The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-01-24
new ASPECTS
IN SURMISE
BY SULLIVAN
Guesses Gov. Lowden Will Be
Secretary of Navy-Gives
Two Portfolios for Illinois
Shifts Weeks.
TWO POSTS ARE VAGUE
BY MARK SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 24.-This
matter of making surmises, both on
the cabinet as whole and on indi-
vidual posts, has always seemed to
me a little dubious, but on several oc-
casions, in the conferences between
Senator Harding and the newspaper
men at Marion, it has been made clear
that within certain limits Senator
Harding at least does not find this
speculation on the contents of his
mind embarrassing, but, on the con-
trary, has found some usefulness in it.
The present surmise does not aim
to be more than a guess, based on in
formation from widely separated sour
ces, as to how the probabilities lie At
Il moment when Senator Harding has
ended his conferences for the time
being and gone off for two weeks dur
new considerations being brought to
his mind.
SuIlivan's Surmise.
State. Ex-Justice Charles E. Hughes,
New York; Treasury. Charles G.
Dawes, Illinois: War. Ex-senator John
w. Weeks, Massachusetts; Navy, Gov.
Frank O. Lowden, Illinois; Attorney
General. H. NJ. Daugherty, Ohio; Post
masterGeneral, Will s. Hays, Indiana;
Interior. Ex-senator George Suther-
land, Utah: Agriculture. Henry Wal
lace, Iowa; Commerce, (Open): Labor,
(Opep).
1t would not be possible to make
surmises as to the departments Of
commerce and labor without going
farther afield. and getting into an area
where at the present moment the
probabilities are more vague than they
are in the foregoing list.
For that matter, it is quite possible,
and even probable, that there may be
changes in this list, especially as re-
CARDS three of the posts, after Sen
ator Harding returns and when he
faces the necessity of fitting the cabi-
net together as a whole for a final and
complete announcement.
Selections Contingent.
In a sense the selections for three
Of the posts named are contingent on
what may be done when the names
for commerce and labor are definitely
chosen.
The aspects of this list which will
seem little surprising to those who
have followed the recent developments
from day to day will be the presence
of the names Governor Lowden and
ex-senator Sutherland, the fact that
they are two selections from one
state, and the fact that Wekes is pre-
dicted for the war department rather
than for the navy. Nevertheless,
there are facts which give these, as
well as the others, the basis for at
least reasonable surmise.
Reflects Progress.
The presence of ex-senator Suther-
land in such surmise reflects Senator
Harding's steady progress from the
cabinet made up largely of old polite
al friends and associates, which might
have been predicted in November, in
the direction of one made up more and
more largely of leading men in their
various fields.
There is an irreducible minimum of
political considerations which Senator
Harding will probably feel he cannot
depart from but it will probably turn
out that the cabinet, as finally made
up, will not contain more than three
names whose selection is purely, or
even primarily, political.
Copyright 1921 by the New York
Evening Post, Ind)