, devoting his 

 time, talents, strength, and zeal to the 

 great cause of "dividing up" our "na- 

 tional heritage" and parceling it out 

 among those who can most expedi- 

 tiouslv and certainlv "make monev out 

 nf it :" and all this without even the 

 poor tribute of the praise of men. 



He goes to a meeting, bravelv at- 

 tacks the "feudal baron" of the Forest 

 Service who insists that our natural re- 

 sources be conserved for the use of all 

 the people, present and to come, in- 

 stead of being turned over to a few 

 GuGfgenheims and the like masters of 

 the eentle and joyou<= art of "getting 

 on" by "getting others off" and, for 



these thing-, lu niu^t needs receive a 

 drubbing in his own bailiwick from 

 divers and sundry of his own neigh- 

 bors, while the groundlings "throw up 

 their sweaty night-caps," applaud the 

 "feudal baron" as "all right," and pray 

 that his tribe may increase. 



That Mr. Eddy should be required 

 to keep this thing up indefinitely with- 

 out even being made permanent presi- 

 dent of the National Public Domain 

 League argues, on the part of the mag- 

 nates whose interests he serves, a cal- 

 lous indifference that should wring the 

 hardest heart. 



Again, is there not some one in Den- 

 ver who will kindly pass the basket and 

 recoup the long-since empty treasury of 

 the league? For business is business: 

 printers' bills must be met, and Uncle 

 Sam will not carry press bulletins un- 

 less the postage is prepaid. 



And cannot some good soul "put 

 over" at least one resolution commend- 

 ing the unselfish efforts of Mr. Eddv 

 and his league? 



Labor for Public Improvements 



AT THE Corpus Christi meeting. 

 Lieut. Gov. A. B. Davidson raised 

 the labor question in connection with 

 waterways improvements. 



It seems that the constitution of 

 Texas bars state activities in water- 

 ways development, leaving such work 

 to the Nation. Instead, however, of 

 relying wholly upon the National Gov- 

 ernment to develop the streams of 

 Texas. Mr. Davidson proposed that the 

 state cooperate with the Nation in this 

 work. 



The state, he believed, could aid by 

 furnishing the labor for the work ; to 

 do this, he would utilize the 3,600 con- 

 victs now maintained in idleness by the 

 state. 



This, it would seem, is as little as a 

 state could do in promoting an enter- 

 prise so great. Yet Governor Camp- 

 bell is quoted as having opposed Lieu- 

 tenant Governor Davidson's scheme and 

 favoring the development of the Texas 



