Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-23
GOD RULES WITHIN:-I
HULL ON THE NEWBERRY
CASE

Cordell Hull, chairman Of the
national democratic committee,
comes forth to comment. on the
amazing fact that Judge Hughes,
formerly of the supreme court, and
now at the head of President Hard
ing's cabinet, has come out in pub
lie and defended the expenditure
by Senator Newberry of more than
a quarter of a million dollars IN
order to get the republican nom
nation and election to the United
States senate in a contest IN which
his opponent, Henry Ford, spent
not n dollar. Chairman Hull as
sumes that this belated defense OF
Newberry by Judge Hughes is an
effort of the republicans to distract
attention from the record of their
political party in other matters and
center the November fight OF the
single issue of Newberryism. Chair
man Hull may be indulging in sar-
casm when he says that. but if he is
in earnest about it, then we think
he is mistaken. The republican
leaders have no desire to discuss
Newberry or Newberryism, or Nat
Goldstein or Goldsteinism, or any
of the other political scandals of
this administration involving re-
wards and honors for political cor
ruptionists. They do not want to
make a paramount issue of New
berryism. They want the people to
forget it as completely as possible.
In that wish they are greatly en-
barrassed by the fact that President
Harding took up cudgels for SEN
ator Newberry and seems to think
his acts were all right.
Not so with the United States
senate. So many republicans in that
body were so revolted at the evil
dence produced that they could not
be induced, even by all the per-
sonal influence of their own party
head, to vote for his admission to
the senate without at the same time
voting their detestation of the ad-
nitted practices that got him elect
ed. Senator Borah, on the floor OF
the senate chamber, told his re-
publican associates that the amount
Senator Newberry expended was
intended to corruptly affect the
primary election and did affect the
election in that way. Senator Ken
yon Of Iowa, Norris of Nebraska,
Jones of Washington and several
other senator's of republican faith
agreed with Senator Borah. SEN
ator Newberry was convicted by a
republican jury and sentenced by a
republican judge for corrupt viola
ton Of the election laws of his
country. On appeal to the supreme
court of the United States on a
purely technical plea, he escaped
the punishment due his crimes.
The plea of his lawyers vas that
the federal law which prohibited
such enormous expenditures to
gain a seat in congress did not ap-
ply 20 primary elections, but only
to general elections. On that pitt
full plea and its result, Judge
Hughes says he was an injured man,
and the republican judge and jury
should not have convicted him.
One explanation of the defense
of Eewberry by Judge Hughes is
not that the republican leaders want
to make a paramount issue of New
berryism, but that out of personal
friendship to the president the head
o. his cabinet, Judge Hughes,
finally consented to make the best
lawyers defense of Newberry that
he could. And he made a mighty
bad job of it. AS Chairman Hull
remarks, the president should have
got some good criminal lawyer in
stead Of a civil lawyer to plead the
Newberry case for him.
There is only one possible moral
defense that can be put out for
Senator Newberry. He has claimed
that defense, to be sure, but failed
to make any n believe in his sin
certify. THAI defense is that he did
not know what was being done in
MS campaign. That plea was made
at tis trial in his own home state
and again in the senate, but to scout
its t~ruthfulness Senator Newberry
was forced to admit that several
times leading republicans in Mich
igan wrote to him, or called on him