The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-02-12

4 is4d 10 take il up with the President.
| There was justice in her husbands
case at that, and Mr.. Lamont did take
| it I'D and the President restored the
wornan's husband 10 his little postmas-
| tership. But Mr.. Cleveland, from his
Office. had heard the little talk between
his secretary and the angry woman
and Mr.. Lamont was twitted for some
DAYS by his chief upon the runt feature
of that interview.
| Hardly less capable as a diplomatic
| handler of difficult White House Wis
litors was 'Lije''-Halford, Mr..
| Harrison's secretary.
| He was swooped upon in his Office one
day by middle aged man of naturally
violent temper who had recently been
dismissed from one of the Government
departments for what used to be called
pernicfous activity in politics. The man
had got by the doorkeepers by exer-
cising the crafty GOODNESS which in the
old days enabled many of the most i'm
possible visitors to make their way al
| most to the door of the Presidents Of
| fee.
| AS he stormed into Mr. HaIford s
office the tphooh of wrath, that was
raging within him over what he re-
garded as his unjust dismissal broke
forth.
You're Halford. amt you-the fell
/ low Lie that we read so much about? %
he opened up upon the exceedingly mild
hammered secretary. who beamed upon
him from his desk chair with great cor
diality.
| 'Me-me-that lightweight?" was the
secretary's instant disclaimer. Me
| .
My names Spinks, and I'm just a clerk
here Halford's out of town. Say. don't
call me Halford that way again.
don't like it,
so you, too know what an ass he
| is hey?" chimed in the wrathful Wis
/ itor Il came here to tell him what
think of him. He's the scoundrel who's
been laying hold of all the papers in my
dent, so that the President has never
seen one of them
THAT so?' said the secretary inno-
Gently well, that's Halford, for you.
| He's doing that all the time. Lot of
complaint about it. Thinks he's the
whole works. Makes a speciality OF
| holding things back from the President
| that the President ought to know
about. But, man. don't tell me your
/ troubles. You come back here when
| Halford's in-hell be back week after
next-and tell him. And, say. let him
have it good. I'd like to be by when
you give it to him. He and I don't get
along a little bit. Meantime tell me
about your papers, and I'll look EN-
up, and write to you about EN-"
| The violent man quickly settled
: n nd iy1l- 10 =, ttaS
on his bIotting pad, and the visitor
| departed appeased. Mr.. Harrison look
| ed into his secretary's office a couple
of minutes later. and there was a smile
on his face.
"Halford,'' he said, how do you re-
concile it with your conscience when
you tell those brazen ones? You told
that man your name was Spinks.''
why. 1 thought 1 said Sphinx" re-
Piled the secretary, bending over his
work
When the late Lucius Quintus Gin
cinratus Lamar of Alabama was Sec
rotary of the Interior in the first Cabi-
net of President Cleveland he had an
experience with a visitor that gave him
a moment OF mingled amusement and
chagrin every time he thought OF it to
the end of his life.
Mr.. Lamar, who was one of the
cOurtliest and most affable men that
ever came to Washington, and who
served for many years in the Senate
and on the bench of the United States
Supreme Court. was greatly bothered
when he entered President CleveIand's
Cabinet by the horde of impecunious
persons from his own State. men with
whom he had no sort of acquaintance,
who tried to haunt his office with the
purpose of attempting to borrow
money obtain office in the face of the
then new Civil Service rules or ask for
other faVOrs.
In self-defence he had finally to give
orders to the black messenger at his
door to admit nobody, even during the
hours of the general daily reception,
who did not previously send in a card.
When the card bore the name of some
man he didn't know or, knowing too
we'll. didn't want to see. Mr.. Lamar
would send out word by the messen-
ger that he wasn't in.
One day the Secretarys messenger
appeared before Mr.. Lamar and told
him there was an insistent old gentle
man out in the hall who refused to
send in card, but stated that he
merely wanted to make the Secretary
little friendly visit. The Secretary was
firm. The visitor would have to send
in card and name his business.
The visitor told the messenger that
he only wanted to see Mr.. Lamar about
a little claim he had before Congress
for cotton destroyed by Federal troops
during the civil war Claimants of