Th. Hon. Duncan Fletcher. of Florida.'in Mi Senate of the
l'n*ted Slates, Salurdy February 16th. 1 f*24. asked that Mum may be
printed in the Congressional Record an item from fh■ • l‘h ’ad-lpiiia North
American tan Independ-nt Republican newspaper) an article entitled.
•'The President’s Responsibility." which is herewith published verbatim
and is well worth reading:
THE PRESIDENTS RESPONSIBILITY.
F* w official utterances of recent years were awaited with keener ex
pectancy than was the Lincoln day .tddress of President Coolidge, :n New
York, for it had been announced that he would not only define the do
mestic and f>-reign policies of his administration, but would deal in straight
forward fashion with the issue uppermost jn the public mind, the oil lease
conspiracy. But those who had- • xpected him to lay down a definite pro
gram of procedure against the corruptioniats and their abettors, a,nd de
clare a policy so vigorous that it would restore confidence in the Govern
ment, were doomed to disappointment.
Judicious friends of Mr. Coolidge must see that his treatment of
this question was so inadequate as to give the impression of being almost
perfunctory. Consider the circumstances. As President, he is the le
gatee and responsible head of a deeply besmirched administration, the
disclosures of corruption or scandal involving the Veterans* Bureau, the
agencies of prohibition enforcement and the Departments of Justice, the
Navy and Interior. Yet he retains in his Cabinet two officials who aided
in the scheme corruptly carried out by ex-Secretary Fall. And he pre
pared just onc-t-wclfth of his address for a discussion of this momentous
situation.
Moreover his remarks were as lacking in definiteness as they were
meager in extent, comprising merely a homily upon the excellence of the
official virtue and the deplorable nature of official delinquency, with some
general assurance that the innocent will lx* protected and the guilty pun
ished by impartial enforcement of lamp Expressing "Horn and indigna
tion.” over “the prostitution of high places to private profit.” and a ’’deep
sense <>f humiliation at such gross betrayal of tru.4t,” the President observ
ed with due solemnity that ‘ Character is the only secure foundation of the
State." but w.us encouraged because "tie high moral standards of the peo
ple were revealed by their instant reaction against wrongdoing.”
To a nation profoundly shocked he offered the soothing observations
rhat 'the forces of evil do not long triumph” and “the i»ower of justice
can not lon-g be delayed.” But he made it plain that he considered that
nothing was required of him beyond reliance upon the slow, uncertain
processes of law. The unmistakable implication was that, he proposes to
protect officials wfliose acts have created intense antagonism and distrust
in the public mind, unless and until criminality can be legally established
against them.
Standing alone this would be regarded as wholly inadequate treat
ment of a grave crisis in governmental affaire. But when read in con
nection with the President's statement of th« pervious day. rejecting the
Senate's advice that Secretary Denby’s resignation be asked, if appeared to
many citizens to signify an effort by the Chief Executive to evade his
peculiar responsibility and to protect unfit officials.
It should bo said at once th.it in so far as his impression is Imped upon
.Mr. Coolidge’s sharp rejoinder to the Senate it is unjustified. Up was en
tirely within his constitutional rights in refusing to permit that body to
dictate his action in respect to members of he Cabinet. “Dismissal other
than by iimpeachment,'* he wrote, "is exclusively an executive function.'*
and he did well to assert bis prerogative.
On the other hand the emergency that existed justified the Senate in
passing a resolution expressing its judgment that Secretary Derby's part
in the oil lease scandal required his immediate elimination from office.
Formal condemnation of a member of the Cabinet by the United States
Senate constitutes the severest censure conceivable. There is no more
reason to say that the 3 5 Democrats who voted for the resolution were
actuated by mere partisanship that there Ls to say that the 34 Republicans
who voted against it had similar motives. There is no minimizinx the
fact that the resolution was passed by a body In which the Republicans
hold 51 of the seats; and it is known that many of the 34 Republicans
who voted against it did so because they could not approve of the form,
and not because they wanted to protect Denby.
