Evening star., 1921-06-03
Editorial Digest
The Next Chief Justice.

The Next Chief Justice.
The Newspaper vote for Chief Jus
tice Of the Supreme Court seems to
give the once to ex-Pfesident Taft by
. safe majority. Only one or two
voices are raised against him and but
few others are urged. While many
writer's mention Secretary Hughes 20
worthy of'the honor. there 10 general
agreement that the former justice can
be OF more service with the Secretary
Of States portfolio than in judicial
robes. Little support is given to such
objections as are raised concerning
Mr.. Taft's age or politics.
,,cans Ine AKRON nm. seaeen-Jeurnal Srep%Set I%st
comes out strongly against the ex-
President. 1t names Judge Anderson
Of Boston. Senator Knox and Senator
Borah as all better fitted for the po-
snaecc-.i sition; The Columbia Is. c. STATE STATE
| republican politicians have long since
ceased to take Mr.. Taft seriously" and
predicts that they will fnd some do!ni.
nant republican who will Offset what
they consider "the fantastic tenden:
clark" 80
From the sectional standpoint the
Nashville Tennessean dndependent
democratic) feels that since aside from
Justice McReynolds there e no other
marked preponderance Of eastern
men" on the bench. this fact mill
| tates against the appointment Of Mr..
Taft" The Atlanta Journal demo
| cratic), on the other hand. asserts that
the choice would have an indorsement
| nowhere more cordial than In the
south" From the political standpoint
there Is similar divergence OF opin-
ion The Charleston Is. c.) News and
Courier tdemocratic) dismisses the
saying that there will be no murmur
because of the partisan complexion OF
the tribunal.
The Dayton News (democratic) recalls
that Mr.. Taft when President an
nounced that he did not believe in sp..
age. As Mr.. Taft 10 sixty.four. the
News remarks that now the ghost of
his declaration rises to confront him
maybe to exclude him from the office
The Fresno Republican Independently
also notes this fact. but thinks 1T 10
beside the situation" for In Mr.. Taft's
hands ut would not be = superannuate
job" The Joplin tMo.) Globe demo
cratic) also feels the question Of age
worth considering, and suggests Secre-
| tary Hughes as an alternative, but adds
that the President undoubtedly wants
Mr.. Hughes more In his cabinet than he
wants him on the Supreme bench"
| This sentiment Is widely reflected by
a number of writer's who register their
recognition Of the Secretary's ability.
The San Francisco Chronicle Gndepend-
ent) declares that throughout the
Secretary Hughes is right now in the
place where he can best serve the coun-
try" for. the Sacramento Union dnde
pendent) believes. "the work he is now
doing is OF infinitely more importance"
of their own for candidates to all the
place vacated by the death Of Chief
Justice White. The Bluefieid CW. Val
| Telegraph independent republican,.
for instance. urging that West Vir-
sinia has not been represented on the
forth the name Of Judge Ritz. presi-
dent of the state court Of appeals. and
the Wheeling (W. Va.) Intelligencer
trepublican) supports this sugges-
tion. Mr.. George Sutherland of Utah
Syracuse Post-standard trepubliean).
which grants his professional attain
mont" as "undisputed." thinks the
objections to Mr.. Taft flied by suther-
lands followers Of the formers age.
his Ohio residence. and his long ab-
l
set aside" the cx.President in favor
of the Utah lawyer The Jersey City
Journal independently thinks that
Justice Pitney Of its home state would
bring the learning. the experience
time like this" to the high tribunal
For the most part. however. the
press is fairly solid for Taft. as the
following excerpts will indicate:
In event President Harding does
/ hA al ~
the chief justiceship the whole coun-
try will applaud the act."-Baitimore
American (republican).
| Should Harding appoint Taft the
| country's verdict would be well done
In him we have an able lawyer. a
(democratic).
| Certainly the naming Of any other
man will be both a surprise and .
! disappointment to the whole country"
Roanoke Va.) World-News demo
cratic).
THE qualifications Of Mr.. Taft for
the Office are unassailable.'-Phi
delphia Bulletin independent repub-
| lican).
The public sentiment Of the coun-
try will indorse the selection. -
! Greenville Is. CO Piedmont Unde.
pendent democratie).
| Probably no living American 10 20
| WeiA QodAHeo 40 11F. 1At Oy poth
position. Fargo IN. d. Forum (re.
publican).
The ideal man."-Atlanta const!tu.
| tion (democratic).
Former President TAFT IL beyond
| all controversy well fitted for the
place Of Chief Justice."-Nashville
Banner independently.
| Mr.. Harding must know that tho
late Chief Justice hoped that Mr.. Taft
would be his successor. AMI thai in
| that hope the country sharcs"-Bos-
| ton Transcript Gndeoende7t republi.
CAM.
"Mr. Taft has grown tre7,cadou.'..
| In public esteem during ta> c'."'
years that have pass,d since he '"
\ the White Hous'. H. arooiat:--"
proval"-Flint fMic.) Jcurnrls
THE Supreme Court nov 7~c::s
| man Of no less cr,:n ,,cc."- -:;pok -"
Spokesman-Review (ind>pc>dc-. -.
publican).
III Mr.. Taft 10 made Chief Justice OF
the Supreme Court the nation Will
have no cause to view with alarm the
immediate future Of this very. I'm
port.nt eody."-wieh!ta Eagle (!ade.
'Mr. Taft would be- an admirable se.
lection" Journal (inde.
pendent republican,.
'Mr. Taft's appeini-.,nt VII be -e
Garded as outst1nd." riy nttiny."-
Topeka Capital trepubllcas>.
president Harding could mako No
more popular choice Of a sueeessee Of
Ghisf Justice White than that Of WI:
Of the United States."-Fert worth
Star-Telegram Independent demo.
cratic)