The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-23
HARD TASK FOX ELIHU ROOT.
REFORMS NEEDED IN OFFICE or
SECRETARY or STATE.
Easyg oang Methods Of Years Age Got
Things Tangled Up-Hay Was Bothered
by Red Tape-The Chief Clerks Have
Assumed Many Powers Not Theirs.

Assumed Many Powers Not Theirs.
In taking up the work laid down by John
Hay, Elihu Root has doubtless q clearer
perception than almost any other man
whom President Roosevelt could have
called to the Office Of Secretary Of State
not only Of the present magnitude Of his
task but OF It's prospective difficulties.
There was time. not so long ago. when
tho position might be regarded as moro
or less a sineoure-a kind Of snug harbor
for an indolent or superannuated states
man.
That It was occasionally 80 regarded by
tho incumbent Is fact that finds some
what amusing illustration In an aneodote
related by an ex-Seoretary Of State OF .
visit to the head OF his old department
some eight years after the formers retire.
ment. The men had served together a
long time in the Senate. and were on familiar
terms. The ex-Secretary asked the actual
Secretary how he liked the Office.
.Oh, very much indeed, was tho answer.
1T Is q pleasant place, with not much TO
do
There wasn't much to do, because the
Secretary, though a very able man, had
outlived his usefulness, and, besides, had
neither the aptitude nor the inclination for
his new duties. He looked upon the Office
as a comfortable and dignified berth. to
which he was entitled by virtue Of his long
service in public life and his position as
q party leader. There have been many
able and energetic Secretaries Of State and
the place has sometimes been used as a
convenient means Of shelving Presidential
aspirants or others whom it was politically
desirable to get out Of somebody's way
Richard Olney and John Hay demon
strated to the country not merely the value
but the necessity Of special ability and force
in guiding our foreign intercourse. Each
in his own way set a standard that all
Presidents hereafter will probably accept.
and 1t is doubtful that there will ever again
be a Secretary of State who will find the
office "a pleasant place, with not much
to do
Mr.. Root, as Secretary Of War. was o.
casionally called upon, in the absence OF
Mr.. Hay, to advise the President in diplo-
matio matters, and thus obtained practical
familiarity with the functions Of the State
Department.
There is another task ahead Of Mr.. Root.
The Department Of State ia In much the
same condition as was the War Department
WHEN INOOt looh ShdA &c. 'huS AtA'
Root did in reforming War Department
matters is an old story. The task OF reform
Ing the State Department is, in the opinion
Of those familiar with conditions there,
fully as hard a task.
Mr.. Hays brilliant exploits as Secretary
Of State, these men say, were won single
handed, in the face of great disadvan-
tages owing to the lack Of efficient assistance
A. and nv tho QhpQr
force of his intellect and personal charm.
1t Is more than likely that his life would
have been prolonged had he not been ha-
raised and overweight by the necessity
OF working with inadequate tools and in an
atmosphere thick with the dust of genera
ton or more Of red tape. 1t often happened
that in the midst OF some highly important
negotiation he would be interrupted by
some triviality of Department routine
which, under a proper system, 1t would
never have been necessary to bring to his
attention. Jealous and capable as many
Of his subordinates were, they were often
powerless to spare him, for the reason
that there was no other means of securing
q really equitable or safe decision.
When Mr.. Hay entered the State Depart
ment he found every available corner Of 1t
choked up with debris from former adj
ministrations. There is pathetic interest
now In his remark that he was not free
to choose even q confidential clerk or q
private secretary-every place was filled.
He might, of course, have extricated himself
by drastic action, but it was not in the nature
of the man to cause hardship or even in
convenience to others, and he preferred
to endure rather than order a dismissal
1t was not, indeed, until near the close
OF his career that the need of winnowing
the Department and creating a more eff
fioient personnel became really urgent,
except as his own ease and comfort were
concerned, and these he was always ready
to sacrifice.
It Is not unoomplimentary to Mr.. Root
to say that he is likely to be much less
amiable toward official shortcomings than
was MIR. Hay. The Department, officials
say, should be 80 equipped as to make
things easy, not hard. for its head, 80 that
the latter may be free to devote himself
to important matters of diplomacy. with
out burdening himself with petty details
OF administration, and shall always be
able to find within the Department itself
the professional knowledge and advice
which in recent years it has often been
The State Department, to give con-
crete example of it's condition. has suffered
for years, with occasional intermissions,
from an absurd pretension to authority
on the part Of it's chief clerks. There is an
atmosphere in the Office itself which seems
to be intoxicating. An individual pre-
viously modest and practicable is scarcely
installed in the position before he begins to
give himself airs and to act as general
manager OF the establishment. Really,
he should be nothing more than kind OF
floor walker-the chief only, as his title i'm
niles. among the clerks. His Office is,
properly speaking, the clearing house for
the Department, Its function is merely
to distribute the mail, to transmit orders
from the head OF the Department and his
chief assistants. and to keep the minor
machinery going.
1t Is manifestly gross assumption for
q chief clerk to act independently OF his
superiors, or to do more than loyalty inter-