Turning to the other passages in President Coilldge’s address, a re
freshing contrast is to be noted. When dealing with such matters as tax
ation and the bonus, the speaker dscarded the role of essayist and express
ed himself with candor, courage and precision. Virtually one half if his
speech was devoted to these subjects, and these passages comprised an im
pressive? array of facts, illustrations, and arguments. Direct in form and
offered as individual convictions, his declarations exhibited a purpose to as
sume perslnnal responsibility for the administration proposals in he face
of formidable oppositiou. After reviewing illuminating!** the ananciai
situation of the Government, he expounded clearly the provisions :'t‘ the
administration bill, devoting special attention to justifying the r - l icing
of the surtax rates. He said:
“In time of war finances, like all else, must yield to national defense
and preservation. In time of peace, finances like all else, should minister
to the general welfare. I wish to include in the program a reduction in
the high surtax rates, not that small incomes may be required to pay
more and large incomes required to pay less, but that more revenue may
be secured from large incomes and taxes on small incomes may be reduced;
not because I wish to relieve the wealthy, but because I wish to relieve the
country. I am for the bill because it will reduce taxes on all classes of
income; because it will encourage business; because it will decrease the
cost of living; because i| is economically, soqfally, and morally sound. ’
\f4th equal definiteneqe he declared against the bo ltw project:
The granting %f a bonus weuld Jeopardize the welfare of the whole
•ountry. It would mean the indefinite postponement ef all tax re!uc
tion, another increase in the cost of living, more drying up 'f the s.urc.is
*< credit, and a probable raising of the rate** of interest, all of which
would result in inflation and higher ridees, with the grave danger of ulti
mate disaster to our financial tfyutem. We have been, through one peripd
of deflation and-th* country does not want to take the risk of another Hke
experience. A few months of good times are worth more to the service
n*en themselves than anything they could receive in the way of bonus.
Attentive observers will percieve a clear revelation of President Coo
- lidge's outstanding characteristics in the contrast furnished by his brief,
almost casual, treatment of events which have undermined public belief
! in the Government, and the explicit, forceful manner in which he deals
with fiscal proposals. In the iirst instance, the entire re;poiisibility de
; volves upon him—responsibility for initiative, for leadership, for action,
j ami he offers nothing beyond generalities and a reliance upon legal pro
j cess; in the second instance he presents it detailed plan drafted by a coln
j potent and trusted expert, and advocates it with courage and convict an
i In other words, he shows the qualities of a conscientious and capable ad
ministrator of formally devised plans, none of the qualities of an executive
» quipped to master an emergency calling for aggressive leadership.
The same characteristics are revealed in hfs discussion of the Mex
ican policy. Here, again, ho was provided with a carefully formulated
policy hv an efficient Secretary of State, and carried it out with admirable
directness But no one can share the burden of dealing with the oil
I lease scandal. The responsibility for action rests upon him alone. And
(for action he substitutes moral aphorisms and a pledge to let the laar take
Especially important and commendable, we think, was the Presi
dent's discussion of the urgent needs of agriculture; not merely because
; of the measures suggested, but because lie t<*>k occasiou to drive home
i fundamental truths for the enlightenment of a metropolitan audience,
i made up largely of men who do not understand, ad do not care to under-j
stand. th» vital importance of the farm industry. It was well for an as
semblage of New Yorkers to heat* the President of the United States de
“Without a healthy, productive, and prosperous agriculture there can
i be no real national prosperity. There is something radically wrong when ■
agriculture is found in Its preseut state of depression at a time when |
' manufacturing, transportation and commerce are, on the whole, in a re- j
! markable state of prosperity. I want to emphasize your intimate de
| pendenee upon agricultural welfare You have a direct economic and fi
jnancial interest. You can not long prosper with that great population
; and great area in distress. You have a political interest; unsound econ
jomic conditions are not conducive to sound legislation. The farm has!
1 a social value whJch can not be overestimated. It is the natural home of '
| liberty and the support of cvjrage and character. In all the Nation it!
! is the chief abiding place of the spirit of independence.
! In no sense inspiring, the President's address, we think, in most parts I
j t wealed thoughtfulness and conviction. But we find in it a grave defect I
1 in his complete failure to grapple with essential problems of the oil-lease
scandals, which is how to overcome the profound distrust of the integrity j
of the public service which has been implanted in the minds of the Ameri- 1
While defending Denby. Senator Pepper was moved to say: “The]
people are profoundly shocked; and confidence in public men is badly i
shaken; something like an explosion has occurred perilously near the foun
dations of the Republic." "The very structure of our Government." de
clared Senator Robinson, "rocks upon its foundation. There is but one
way to restore to it that confidence which is indispensable to its security,
namely, to visit upon the perpetrators of the crime the extreme rigors of
the law and to drive from the public service everyone through whose con- ;
niranee or supineness it became possible."
