Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1922-01-27
AFRAID OF HIM
GET RID OF LA. TOILETTE" IS
SLOGAN OF OLD GUARD
Wisconsin Fighter Has White House
Political Clique Scared Stiff and
They Seek Means to Ac-
complish His Defeat


lette" is the slogan adopted by the
Old Guard and the White House pol
itical CLIQUE, as The result of the death
of Penrose, and in face OF the prob
able retirementof McClmber from the
Senate next March.
Today Ls.F gillette Is third in the
rank of seniority among the. Repub-
lican members of the Senate commit
tee on finance. # McCun,per retires
he will be ranking rnember. Ii Smoot
Becomes chairman Of the appropria-
tions committee through the retire
ment of Warren, LaFollette will, sun-
der the seniority rule, become chair
man of the finance committee, the
most powerful of Senate committees.
Or, suppose Townsend of Michigan
is retired next March, as now seems
almost certain. LaFollGtte will be-
come ranking membe- of ne inter-
state Commerce Committee, and in
the event of the retirement OF Cum
minis he will become chairman Of that
committee, which controls Senate
policy on all railroad matters. One
chairmanship o. the other IS virtually
sure to be his within Two years.
The Wisconsin veteran, who has
fought the bankers and railroad cor
porations and the tariff-fattened man
ufacturing groups for a lifetime, has
almost reached tie point where he can
threaten their ho'd upon national ieg-
islation. He has become acuteiE dan
gerous TO special privilege.
The Senate Old Guard has decided
to cheat LaFoIlette Of the benefits Of
seniority in his committee work by
abolishing the rule that three MEM
bcrs from the top Of the majority list
and two from The minority list shall
comprise the conference committee
which controls the final form Of bills
upon which the House and Senate have
disagreed.
So the word has gone out to "Kill
off LaFollette." The White House is
understood to be back of the scheme
and the keen wits of such men as
Curtis, Smoot, Warren, Jim Watson
and Weller in the Senate are focus
sed upon it. Lenroot has been given
to understand that the job of beating
LaFollette with either a standpat
Republican or Democrat is his. If he
brings back LaFollette's scalp nothing
will be too good to give him as re-
ward. If he fails-well, he must not
fail.
There are material ! olitical reasocs,
too, for the deep dislike of LaFollette's
presence near the head of the tax
making committee Of tFe Senate.
Only few weeks ago the Wisconsin
Senator and his friends defeated
President Harding's attempt to take
off much of the surtaxes on incomes.
Soon .afterward Chairman Adams of
the Republican national committee
set out to collect funds, at the rate
of ten cents per Republican vote in
each State, to pay off the debts of the
last campaign. Soon there came back
reports from the provinces which cle-
ated a near panic in headquarters, ac-
cording to unoffcia. accounts.
"Mr. B., who gave rs $4,000 in
1920, tells us to go to h" a Stare
chairman would w,re. "Re asks what
we have delivered"
"Mr. X. refuses to contribute until
we have passed the legislation prom
ised,' another messa"e would real:
"Says we have not done anything for
business and have increased his
taxes"
With their top-healv majority in
House and Senate the Republicans
have failed thus ia. to agree on any
fundamental mea Iures, and their
leaders have daily be:oEe more con-
fused as to where the party should go.
On The eve of the ,lrSt Congressional
year since Harding took charge the
political sentiment Of the country has
begun to run strongly against the
administration. insurgency is be"om-
ing popular; three 1nonths may see
it in full control of the Republican
party in the Middle West and North
west.
The Old Guard refuses to acknowl-
edge blame for it's own collapse. 1t
blames LaFollette, just as 1T has done
so often since McNinlcy's day. 1t is
going out to arrange for his exter-
mination.
Howey er-the bet'in., runs in favor
of LaFollette's reelection by 100000 to
25O,O0O plurality next November.