The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-03-28

Filled the Position of Secretary to the
! President-The Salary and the Require
ments.
| Especial Correspondence
| WASHINGTON, March 23.-I wrote you
something about Perry Heath at the end
of the campaign, when he passed through
Washington on his way to Mexico for a
well earned rest. At that time it was
understood in semioff1cial places that he
could be private secretary to the new
president if he wanted the place. But
Mr.. Heath did not want to be private
! secretary even to a president. In fact,
he was very doubtful about taking any
office, preferring to return to newspaper
life. When he saw the president elect
few weeks later, he had in his mind
foreign appointment, but the president
and Mr.. Hanna wanted him to stay in
this country. Major Mckinley offered
him the place of first assistant postmas-
ter general then, but the announcement
was not made until Mr.. Gary had been
consulted.
Mr.. Heath is a native of Indiana, and
he is proud of being Hoosier. When
he was Is years old, Mr.. Heath left
school to enter printing office. One of
his contemporaries in those days was
James Whitcomb Riley. From Indian
apolis Mr.. Heath came to Washington
and handled copy in the Office of The
Evening Critic.
Mr.. Heath graduated from The Critic
office into the United Press bureau.
From that position he rose to be Wash
ington correspondent of various inhu-
entail papers.
There never was more faithful, con-
scientious. earnest worker. He was at
his Office at every morning, and he
staid until II or IL at night. He was
good natured to the point Of distraction,
and he did more kindnesses to the mem
bers from Indiana than they ever had q
chance to do for him. His office was al
ways Indiana headquarters, and not on
~ the members from his state, but ev
cry Indiana offiqeholder, made habit
of dropping in on Perry Heath" two
or three times week.
About six years ago he married Miss
Conway of Louisville. Three years later
he and his brothers organized syndi-
cate which bought controlling inter
est in The Commercial Gazette, Cincin-
natl, and Mr.. Heath became the man
ager of the paper. He found hard sled
ding in his new venture. Competition
was keen, advertising bad. He saw a
chance to sell out at profit a year ago,
and he sold.
When Mr.. Heath left Cincinnati, he
told me that he intended to work for
Major McKinley's election. Mckinley
is going to be nominated, he said. eff
he is elected, we will have prosperity,
and my business investments will bene-
fit" He called on Mr.. Hanna, made
arrangements to undertake certain mis-
sionary work and was in St. Louis two
weeks before the Republican conven-
ton met. After the convention he took
charge of the literary bureau of the Re-
publican committee at Chicago and SUI
perintended the expenditure of $3.50, COO
in the distribution of campaign docu-
ments. When the election was over, he
went to Mexico and California on the
first pleasure trip he had taken in five
years.
Mr.. Heath is tall, slender, with high
cheek bones, thin mustache which has
tendency to stand out straight and a
thin coat of hair on his scalp. He has
kindly smile and a soft voice. He has
very wide acquaintance among public
men. They all call him perry" and
they are all his friends. There will be
no sanctity about the Office of first as
sistant postmaster general in this ad-
ministration. If you want to see the
first assistant, walk into his office and
take chair There are no frills on Per-
ry Heath.
The newspaper correspondents were
disappointed. when Heath was not made
private secretary. Few of them knew
Secretary Porter, and all Of them knew
Heath. They felt assured that with
Heath in the White House the doors
would not be barred against them as
| they have been for four years. don't
AuCdA VnuI luey WStS pLJ SlCd1ly Suub
out, but news gathering at the White
House was made so difficult and disa-
greeable under the self sufficient Thur
Der that not one tenth of the newspaper
correspondents went to the White House
regularly for news
1t is a curious fact that in selecting a
private secretary Che is called secretary
to the president" now almost all the
presidents have gone outside the long
list Of men who have had Washington
experience and who were otherwise eli
gible for the place. Colonel Lamont,
before he came here, had experience
only as a legislative correspondent at
Albany and as private secretary to the
governor Of New York. Halford was an
Englishman who had been managing
editor of John G. News paper, the In
dianapolis Journal, and who wanted
to be minister to Denmark when Harri-
son was made president. John G. New
asked for the fat position of consul gen.
eral at London, however, so Halford
had to abandon his ambition to go
| abroad, and as President Elect Harrison