The supreme duty of the President in this hour, transcending mat- j
ters of fiscal policy or foreign policy, or anything else, is to repair the j
shattered confidence of the American people in their Government. Never j
fn the world can this be done merely by triumphant vindication of his j
rights against senatorial usurpation, by appointing special counsel to set :
u motion the lelaorely and complicated processes of law and by delivering
maxims of political morality, meantime keeping as trusted advisers two
officials whose conduct has helped to create public distrust of the whole
system. j
President Uoolidge properly avows his responsibility to see that the j
law is rigorously applied. But he exhibits profound misunderstanding
in assuming that his duty is bounded by the task of procuring the punish- 1
meat of men w'hose guilt may be established by law. Crimes have been
committed which call for the functioning of prosecutor, judge and Jury;
there have been, in addition, offenses which are not indictable yet are not
to be tolerated nor condoned. Legal action may in the course of years,
undo fraud and punish corruption, but only Executive action can overcome
a condition not less injurious, and that is presence In the Cabinet of men
who probably have avoided criminal liability yet none the less have aff
ronted public honor and forfeited public confidence.
Let President Coolidge be ever so stern and vigilant in invoking the
outraged law and he will still fail, most lamenttably, in the performance of
his duty, which is to restore faith in the integrity of the Government,
unless by prompt and uncompromising Executive action he shall eliminate
the men who are morally culpable even if legally immune.
The Nome Nugget Press
Which keeps the Sourdoughs informed
of the latest news from all
j parts of the world.
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ALASKA
NEWSY
ITEMS
According to advices houth
ru M ern'A-laska seals ore now moving
north in great schools. A coasrt
guard outtet* will guard the migra
tion as far north as Dixon's- Entrance
The schools at Valdez were 'closed
for two weeks recently, beoause of
measles in epidemic form among the
pupils.
Albert Mandle, a Signal* Corps'»p
erator at Valdez and • Miss- Eleanor
Johnson, were married at Valdez,
Commissioner J. L. Reed officiating.
' Under the management of George
T. Jackson, the Chichagof? mine
rear Sitka, abandoned for several
in on tits is again shipping concen
L. D. Henderson, Commissioner of
education for Ala-ska recently re
turned to Juneau after inspecting the
schools in the First Division.
W. A. Pries has been elected Ex
alted Ruler of Skagway Lodge No.
431, Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks. F. J. Vandewall is secretary.
The Juneau Chamber of Commerce
in a resolution asks the biological
survey to establish an experimental
fox farm in Alaska.
Dr. S. Hall Young, dean of Presby
terian clergymen in Alaska will per
sonally conduct the Presbyterian ex
cursion to Alaska on the steamer Al
Howard, women ar«j planning to or
ganize a Chapter of the Daughters of
the American Revolution. The plans
are in the hand* of Mr*. Paul C. Me
Mrs. Bess Manning, a popular post
al crerk at Juneau recently was suc
cessfully operated on in St. Ann
hospital for appendicitis.
Fifteen candidates were recently
initiated into the Juneau Lodge of
Victor Wilhelm, former Juneau
mining engineer is now an official in
the California State. Mining Bureau.
With headquarters at Sacramento.
Howard Colley of Dawson has re
turned to his home after an extended
visit with relatives in Australia.
Joe Quigley, pioneer of the Kan
tishna country Ls passing the winler
season in New York, the city of his
birth. Mrs. Quigley remains in the
Kantishna.
B. M. Shepard, known all over the
Pacific coast as the “Tramp of the
Yukon,” whose face and yarns are
familiar to every camp in Alaska,
recently entertained a crowd of Seat
tleites with renditions and ballads.
Mr. and Mrs. Scheal. pioneers of
Dawson and Fairbanks, are now re
siding in Seattle and have apart
ments at the Alflaretta. Mr. Scheal
ig. connected with the Terminal Gar
age Company, with his son. Ray
Barrett Willoughby, the Alaska
girl, whose novel “When the Sun
Swings North." met with such favor,
has now published another Alaska
story “Rocking Moon.” Much of the
material for this novel was collected
during her visit to Sitka in 1922.
A. M. Capewell, frho came to the
Northland in 1897. killed caTibou for
a living In Dawson, mined In Ruby,
and ran a restaurant In Fairbanks, is
now the owner of the Fairbanks
Cafe. 211 First Are., Seattle, and has
a prosperous business.
Mrs. James Higgins, daughter of
the late Michael Lyons, Washington
pioneer, passed away at the Colum
bia Sanitarium recently. She was
born at Port Lu<ilow in 1874. With
Mr. Higgins, Mrs. Higgins went to
Alaska in 1898, when the b<g rush
was on to the Klondike. They re
mained in the Northland many years.
