The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-12-08
TALK
FOR SENATE
OLlCARCH'y'
Harding's Use of Cover
nor Cox's Phrase Re-
]. garded as Significant. !
BIZ DAVID LAWRENCE.

By DAVID LAWRENCE.
Washington, Dec. 8.-President-
elect Harding's show Of independ-
ence in his farewell speech at the
senate is the talk Of the national
capital. 1t wasn't SO much the i'm
pressive way by which the depart
ing senator appealed to his col
leagues for cooperation but the
very clear-cut emphasis which he
placed upon the powers OF the
executive that caught the ear Of po-
litical Washington and promptly
set everybody gossiping as to the
true meaning of the informal utter
ance.
1t is a. fact, for instance, that
when Mr.. Harding arrived here
Sunday night, indeed when he met
some of his colleagues early Mon.
day they were almost unanimously
against the idea of his making a
speech at all. Some suggested that
it would be indelcate for him to
address the senate in his present
position. But Warren Harding
showed that he has a mind of his
own. He determined to make the
speech because he had something
very definite to say, something that
couldn't very well be said if he
were already president and had to
address the senate on official busi-
ness. He wanted the men in the
senate to know that he intended to
be as insistenf upon the powers of
the executive as he had been on
the powers Of senator He gave
a gentle warning that anything
like senatorial oligarchy'
wouldn't be tolerated. He referred
more or less humorousiy to Gov
ernor Cox's phrase-"A senate
oligarchy"-but the significant thing
is that he saw fit to bring the
phrase back into this particular
speech at all, Those who know
Mr.. Harding's mind say he wanted
to take occasion to appeal to his
friends not to presume too much,
not to make his task hard simply
because he had grown SO intimate
with his colleagues in the senate.
Removed Suggestion.
Moreover he wanted to remove
any suggestion that the senate
would control the next administra-
tiOn as has been SO annoyingly
suggested from time to time not by
Democrats alone but by leading Re-
publicans in the senate with whom
the wish is father to the thought.
To be sure, Mr.. Harding has
found out one thing already during
his brief visit in Washington, name
ly that the most insistent demands
for representation in the cabinet
either for themselves or their
friends has come from colleagues
in the United States senate. This
has led to two very we'll defined
counter movements-one on the
part of some loyal comrades who
really think they are of the great
est assistance to Mr.. Harding by
their effort to keep anybody in the
senate from going into the cabinet
and another group which really
wants to have good deal to say in
the the next administration and
thinks the best way to accomplish
it is by retaining in the senate all
the strong men and making the
capitol the same center Of gravity
that it was in the days of Aldrich
and Cannon, when to know wha1
the administration was going to DE-
newspapermen flocked to the sen.
ate or the house instead of the
White house.
Another Campaign.
Then again there is another cam.
paign being waged with all the
subtlety that politicians can com.
mand. They have obligations o.
their own to fulfill. They want ts
see . particular friend in the cabi
net but the position for which thu
latter may be fitted is being sought
by somebody in the senate or els,
there is q conflict on the subiec
Of geographical selection for it i.
not customary to take more thar
one cabinet member from any on,
state. So the process OF "killin5
OF the other fellow" is now in full
swing.
No @Cinch" on Portfolio.
Throughout it all Warren Hard
ing remains shrewdly non-com
initial, listening attentively. eveI
good-humoredly to some Of tn,
awkward attempts to gain his ear
But the very definite impression i,
left by President-elect Harding q
he goes to Marion that nobody ha.
q cabinet portfolio cinched. Mr.
Harding is slow to make up hi.
mind about anything He is q delib
erative type and he doesn't hesitat,
to change his mind when it is ono,
made up. In that very psycholog,
lies the best chance for Elihu Roo
to be leading adviser in the mex
administration. We're the choice I,
be made today, Mr.. Root wouldn'
have a chance. But Mr.. Hardin,
has yet to hear from the Who'll,
country. He has yet to learn wha
all Republicans think about al
questions. He has been away from
Continued on Page Four).