Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-08-24
CABINET To ENTER
CAMPAIGN To SAVE
REPUBLICAN, PARTY
Secretary Hughes Letter in
Defense of Senator New
berry Is Indicative of DeS-
perate Straits of G, 0, P.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Ueased Wire Service to The Journal. }
DOWNRIGHT 1922,

Copyright, 1927
WASHINGTON, Aug. 23.-Secre-
tary Hughes letter defending Sena-
tor NeWberry has started a good deal
of talk here to the effect that Presi-
dent Harding will reverse himself
and let members of the cabinet par
ticipate after all in the congressional
campaign.
~. Not long ago some Republicans
from Ohio asked to have Secretary
Hughes come to deliver a keynote
speech but the. president made it
clear that he did not think it dig
nif1ed for a secretary of state to be
making political speeches. &c..
The Republican national commit
tee, however, did not share Mr.. Har-
ding's view and believed that the pres
tige Of a secretary of state was an
important factor and hence the
publication of Mr.. Hughes letter to
Jersey clergyman clearing Senator
Newberry of guilt in connection with
his election.
The Democrats are astir about it.
The broadc.-I issued by Cordell Hull,
chairman of the Democratic national
committee, in which he pointed out
that the senate itself ha4 adopted a
resolution disappearing the manner
by which Mr.. Newberry was elected,
will undoubtedly be followed by
further bombardment by the Demo
Gratis. They were pointing out to-
day, for instance, that Mr.. Hughes
berry and as such must have receiv-
ed large fee and that it was un-
ethical for him as secretary of state
to issue a statement defending, a
client from whom he probably at
one time received money.
Case of Mr.. Daugherty
If Mr.. Hughes were still a prac-
ticing attorney he could enter the
discussion they said without being
y
of state the Democrats argued that
the natural reply to the clergyman
should have been a refusal to dis
cuss the case because Of his con
nection with it.
Some Democrats are trying 10
draw a parallel between Mr.. Hughes
position with reference to Senator
Newberry and Attorney General
Daugherty's position with reference
to Charles w. Morse. He was prac-
ticing law at the time and had no
connection with the government.
When a case involving Morse came
before the department of justice.
however, Mr.. Daugherty is said tc
have promptly reminded those who
were interested in the prosecution
that a special assistant should han
die the matter so that he himself
would not be in an embarrassing po-
siticn.
Mr.. Hughes defended Senator
Newberry before the supreme court
of the United States of which he
was a member but few years ago.
He won the case on technical
grounds which the Democrats now
say had nothing to do with the
moral questions involved upon which
the senate itself passed when it
adopted a resolution condemning
tin large expenditure of money in
the NeWberry election. That's why
Senator Pomerene and other Demo-
Gratis are so ready to attack the
Hughes Letter, as being an effort to
Whitewash Senator Newberry.
The irritation in Democratic cir
Giles is, of course, due to the fact
that the prestige of Charles Evans
Hughes is we'll established and many
people will accept his conclusions
as final because they believe in his
=. sincerity and probity.
Others to Be Drawn Tn
The Hughes letter, however, will
. unquesionably figure in the cam
paign, as the Democrats will en-
deavor to make capital out of the
fact that Mr.. Hughes was counsel of
Senator Newberry and that his let
ter is, therefore, that of q prejudiced
party.
Entirely apart from the merits of
the Newberry case, the chances are
that Mr.. Hughes and other mem,
bers of the Harding cabinet will be
drawn into the autumn campaign
Notwithstanding the earliest resolu
ton of President Harding to keep
them out of it. The Republican ma
tional committee Knows the value of
rnarshalling cabinet members just
as did the Den11IjDtic national COM
mittee .!E1ser the last aGtniaistra ton
Mr.. Harding himself has said he
would not take the stump for con
gress, but a series Of letters from
the president and his cabinet are
certain to flow as soon as they are
:. needed in specific localities or as an
appeal to Republicans everywhere
just before the elections.
It's true the administration has
been trying to keep out of RepuD
lican primary contests, but this is nc
reason why the full weight of the
administration political power can
not be thrown into the campaign t.
save the Republican congress from
the loss of too MANY seats.