Charles Shtldon, big gam ? hunter,
?hc has mads many ♦rip? to Alaska
a»id the Irlm conn-**, makes his
headquarter In Wash«ag:on, ll. C
*•> will mat? another .trip ro ‘.It*
Northland this summer. He says
there is no ph.ee like the Northland
for lovers t>£ big game hunting.
. Mrs. Ida Reynolds, for many yearn
i a. resident of Valdez, is now residing
in.Monrovia, California. She is now
living in a town founded many years
ago by an old-time Alaskan, Wm.
Monroe, in the early days, manager
of the Wild Goose Railroad at Nome.
Mr. Reynolds died in Portland two
| Patrick Mahoney,-an old timer of
'the Fairbanks district, was frozen to
(death recently, his body being found
j by Chris Jokofa, a wood cutter, on
,the flats west of. the Bjerremark
* ranch1. The body .was .ly^ng on its
■facs. in the snow,. wrapped In a. but
I toned*, overcoat, but without, gloves,
j Tfte victim, had wanderd out Bar
nette street through the wood yard
jail'd onto the sted trail. The deceas
ed had worked as a car pen to- and
(contractor and was well advanced in
i hi.- seventies.
Hob Si afford, an old.-tijner in
employ, of the Alaska Railroad at
-NunHna.. was burned to de^tb .in his
mbrn recently. .Stafford was , seen
Iving across the do.nrvgay on th*» »n.
sfde of his home but thy .heat wa* a.«»
intense that-be souid not be ap
ITCached.
Guy Colwell, the firsr white child
born on Kodiak Island. Alaska, died
|recently in Hong Kong.' Thy deceas
ed at one time was an aviator In the
|airplane mall service of the United
States, but resigned his position sev
eral years ago to accept the manag
ership of a Chinese airplane factory.
The Qvcrland-Sheafe Motor Com
pany, is the name of a firm that has
the general agency for the Stutz mot
er cars in Los Angeles, the place of
business being at 1021 South Grand
Avenue. The senior member of the
firm is Hon. Peter D. Overfield, an
Alaskan sourdough, who was Fed
eral judge in the Fourth Division for
four years. *
A note tram H. Pingel. of Nolan,
Alaska, says that George W. Huey,
U. 8. Commission) r and Postmaster,
Carl Peterson and Miss Nellie Cash
man. all active Pioneers at Nolan,
are visiting and transacting business
in the Status. Mr. Pingel says that
the output of gold from the hydrau
lic outfits in than, section during the
last summer w;ts small on account of
the shortage of water. He says the
winter work, however, shows a gr<?at
deal of activity considering the
small number of people in the camp.
Mr. and Mrs. C. II. Phillips, who
have been in the apartment house
business in Seattle for some time
past, recently returned to Cordova
to make their future home. Mrs.
Phillips saya she was never so happy
in her life. Mr. Phillips came to the
Northland twenty-seven rears ago;
has covered 50,000 miles in the ter
ritory and says he hasn't seen it. yet.
He says, “I have been shipwrecked,
burnt out seVeraJ times by camp
fires, ail but frozen to death and
passed beyond the point of hunger,
and haw been threatened with star
vation. but now I am buck to the
best land on earth. Tor 1 am unable*
to stand any more of the so-called
civilization.”
Thomas E. P. Keegan, chief o! po
lice of Juneau, and a pioneer Alas
kan. passed away at the Hotel At
v.ood recently, a victim of heart dis
ease. He went south for medical
[treatment during the Christmas hol
Pilot E. B. Ellson, who inaugu
rated the aerial mail service between
Fairbanks and McGrath, was made
an honorary member of the Fair*
tanks Igloo, Pioneers of Alaska re
cently. “Honor to whom honor.”
etc. Ellson is truly a Pioneer. %
Charles Dustin, former master me
chanic of the Copper River *.nd
Northwestern Railway, at Cordova,
received favorable mention in cn ar
ticle devoted to a description of hi«
invention of a winged type snow
plow, in th* March number of the
Popular Science Monthly.
Alaska as a whole is now on the
map as the great American Tourist
resort. But how about your own
town or community? How about
your particular business? Are you
(advertising so that it. will stand out
*as the one particular spot in Alaska
■ that is worth visiting? That your
business can supply the needs ct
tourists?
Rev. H. P. Corser, the leading au
thority on totem pole lore among the
Alaska natives and the author of’
several books and treatises on the
subject, has contributed a beautiful
ly illustrated story of the meaning of
the totem among the Thlinget In
dian* of Southeastern Alaska. M*.
Corser lives at Wrangell in the very
Heart of the “Land of the Totem.”
\