Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-03-20

4NO man can go 10 steep Ut ni5 II
in this town with any assurance that
be is to wake up in the morning with
the same freedom from care with
which he went to bed. Names are be-
ing lugged into the oil inquiry which
no one expected ever would find place
there, least of all. probably, the men
who own the names AS things are,
however, it would seem that when two
or three men are directly connected
with anything which Is shady, two or
three hundred men necessarily must
be connected Herewith indirectly, or
at any rate that attempt will be made
to couple them up with the proceed
ings.
In the future it may be that men
who have dealings with other men con-
corning which they do not care to
have the public know anything, will
bear in mind the fact that under the
high power of the government, all tel
egrams passing from one man to an
other, or from one set of men to an
other, can be requisitioned and read
In public. 1t may be In the future in
vention will make such stride thar
the man who talks over a telephone or
says something at his desk with no
telephone in connection will find that
his words have been recorded.
Nothing Escapes the Probers.
So far as the oil Investigation is
concerned, an immense mass of ma
terial has been turned to the light, ma
terial which those who made it prob
ably thought was forever hidden away
from the eyes Of men. Some Of this
material has been deadly rather by
suggestion than in actual fact. There
are alert ones ready to pounce upon
any word or any act and to interpret
it as meaning something highly sug-
gestive of wrongdoing.
Enough has been turned up that
shows actual wrongdoing to make It
seer that it is hardly necessary even
for political purposes to lug in a good
deal Of the extraneous matter, but
when an investigation starts and there
seems to be within 1t material to be
used for political or personal aQvan-
tage, it can be taken for granted that
all things pertinent and impertinent
will be brought to the light.
It is not too much to say, perhaps,
that chief interest in Washington to-
day centers on the Daugherty end OF
this controversy. The attorney gem
eral has elected to make fight. He
has chosen a former senator of the
United States, George e. Chamberlain,
to act as his attorney. Once before,
when impeachment of the attorney
general was threatened. the former
senator acted for the attorney general
and with success.
Daugherty's Claim Of Innocence.
The attorney general has admitted
to having purchased oil stock. but as
it is understood, the books show that
he lost money and closed out. This
is supposed to show he had no sure
thing advantage of early information
concerning the leases, for it is known
that at one time the particular oil
stock involved In the leases went
booming. The attorney general prob
ably will depend on the fact that he
didn't buy just prior to the rise to
show he had been given no advantage
as a cabinet officer to learn in adj
vance what was going to happen.
Those who think that the inyestiga-
ton will prove wrongdoing on the
cabinet officers part are convinced ap
parently that justification will come to
them for bringing him into the case. As
things are today, however. in Wash
ington, judgment seems to be suspend
ed and to this extent the attorney
general has gained by his fighting de-
termination to see the thing through.
No one can tell, of course, just what
the outcome will be Of this oil In
yestigation. The guilt Of some men
may be proved and they may suffer
the penalty, while 1t Is probable that
the innocence Of some others will also
be established, but human nature is so
constituted that the mere fact that a
mans name has been brought into the
matter may tend to injure him, how
ever innocent his connection may have
been.
One thing seems to be assured
Hereafter men who have held high
positions in the government service
will be careful on leaving the service
not to enter into employment as at
torneys of men or companies which
are concerned either In suits against
the government or in efforts to secure
the passage of certain kinds of legis-
lation.