Seward weekly gateway., 1906-07-07
THE WIcKERsHAM CASE

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 tor Nelson although he succeeded in
 defeating the confirmation of Judge
 Wickersham by flibustering. To off
 set this barren victory is the determi-
 nation of the president and the attor- y.general to stand by Judge Wicker sham, and the president announces that he will continue to re-appoint the judge until the end of his own term.
 To give moral support to this atti- tude of the president k the fact that about so of the 90 senators are favora- ble to Judge Wickersham. The oppo- sition is about equally divided between the two parties and nearly every opposing yo,e can be traced to a per- sonaI issue. Of Senator Nclson'S fight
 a man who spent a great deal of time
 in Washington las, winter writes to
 the Gateway:
 "The delay in confirming the nomi-
 nation of Judge Wickersbam is not due
 Go any question Of his ability and in-
 tcgrfty on the bench, or of his rugged
 manhood. but solely to the malice of Senator Nelson of Minnesota. Two wear, ago Mir. Nelson conceived the
 idea chat Judge Wickcrsham had secretly opposed the bin for the divis- ion of the Third judicial district after publicly having favored it. The bill was fathered by Nelson. It's defeat angered him. He attributed its defeat Co what he termed Wickersham's du- plicity, and Straightway started out after WickerSham' scalp.
 Senator NcIson's accusation of du- plicity was readily and completely dis proved To- man of balanced mind and a fine sense of fairness, this would have been sufficient. But not so with Nelson. He had declared hostility to Wfckcr,ham and had voweda determi- !. nation to prevent his confirmation. He persisted and insisted, rumping up one charge after another as each in succession was demolished by the record, and the facts.
 This is characteristic of NelSon's . mental makeup. It displays a type of . mind peculiar to ignorant men, and is . a very prominent trait of all dishonest . men. Intelligent and honorable men . strive Go do the right thing, and to divest themselves of prejudice. If. they start out on course which de- yelopments prove to be wrong, they are quick to right themselves. But Mr. Nelson has an established reputa- ton for utter inability to revise a first conclusion, and he has now shown that he will resort to dishonesty and chi canery to accomplish his purpose, no matter how base and ignoble.
 "That Senator Nelson k not a learn ed man, but rather an ignorant and one, as great men are mea- sured. has long been conceded even by his friends, but that he is also dishOn- est has not been generally believed of him. Tn the WickerSham case, how ever, he employed tactics of dishonesty . not above the practices of the prOfes- sional bribe taker. For example, he . ha3 as his chief informant and counsel . an attorney from Fairbanks named . Roy V. Nye, who spent the winter in Washington in efforts to defeat Wick ersham. Nye was paid for his efforts . by Panama miner, R. Fl. Manley, who . had lost case in Judge Wichersham s . court. Wickersham was unanimously . sustained in the Manley suit by the . United States court of appeals, so there is no doubt of the justice of his . decision. Blt that just decision was the cause of Manley's hostility. Man Iey's money supported Nye in Wash iugton to fight Wickersham, and Nel- son got his points from Nye.
 "What would be the difference in morals. or immorals, if Senator Nelson had accepted a cash bribe direct from Nanley for opposing Wickersham'S confirmation? Whether Nelson is paid a blibc in cash, OF the cash is spent as a retainer for an attorney to keep his opposition supplied with arguments, amounts to one and the same thing in
 results.
 The outcome of the fight on Wick ersham, therefore, has not been to i'm
 peach his ability, honesty and fitness,
 but rather 70 emphasize them, and to establish proof that Senator Nelson is no less dishonest than ignorant and malicious"