Congressman Cushman's Nepotism Scandal
Federal judicial appointments in Tacoma stall as local power brokers favor family over public endorsement.
The declination of Judge Hughes to take the federal judgeship here indicates that fate is determined to make Congressman Cushman come out and show some loyalty to his home city or forever be shown up as a nepotic fraud. When the Tacoma bar endorsed R. E. Hudson, he had a chance to show his loyalty to Tacoma by lining up the congressional delegation and getting the place for the Tacoma man. He refused and tried to get it for his brother. The president was so disgusted he concluded to make the appointment without advice. Being a Yale college man who thinks anything with a Yale tag is superior to all else, the president looked around for some barrister from Yale. He found Mr. Peters, but he declined. Then he found Mr. Hughes, and now Mr. Hughes declines. All this time Cushman has stood back urging something for his own family, instead of getting in and working for a judge from Tacoma who has the endorsement of the people here who know what they want. The elimination of Hughes gives him another chance.
“All this time Cushman has stood back urging something for his own family, instead of getting in and working for a judge from Tacoma.”
Political maneuvering for federal judicial appointments remains a high-stakes game in Washington. This 1909 critique of Congressman Cushman reflects the perennial tension between local civic interests and the opaque machinery of federal patronage.
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