The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-01-21
Sen. Lafollette
Worries the G. @. p !.
Wisconsinite Talks About Re-
opening Newberry Case
Not in This Congress

Washington, JAM fe.-Last week,
before the Newberry vote was
taken, this correspondence discuss
ed the increasing embarrassment OF
Senator La Toilette, cf Wisconsin,
TO the Regular Republicans OF
the senate.
The death of Senator Penrose,
ofsPennsylvania, moved the trouble
some Wisconsinite one rung near
ser the top of the finance com nalttee
ladder. IF the new chairman,
Senator McCumber, of North Da-
kota. should be defeated in the
hard fight ahead sof him for re-
nomination and reelection this
year {and McCumber's pro-New77
berry vote viii be. lively issue
against hiri1), then la Toilette
would move up still another rung
and be next to the top.
Now the regular Republicans
have still another cause to wish La
Follette out of. their way. Just be-
fore the, vote ON Newberry was
taken last Thursday in the Sen
ate La Toilette made a speech, IN
which he suggested that, the New
berry case might be reopened II
he should be sested at this time
Endersst the rules of the, senate,
it would NOT be possible TO reopen
:1Iee Newberrv case until a new.
congress eonvenes-that is, until
after March 8, 1923. Action soon-
er would require unanimous con-
sent or Suspension Of the rules by
fwo-1hirds majority either OF
which is out Of the question in the
preaent political complexion Of the
senate. Hence, the only way OF
preventing La Toilette from under
taking TO repeat his performance
of the. Loriner affair next spring
z in the case of Newberry is 10 see
that somebody else comes TO the
senate from, Wisconsin March 4,
1923.
Senator Lenroot, the junior SEN
a4or from Wisconsin, is being
played up as the regular Repnbh-
can and administration leader IN
Wisconsin. He voted and argued
for Newberry. He is. being anx-
iously urged. to try and develop
something that can beat La Folf
lette for the senatorial nomination
in the coming primary. There is
simply no telling What. the OLD
Guard would gige-to get this :Ws-
eonsm thorn out of its fesh.H- 1t
would rejoice to see him lose the
fight for denomination, and If he
wins that fight it would not shed
a tear # he went down IN defeat
before a Democrats epponent.
Coming to the senate as a Republi-
can. he really gives a great deal
more trouble to the Republican ad-
nlnistration than if he were a
Democrat.
There is more or less of what
is called poetic justice in this sit
uation.. The Republicans in the
senate had t1.eir chance TO deal
With Ia Toilette during the World
War, when he was delivering
speeches Of sort that caused the
senate to. make an Investigations
But Republican control Of the. SEN
ate depended upon. the vote OF La
Toilette and the seating of Newber-
~. With the senate political con-
troll then hanging by a hair, and
then the senate organization would
have been an exactly balanced see
saw. with La Toilette in the mid
die, of It
Putting it in another way, throw
ing out La Toilette would have
meant throwing out Newberry also.
a.sid with those things done, the
Democrats would have organized
the senate That being the inside
solities'' OF the matter, only one
Republican senator, and that one
a retiring member, voted against
Ia Toilette. though much more
ffnan half Of them would have re-
..esced TO h1lri him into limbo if it
had been a question of expressing
their real feelings. They just can't
get fair crack" at la Toilette.
Something else i in the way every
time they start to draw a bead on
him. It's really nerve-racking.