The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-08-06
new SKETCH
OF WILSON
CRITICIZED
Sullivan Says Book Written
by William F. McCombs on
Relations with Ex-President
Embittered Narrative.
HITS ANOTHER VOLUME
ny MARK SULLIVAN

"<Aof1AtSG1 1O4N, ~ u, aug. III -
announced that the political -ecollec-
tions of the late William F. McCombs
are to be published tomorrow. This
will add one more to a series of un-
friendly portrayals of living men
which have been coming from the
presses in considerable quantities and
which do not help toward lifting the
world out of its troubles.
Mr.. McCombs, who died last winter,
was. during the last seven years of
his life, an embittered man. and what
ever he wrote during that period about
Mr.. Wilson and Mr.. Wilson's associ-
taes must be taken not as detached
and impartial portraits, but as the out
let of long-continued brooding over a
grievance
Mr. McCombs undoubtedly knew a
great deal about the history of Mr..
Wilson's migration from scholarship
to politics.
But the unhappy probability is that
out of his knowledge he has selected
only those facts which tend to justify
his grievance and give him the salts
faction of revenge for what he justly
or unjustly, deemed to be ingratitude.
Had Active Part.
Mr.. McComDs was one of the two
men who had most to do with the re-
moval of Mr.. Wilson from the field of
scholarship to that of politics; the
other was George Harvey. OF the
two, Mr. McCombs had the later and
more active part.
Col. Harvey's activity covered a
longer period of years, but he was
dropped from association with Mr..
Wilson some months before the events
actually brought about Mr.. Wilson's
nomination and election.
In these latter events Mr.. McCombs
was undoubtedly principal actor His
efforts contributed greatly toward Mr..
Wilson's elevation.
After Mr.. Wilson besame President
he offered to make McCombs ambass-
ador to France. This was less than
McCombs wanted, and less than he
thought his efforts deserved.
Also Mr. McCombs had many friends
who had helped. and who he thought
should be rewarded. These obliga-
tions Wilson never recognized. 1t
was a very brief time after Mr.. Will
sons Inauguration that the two men
ceased to see anything OF each
other.
See Brooding Views
OF this separation Mr.. McCombs
had his version and Mr.. Wilson's
friends had another. Whatever the
merit of it. it should be recorded al
though it is disagreeable to do So
that everybody actively familiar with
politics for the past eight years knew
that Mr.. McCombs had fallen into a
state of mind about Wilson, such as
would make it impossible for him to
be fair.
In other respects Mr.. McCombs was
an agreeable figure in active politics
but his animus toward Mr.. Wilson
and toward many of Mr.. Wilson's as
sociates, like Mr.. McAdoo, was such
that any judgment he may express il
his memoirs must be taken as diStort
ed by bitterness.
1t is a pity that Mr.. McCombs rec
objections should prove one more II
the considerable series which has
come from the press lately, Of un
friendly portraits of living men. II
this connection, it will be useful t
say something about the recently is
sued volume, entitled "The Mirrors
of Washington"
Contains Sketches
This is a book containing sketche;
of IA living men in Washington. Tht
fourteen are: President Harding, ex
president Wilson, Secretary Hughes
Secretary Hoover. Col. House, Sena
tor Lodge, B. M. Baruch. Elihu Root
ex-secretary of state Lansing, SeEa
tor Johnson, Senator Knox, Senator
Borah and Senator Penrose.
1t is probably natural that this bocl
should be widely read and discussed
in Washington. Here, where the mel
are known, the proper correctives ar,
applied to be various portraits. Blu
if the book is widely read outside o
Washington, and if it is taken ser
iously by those who read it, the effec
will be unfortunate.
If the reader outside of Washing
ton should take these IA sketches a
accurate portraits of the men descrit
ed, he would receive an impression
of public life much more pessimisti
than Is warranted by the facts. OF tn
fourteen sketches at least II are o
a nature TO depreciate the subject i
the public mind.
The dispraise is lavishly distributes
(Continued On page FOur)