Evening star., 1925-01-25
Senate Leaders Confer With
President Over Status
of Appointee.
WHEELER INDICTMENT
FACTS ARE QUESTIONED
Attorney Generals Action as Coun-
sci for Morgan Executors
Also Brought Out.
BY 6. GOULD LINCOLN.

BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
The next move of opponents of the
present confirmation of the nomina-
tion of Attorney General Stone in the
Senate will be to recommit the nomi-
nation to the Senate judiciary com
mittee if they have the strength to
do so.
The understanding OF some OF the
Senators is that the nomination IS to
come up in executive session tomor-
row. At that time, II was said last
night, the motion to recommit will
be made. 1t will receive some Re-
publican support as well as Demo-
cratic, according to advocates of this
course. Should the nomination not be
recommended, it will be held on the
executive calendar of the Senate and
opportunity will be given Senators to
look into the Wheeler case, it was in
dicated last night. The Wheeler case
has come to the fore since the nom
ination was reported to the Senate, 1t
was explained
The opposition to confirmation OF
the nomination without further in
vestigation comes from two angles
at least.
First, there are Senator'S who de-
sire to go further into the charges
made against the Attorney General
in connection with the case of
Ownbey versus the executors OF the
late J. P. Morgan, Mr.. Stone appear
ing as counsel for the executors.
Second, there are Senators who
wish TO obtain more light on the
effort of the Department of Justice
to have Senator Wheeler of Montana
indicted and tried in Washingto be-
fore voting on the nomination of the
Attorney General to become a mem
Der of the Supreme Court
Favorable Report Ordered.
The nomination of the Attorney
General was ordered reported favor
| ably to the Senate from the judiciary
/ committee last Monday Although
Senator Hefiin, aroused by an article
! appearing in a New York newspaper,
! which he said gave a wrong impress
sion of the reasons for which he op-
| posed the confirmation of Mr.. stone.
! brought about an executive session OF
/ the Senate yesterday lasting for more
than an hour in which the Wheeler
case was discussed al some length. no
z effort was made to act on Mr.. Stones
/ nomination, since there had oeen an
| agreement not to take up the nomina-
/ tion until tomorrow.
! Following the executive session
! Senator Curtis of Kansas. Senator
Butler of Massachusetts, and several
/ other Republican leaders called ut the
/ White House, presumably to discuss
the subject with the President and to
advise him of the situation. and after
| their departure Attorney General
! Stone was closeted with the President
/ and Senator Butler for a short time.
! They all declined TO discuss what had
taken place except to state emphat-
! ically that there is no intention of with
drawing the nomination of Mr.. Stone,
and that no suggestion to that effect
/ has been made.
! Seeks Open Sessions.
| Senator Hefin believes that the
! nomination of Mr.. Stone-and all
! other nominations for the Supreme
! Court-shouId be considered in open
/ executive session of the Senate, he
| said last night. An effort may be
| made to bring about such an open
/ session to discuss the nomination of
Mr.. Stone, but it is not believed that
| Ii will be successful The practice
| of the Senate has been TO consider
| executive nominations behind closed
| doors, and it Is not likely to be de-
! parted from.
| This does not mean there may not
! be some discussion in the open Senate
/ of the proposal to try Senator
! Wheeler of Montana in Washington
1 instead of in Montana, where he was
! indicted months ago. At the time
! Senator Wheeler was indicted the
! Senate conducted an investigation of
| the charges brought against him, and
| there was full discussion on the floor,
/ and report was adopted eXoneraU-
! ing him at the last session.
New Charges Not known.
Senator Walsh of Montana, counsel
| for Senator Wheeler, said last night,
/ that he and Senator Wheeler did not
yet know what new charges, IL any,
were TO be advanced by the Depart
ment of Justice against Mr.. Wheeler
| If there are new charges, the sup
! position was advanced in some quar-
/ ters that they might relate to alleged
! attempted conspiracy on the part of
Gordon Campbell. an oil operator, who
| employed Senator Wheeler as his
counsel, to get permits to oil lands
approved. He is alleged to have
written a letter to the then solicitor
| of the Interior Departm attempt
ing to make a deal with him. An at
tempt might be made, it was said, to
| involve Senator Wheeler in a charge
of conspiracy. But it was pointed out
/
he was in Europe at the time the let
ter was written and could have had
nothing to do with it in any event.
During the executive session yes
! terday, it is reported, several SEN
ators took part in the discussion, in
! cluding Senator'S Borah of Idaho,
! Walsh of Montana, Norris of Ne
| braska, Caraway of Arkansas, Swan
son of Virginia and Overman of
North Carolina. The position OF some
of the Senators is that in seeking to
have Senator Wheeler tried here in
| Washington, $500 miles away from
his home, where he was indicted long
ago, is against the fundamental prin-
ciples OF justice and Anglo Saxon
| law They are asking whether an,
| effort is being made to persecute Mr..
| Wheeler, instead of prosecute him.
smoot Defends Course.
Senator Smoot, it is said, during
the executive session. asked if it
was not entirely proper to indict and
try Mr.. Wheeler here if crimes alleged
to have been committed were sup
posed to have been committed here.
i.Supporters of the Attorney General
take the view that Mr.. Shoots Ques-
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