The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-25
DAVIS REPLIES TO DAUGHERTY.

If Harry s. Daugherty has a good angel, that beneficent influence was ab- sent from his post of duty when the for mer attorney.general inscribed, his recent letter to MT. John w. Davis. If the at- torney general has any native astuteness, it failed to come to his rescue when he conceived the idea of confounding MT. Davis with the words of such man as Gaston B. Means. The only thing MT. Daugherty accomplished was to extend to MT. Davis an opportunity to deliver solar plexus blow for which the dis credited official has no counter and from which any remnant of his former prestige will never recover.
 With unerring precision, MT. Davis in- forms MT. Daugherty that he does not condemn him on the testimony of a man with such notorious record as Means, but that he can imagine no maladminis- tration in any governmental department more vicious than the employment of men, of such character. At the time gave voice to the opinion above quoted. expressed sentiment which l still en- certain, that the appointment of such man in the department of justice was of itself ample warrant for the summary removal of the attorney general by whom he was appointed" Means belonged to that questionable group in the depart ment of justice whom MT. Davis pre- vizusly had referred to as Daugherty's "boon companions" Obviously, a man who sought and was satisfied with such companionship had no proper title to pub lie office.
 But, as MT. Davis condemns Daugherty for giving official sanction to such an employe as Gaston B. Means, so does he visit equal censure upon the executive who sought to retain Daugherty in pub lie office after all these unsavory things were known about him. Just as Daugh- erty forfeited his right to office when he retained Means in the public employ, so did MT. Coolidge forfeit his right to suc- ceed himself when he attempted to hush up the record of Daugherty and to keep the unworthy official in his cabinet and among his close advisers. To quote MT. Davis. further:
 In my speech of acceptance, I spoke | of an attoney general, meaning yourself, admitting bribe-takers to the department of justice, making them his boon com | panions and utilizing the agencies of the | law for purposes of private and political vengeance. I went on to say, with ref
 erence to the congressional investigations | in general, that "when dis overy threatened, instead of aid and assistance
 from the executive branch, there were
 hurried efforts to suppress testimony, to discourage witnesses, to spy upon investl-
 gators and finally, by trumped up indict-
 ment, to tighten and deter them from
 this pursuit" The spying on senators
 and congressman; the nasty interchange 1 of telegrams in the department code; the refusal of those accused to come forward, under oath, to purge themselves-all these
 things serve to blacken q page that was
 already dark enough.
 In substantiation of this accusation, MT. Davis adverts to the effort to frighten Senator Wheeler from his pant ing quarry by placing him on the defen- sive against charges brought in Montana federal court, obviously through the agency of the department of justice. After reciting the fact that Republican committee, headed by Senator Borah, found these charges against Mr. Wheeler baseless, Mr. Davis declared:
 The significant thing is that no effort
 to find such an indictment was made | until Senator Wheeler. had assumed l leading part in criticism of the adminls- tration and of yourself; that thereafter, as a result of conferences between the sec
 retary of the Republican national com
 mittee and the chief of your bureau of | investigation, agents of the department were sent to Montana with direction to investigate him; that the secretary of
 the Republican national committee him.
 self sent a representative to Montana with like instructions What other possible
 conclusion can be drawn from this com
 bination of circumstances except that the
 securing of the indictment was promoted primarily by motives of revenge on the
 nart of yourself and the Republican party, and not by a desire to enforce
 the law?
 Undoubtedly, the record of the attor- ney general and of the Republican ad- ministration looks blacker the more it is gazed upon. MT. Daugherty has done neither his own cause nor that of the party any good by his efforts further to confuse a situation in which he is in extricably involved; to his own and his party's shame and reproach. MT. Davis has shown himself complete master of the situation.