Huston Out

With the Senate adjourned, the Republican party organization last week began to clear its decks of political wreckage for the autumn campaign. Long-expected and historic was the main shakeup: the forcing of the resignation of National Republican Chairman Claudius Hart Huston.

Chairman Huston, whose temporary use of Muscle Shoals lobbying funds for his stockmarket account caused loud demands for his resignation, had promised a statement when the Senate adjourned (TiME, July 21). When the Senate session did end, Mr. Huston was nowhere to be found. President Hoover despatched scouts in search of him. James Francis Burke, general counsel of the National Committee and Joseph Randolph Nutt, its treasurer, hurried to New York on a tip, cornered Mr. Huston at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, presented a White House ultimatum, sped back to Washington to report to the President. Next day Mr. Huston cautiously entered Washington, slipped into the White House after dark. Mr. Burke had a statement ready for Mr. Huston to issue as his own. Looking very glum, Mr. Huston let Mr. Burke read it in his behalf:

"I have just had a satisfactory talk with the President and we are in entire accord on our program. The President has approved my decision to call a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee on Aug. 7 at which time I intend to submit my resignation as Republican National Chairman."

Selected to replace Mr. Huston as party chairman, at least temporarily, was smallish, solemn, fuss-budgety Senator Simeon Davison Fess of Ohio, who cancelled steamship bookings for a European holiday to take over his new political duties. In imitation of the present Democratic setup, in which National Chairman Raskob yields the spotlight to Executive Committee Chairman Jouett Shouse, the Republicans decided to have, in addition to their party chief, an active committee manager to do the real political work. For this new professional post, with $15,000 salary, Robert H. Lucas, now Commissioner of Internal Revenue in the Treasury Department, was tentatively chosen. Mr. Lucas, 41, energetic, intelligent, managed the Coolidge campaign in Kentucky in 1924, knows how to collect money either for the Government or a political party.

At last week's meeting of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, young guardsmen led by Michigan's Senator Yandenberg turned openly against Senator Moses as chairman. They asked him to resign. He refused. They complained that his campaign usefulness as a regular Republican had been ruined because: 1) he had characterized Western G. O. P. Senators as "sons of the wild jackass"; 2) in opposing the London Naval Treaty he had attacked President Hoover; 3) he had tried to make Otto Hermann Kahn the committee treasurer in defiance of other members; 4) he had supported Chairman Huston in his long struggle against the dominant wing of the G. O. P.

Upshot: Chairman Moses' campaign activities were restricted to the territory east of the Mississippi. Senator Frederick Steiwer of Oregon was put in charge of the West. Senator Moses insisted he would travel in the West. He said that certain Western Republican Senators had asked him to speak for them in their States. When pressed to name, he retorted: "None of your damned business."

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