The Washington herald., 1922-05-31
Democrats Revive Charge
Threshed Out in For
mer Campaigns.
.DAUGHERTY'S ACTS
. IN OFFICE LAUDED
Talk of Resignation Is
Absurd, Says Writer.
Sees Reaction.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

having appointed Daugherty, will
ask for his resignation. Neither
will any party leader suggest that
DauGherty resign To compare the
hullabaloo about Daugherty and
Morse with the Ballinger case is
ridiculous. The Ballinger case in
volved a great national question of
change in the tountry's policy about
conserving its natural resources. on
which question great groups Of peo-
pie felt strongly.
All this about Daugherty and
Morse is OF the past. 1t has been
an issue in nearly every political
campaign in Ohio for ten years past,
and Daugherty has always admit
ted IT,. justified it, and presented
letters from ex-President Taft and
eN-Attorney General Wickersham
backing up his Justification. The
only new things are the actual let
ters In the case. and they don't
present any new facts except that
Morse never paid the fee he prom
ised to pay for the service rem
dered
Democratic Leaders silent,
If anybody supposes that the read
ing Of these letters into the Con-
cresstopal Record. by an opposition
Senator. at the present time was a
pious act of disinterested public
service. he must be guileless. That
action had precisely the same sort
OF political motive as that which
was In the minds of the Re;,ub-
Ican Senator who answered by nam
ing and impugninE some members
Of eX-President Wilson's political
motive as that which was in the
mind of the Republican Senator who
answered by naming and impugning
some members of ex-President will
sons political and personal fam
lily. The more important DEM
ocratic leaders are not taking
part in the revival of the Morse
case. although they are willing. to
let some minor ones do it. on the
theory that II Is no worse than the
kind of politics the Republicans
used to play against the Wilson ad-
ministration.
The old Morse case has nothing
his present office. No: even the
most violent Of his enemies sug-
Cests that. It is true that Morse
is now being prosecuted for a new
offence. but everybody knows this
new Morse case was initiated and
is being pushed by wholly sepa.
rate department of the govern
ment. the Shipping Board. whose
lawyers are not under Daugherty's
control.
Doesn't Apply to Present.
DauGherty's connection with the
Morse pardon ten years ago was
brought up at the time Harding
was about to appoint Daugherty
as Attorney General. 1t was said,
as against Daugherty's appoint-
ment. that If he were Attorney
General this old case would be sure
TO be brought up by some political
opponent or by some litigant in
terested in discrediting the De-
partment of Justice.
But the very persons who
brought up the Morse case as
reason against Daugherty's ap-
pointment will be. so far as they
are disinterested. quick to protest
against the use of this old case to
impugn the Attorney Generals re-
cent record in the conduct Of his
present office. They know the
Morse case has nothing to do with
the present conduct of the Attor-
ney Generals office. Moreover.
Daugherty's conduct Of his office
has disarmed many Of his critics.
and some very dependable persons
who in the beginning opposed his
appointment will stand by him now
with firm conviction. The way
DauSherty has kept his office free
Republican Senators and Repre-
sentatives who wanted Federal
judgeships and other offices for
their friends has surprised and de-
lighted those who thought DaIEh-
erty's availability for the office OF
Attorney General was impaired by
the fact that he was too much Tf
politician and too close to the
actual management Of Hardings
campaign.
Gains support.
Many aspects of Daugherty's con-
duct of his office have resulted in
support that he would not have had
two years ago. The burden of the
agitation against Daugherty. so far
as it is pertinent to the present,
is that he has been dilatory in prose-
cutting war frauds. War frauds"
has been a political cry from each of
the two parties. according to the ad-
vantages they would gain from it.
ever since the war began. There
has been invest: cation after investi-
cation. and none OF them has de-
veloped enough facts to justify the
charges. 1t will turn out that there
was much less fraud in the war than
it suits each OF the parties, from
time to time. to allege.
The one legitimate critism that
the present writer has heard of
Da augherty's management OF his Of
fee. is a thing that has not been
mentioned in the exploitation of
cruder and less justified charges
his criticism is that the Attorney
Generals office is not organized as
compact as big legal office
should be-that it falls short of
the standard of the legal depart
ments of great corporations. The
criticism is that as a result of this
looseness. some things have got out
OF hand. The net result of this criti-
cism is, however. not that there
has been too little energy displayed.
hut that some things have been done
which ought to have been done with
raStrofnt