Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-13
CorteIyou Men Roast the
Presidents Secretary.
THE CREDIT GIVEN TO HIM
Of Ferreting Out Certain Work
Which Went On.
ALLEGED MISREPRESENTATION
President As Playing Double Game
With Taft and the Secretary
of the Treasury.

One development of the republican pres
idential nomination struggle is the bit
terness that is now shown in the Cortel-
you camp toward William Loeb, jr., sec
retary to the President An outcome of
this is the suggestion that Mr.. Loeb is to
become the manager of the Taft cam
paign. succeeding Mr.. Vorys. the Ohio in
surance commissioner. Persons close to
Mr. Loeb say today that he has no idea
of becoming identified with the interests
of anyf candidate for the presidency. al
though he shares the Presidents high re-
gard fo- MIR. Taft and hopes to see the
Ohioan nominated Mr.. Loeb's plans, as
now known. are not political.
If the schemes of his friends do not
miscarry he will probably become presi-
dent of the Washington Electric Rail-
way Company next month. If the move
ment to elect him to this office is not
pressed or is unsuccessful Mr.. Loeb is
likely to enter business elsewhere. He
has under consideration now, as ne has
had for a number of months, two or
three fine offers to leave the White
House and assume responsible positions
in the business world He has de-
ferred these from sense of loyalty to
the President, and. if necessary, he
will continue to defer them or decline
them altogether, depending upon the
conditions of the future. The final
statement of the President rs to a third
term apparently makes it easy for Mr..
Loeb to get away from the White.
House some time next year, and the
prospects now are that he will do so.
What Loeb Is Given Credit For.
To Mr. Loeb is ascribed the credit of
ferreting out certain work alleged to
have been going on under the guise of
third-term support for the President. He
-r,+
dent to sound the first warning to the
Cortelyou' boomers who hold federal of
flee that they would not be allowed to
represent the President as being for Cor
felyou as much as for Taft. To Mr..
Loeb's mind this was a species Of mis-
representation that placed the President
before the country as disloyal to- Taft
and playing a hofus-pocus game that
would eventually fitm-fiam the Secretary
of War. Mr.. Loeb knew that the Presi-
cent would not be placed in that posi-
tion, although he realized the intensely
delicate position in which his chief was
placed in doing anything about The mat
ter,
1t might all result in cabinet disruption,
in party division. but, worse than all to
him. was that the President would be re-
Earded as playing double with a friend.
So Mr.. Loeb did not hesitate to tell cer-
tain federal officeholders that they must
not longer put the President in any such
titude was that the Cortelyou forces de-
clared that Mr.. Loeb was working for
Taft against Cortelyou. However. as Mr..
Loeb appeared to be fully sustained by
the President, judging from certain
things that were said and done, the only
result was i'll feeling.
Only Performed His Duty.
close friend of Secretary Loeb today
declared that Mr.. Cortelyou himself could
have no serious objection to the course
pursued by the former. Mr.. Cortelyou,
1t was asserted. has been private secre-
tary to two Presidents.
He realizes fully that what is most ex-
pected in such a position is absolute
loyalty and fidelity to his chief. Mr. Loeb
had received many communications from
men of the greatest reliability throughout
the country, representing the Cortelyou
forces in all directions. as declaring that
the President was as much for Cortelyou
as he was for Taft He knew that the
President was for. Taft and for no one
else. He knew that the effect in several
instances had been that men of great
prominence. who had understood the
President was for Taft and had gone to
work for him, were completely nom
plused.
They appealed to the White House to
set them straight. This went on for
more than month before action was
decided upon. The delicacy of the situa-
tion caused delay in action. Even when
action was taken Mr.. Loeb was delicate
He handled it all strictly under the head
ing of misrepresentation of the President
and without personal coloring favorab BILE
TO Taft or unfavorable to Co-telyou