Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-04-18
GOVERNOR OF
IOWA ACCUSES
STATE EDITOR
Executive Censured and At
torney General Criticized
tor Activities in Rath.
bun Case.

pes Moines. L.. April H.
iowa's house Of representatives
ended Ito Investigation Of the Rath-
bun case at noon Thursday by
criticising Attorney General H. M.
Havner for his activities in the case,
after eensuring Governor w. L.
Harding last night for his connec.
ton with the affair.
Eleven hours after the house had
adopted the minority report of the
judiciary committee censuring the
governor it accepted the majority
report on Havner, which criticizes
the attorney generals action, but
declares he was not guilty of mis-
!, conduct.
The motion to substitute the mi
nority report recommending censure
OF Havner for the majority report
was defeated by a vote of So agains.
and 4o for substitution. 1t would
have required constitutional ma
jority of S. votes to pass the mo-
ton.
With the case of the chief execu-
tive disposed of, the house turned
its attention to the part relating to
Attorney General Havner and be-
fore its forenoon session convened
at $50 o'clock it was indicated that
prompt action would be taken.
Consider Havner.
Reports of the judiciary commit
tee were before the house regarding
Havner-the majority report recon-
mending his exoneration and the
minority recommendation for his
eensure. There was no early indi-
cation which would be adopted.
The deciding vote on the Harding
case came few minutes before l
a. m. The minority recommended
ton for censure of the governor was
substituted for the majority report
urging impeachment-70 voting for
and 81 against the substitution, with
four members absent or not voting.
Immediately after the substitution
resolution had been adopted the mi
nority report-in the ,guise of a ma
Jority report-wes accepted by ac-
claim, terminating the legislative in
quiry into Harding's part in the now
famous pardon case.
Governor Harding, confined to his
bed with diabetes, seriously i'll,
heard the verdict of the house with
in few minutes and almost immedi-
ately gave the following statement
to the Associated Press:
Il am pleased over the result of
the vote in the house. No man in
Iowa has had to submit to more Sc
we're political persecution than have
l. My enemies are we'll known.
Their hand is not covered, and
sooner or later their conspiracy will
be laid bare to the people of Iowa.
when the record in this alleged
, conspiracy is finally made" the gov
ernor continued, "the name Of
Des Moines newspaper publisher
will stand as the chief conspirator."
Scores Register.
"The vote in the house last
night was an impeachment of Gardz
ner Cowles and his style of news
papers in the state of Iowa. The
whole controversy was stirred by
the Register and kept alive by it.
Of course, l am under deep and
lasting obligation to thousands and
thousands of loyal friends through
out the state and especially under
obligation to the loyal men in the
legislature. The Register and its
hackers have put a blot on Iowa in
their ambition to injure me. l ex-
pect to continue serving the people
of the state fairly and i,npartially.
| can look the world in the face for
] have not tempered with the jury"
Both houses of the Iowa general
assembly passed resolution late
today to adjourn Saturday noon,
April 10.