The Nome nugget., 1902-06-07
Fight Made Against Retention
 of MCkerSham.
HAYES IS THE MAN
President Roosevelt Felt it Would Be Better to Appoint Some Tan Who fad Not Been There and Who Knew Nothing of FLctionai QuarreIs.


 by 4. E. Hayes, of Ogden, Utah. Thi.
 announcement was made in the NUG, GET extra of last Monday, and since that time it has been confirmed from various sources.
 A hard fight seems 10 nave been made for the retention of Judge Wickersham In this division and for the appointmen, ofan entirely new man to succeed Judge Moves, The latter element won. and Judge 'Wickersham will be returned to the third division. A personal letter, dated April 2i received on the Nome City from former citizen of Utah. now : a resident of Seattle, says: Judge Wiekershsnt will not be retained at Nome. He will be returned to Eagle : and new man appointed in his stead. From recent letters which 1 have re- . 'ceived from home, learn that A. B. Hayes. lawyer of Ogden, will be selec- ted for the Nome division"
 A Washington dispatch of Aprill to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says: "President Roosevelt has definitely de- tlded not to appoint James Wickersham ' to the Nome judgeship as successor to Arthur H. Moves, removed This de- cision has been expected for some time, but IL did not become absolutely certain untiltoday. Both the president and attorney general feel that it would be better to appoint some man to the Nome bench who has not been there and whose appointment cannot, therefore, possiblybe construed as subserving any particular interest or faction in the mining community
 '"lt IS learned on authority that this . decision is not intended as any refiec- tion on Judge Wickersham, of whom a high opinion is held. Wiekersham will be returned to his own district in the Yukon. 'It Is the presidents intention toaGppoipt some Eastern lawyer of proved integrity and ability to the vacancy at Nome. but the name of the appointee has not yet been announced.
 ''Early this4 winter q petition, signed by every member of the Nome bar, was presented to the attorney general and 10 the president, praying that Judge 5Wlckersham be transferred to that place from the Yukon district, and accompanying the petition was warm endorsement of the judge. At the same . time various letters were presented . from business men of Seattle and other places, recommending that, in the in- terest of harmonious and honest ad- immigration of court business in the . Nome mining region, Judge Wicker : sham be retained there permanently. Both the president and the attorney general were disposed to act in accord ance with these petitions, but the mat ter was naturally held in suspension pending the formal disposition of the case against Judge Moves.
 Recently, however, representations from an unknown source have been made to President Roosevelt and Attor. ney General Knox to the effect that it would be better to return Wickersham to bis regular post and appoint another judge for Nome. There is reason to believe that these representations are the result of political interests, and that the persons making them desire to have candidate of their own appointed to the Nome judgeship, this being more desirable place, from some points of view, than the Yukon judgeship. The political interests to be sabseryed have been carefully shielded from the president and department of justice, however, and the plausible argument has been put forward that, for the sake Of sound and impartial judicial admin is,ration in the Nome district, man should be sent there as judge who is absolutely unpredjudiced by any asso. ciation with business interests or fac lions there.
 "These persons have represented that there are two well defined factions in tho business and social community of Nome, and that the very interests that were condemning Judge Moves most earnestly are now endeavoring to have Wickersham retained. It is difficult Tor impartial persons to remove from 'he mind of the leading officials the im- pression, which WAS first given by Judge Moves in his defense before the depart nent of justice, that Nome is divided nto two hostile factions, irreconcilably |ivided by rival mining interests. |, Something like p candidates for he Nome judgeship have appeared, 1 VI tho president has reached no con. ] fusion as to whom he will appoint. I