The Daily Missoulian., 1918-04-15
SENATOR WALSH AND MIR.
WHEEL LER.

II E
recommending the re-appolnt
mcnt Of Mr.. Wheeler are specIous
and unconvincing. He has seen
fit to ignore the plea to forget all
else save the good Of his people,
to search for and find the most
efficient lawyer in Montana Tor
this very important post ana
then bend all his energies TO Sc
cure his appointment. Certainly,
Mr.. Wheeler is not that sort OIL
man. There can be no serious
argument as TO that.
The senator's brief for his ap-
pointce who is also his political
chief-of-staff is open to criticism
at several angles. First of all, ne
fails to give an account of Mr.
Wheeler's official record. II he
is SO confident of Mr.. Wheeler s
efficiency, why does he not offer,
with some detail, score card
showing, not merely the number
of arrests for offenscs of dis
loyal nature, but the number OF
convictions with the terms OF
punishment? Having done that,
why does he not then offer that
record for comparison with the
records of other federal prosecu-
tors in other sections Of the coun-
try. even from such nnimportant
cities such as Aberdeen, N. D.,
Sioux City, Enid and Tulsa, Okla
homa?
It is Of the things left undonc
by Mr.. Wheeler that we especial
ly complain. 1t will not do to
pass this matter up by saying
that the pigeon holes of The attor-
ncy general at Washington con-
tain no complaints of MIR.
Wheeler's derclictions in partic-
nlar cases. Nor is there any
point in quoting Attorney Gen
cral Gregory as saying that
Wheeler should he held blame
less in the Little case. We have
not said that the federal statutes
specifically required Mr.. Wheeler
to arrest Little, after the speech
insulting the flag and the army.
We have said and insist that he
had full authority to have or
dered that Little be yanked from
the platform and thrown into Jail,
to have ordered this as well as
other disloyal meetings dispersed,
to have led such vigorous and
stern prosecution Of disloyalists
beginning with their arrests as
to have cleaned this slate up and
made for himself a name that
would have lasted forever in the
archives Of the commonwealth.
That is what really big prose-
c,ltor would have done, or have
known the reason and any judge
stopping him would have had to
answer to an angry populacc.
Instead, the record of Mr.. Wheel
cr's office for suppressing dis
loyalty looks more like a blank
sheet of foolscap.
Senator Walsh will hardly deny
the recent widespread existence
of sedition and disloyalty in Mon
tana, but certainly he cannot give
Wheeler the smallest grain OF
credit for suppressing it. That
work had to be done by The gov
ernor of Montana, the legislature
called into costly extra session
for that very purpose and the
people Of the commonwealth or
ganizing themselves into groups
Secondly, Senator Walsh has
nothing to say with regard to Mr.
Whecler's social and political re-
lations with the elements in this
state that have openly encour,
aged disorder and disloyalty il
Butte and elsewhere. The very
endorsement of Mr.. Wheeler by
these lncendiarleS o1 the Non
Partisan league and the |. w. w
of Butte at the Great Falls con
vention was alone sufficient |,
have disqualified him for reap
pointment,
The most vital objection to Mr.
Wheeler's continuance in office i
found in his sympathetic relation
ship with these elements. Tha
should go without saying. w
think, but as Senator Walsh
thinks otherwise, we may remin'
him that the leading newspaper
Of both parties have Sustaine,
this view fcf many months AM
that it was The basis for unprcce
dented action in The lower hous,
Of the legislature, demanding tn,
resignation Of Mr.. Wheeler an,
defeated by bare margin of two
votes.
We quote from the concluding
!. @