The Pinchot–Ballinger controversy, also known as the "Ballinger Affair", was a dispute between high level officials in the U.S. government regarding whether or not the federal government should allow private corporations to control water rights, or instead cut them off so that the wilderness would be protected from capitalist greed. Between 1909 and 1910, the dispute escalated to a battle between President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

(who supported Richard Ballinger) and ex-president

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

(who supported

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsyl ...

). Pinchot and his allies accused Ballinger of criminal behavior to help an old client of his and thus promote big business. Ballinger was eventually exonerated but the highly publicized dispute escalated a growing split in the Republican Party. Taft took control of the Republican Party in 1912, but Roosevelt started a third "Progressive" party. Both Taft and Roosevelt were defeated in the three-way 1912 presidential election, with Democrat

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

the winner. Pinchot, a close personal friend of Roosevelt, was Chief of the U.S. Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture. Richard A. Ballinger was U.S. Secretary of the Interior, a separate cabinet department. Roosevelt in 1908 selected Taft as his successor in the White House because he thought Taft fully agreed with his main policies. Roosevelt then left the country in early 1909. Roosevelt's friends flooded him with messages hostile to Taft, and Roosevelt returned in 1910 convinced that his protege had betrayed him. The feud helped to define national political alignments between 1910 and 1914, as well as the

conservation movement The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the ...

in the early 20th century. For Auld Lang Syne - Leonard Raven-Hill

Ballinger's appointment

In March 1909, President

began his administration by replacing

's Secretary of the Interior, James Rudolph Garfield, with Richard A. Ballinger, a former

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

who had served as

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

United States General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government responsible for Public domain (land), public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 ...

(GLO) under Secretary Garfield. Ballinger's appointment was a disappointment to conservationists, who interpreted the replacement of Garfield as a break with Roosevelt administration policies on conservationism. Within weeks of taking office, Ballinger reversed some of Garfield's policies, restoring 3 million acres (12,000 km²) to private use.

Allegations by Pinchot and Glavis

had been appointed by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

to head the USDA Division of Forestry in 1898, and had run the U.S. Forest Service since it had taken over management of forest reserves from the

(GLO) in 1905. In 1909 he became convinced that Ballinger was reversing the last-minute moves by outgoing President Roosevelt to block big business from gaining control of any major water sources. He said Ballinger intended to "stop the conservation movement". In August, 1909, speaking at the annual meeting of the National Irrigation Congress in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, he accused Ballinger of siding with private trusts in his handling of

water power Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kin ...

issues. Meanwhile Louis Glavis,the chief of the Field Division of the GLO in Portland, Oregon, grew suspicious. He became convinced that Secretary Ballinger had a personal financial interest in obstructing an investigation of the Cunningham case. Glavis sought support from Pinchot, whose jurisdiction over the

Chugach National Forest The Chugach National Forest is a United States National Forest in south central Alaska. Covering portions of Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River (Alaska), Copper River Delta, it was formed in 1907 from part of a larger ...

included several of the Cunningham claims. Glavis received a sympathetic response from Alexander Shaw, Overton Price and Pinchot, who helped him to prepare the presentation for Taft. Pinchot now arranged a meeting between President Taft and Glavis. Pinchot and Glavis presented Taft with a 50-page report accusing Ballinger of an improper interest in his handling of

coal field Coal mining regions are significant resource extraction industries in many parts of the world. They provide a large amount of the fossil fuel energy in the world economy. The People's Republic of China is the largest producer of coal in the world ...

claims in Alaska. Glavis claimed (without evidence) that Ballinger while in office helped Cunningham. Glavis said that Ballinger first as commissioner of the General Land Office, and then as Secretary of the Interior, had tried to stop investigations of coal claim purchases made by Clarence Cunningham. In 1907, Cunningham had partnered with the Morgan– Guggenheim "Alaska Syndicate" to develop coal interests in Alaska. The GLO had launched an anti-trust investigation, headed by Glavis. Ballinger, then head of the GLO, rejected Glavis's findings and removed him from the investigation.

Dismissals, investigations, and escalating controversy

Taft consulted with

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

George Wickersham before issuing a public letter in September, exonerating Ballinger and authorizing the dismissal of Glavis on grounds of insubordination. At the same time, Taft tried to conciliate Pinchot and affirm his administration's pro-conservation stance. Glavis took his case to the press. In November, ''

Collier's Weekly } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'' published an article elaborating his allegations, entitled ''The Whitewashing of Ballinger: Are the Guggenheims in Charge of the Department of the Interior?'' In January 1910, Pinchot sent an open letter to Senator Jonathan P. Dolliver, who read it into the ''

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...

''. Pinchot praised Glavis as a "patriot", openly rebuked Taft, and asked for Congressional hearings into the propriety of Ballinger's dealings. Pinchot was promptly fired, but from January to May, the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

held hearings on Ballinger. Ballinger was cleared of any wrongdoing, Nevertheless he was criticized from some quarters with the accusation that he favored private enterprise and the

exploitation of natural resources The exploitation of natural resources describes using natural resources, often non-renewable or limited, for economic growth or development. Environmental degradation, human insecurity, and social conflict frequently accompany natural resource ex ...

over conservationism.

Consequences

The firing of Pinchot, a close friend of Roosevelt, alienated many progressives within the Republican party and drove a wedge between Taft and Roosevelt himself, leading to the split of the Republican Party in the 1912 presidential election. The clash had a long-term influence on the conservation movement because it spread misconceptions about a class warfare dimension. Contrary to the stereotype, many businessmen supported conservation programs and many farmers and workers opposed them. Furthermore there was a good deal of overlap in the goals of the Interior Department, the Department of Agriculture, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Investigation

Henry F. Pringle, in his 1939 biography of Taft, portrayed Ballinger as an innocent victim of vindictive Roosevelt loyalists and of

yellow journalism In journalism, yellow journalism and the yellow press are American newspapers that use eye-catching headlines and sensationalized exaggerations for increased sales. This term is chiefly used in American English, whereas in the United Kingdom, ...

that gave their accusations velocity:

An examination of thousands of pages of evidence can lead the impartial reader only to the conclusion that Ballinger was the victim of an attack fostered by fanaticism and nurtured by bad journalism. But Pinchot, Glavis, Hapgood f ''Collier's Weekly'' Sullivan lso of ''Collier's'' Marse Henry enry Watterson of the ''Louisville Courier-Journal''">Louisville_Courier-Journal.html" ;"title="enry Watterson of the ''Louisville Courier-Journal">enry Watterson of the ''Louisville Courier-Journal''and the rest handed down their verdict against Ballinger in 1909 and 1910 and a large element of the public believed that they had spoken justly.

Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior under Franklin Roosevelt, reached a conclusion similar to Pringle's. Ickes published a popular account of his findings in ''The Saturday Evening Post''. After an official investigation, his findings were expanded to a 58-page report that asserts Ballinger's innocence and paints Pinchot as a vindictive publicity-seeker who pitilessly pursued Ballinger even after Ballinger's death. Ickes, Harold L., ''Not guilty: an official inquiry into the charges made by Glavis and Pinchot against Richard A. Ballinger, secretary of the interior, 1909-1911''
p.3
(Washington,

United States Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal gove ...

, 1940) (retrieved Dec. 30, 2023).

Notes