Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-27
Now That Major Carson is
to Retire.
FEW VETERANS LEFT
PROFESSION OF JOURNALISM RE-
CEIVING RECOGNITION.
Many Correspondents Have Taken Of
Training Peculiarly Fits Them.

"Who will be dean Of the corps of Wash
ington correspondents, now that Maj. John
NJ. Carson Is to retire from active news
paper work?" asked an "old-timer' on the
Row today mot many of the veterans
are left that is, those who are still on
the firing line There are Charles A. Boyn-
ton, William E. Curtis, S. Z. Johnson, o.
o. Stealey, and, of course, w. B. Shaw.
Who will be it? Col. Frank A. Richard
son is on the emeritus list and there are
other newspaper men in Washington of
long service, such as Gen. H. V. Boynton,
but I am speaking of those who still are
carried on the official list of active cor
respondents.
II observe, with pleasure" continued this
old-timer, that the Bile profession OF
Journalism is receiving recognition in Of
ficialdom, and every year few more COM
petent newspaper men are selected for ap-
pointment to responsible positions under
the government. Sometimes | am asked
by laymen why 1t is that newspaper men
are so frequently appointed to high places.
well, in the first place, the training of
a newspaper man in his profession hts
him especially for official duties. All of
his life he has been dealing with public
men and public questions; he has broad
and catholic grasp of politics, statesman
ship, foreign affairs economic questions
public finance Best of all. perhaps, he
knows men and understands them. news
paper man of experience has address, tact,
and Is pretty likely to be able to distinguish
the sheep from the goats.
Some Contributions to Official Life.
The corps of Washington correspondents
has contributed a number of men to Off
cial life in the past few years. think the
list should be headed by Whitelaw Reid,
ambassador to Great Britain, for he was
once member of the corps and always an
active newspaper worker. A man who has
also attained distinction in recent years is
Robert ]. Wynne, sometime member of the
cabinet and now consul general to London.
He was for a quarter of century an ac-
tive member of the corps.
1.-The corps is represented by several men
holding positions second in rank to the
cabinet There Is Assistant Secretary
Loomis of the Department of State, Assist
ant Postmaster General De Graw and AS
sistant Secretary Reynolds of the treasury.
There are our own two District Commits
sioners, II. B. F. Macfarland and Henry l..
West, who made their regulations as lead
ing members of the corps.
20. P. Austin, chief of the bureau of sta
tistics, was long time a correspondent.
Francis L. Leupp, commissioner of Indian
affairs, was one of the most noted writers
in the corps, and If still in the harness
would be in the Nestor class. James r.
Young, chief of the dead letter office, was
a correspondent. l.. White Busbey, secre
tary to Speaker Cannon, was asked to fill
the place because of his experience gained
as newspaper correspondent. There is H.
Conquest Clarke in a responsible position
in the Post Office Department.
''The late John Russell Young minister
to China and later librarian of Congress,
was one of the most noted newspaper writ
ers OF his time and a member of the corps
Thomas G. Alvord, chief clerk of the Lii
0rary of Congress, was a Washington cor
respondent.
Charles NJ. Pepper, formerly of the Chi
cago Tribune and veteran correspondent
had the confidence of William Mckinley
who made him one of the commissioners to
the Pan-American congress, and of late
years he has been consulted more than once
upon large affairs of politics by men in high
position
Il guess If two or three of US members
of the old guard should sit down together
and compare notes We could find dozen
more instances of Washington correspond
entS taking official rank.
Now in Business.
II recall three other men who came to
Washington by virtue of newspaper train
ing elsewhere and made record-Frank
A. Vanderlip, who was financial writer
in Chicago, came here as Secretary Cages
private secretary, and rose to be assistant