Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-11-17
.DNA'S GOVERNOR
NOT RESPONSIBLE
Political Guessers at Washing
ton Can Not Have Entire
Right-of- Way
THE SHAW RETIREMENT RuMoR
How II Is Treated by Various Cores
pondents-First Mention Of cummins
For Attorney General Originated in
New Jersey, and Had No Relation to
any Assumed Hostility to Secretary
Shaw.
,necial TO Times-RepublIcan

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines. Nov. 17.-Some Of the
political guessers down at Washlhg-
ton have the notion that they alone
have the right to speculate on what
might be done in the cabinet of Pres
ident Roosevelt. The suggestion given
first in this correspondence that 1T
would he appropriate for RooseVelt 10
invite Governor Cummins into his cab
met at the position of attorney gen
eral, just as he is entering upon pro-
gram which will require great ability
and unquestioned integrity at the heao
of his legal department to cope with
the trust and merger magnates, ap-
pears to have offended some of those
who speak for special interests ana
would not desire that anything should
he done to make trouble for the trusts
and their allies. The suggestion is
being considered in Washington. The
friends of Secretary Shaw naturally do
not like it. twas based, however, on
the assumption that Shaw Will not re-
main in the cabinet while laying his
plans for the presidential nomination
in 1908. f. f. Sullivan, the cores
pondent of the Chicago Chronicle,
which has become par excellence the
Shaw organ at Chicago, finds In the
Cummins mention only hostility TO
shaw, and of course proceeds to mis-
represent it by making the. governor
responsible. He wrote:
cone Of the very best suggestions
| in connection with Mr.. Roos'eve!ts $ new
cabinet connects Governor Curnmills OF
Iowa with the attorney gensralship to
succeed Mr.. Moody. The purpose OF
this suggestion is obvious to lowans
who are familiar with Governor Cum
Minis, attitude Of hostility toward Sec
retary Shaw. Evidently the idea has
become current in Iowa that Secretary
Shaw may not be reappoiilted, or, II,
any event, that his cnse is in the bal
ance. The bringing forward OF Gov
ernor Cummins, therefore, as a possible
candidate for the attorney generalsnlp
might easily become an embarrassment
to Secretary Shaw. There does not
appear to be any basis for the ass,lmp-
ton that the secretary of the treasury
will not continue to be Mr.. Roosevelt's S
financial adviser after the 18th Of next
March"
Just to, set the matter right, it may
be worth while recording here that the
first mention Of the special fitness OF
Governor Cummins for the position OF
attorney general, so far as the writer
has been able to ascertain, was in
newspaper printed in Railway. N. j.
The suggestion certainly did not orig
mate with Governor Cummins, nor did
it have any relation to any assumed
hostility to Secretary Shaw. The New
Jersey suggestion came entirely un-
biased and it was taken UP by those
who have as much right, perhaps, as
the Washington correspondent to do a
little speculating on cabinet poss'ibili-
ties.
But the Sullivan dismissal OF the
Shaw retirement rumor probably ex-
presses a hope rather than a convic-
ton. Correspondent William E. Cur
tbs discusses cabinet changes to the
extent of a column and a half and
points out who is to stay in the cabi-
net, and this with def1niteness which
leads to the conviction he has inside
information, and closes:
can impression prevails that both
Secretary Hitchcock and Secretary
Shaw will retire shortly after the 4th
Of March, but no reasons are given in
either case, and it is scarcely possible
that their future has been decided"
And there is H. j. Mahin, the Iowa
correspondent, who certainly cannot be
accused of hostility to the treasury
secretary, who writes Of the announce
ment that Hay will be retained and
adds:
But there has been no announce
ment of any kind that Mr. Shaw would
continue as secretary of the treasury,
the Office next in importance In the ad-
ministration The absence of such an
announcement, while not at all conclu-
sive, is pointed out here as having con-
siderable significance"
The situation presents many inter
esting phases, but after all is said it IS
more than probable that under no cir
cumstances would Go--ernor Curnmint
resign his position as governor Of the
state, even to accept place as attor-
ney general, though the temptation
to do so might be great.
Mr. Justice Weaver, of the supreme
court, in writing a dissenting optn-
ion in an interesting case involving
the construction of an insurance pol
icy. pleading for liberal construction
of such contracts, wrote this, whlcf
will be appreciated by the people:
In all of the decisions which 1t mas
been my privilege to examine upon
this subject I have failed to find
single example in which the facts cat
more loudly for the application OF the
rule (for liberal construction of
policy thus approved than does the
one at bar. This controversy involves