Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-08-18
NAMING Of SLEMP
SEEN AS POLITICAL
MOVE BY COOLIDGE
BY THEODORE THLER
Atlanta Journal News Bureau,
40S Evans Building.

| cial and political Washington slow
| ly recovered today from the sur
| prise incident to the encouragement
! that former Representative Bascom
| Slemp, of Virginia. is to be private
! secretary to President Coolidge.
| Every body here assumed that "Ied
! Clark, who has been secretary 10
| Mr.. Coolidge as vice president,
| would be transferred to the Whlte
| House lied" Clark is to be taken
| care of by the new administrator
| but will not be secretary to the
| president
The Slemp appointments is regard
| ed here as mainly political THAT IS
| Washington natural reaction to
| the unexpected White House an
| nouncement made Tuesday eve
| ming. There is no particular per
! sonal affinity between the new pres
| 1dent and Mr.. Slemp. The lattec
| for a number of years, has beer
! the only Republican member OF
congress from Virginia, or from
! the whole south, excepting Tennes'
| see. Mr. Slemp is national commit
| teeman of the Republican party
| from Virginia. For years he has
/ been the chief spokesman of south
ern Republicanism in the national
councils of that party. In the Har-
ding administration, Mr.. Slemp was
| virtual dictator of major patron
age in the southern states. Local
| politicians and state chairmen hau
| their Endorsements and influence,
| but in big patronage affairs the
| voice of Slemp was always heard.
! Nobody. however, ever expected
far a \
| would become private secretary to
| any president. He is a millionaire.
! His congressional salary of $3.50
! meant nothing to his pocketbook;
! nor will his salary of $500 as sec
| rotary to the president. 1t is APP
| parent here that Mr. Slemp not
| only is to be secretary to the ,pres1-
! dent but his political advisor. Slemp
/ is probably better qualified than
| any other man to line up southern
| delegations to the next Republican
| national convention.
! In some quarters, there is a con
| viction that the presidents selec-
! ton of a prominent southern poll
tician for secretaryship indicates
very clearly that he will slowly sur
| round himself with men who WI.
have determining voice in party
| politics OF the future and who VIII
/ be factors in the next Republican
| national convention.
For fourteen years Mr.. Slemp rep
/ resented the Ninth Virginia district
/ in the house. For ten wears before
| that time, his father, the late Co,
| Campbell Slemp, represented the
same district. Before the Slemps
! dominated the politics of the Ninth
! ictr tot Ivxya r.
! district.
A year ago, the Republicans of
the Ninth district sought to renomi-
nate Mr.. Slemp, but he declined.
They went ahead in his absence in
the west and nominated him any
way, the convention adjourning
without waiting for his final answer.
He was in Colorado at the time and
| finally sent pre-emptory message
! to his political friends declining once
| for all to make the race. Thereupon,
the convention reassembled and
made another nomination.
I It was supposed by Republicans
and Dem ocrats alike that Mr.. Slemp
refused to stand again for the house
possibly because. he foresaw defeat.
| His name had been brought promi-
nently into a patronage row in the
state in the course of the election
contest over the seat occupied by
Judge Thomas w. Harrison, of the
| Seventh Virginia district.
! John Paul, Republican, had con-
| tested the, election of Judge Harri.
SON.. The fight dragged along for
months in the house committee on
elections, When the committee
| finally reported in favor of Paul,
! Judge Harrison made public a mass
of correspondence in which it was
charged that federal offices were be-
ing sold by Republican leaders in
! the state. Names were given in the
! Harrison correspondence and the
| amounts supposed to have been
| paid The name of Mr.! Slemp's pri-
| yate secretary, Lewis Howard, was
signed to certain Of the letters pro-
! duced by Judge Harrison, none of
| the correspondence directly connect
| ed Mr.. Slemp with the alleged sale
of offices, but as patronage arbiter
| for the state, it was Mr.. Slemp's
that were made.
| i ne uOuS6 JlGdIQ Cilc CndISGS VI
barter and sale of federal Offices i'm
| Virginia by the Slemp organization,
Tut took no formal action regarding
them. Mr.. Slemp himself denied any
connection with or knowledge of
| any sale of a single office ID re-
fused to believe that any offices had
been sold. All moneys received
from office seekers or otficeholders
in his view were purely political con-
| tributions such as might be receiv-
ed by any state organization from
men who had profited personally
at the hands OF their party.
Even so, the entire state took Sc
riously the charges made by Judge
Harrison and most Virginia poll
| ticians believed that if Mr.. sSlemp
district, he would have been de-
/ feated for the first time III his whole
| POLITICAL career. AS it was, the dis
| trict went Democratic. Also the
| house voted to unseat Judge Harri-
son, who preferred the charges, his
successor John Paul, serving in the
! house for only a little more than a
month. in the election held before
the Harrison contest was decided,
the Democratic congressman was
reelected and will sit in the next
congress.
1t is Mr.. Slemp's purpose to as
sumo the duties of his new office inn
mediately after Labor day. Meaen-
while, he will clean up some of his
personal affairs. He still maintains
| an office in tba ho11So offioo bIIiIdinp-
the same one he occupied when a
member of the house. Also he has
remained a member of the Repub-
lican national committee notwith-
standing his voluntary retirement
from the house. He was chairman
! Of the subcommittee Of the national