The Semi-weekly leader., 1920-02-18
SECRETARY OF STATE
LANSING RESIGNS
Differences With President Will
son Force Resignation of
Cabinet Official.

day by the acceptance of the secre-
trays resignation, long pre-dated the
frst cabinet call by Mr.. Lansing
which was issued last October S, sew
en- days after Mr.. Wilson returned
from his Western speaking tour and
took to his bed. They began at the
peace conference in Paris as Mr.. Ian
sing disclosed in his final letter ia
the president under the date of yes
terday, and had continued since that
time-one of the chief differences be-
ing over the governments attitude
toward Mexico.
When the cabinet met on October
5 Joseph p. Tumulty, private secre-
tary to the president, issued for
NAL statement explaining the reasons
for the conference. He said:-
The cabinet was called to consid-
er questions in which more than one
department was concerned and also
to discuss the industrial conference"
He referred to the first conference
called by the president with the hope
Of allaying the industrial unrest.
MEETINGS RECENTLY REGULAR
In his statement Mr.. Tumulty said
that Rear Admiral Grayson, Mr.. Will
sons physician, was present and
suggested that only urgent matters
be brought to" the presidents atten-
tion.
Thereafter, until this week, the
cabinet met more or less regularly.
During the coal strike, it met twice a
week in an effort to avert the walk
out of the miners and several weeks
ago it was decided to have meetings
everyNTuesday and Friday.
During the coal wage controversy,
the president was said at the White
House to have been advised Of the
meetings and to have been kept in
formed as to the progress his advis-
ers were making toward a settlement
of the controversy.
PARIS SITUATION DIFFICULT.
Mr.. Lansing accompanied the Pres
ident to Paris in December, 1918, as
one of the American peace delegates,
but his friends have said that, while
Mr.. Wilson was at the peace confer
ence, Mr.. Lansing was virtually with
cut authority and that naturally he
AOAS SAAAO hCOh4yS OAlCC IuO AL
lied and associated countries were
represented by their premiers and
not by the heads of their govern
ments.
Mr.. Lansing finally returned from
Paris before the work of the Ameri-
can peace delegation was concluded,
being succeeded by Frank L. Polk,
under secretary of state. The fric-
tion between himself and Mr.. Wilson
continued after he came back to
Washington.
While a few members of the cabi-
net have conferred with Mr.. Wilson
since he was taken i'll, it was said
tonight that Mr.. Lansing had not
seen him and that whatever business
he had had with the president had
been carried on by daily correspon-
dence.
Before the president left on his
Western trip, however, Mr.. Lansing
after his return from Paris, had a
standing engagement to see him dali
ly and he visited the White House
each noon to discuss foreign and 9TH
er affairs.
SITUATION LONG IMPOSSIBLE"
Mr.. Lansing, in his final letter to
the president, said that Gin thus sew
ering our official association" he felt
that he should make public a state
ment he had prepared recently show
ing that he had mot been unmindful
that the continuance of our present
relations was impossible" and that 1t
was his duty to bring them to an end
"at the earliest moment compatible
with the public interest"
Washington, Feb. 15.-Secretary
Lansing's enforced resignation con-
tinues to hold the attention of off,
cial Washington and all the talk a.
mong politicians, members Of Congress
and government officials continues to
center about it. Gossip as to the
probable successor to the former sec
retary of state is even subordinated
to discussion of the sensational eli
max to the strained relations be-
tween President Wilson and the for
mer secretary of state which are
known to have been in existence more
than a year.
Such terms as "crisis" in the
cabinet are freely used, and In a
sense find color in the frank acknow-
Judgement of Secretary Lane that he
was equally responsible for the
meetings to which the president OBJ
jected, but the best information a.
vailable indicates that there is no
crisis, in the sense that more secre-
taries are likely to resign; in fact,
it has been stated at the White House
that no more designations are expect
ed as result of the incident.
Opinion in Congress continues di-
vided with opponents Of the peace
treaty supporting Mr.. Lansing's po-
sition and talking of some action to
determine how the executive business
of the government is being conducted
during President Wilson's illness.
There is even cloakroom talk of some
sort of legislation to specifically de-
fine what constitutes the disability
of president more clearly than is
provided in the Constitution. So far
1t is all In the realm of talk; no men,
ber of Congress has brought forward
any proposal for legislation.
4 nC Cu1Ol UlSCuSSlOu S6cIil6 10 range
about whether President Wilson
knew Of the cabinet meetings which
have been going on for three months
until he wrote his letter asking for
Mr.. Lansing's resignation. Probab-
ly no one but the president himself,
and-th or four persons most close
ly around him can answer such a
question specifically, but, 1t is being
pointed out in discussion of the in
cident that report about cabinet
meetings have been printed regular
ly in the newspapers; that 1t has been
stated at the White House that the
president reads the papers every day,
and that In some instances, at least,
official action which the president
took on some subjects was after those
subjects had been discussed at the
cabinet conferences.
Persons who are well informed OF
what has been going on In the in
side of the administration hold to
their belief that the cabinet meetings
were only an incident and that Pres
id@nf Wilson htrnanlf an rnA 80 hse