The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-02-23
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Like Wilson's.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
II Especial Despatch to The Reformer.)
Copyright 1921
II WASHINGTON, Feb. 23-Something
like a ehuckle-perhans it might be bet
ter called smile of satisfaction-cam
out of the White house yesterday and
spread its imaginary echoes over the
tsnow-covered grounds of the executive
mansion. 1t was simply that Warren
Harding has contributed by a single re-
mark, more to the vindication of the pol
ieles OF Woodrow Wilson, human being,
than any historian of the future could
possibly apply to Woodrow Wilson, pres
ident
/ When President elect Harding told the
correspondents at St. Augustine that
The opposition to the selection of Harry
/ NJ. Daugherty as attorney general had
! only served to strengthen his determi-
nation TO appoint Mr.. Daugherty to that
/ office because he was his trusted friend,
/ he expressed natural emotion which
/ has been back of Mr.. Wilson's stead.
fast loyalty to his own friends in public
Office whenever they have been attacked.
! Secretary Daniels appeared to be grow
ing, Mr.. Wilson refused to consider
change in the navy department portfolio
because, as he expressed it, Mr.. Daniels
was his trusted friend. When attacks
upon Secretary Baker began to accu-
mulate during the war, and when Mr.
I baker offered to resign, the president
\ wouldn't listen to it and on the con
trary wrote him a letter saying he had
al GTiI 70. 4yNrf f1yfa I,
H When the campaign against George
+ Creel became hottest, Mr.. Wilson
turned aside all suggestions that Mr.
/. Creel be removed and insisted that Creel
was his loyal friend and could do no
wrong. When Postmaster General Bur
Lesson was under attack Mr.. Wilson
again declined to believe that the at
/ tacks were anything more than indirect
attacks upon himself. Mr.. Burleson had
been loyal friend and was retained
Although there have been instances here
and there in which Mr.. Wilson has for
saken his friends and given them cause
for chagTln, he has stood by most of his
Il personal friends whom he elevated to
public office. For this policy he has been
Il severely criticised and that 5 why when
Mr.. Harding stands out firmly for his
I loyal friend and political companion, OF
many years, and appoints him attorney
general Notwithstanding the editorial
criticism and skepticism concerning MIR.
pie still living at the White house can't
help but extend a disinterested hand of
approval for that part of Mr. Harding's
character which sticks by friends irres-
pectlVe of their merit. The last thing
that Harding man would like to admit
Is that in any respect the president elect
Is starting out like his predecessor IN
preterrlng to appoint personal friends
whose equation he knows than utter
4 strangers whose idiosyncracies might be
of aF91l ,gn=- zzssr1faR lsaTc
on.
h But entirely apart from the personal
considerations involved i'm selecting Mr..
Daugherty. there is a far deeper signif-
on the surface. Everyone who has been
on the inside of the discussion of the
last three months as to whether or not
Harry DaugheTtv should be appointed
attorney general knows that there
have been two points of view-one that
Mr.. Daugherty never had been a big
enough LAWYER in Ohio to Justify his ell
ovation to the head of the department
of Justice and the other that if Mr..
Daugherty wasn't appointed, it would be
a severe set back to party organization
for it would be such a conspicuous eX-
ample of political mgratitude as to in
terfere at the outset with the splendid
development of unified Republican or
GaniZation the continuance of which
would be INDISPENSABLE to the re cleo
ticians look far ahead and the sagacions
ones insisted that even if Mr.. Daugh-
crtv's qualifications were not eXtraer-
4 binary, he should be rewarded so that
A everybody in the organization would
know that Warren Harding rewards the
men who do things for him.
Fl The second view prevailed and with 1t
was the knowledge that the head OF the
h department of Justice need not he
Il genius as a lawyer but simnlv good eX-
ecutive The solieitorgene and the
seven assistants to the attorney general
are the legal experts of the department.
The Encouragement himself shanes
i broad policies and must be an executive
manager able to conduct negotiations
| with the world outside his department
and to keen several thousands of en-
nloyes working efficiently. 1t doesn't
take a remarkable lawyer to be attor
nev general any more than 1T requires
q naval or army officer to RIM the navy
or war denart ments. Therefore the
proponents of the second view won out
because. thev said. Mr. Daugherty was
Good organizer and would make good
announcement while at tho same time
the political considerations involved in
the whole business would be so well met
that Warren Harding could start his
administration with the enthusiastic
spirit of the entire Republican organi-
zation Mr. Harding trusts Mr. DauGh-
crty end is ready to stand or fall on his
record the latter makes. So far as the
general rlblic is concerned Just now. IL
i is probably disposed to give both Mr..
Harding and his associates a fair chance
to make rood while persons who know
Mr. Hangherty intimately think the
very criticism that has been made will
act as spur to achievement which
viii surprise those who made SO bold as
to be skeptics
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