Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-11-15
McCULLoCH's WORK.
Cabinet Changes Bring to Mind D6
 ings of Former Cabinets. X

The expected shifting in the cabs'
 met and the placing of POstmaateP
 General Cortelyou at the head of tho
 treasury department has caused sone
 criticism because MT Cortelyou has
 had no financial or banking expert
 ence. Several of our greatest treas~
 ury secretaries were without previous
 financial training. notably Chase,
 Manning, Eairchild, Windom and
 Sherman. Sherman, 1t is true, as
 senator had made a study of nation-
 al finance. Only two of all the secre-
 taries of the treasury were known as
 great bankers before they became
 the head of the financial affairs of
 the government, McCullOch, and
 Gage. One of the singular things
 that are always happening in political and administration life was the first
 bringing into official life Hugh Mo-
 Culloch, who was three times ap-
 pointed secretary of the treasury. At
 the outbreak of the civil war Mir Me-
 Culloch was the president of the bank
 of the state of Indiana. financial in-
 stitution that had weathered the
 storm of the panic of 1854, and one
 of the less than half a dozen banks
 of the country that did not suspend specie payment during that great financial stress. When 1t was first. proposed to establish the present na-l tional banking system Mir McCulloch, strongly opposed 1t. He was proud of the great institution of which he was the directing head, and believetj nd nn 1fa nvs. agreements, and therefore did not like ' to see 1t put out of business by an-@ other system. He visited Washing ton to lay his views before Secretary Chase and the committees of cons' gress, spending some time there in the effect to defeat the bill. He was not successful, and few mOnth6a later the bill became a law. About that time he was on another visit t0 the East. passing through Washing ton. He called at the treasury de-i partment and left his card for Secre< tary Chase, and departed for BaltiA more, and from there to Bingham- ton, New York. On his arrival att Binghamton he found waiting for him three or four urgent dispatches from Secretary Chase, that had fol- lowed him from Baltimore, asking him to return at once to Washington :, and accept the new position of comp troller of the currency. MT McCui. loch returned to Washington. pro- tested to the secretary that he had opposed the bill creating the ofiice and the system of banking. and that to accept the place would require him to sever his connection with tho bank of which he was the head, at a great pecuniary sacrifice. MI, Chase urged upon him his duty af patriotic citizen to come to the help of the government in the crisis it was then passing through, and finally he consented to accept the office. He organized the bureau. managed it so efficiently. that later MT Lincoln called him to the secre- taryship. On the accession of Mr Johnson to the presidency he invited MT McCulloch to remain in the cab- inet, which he did during the John son administration. At the close of his service he became connected with a great banking house in New York and London, and just before the close of Arthur's administration he was once more called to the head of the treasury department.