The Indictment by John A. Murphy Search Amazon for other books by or about John A. Murphy. Rating: Reviewed by: John L. Hoh, Jr.

This book is about the historical figure Professor William Estabrook Chancellor. What, you say you have never heard of Professor Chancellor?

William Estabrook Chancellor was a professor in Wooster, Ohio, who was a prolific writer and editorialist. But Chancellor is best known for his fight for freedom of speech and his flight into Canada where he sought sanctuary. His alleged "crime?" Calling into question the qualifications of the 29th president of the United States, Warren Gamaliel Harding. Harding was such a dud as president that I can still recall the drawl my college US history professor would use in speaking Harding's full name.

Not to say that there wasn't enough to write about on Harding. He had had mistresses (and sometimes makes Bill Clinton's exploits seems like high school gropes), stays in the renowned Kellogg's Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, and suspicions of black ancestry in Harding's family line.

Today there might be an uproar about making an issue of the last point. A candidate might even embrace such a fact as a sign of being an inclusive candidate. But in 1922 blacks and the KKK had equal influence in American politics. It was also a less enlightened time and no doubt the general American population wasn't ready for a president not totally white.

Not to say that mental instability and infidelity should not be issues for someone running for the highest office in the land.

But those in power can often control what is published and the nature of debate in society. Bill Clinton did things in office and perjured himself to the point he lost his law license and will forever be known for his, uh, extracurricular accomplishments in the office rather than any accomplishments in office. Harding also controlled the debate in his day so that ultimately Chancellor fled to Canada for sanctuary. The College of Wooster even ousted Chancellor because it deemed Chancellor's flyers on Harding "libelous." The ouster made the front page of the New York Times. Sound familiar to the Clinton administration calling into question the character of its accusers rather than address the accusations? The book contains nothing new in American politics, but documents once again another abuse of power.

The scholarship of the book is intense. Sources are hunted, found, and cited. John Murphy tries to give a balanced account. However, some typos and errors crept into the text and sometimes detract from reading the account. Hopefully a future printing will flush out more such errors. But don't let those errors keep you from reading about justice gone awry and the continuing battle to maintain freedom of speech in our democratic republic.