The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-01-20
ATTITUDE OF
SENATE TOLD
BY SULLIVAN
Fears Appointment Of Hughes
as Secretary of State-So.-
ons Favor Lodge, Fall, Knox
or Hill.
HARDING NOT MOVED
BY MARK SULLIVAN

him, some of them are more than sui
len, they are threatening among them
selves. They occasionally say and
would like to have the newspapers say
publicly what they themselves are not
bold enough to say publicly, namely
that they have broken the back of
one president. and can break the back
of another"
But viewed in calm judgment, they
aren't really as belligerent as that If
there is a fight between Harding and
the senate, Harding can win if he
wants to. In fact the very position
the senators take just now marks the
measure of the subjection to which
Harding has already brought them.
The senators say they don't want
Hughes for secretary of state, they
say they want Root, but when they say
they want Root. they have already pro-
gressed long distance in Harding's
dir, elton.
FIouted Root.
Two months ago the senators flout-
ed the name of Root and threatened
rebellion if Harding should consider
him. The senate's first choice for
er Lodge wanted it himself is a fact
whose only home is within that self
contained senator's skull.
Some of the other senators say
Lodge did want it, and many of them
say Lodge wanted at least, the honor
of being invited. Lodge had just fin
ished a hard two years of fighting
within the field of foreign relations,
and that the officeof secretary of state
should have been offered to one who
had no part in that fighting is a bit
ter disappointment to the senators.
Knox Acceptable.
Next to Lodge, practically all of the
strongly irreconcilable senators. and
some of the others as well, wanted
Knox, next to Knox they wanted a
third from their own membership, AL
bert Fall of New Mexico. They may
seem absurd to ears outside the SEN
ate, it is true nevertheless.
That Fall has no public reputation
that would recommend him for this
office and no experience that would
equip him for it makes no difference
He was one of the senators. He was
on their committee on foreign rela-
tions and that was enough for his
fellow senators.
The very senators who are now
complaining bitterly against the ap'
pointment Of Hughes, because they
say, he has had no experience with
European affairs, fail to see the humor
of their suggestion in the next breath
that it would be perfectly acceptable
to take Senator Fall from the wilds OF
New Mexico and put him in charge of
our European relations.
Hill Later Choice
If the senate could not have one of
these three their next choice was and
is David Jayne Hill. Hill has an ade-
quate equipment of experience and
knowledge, but the thing that most
commended him to the senators was
the fact that he is. as they express it..
"a man who will take orders" that is
the whole burden of their sulleness
about Hughes. They know Hughes
will work out his own policies. That is
a shock to the senate theory of the
foreign affairs. They think our for
eign relations should be managed by
the senate and that the secretary of
state should merely carry into effect
the policies that the senate lays down.
The chairman of the senate commit
tee on foreign affairs has been quoted
as saying of course he would expect
the next secretary of state to work
with him as comfortably as he would
expect the secretary of his own COM
mttee to work with him.
Penroses Attitude
Senator PenrOse expressed the same
thing publicly and with decided excess
of confidence when he said Il do not
think it matters much who is secre-
tary of state. Congress. especially the
senate. will blaze the way in connec-
ton with our foreign policies. | do
not think we will be satisfied to sit
back and take the program of any sec
retary of state.
Hughes is not expected to conform
to that theory. Hughes will go on the
principal that the senate has the same
power over foreign affairs as it has
over postmasters, the power of ratify-
ing or confirming what the executive
has already done. Nobody need be
surprised that the senate does not like
the suggestion of Hughes.
Hughes Busbear
When ! say "the senator's | mean
necessarily speaking loosely what l
mean is that these views are held by
n group of powerful Republican sena-
tors, who aren't bold enough to utter
them publicly. but are eager for the
newspapers to present them in indi-
rect discourse. Just what individual
senators compose the group is not pos
sible to say but l have been told by
one of them that all of the ten Re
publican senators on the foreign af
fairs committee regard the appoint
ment of Hughes with distaste and
would prefer Root.
When asked their reason they ex
press it in an epieram by saying
Hughes is both a tyro and tyrant."
BY tyro they mean that Hughes is mex
perienced in foreign affairs. by "tyr-
ant" they mean that he is unbending,
in character and temperament. They
put it on the ground that he is too di-
rect and stiff to be successful in diplo-
matte negotiations with foreign am
bassadors, but their great concern is