The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-11-26
WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS.
The Duties Of Assistant Secretaries
Of the Department.
Positions That Arc Moro Important Than
Most People Think-The Men with
Whom President Harrison Has
Surrounded Himself.
Especial Washington letter.

met and being aDle 70 sign official dOcu-
ments as secretary or as postmaster
| general or as attorney general, it is a
| great honor to be first assistant secre.
tary or a first assistant postmaster gen.
eral and to be able to sign ones Name
occasionally as acting" in the capacity
| of head of the department.
1t is quite as important for presi.
| dent to select proper men to be assist
| ants to his cabinet officers as it is to
select the cabinet officers themselves at
the commencement of his administra.
ton. It very often happens that the
head of a department is obliged to leave
a number of matters of the greatest
Importance to his FIRST assistants, and
they are acted upon in the name of the
secretary. In this way millions and
millions of dollars of the public money
are disbursed every year without the
personal knowledge of the cabinet Off
GERS or of the president. The assistant
secretaries and the assistant postmas.
tiers general are relied upon to attend to
work of great Importance with reIia-
bility, integrity and honor, and it must
be said to their credit that in the pres
ent, and in all administrations, they
have not been found wanting.
At the commencement of the present
administration President Harrison was
confronted with the important duty OF
selecting for his first assistant postmas-.
ter general a man of discretion, courage
and superior ability. He desired to APP
point Mr.. J. S. Clarkson, of Iowa, but
L To-
in not having been selected for cabi-
net position, and did not like to accept,
second place of any kind. However,
he was urged by his friends as well as
the president to accept this position OF
trust, and finally did so. The Office was
one of particular political Importance,
and as Mr. Clarkson was and had been
an experienced politician, he was be-.
lieved to be, and proved himself to be,
exactly the man for the place.
The entire star route and railway
mail service of this country is under the
supervision and direction of a polished
gentleman possessing business ability
in a high degree. In Mr.. j. Lowrie{
Bell the president secured the right man
for the right place. For third assistant
postmaster general the president select
ed A. B. HAGEN, a man who has risen
from the ranks of government service
and became third assistant postmaster
general many years ago but was re-
moved during democratic administra-
ton. Gen. Hazen is an exceptionally
efficient officer.
The secretary of the treasury, of
course, is at the head of our great fnan-
cial institution, and it was highly i'm
portant that he should have assistants
upon whom he could rely at any and all
times during his absence to act for him
or to counsel with him upon matters of
unusual Importance. The president ap-
pointed as assistant secretaries to the
treasury George, Batcheller, of New
York, o. L.. Spaulding and w. l..
Crounse, of Nebraska. Mr.. Batcheller
resigned and accepted foreign mission
some time since, and Gen. Nettleton, of
Minnesota, was appointed in his place.
Mr.. Crounse has recently resigned also,
which necessitates the appointment of
another assistant secretary of the treas
ury. AL of these gentlemen are the
possessors of superior business ability
and especial knowledge of financial af-
fairs. Mr.. Spaulding has charge, or
rather supervision, of the customs bust
ness, and discharges his duty with re-
markable ability.
was also necessary that good assistants
should be secured. This is essentially
law department, and has supervision
over a vast amount of public business
There is the general land office which
deals with every acre OF the public do
main, the Office of Indian affairs which
has supervision of the wards of the ma
ton, the great patent Office, which it.
self is large enough almost to be sep
arate department of the government,
and the pension office, which is certainly
the most complicated executive machine
in the republic. All of these belong to
the interior department and are under |
the supervision of the secretary of the
interior.
You may well believe that it requires
man of great deal more than ordi-
nary ability and knowledge of affairs
to be at the head of this department,
and you may also understand without
further explanation that it is exception
ally important that he should have as
sistants of ability like unto his own.
The president was very fortunate in Sc
curing for the position of assistant Sec
rotary of the interior Hon. George
Chandler, of Kansas. This gentleman
is a giant physically as well as intel
lectually, and capable of standing
great deal of continuous hard work:
he has been on duty for over three
years, and never left his desk for sin
gle day until he went home recently to
vote. Assistant Secretary Chandler de-
votes most of his time and attention to
the supervision of the general land of
fee and the Office OF Indian affairs. Ali
matters before both of those Offices
which are not satisfactory to litigants,
claimants and petitioners who are dis
gusted with the decisions of the com.
missioners, come before Assistant Sec.
retary Chandler, who is a lawyer of sr.
perior ability and was formerly judge
upon the bench in Kansas He has
.1.1;o.ad Tn xUnrlr both dow ,,J