Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-04-25
now ll,3,! | WIN be drinking some other mans

Bayard and Garland have been close
personal friends ever since they met in
tne senate, but if they We're IN the same
once q ours il is quite certain that they
would become mortal enemies. The Sec
retary OF State. breads a visit from his
friend OF the Department Of Justice dur
ing working hours, for the Attorney
General may be relied upon to get
lhings generally out of place before he
departs.
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.
Mr.. Whitney is decidedly the shrewd-
est business man in the Cabinet, though
he has never had an opportunity tn dis
play his talents as statesman. While
holding the District Attorneyship of New
York city he accomplished the feat, hith-
erto considered impossible, Of getting the
complicated affairs of that Office into or
der and retired to private lite an object of
wonder and admiration to the legal fra
ternity. He has the happy faculty of
doing much with little apparent labor,
and in this respect is unlike the tuSsy
officials of his department, who, affecting
to be overwhelmed with work, do nothing.
The Secretary does not shut himself up
like hermit when at work, but finds it
possible TO perform his duties surrounded
by chatting friends. l have seen him
studying out bulky documents while CIV
ing directions to his assistants and all the
while keeping up jovial conversation
with half dozen visiting New Workers.
His friends say that he even prefers this
method of working, which would utterly
distract most men, and is seldom seen
alone i'm his office. He is full Of jokes,
genial, light-hearted and delighted with
his position. Indeed, he has every reason
to be happy man. Young, handsome
and talented, with lovely and loving
wife, who has brought him millions, he IS
to-day at the head Of an important depart
ment. The Navy Department is rotten to
the core and the man who can purify IL
and give us a respectable navy Will live
long in the hearts of the American people.
Mr.. Whitney has, therefore, brilliant OPP
pOrtunities, and it remains to be seen
whether his genius is equal to his task.
Some people are charitable enough TO call
the Secretary OF the Navy the dude OF the
Cabinet, on account OF his very tashlona-
bile attire, neatly curled moustache ana
Bostonian eyeglasses, but it must be re-
membered that Mr.. Whitney Is a New
York society man, youthful yet and lond
of social enlOyments. and still very mucn
in love with his beautiful wife. Dusty
SLOUGH hats and greasy cOat-c0llars come
soon enough, Lord knows, SO l rather
think the more of the Secretary of the
Navy on account Ofhis personal neatness,
especially as it is accompanied Win IN
ttllect.
SECRETARY LAMAR.
The Secretary of the Interior is the op-
pOsite of NJ. Whitney in almost every
important particular. He has seen the
best days of his life and is now quite an
old man, with impaired vitality and with
anything but a restful future before him.
In my opinion Mr.. Lamar's equal as
statesman does not exist on the American
continent. He possesses mind deeply
versed in the wisdom of the anclents; has
as wide and thorough a knowledge Of his
tory as had Edmund Burke, and is fer
vid lover of poetry. His library is his
paradise. Once within its walls and he
is lost to the material world. Here he
sits hour after hour in delighted converse
with the great minds of old, soaring then
over the vast world of thought and utterly
Oblivious of the busting, greedy century
in which he lives. With the philosophy
of Plato he is as familiar as is the school
boy with the anecdotes of George Wash
ingtOn. In history he is cOnversant with
all the great works from Thucydides. He
roditus and Liivy down to the productions
Of the present era. His favOrite poets are
| Shelley and Keats. In their ethereal
verses he finds never-failing delight and
can repeat from memory their finer pas
sages, especially Shelley's 'Skylark" and
some OF Keats immortal odes. 1t is sur
prsing that q man Of this quality otmlnd
and with these intellectual tastes should
be selected S the mead OF a department
which requires more hard business sense
than culture; more of arithmetic than of
Plato; practical knowledge of accounts
rather than dreamy facility for world
making. 1t is even more surprising tnaI
Mr.. Lamar should accept such position
when he could have remained for life in
the Senate, where he is better fitted 10
shine. He must have quantity OF bust
ness talent hidden somewhere among his
philosophy and poetry, and the President
must have been lucky enough to find it
out, though its existence has never before
been suspected by his closest friends. He
has made Jealous beginning, anyhow.
| Immediately after his confirmation he set
to work with all his energies to master
the details of the Interior Department.
He labOred early and late, giving up his
faVOrIte books for patent and land dOcu-
ments and finding a solace for the loss of
Shelley in the reports Ofland commission
ers. In iact, his zeal exceeded his psu-
dence and ne is now laid low with ner-
vous exhaustion. brought on by OVerwOrk.
No Cabinet officer is so well liked by those
under him "a Lamar. He treats even the
lowest clerks with gentle cOnslderate-
ness that has wen their hearts completely.
Al MOIk ne ID very INC VII nay Aa
sitting erect and never assuming the COM
Portable, lazy attitudes Of the Attorney
General. He makes a great effort to be
orderly and methOdical in his office, but
it appears to be contrary to his nature.
That he will make a good Secretary Of The
Interior no one doubts. His able assist
ants can very we'll attend to all the mere
mechanical work, while Mr.. Lamar can
bring to bear, on the more important
questions that may arise, the wisdom Of
that richly-stOred mind which lends dig
nitv to the administration and of which
the American people may well elproud.
THE SECRETARY or WAR.
Mr.. EndlcOtt bad but local reputation
when he came TO Washington. He was
known IN Massachusetts as an able law
yer and Judge and was esteemed by all
parties excepting the Butterflies. He has
made a good impression so far on the War
Department people, though, OF course,
the army officers do not take kindly to
him. BY these men civilian Secretary
of War is regarded as a useless figure
head and is looked upon with feelings akin
10 contempt. More particularly was this
the case with Secretary Lincoln, whom
Old army mon heartily condemned as a
light-brained STRIPPING who had not enough
military knowledge to 80 through the
manual Of arms. Mr.. Endicott is more