The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-31
CUFF! WILSON
SAYS OF TALES
ABOUT CABINET
Reports Persist That Five
Members May Retire
After March 4
RUMOR PRESIDENT
PLANS THIRD TERM
Another Assertion Says He
Will Urge Secretary of
War Baker for Job

1 Washington, Jan. 31-President
+! Wilson administered rebuke yester-
day to those persons who desire to re-
construct his Cabinet. He made it
clear that he has not given the
| slightest consideration to remOdeling
! the personnel of his offvial family,
and indicated that he did not believe
a single one would express desire
| to resign.
I Interrogated concerning the recent
report that Secretary of State Ian
sing, Secretary of the Treasury Nc
| Adoo, Secretary of Commerce Red
/ field and Attorney General Gregory
would retire after March 4, the Pres
ident pronounced it to be 'tguff."
He supplemented this characterize
! ton with a statement regarding Mr..
Lansing that disposed Of the state
ment, widely circulated, that the Sec
rotary of State is to retire and be-
/ come Ambassador to Great Britain,
| if he did not elect to retire to private
| life.
Commenting on the reports relating
to Mr.. Lansing, the President refuted
/ reports that the relations between
himself and the State Secretary were
Ut amicable. The President holds
the Secretary Of State in the highest
esteem.
Gregory Likely to Retire.
| It is not improbable that Mr.. Greg
DRY will urge the President to relieve
him from the cares of his Office. The
Attorney General intimated last
| month that he would like to return
to the practice Of law in his home
state, Texas The friends Of Mr..
Gregory have insisted that the resig-
nation which he and other members
! of the Cabinet will tender to the
President automatically on Inaugural
ton day will be accepted.
! Consequently, there is some justifi
cation for the report that the Presi-
dents statement of yesterday does not
relate specifically to the Attorney
General, and that he has in mind
the names of three men-all from the
| North and West-for the place. One
is a New Yorker of strong progress
| sive tendencies.
! The Presidents announcement that
he does not contemplate any changes
in the personnel of his present Cabi-
\ net is not reassuring to those mem
bers of his party who believe that
there should ,be some. It is apparent
from the comment Of those leaders,
| Congressional and otherwise, that if
1 the President consults their views he
will accept the designations which
Secretaries Redfield, McAdoo and
Burleson will tender.
These men assert that the situation
calls for the naming OF successors of
the three ministers on the ground of
party expediency.
The basis for the belief that Secre-
tary of the Treasury McAdoo may re-
. tire is that he is known to have re-
ceived several tempting offers to head
important business enterprises in New
York.
1t is the understa nding Of party
leaders now that Mr.. McAdoo has
washed his hands of any connection
with the promoters of political enter
prises, and that he has surrendered
the control and distribution of polit-
ical patronage to Col. E. M. House.
1t always has been the belief of Muir
ply and other Tammany Hall leaders
that Secretary McAdoo was primarily
responsible for the split in the party
that eliminated in the smallest ma
jority given in New York to Demo-
cratic Presidential candidate and
gubernatorial ind senatorial nominees
in great many years.
Choice of N. Y. Postmaster.
The Tammany leaders also have
accorded to Mr.. McAdoo responsibility
for having prevented the selection of
an Organization man" for postmaster
of New York. Incidentally, the
President yesterday intimated that he
| is yet undecided as to a postmaster.
The best informed men in Washing
ton are of the opinion that his choice
will be Congressman Thomas G. Pat
ten of New York or former Street
Cleaning Commissioner big Bilp'
| Edwards. Either will be satisfactory
to the Democratic state organization.
Mr.. McAdoo's family relation to the
President also is urged by the Presi-
dents critics as a reason for his re-
| tirement. Persons who know assert
| that <Mr. McAdoo has presumed in
no degree upon his relation. The
Secretary has recently furnished a
proof of his determination to keep as
far aloof from political entangle-
ments as possible by discouraging
the friendly activities of Indian Com
/ missioner Sells who launched a Pres
| idential boom for Mr.. McAdOo i'm
mediately after the Presidential cleo
| ton.
Mr.. Sells, who came from Texas,
"discovered' widespread demand
| for the nomination of Mr.. McAdoo in
the Democratic National Convention
| Of 1920. Mr.. McAdoo is understood
to- have requested the Indian Com
missioner to cease his Presidential
explorations.
|
Criticism of Burleson.
The reasons that Iactuate some of
the leaders Of Mr.. Wilson's party in
expressing the hope that he will Sc
lect a successor for Postmaster Gen
eral Burleson are due to the political
| activities of that official. According
to these men, Mr.. Burleson has STIR
red up more strife among political
| leaders and members of Congress by
| his interference with their political
! prerogative in the matter Of patron
age than any other man in the
Cabinet.
He is further credited with having
sought to dictate to Congress in mat
ters Of legislation. The most recent
instances of this character to provoke
criticism were his opposition to the
nermatic tube service for distribut-
9 mail in cities and his efforts to
compel the selection Of Samuel I'm
termyer as counsel for the leak"