Evening star., 1921-02-12
HARDING CTO|GNORE
SECTIONAL APPEAL
President-EIect Insists on
Personal Merit as Test for.
Cabinet Posts.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

; ST. AUGUSTINE.' Fla. February IL.
-President-elect Harding has indi-
Gated very plainly that he will de-
| cline to let himself be swayed by sec
tional sentiment in the appointment
of a cabinet. This means. probably.
that there will be no representative of
the 'old south in the cabinet. despite
/ the clamor now being made for such
an appointment.
! Harding believes. is not matter of
/ sections. but a matter of individuals.
!; He does not feel that there should be
| a member Of the cabinet for the south
any more than there should be a
member for New England or for, the
! southwest, or for the Pacific coast.
Mr. Harding strongly is in favor of
| wiping out sectionalism in the
United States.
the best way to do this is to appoint
man to his cabinet from the old
south. Mr. Harding, it would seem,
takes the view that this would be d
recognition rather than an oblitera- =
| tion of sectionalism.
Bnxed Upon Merit.
If, i'm the last analysis. Mr.. Harding
should put a southern man in his cab
met. he would let it be known that
the selection was not based upon
/, sectionaIisnl. but upon the merit OF
the man, There is a further posSibil-
ity that Mr.. Harding. while omitting
a man from the south in organizing
| his cabinet may appoint southerner
! to fill vacancy before a year is
passed.
The move for a southern cabinet
member as such is almost wholly
political There has been wider ap-
peal for men of the character of for
mer Senator Marion Butler of North
! Carolina. indorsed by farmers gen.
erally for Secretary Of Agriculture,
! but not likely to get the post.
Chairman Hays of the republican
party and some of his associates are
| intent upon making the solid south a
| political battle-ground. They were
greatly "bucked up" by the results in
| Tennessee and Oklahoma, and feel
| that a little more sproselyttng in the
southern states would win the ma
! dem mocratic party. They base their
| hopes particularly upon business men
and bankers to take the lead in this
+, direction.
administration and partisan cabinet,
but he refuses. as yet. to yield to sec
tionalism.
In the meantime. some of the SEN
ator's closest friends are marveling at
the fact that he continues to permit
himself to. be made the object of a
succession OF cabinet drives" They
are urging him to announce the fact
that his mind is made up as to vir-
tually all of the cabinet posts. even
| IL he does not feel called upon to give
! these selections to the public. In
stead, Mr. Harding gives out the I'm
| preston that he is ready to receive
| and listen to any delegation which
! may desire to advocate the appoint
| msnt of any individual to the cabinet.
Whether this is the result of inde-
| cision or amiabiiity on the part OF the
| President elect Is IA matter for specu-
| lution.
| Considcrs Personal Feelings.
| Mr. Harding dislikes to hurt the
feelings of any one. and II person
| wires him that he desires to suggest
a certain person for n certain post
! Mr.. Harding has not the heart to say
| this post already had been decided,
and that the quest for any one else
| would be futile.
Some OF the closest friends of the
| President elect. who have been with
him for the past few days. are de,
sirous that the cabinet should be put
out of the way. and that Mr.. Harding
should 80 into retirement to write his