Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 March 1917 — W. R. WOOD'S LEAK PROBE FIZZLE [ARTICLE]

W. R. WOOD'S LEAK PROBE FIZZLE

Claude Bowers, secretary to Senatuyjohn W. ‘Kern, has written a communication for publication which we herewith present: Tha utter fizzle of the investigation into the ludicrous partisan insinuation of Congressman Will R. Wood and a few other splenetic standpatters, reflecting on the*’, personal honor and honesty of the Presidents personal and political family, has left that gentleman in an unenviable position. “It is now conceded that the friends of the President in the house made a. serious blunder when they were stampeded into dignifying the slander by giving it official notice. It is contended by some, however, that Mr? Wood and his fellpw reputation 'snipers’ were counting on having their insinuations igfiored and were planning to spread the report that the Democrats were ‘afraid’ to order an investigation. “That they would have failed to making a decently resectable impression on intelligent people is considered certain; for President Taft, Addressing the National Press club about the time the investigation was on, declared that it was a ‘waste of time, energy and money’, to dignify such. stuff with official notice. “While several reactionaries

were in the apparent conspiracy to besmirch the reputation of the President a , of the States by creating the impression he had surrounded himself with a bunch of common crooks, it is Mr. Wood who will, be longest remembered for his contribution to the work. “The glibness with which he threw out his insinuations against the President’s private secretary and the President's brother-in-law actually astounded the blase politicians of the capitaL “There has never been a time since Washingtons administration when it would not have been possible to have picked up from the gutter gossip Of irrespdnsibles, discreditable stories about Presidents and official , families. In long days gone when the code of professional ethics among the correspondents of the press yas not so high as it is today, reporters refused to lend themselves to the dissemination of these frotesque slanders. Among public men such a thing has been considered unthinkable. “The distinction of having become the instrument of blatherskites of slanderous gossip was’.reserved for Mr. Wood. It is due the real leaders of the Republicans

in congress to say that the action of the congressman from Lafayette amazed and disgusted them, and the same was true of the correspondents of the press. "It is probable few public men fail in the course of any one week to receive anonymous or signed by some mysterious unknown, reflecting on the character of somebody high in authority. These letters usually were consigned without a moment’s thought to the waste basket. There is probably not another member of the house who would have rushed into print with amateurish haste, with insinuations of the basest nature against officers close to the President of the United States on the uncorrdfctffated word of 'Mr. A. Curtis,’ who remains unknown today. - ■ ... “The action of Will Wood calls attention to the fact there have probably been more deliberate attempts to blacken the reputation of President Wilson than since tha days when the national bank hirelings were engaged to destroy the reputation of Andrew Jackson.’’ — Tippecanoe County Democrat.