Echoes of Ballinger

Although the official investigation of the Ballinger–Pinchot imbroglio had concluded by the spring of 1910, echoes of the incident reverberated through 1911. While the Republican majority on the investigating committee had forcefully exonerated Ballinger, the Democratic minority had with equal emphasis denounced his performance as secretary of the interior. There could be little doubt, however, that Ballinger’s effectiveness as a cabinet member had been compromised. If not guilty of dishonesty, his lack of judgment in the Cunningham claims matter was obvious, except to the President. During the remainder of 1910, intimates close to Taft tried to have the beleaguered Ballinger eased out of office, but the president would not hear of it, and consistently defended Ballinger’s honesty and integrity.

If anyone was at fault, according to Taft, it was the insurgents and/or their associates who rallied around Pinchot as the symbol of their cause. They had conspired against Ballinger, and as Taft wrote in May 1910, “If I were to turn Ballinger out, in view of his innocence and … the conspiracy against him, I should be a white livered skunk. I don’t care how it affects my administration…. He has been made the object of a despicable conspiracy, in which unscrupulous methods have been used that ought to bring shame to the face of everyone connected with it.”