The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-08
BLISS A MAN OF BUSINESS.
A DAY WITH THE HARD WORKED
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.
Hest Dressed Man In the Cabinet, hut
He Is Not Dandy--A Private Sec
retary and n Confidential Clerk to
pass Before He Can he Seen - The
Secretary Shy In the Presence of
Petticoats - His Experience With
the Indinns-A Man of Remarkable
Memory.
washington, Aug. Sit is said Of Cor
relius \. Bliss that he is the best dressed
man in official circles-not even except
,,r the President himself; and some go
81, far as to call him 1.-The dandy of the
administration" But the new Secretary
of the Interior is no dandy; he is the
tvpical New York business gentleman
inst such. so far as outward appearance
eoes. as one may see by hundreds in the
METROPOLIS on any weekday, riding down
town on the elevated train about 10 a.
rn.-every man of them with his eyes glued
TO the financial column of daily paper.
correct in attire to the minutest particu-
lar with prosperity, conservatism and
eminent responsibility written on every
line and feature, you may tell them at
glance, "by the cut of the jib," so to
saw, as belonging to the genus banker,
broker and "bloated bondholders."
When Secretary Bliss swings into his
office every morning at o'clock, prompt
IL on the stroke of the hour, he is GER
tainly good to look at. Though spick and
span beyond compare, the term, Just out
of a handbook" does not apply to him,
for there is distinctly nothing of the Beau
Brummel or the Ward McAllister in his
attire He is simply well groomed, from
the TOP of his dazzling silk hat to the
toe Of his dazzling boots and by boots"
he it understood-not shoes, as the word
signifies in England. but superine, hon
est. $50 American-made boots, with tops
70 them. The fit and texture of his dark
getaway suit is absolute perfection his
quietly handsome cravat, never
pebeau tie" is not even
distinctly related to the great bargain
counter family of the same name, as he
who runs may read. His invariable
boutonniere is a fragrant white carnation,
and he wears no other adornment but
d
appears conscious of its worth. though
attached to a black silk string-plain gold
Contributions and small signet ring. His
face shining like a school-boy's and rud-
dy as a winter apple is carefully shaved
to the snOw-white 'side-boards," which
seem but a prolongation of his smoothly
brushed snowwhite hair, and curve like
the crescent moon, from just above his
ears to the corner of his firm, straight-cut
mouth, and he shaves himself every morn
ing with one of his first pair of razors;
the same with which he began when boy
I'm his fathers New Orleans counting
house. His eyes, wide open, all seeing,
Gear and steadfast, are neither dark nor
light but brownish, blueish, grayish, ac
cOrdiug to mOOd-some times penetrating
as steel swords; and they always look
straight at you, or through you, with
never anything wavering or shifty about
them. His teeth are strong, white and
regular, without crockery one in the lot,
and his immaculate, rounded nails look as
if freshly manacured and her na-polished.
You find it hard to believe that he Is past
60 years old, for his spring step and I'M
muddied complexion are those that per-
tain to the morning of life, rather than
its afternoon. They prove that he has
been addicted to no excuses, though his
ample glrth bespeaks an intimate ac-
olaiu-ance Of the good things Of the table.
Though decidedly stout for his five feet
SIX inches in hight, there is nothing Fall
Statiian in his figure, which, even in nights
ana spats, would never suggest Plckwick.
In short, Mr.. Bliss looks exactly what
NE ls-a successful business man, head of
we great New York mercantile firm of
Bliss, Fabyan & Co.. lin trade" for almost
hat a century. AS everybody knows, he
is not a politician. He was, however, for
many years president of the Protective
DC u~a1 he. farrf ,1or 90
the New York Chamber of Commerce, and
me head of many important financial en-
ter9rises.
Naturally, such a man does not do bust
"'9s az loose ends, but manages its small
details according to a formula ted plan.
Next to Secretary Gage of the treasury,
SECRETARY Bliss is more oVer-run by Visi-
,"Is IMAM any other cabinet minister His
1'Dy leVee begins at in the morning and
asis until in the afternoon with never
a break In the steady stream of callers
one would imagine that six hours on a
surteh Of 1t would try the temper of an
o"7Vl' nut II annoyances arise, they seem
10 sIlde Off harmlessly from Mr.. Bliss
,,o"selousness, like water from a ducks
oaok' When the echoes of the last depart
lug callers footsteps sound a cheerful tat
100 upon the tessellated department floor.
'l9 countenance still beams with the same
"'dna inscrutabity that clothed Il in the
'@le secretary, Mr.. Forest Raynor, Is an
"ole SITTER of men-and also because he is
u" siouch' In that line himself Mr..
NdIhor was collection clerk in Mr.. Bliss
D.uN' until promoted to the important po-
flIon or confidential assistant to the sec
lti1Iy to be in last years political cam
"-n' HIS roomy Office adjoins that Of
' chlei az the outer gates thereof. so to
.I'AN' and every caller upon the Score
- on tne Interior must first undergo a
lllhdfy sitting az the hands of the private
e'dry' Mr. Raynor says that he learn
Nv good deal during that memorable
, ,. lpaisn. One Of the things he learned
's mat you cannot always tell by the
,''Ns OF toad how far he can iump. " or
''. mans appearance does not always
uraieiy proclaim his relative impor-
l'''' ana that impurtarbility on the part
r,-, private secretary Is Of paramount inn
FL. iatlns undergone their primary sftlngs
'Nl7 urbane secretary's hands visitors