The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-25
OUR POSTMASTER GENERAL
The Biggest and JOlliGSt Of the Ad-
miliStTatiOl Family.


Chair az Capacious as a Park Bench.
Delights in Telling Yarns and
Laughs TAll over-An aoptimise
Who Would Have Rivaled Candidus.
An Incompatible Consumer of Ci-
gars and Tobacco-And Everybody
Likes Him, and He is the Same to All.
Washington, Sept 24-The biggest
man in the cabinet is Postmaster General
Bissell. For a time he and Secretary
HoSe Smith were rivals for this distinc-
tion, and each had their supporters, who
loudly claimed that their man was the
heavier. But fair trial was made with
the scales, and the Buffalo lawyer won by
twenty-five pounds over the Atlanta edi-
tor In fact, MIR. Bissell is so large physi-
cally that he had to have a chair made
expressly for him. The chair that John
Wanamaker used was TOO small for Mr..
Cleveland's old friend, and the new chair
Is mammoth in size, and has all the APP
pearance of a rustic bench
Mr.. Bissells pictures fiatter him won
derfully On close inspection his lips are
almost an inch thick, and they are fear
lully ungOvernable. His flesh, unlike
that of the Georgia man. is fabby 10
has the appearance of having been poured
on hot and cooled unevenly. But he Is q
good laugher and enjoys a good Joke.
Long before you see his eyes twinkle or
hear the cultural of his voice his laugh
shows itself around his ears and comes
creeping over the top of his head in waves
of flesh, Like the mountain. he laughs
with JOY, but, unlike the hills, he has
none of the agility of the lambs.
A GOOD STORY TELLER.
Mr.. Bissell is the story teller of the
cabinet and of the administration A
good share of the time he spends in his
office is given over to telling stories
The people who come to see him expect
1t. He is the only cabinet officer who
does not make his callers come into his
room In single file. The more the mer-
rier, as far as he is concerned He likes
crowds, and does not like solitude.
There is no such thing as privacy in the
postmaster generals office If you wish
to see him in private you must go to his
house on X street in the evening. and you
must 90 early In the evening, too, for he
does not spend much time at home.
The doors leading to his room in the
postofhce building are always open, with
no colored minion on guard. If YOU have
anything to say to him you say II In the
presence of whoever is in the room at the
time. But the people who come there 10
see him do not have much to say Mr..
Bissell does the talking himself He de-
lights to get circle of callers about him
and spin them yarns. He was the cham
pion of Western New York in this spe-
cialty, and he bids fair to win the cham
pionship of Washington, the storm center
OF yarns, before he finishes his term.
With the exception of Secretary Herbert,
MIR. Bissell spends more hours a day in
his Office than any member of the cabi-
He IL the first In "a f.iyT In bpr IN uy.fa-
Ing, and he is there at night long after
most OF the clerks have finished their
work and departed.
HE'S GREAT oPTnrIsT.
Mr.. Bssell is too good d-natured to make
good Postmas aster-General. The office
requires a man who will overhaul things
and be firm In his decision. Mr.. Bissell
is not that kind of a man. He is careless
about minor matters, and has an un-
bounded faith that matters will come out
right in the end anyway, whether he
makes mistake or not. Such a thing as
worry is stranger to him When he
goes outof the building at night he leaves
the cares of his Office behind him He
ceases to be Postmaster General and be-
comes man fond of good company. HOld
wines to drink, old songs TO sing, old
stories to tell, - to him Is the sumum
bonum Of existence. He does not want to
think Of the business of the postofice de-
partment until the next morning, and he
will not then if he can prevent it. When
Mr.. Bissell makes a decision no one
knows how long il win stand. If man
comes in and wants it changed it will be
changed,
The Buffalo lawyer cannot refuse fa-
vor. No matter who the man is who wants
favor, he grants it. He has no frmness
in his makeup and is easily influenced.
In mild way, he believes in civil service
reform, but in nothing are his views very
radical. He does not want to bother hinl-
self about appointments nor to find out
whether each appointment is in accord
ance with the law or of civil service re-
form. Be leaves these questions to his
subordinates and lets them have their own
way, unless a storm of opposition compels
him to take the matter into his own hands.
He is independent in the way of not car
ing what is said about him. Newspaper
criticism has no effect whatever upon him.
Printed attacks amuse him, that is all.
THE PRESIDENTS SOCIAL FRIEND.
AS Lamont is the confidential political
friend of President Cleveland, so Mr..
Bissell is his social friend. Scarcely a
night passes that the Postmaster General
is not at the white house. He stays late
there, too, and almost any evening can be
seen coming out of the white house
grounds about midnight. When he calls
bnefS ne taxes WIN MIN Il DlnQl6 OF
Buffalo papers, and together he and the
President look over them and discuss old
times when they were practicing law to-
gether in the city by the lake. Mr.. Bis
sell is quite a pedestrian for all of his
hundreds of pounds. He swings along
the streets at a rapid gait and takes long
walks into the country. He likes tobacco
even better than he does walking. He
smokes, too, and has his special brand
expressly for him. 1t is
called the Buffalo, and is put up in very
dainty boxes.
The Postmaster General is not much Of
a reader. He likes magazines better than
books, and newspapers better than all.
When he does take up book il is gener-
ally on law, and his law library is one of
the most extensive in this country One
of his fads is to have his picture taken.
His home is regular portrait gallery Of
himself, taken in all attitudes and at all
times. He has an album containing a pic
ture of himself for every year of his
life and there are now forty-six Of these
pictures, and this album, together with a
scrap book telling of the events which
went on while he was at Yale, are among
his most valuable possessions. He is
loyal to his college, and above ALL he is
loyal to his old friend and partner who is