Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-02-26
WILSON CHOOSES
COLBY To ENTER
CAB|NE 7 As NEW
SECY. Of STATE
President UpSetS ExpeCta-
tionS of Officials, Names
New York Attorney to
Succeed Robert Lansing,
ANNOUNCEMENT CAUSES
SENSATION AT CAPITAL
Appointee Was a Personal
Friend of the Late Col,
Roosevelt Was a Repub-
IiCan Until the Year 1912


tsY MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED wrrEl
Washington, Feb. 25.-President
Wilson again upset the expectations
of official and political Washing
ton today by nSming Bainbridge
Colby, New York attorney, who
left the republican party with
Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, as
secretary of state.
The announcement caused
scarcely less of a sensation than
the dismissal of Robert Lansing
from the state portfolio two weeks
ago, and was received with undis-
guised surprise in the senate where
the presidents choice must be ap-
proved before Mr.. Colby can take
up the duties of office, that none
of the leaders cared to predict
when confirmation might be voted.
Not even among those on the side
of administration circles had there
been any expectation that the Sc
lection would fall on Mr.. Colby,
who told inquirers today that he
himself had been given only very
brief notice of the presidents in
tention. Summoned to the White
House, he spent an hour with Mr.,
Wilson and announced that he
would accept with a deep apprecia-
ton of the responsibility imposed
upon him and said he would have
no further comment to make until
the senate acted,
Word of the nomination reached
senators just as they were assemb-
ling for the days session and in
their private talks during the day
they discussed little else. Virtual
ly all of them, however. preferred
to withhold public comment until
the subject came up formally for
action. as
Once before the senate had been
ts4s! tstsj.i ~ AZ uiytaS tiio flCsf.s I
nation of Mr.. Colby and the confir-
nation was voted. although a
strong fight against him was led
by the two republican senators
from his state. That was in 1917,
when President Wilson named him
to membership on the shipping
board. 1t was asserted in some
quarters that the reasons which led
to objection at that time need not
necessarily apply in the present
case, but Senator calder of New
York said he would insist that the
nominees qualifications for the
secretaryship be looked into care
fully before he would vote for con-
firmation to that position. A native
of st. Louis, 81 years old, Mr., Co
by has been engaged in law prac-
tice in New York since 1892, ex-
cept for the nineteen months he
was shipping board member.
During the latter service he was
an American representative in the
inter-allied shipping conference at
Paris and was active in directing
the boards war policy He re-
signed in March of last year, say
ing that the critical war period
having passed, he preferred to re-
turn to private life.
In his New York practice he has
been counsel for several interests
investigating life insurance COM
panies and was associated with
Charles Evans Hughes in the re-
form of the Equitable company. He
served in 1901 and 1902 as a MEM
Der of the New York assembly.
Actively supporting Theodore
Roosevelt for the republican presi-
Dental nomination in 1912, MIR.
Cobb was placed in charge of the
claims of the contested Roosevelt
delegates from various states who
eventually were denied convention
seats. He then became a delegate
from New York to the first con-
vention of the progressive party in
1914 and in 1916 he was the pro-
gressive candidate for senator from
New York. In the 1916 campaign,
however, he supported actively the
campaign of President Wilson for
reelection.