Evening star., 1923-01-30
WIDE FIELD OPEN
FOR CABINET lob
Many Possible Combinations
Pointed Out for Filling
Falls Position.
M0NDELL LOOMS STRONG
Postmaster General Work, Herbert
Hoover and Albert Lasker
Mentioned.
M0NDELL LOOMS STRONG
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

President Harding has not yet made
up his mind whom he will appoint as
Secretary of the Interior to succeed
Albert &. Fall. who retires on
March 4.
The friends of Frank w. Mondell of
Wyoming. republican leader of the
House. think he has a good chance o:
being invited into the cabinet. Mr..
Mondell halls from the west, and it.
Is an unwritten law in both repub-
hcan and democratic politics that a
man from the west should always be
appointed Secretary of the Interior.
Two possible cabinet shifts have
neen discussed. which have had as
their premise the transfer of Post
master General Work of Colorado to
be Secretary of the Interior, thus
permitting Mr.. Harding to nominate
senator Harry New of Indiana to be
Postmdster General. and the other
plan contemplated Mr.. Hoover's taxi
ing the secretaryship of the interior,
thus enabling Mr.. Harding to ap-
point Albert Laskcr, chairman of the
shipping Board, to be Secretary of
Commerce.
Hoover SHES at Change.
Mr.. Hoover comes from California
and is a mining engineer of note.
come his appointment TO the job, but
he feels he has become so deeply in
volved in the problems of the Depart
lnent of Commerce as to make il in
advisable for him TO let go there. 1t
has already been announced that the
President offered the secretaryShip of
the interior 10 Mr.. Hoover and that
the latter declined. 1t might be that
il Postmaster General Work were
transferred to the interior portfolio
the appointment of Chairman Las
ker to the Postmaster Generals place
would be considered.
This is entirely apart. however. from
the movement which seeks to place Mr..
Mondell in the cabinet, and merely i'll
lustrateS the many moves of the check
erboard of appointments which Presi-
dent Harding has at his disposal.
moves which involve his closest friends
and associates. Mr.. Mondell as leader
OF the House has played ball with the
administration in every sense of the
word, cooperating instead of obStruct-
ing, and moving administration bills
through the House with all the loyalty
and enthusiasm that 4 leader could
possibly display.
The general inference has been
that Mr. Mondell had no chance be-
cause he is lame duck" as the
politicians call a man who has just
been defeated for reelection. But
Mr.. Moudelrs case is not quite the
same as others in Congress. His de-
a lack of confidence in him by his
constituency. He ran for the United
States Senate against Senator Ken
drick, democrat, whose protectionist
views were even higher than those
OF his republican opponent.
MOndelrs status Good.
1t wasn't that Wyoming was dis
pleased with Mr.. Mondelrs record
In Congress-the state just didn't
feel like turning out Senator Kendrick.
IT would be conceded by men of both
parties in Wyoming probably that
had Mr.. Mondel1 simply entered the
race for reelection to the House as
representative -at-large from Wyo-
ming, he would have been re-eIected
easily as he has been so many times
honor of having a Wyoming man
leader in the House of Representa-
tives would have been an even
greater asset for him this time:
So 1t is doubtful whether Mr.. Hard
ing would disqualify Mr.. Mondell on
the lame duck" theory, and it seems
probable that if he isn't taken into
the cabinet the President may appoint
the House leader to some other post
of Importance in the administration.
The President has been retarded on
many public matters because of his
recent illness, but the selection of a
new member OF the cabinet will not
long be delayed as Mr.. Fall is anxious
to return to private business, and
usually the incumbent spends a little
time familiarizing his successor with
the details of his office. An appoint
ment probably will be announced
within a fortnight.
Copyright. 1921